4/5 stars. The rules are good.
Background.
One of the smaller cults within the Thousand Sons legion, the Khenetai fused their psychic powers with their blades and accomplished incredible martial feats therein. Attuned beyond even what the Emperor's Children were, these warriors enhanced their skills through specific arcana that made them deadly and in unison with their brothers.
Strengths.
WS=5 warriors with 2 wounds each and paired Achea force swords and a bunch of special rules makes this a formidable close combat fighting unit.
The paired blades first of all grant an extra attach compared to normal at S+1 with breaching. This is already impressive.
They have 2 psychic reactions. The first - Bladeweaving - is a 5+ invulnerable save versus volley attacks and in melee. This is great and very fluffy. The second - Mindsong of Blades - is gaining Precision at 5+ in close combat which is very nice.
Weaknesses.
The Khenetai Prosperine Arcana replaces other arcana, but this is a straight up swap, so it isn't really negative, I'm just pointing it out.
The points cost is just about okay, but I think in some scenarios they are probably over priced and could do with something like Vanguard to make up for it.
Builds.
There are no upgrades to discuss. Hence the only variable is how many per squad which is set between 5 and 10. I can see arguments for the minimal and maximal sizes quite readily. 265 points for the full 10 man squad is solid, and 145 points for 5 is acceptable.
I will say that as Alpha Legion, many units are hard to steal due to not gaining that extra willpower for their tests. It however of note that the sergeant does get to take either a hand flamer or the legion’s aether fire pistol which is a nice way for alpha legion to “acquire” one of their weapons.
ReplyDeleteYes - I agree with you! It makes an attractive target for an Alpha Legion theft!
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