Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4/5 stars. The rules are strong.
Background.
Summoned back to Terra and installed as Warmaster in all but name, Dorn prosecuted a variety of aspects of the war for the loyalist faction whilst his father was doing goodness knows what deep in the bowels of Terra. He is portrayed as having a body of stone and being the essence of the uncompromising and determined aspect of the Emperor's soul. And one whose loyalty and duty were as breathing to other lesser mortals.
Strengths.
The Sire of the Imperial Fists warlord trait ensures his entire army uses his leadership, and they also gain +1 to combat resolution. This is strong and will suit close combat builds nicely. Additionally the ability to choose which phase to gain a reaction within is great.
The Auric armour provides an excellent defence and grants Dorn the means to only be wounded on a 4+ regardless of anything. The fact that any charge made against him is always disordered is a nice addition here.
Weapon wise, Dorn is also doing well with his chainsword, and a S=5 assault 3 bolter.
Weaknesses.
About the only thing that can be said here is the comparatively low(!) S=8 hits he is giving in close combat which resolve at AP=2 (other Primarchs tend to have access to either AP=1 or higher S, or both). But regardless, he is a primarch and will still slaughter enemy squads.
Overall.
Strong without being outstanding like Horus. Dorn is also a great boon for the Imperial Fists and will certainly bring an emphatic resonance and close combat boon to the army.
Difference to First Edition.
Neutral. He's lost the ability to unlock templars as troops, but gained a different nifty defensive ability that more than makes up for it. Honestly, about the same overall.
I would say that, compared to the previous edition, he gained a lot. Of all the loyalist Primarchs he is the one that improved the most, in particular regarding his capability in taking against his brothers. He is less defensive than before (luckily he lost the Salvo rule on his bolter) but making all the charge against him disordered is a huge boon considering how many bonus are used by other Primarchs on charge.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your thoughts on this. For me, I generally see brother vs brother primarch fights as something to generally avoid as they tend to take longer to complete than the game may allow (not always though, admittedly). I do agree about the defensive boon for the disordered charge - and this is powerful.
ReplyDeleteFor sure Primarch vs Primarch is not the most efficient way of playing but...that is what basically the Heresy game is about and I imagine everyone playing would try to prove how their beloved Primarch is the best!
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