4.5/5 stars - I've rounded up. Exodus is the ultimate last word in character killing at long range in the entire game.
Background.
Exodus is a codename used by the Alpha Legion given to select individuals whose skill at assassination is second to none (or at least only those other special individuals who share or inherit the moniker - it is unclear if there's one or more of them). A Vindicare assassin in everything but name, but with the added benefits of being a space marine, and with the handy Alpha Legion rules to help.
Strengths.
Exodus comes with a small army of special rules and war gear to help him out on the battlefield. Pathfinder, relentless, shrouded, move through cover, as well as shroud bombs, a venom sphere, a power dagger, and his weapon of choice: The Instrument are just the more obvious ones to talk about. Here I will give a shout out to the shroud bombs in particular since in combination with the Alpha Legion rules means that he is going to be 8 inches away from where the controlling player puts him on the battlefield. I mean seriously. This is amazing against shooting attacks.
The Instrument makes Exodus into the ideal character assassin. With an impressive 72 inch range on an execution shot (AP1 - and Brutal 2 if he hasn't moved - at S=7) this sniper shot can down the best of them and take chunks out of primarchs as well with some good rolls. Handy also for blowing up light tanks on occasion, but this is a bit of a waste. The other mode of shooting is rapid shots, but the range plummets. The good news is that Exodus always uses his full BS against all targets come what may. And forget rolling shrouded against him too.
He can also infiltrate using his own version of the rule (The Hidden Hand) to set up almost where he likes (in cover, or at least 9inches away from enemies), or come in at the board's edge after the first turn (not sure I'd want to waste the first turn's shooting though to be honest). He's okay in combat as well, and rather tanky. Hence he can go with a headhunter kill team quite readily if you wanted to use him aggressively. And if charged, he has the equipment to cope.
Finally, he is not unique. You can take more than 1 of him! Wow. He also lacks an alignment just like Alpharius.
Weaknesses.
He lacks artificer armour, so only a 3+ save. The refractor field helps of course. He is not really a close combat expert, but can readily hold his own if needed. He is not a compulsory HQ either, but you really won't care too much about that when you get those extra victory points for slaying the enemy warlord.
Overall.
Exodus does something better than almost anything else in the game: kills characters at range. For this reason alone he gets 4.5/5 stars from me. He might just be a "must take" for Alpha Legion armies in second edition. Set him up on a very tall tower and kill anything he can see. Move in from a board edge and kill characters in their backs. The choices are varied and strong here. He is certainly worth the points.
Difference to First Edition.
Neutral to slightly improved. I really like what I see here.
2 comments:
Neutral to slightly improved? :P
You do recall him being an ap3 character killer last edition, right?
In my defence, that was many British Prime Ministers ago! lol!
But yeah - you are right, that aspect is drastically improved. I'd take Exodus even in a not so shooty army list now.
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