Eldar vs Imperial Guard

Tuesday night I played a game against my friends IG army with my Eldar. This was a 1500 point game and I was not too confident going in to it. I knew he was going to be taking at least 2 Leman Russ tanks, and my long range fire power to deal with those was limited to just two Wave Serpents with twin linked Bright Lances.

I took a 6 man squad of Fire Dragons, hoping to rely on their melta weaponry to deal with the AV14. I also took a 5 man Wraithguard Squad with a Warlock and they proved to be the stars of my army. Even with such a small squad, thanks to guide, they had no problem getting glancing and penetrating hits on the AV14. This is because their Wraithcannons glance on a d6 roll of 3-4 and penetrate on a 5-6!!

My entire force was either mounted in Falcons/Wave Serpents, or infiltrated/out flanked. On my turn three, my Wraithguard disembarked from their Wave Serpent and completely annihilated the first Leman Russ tank. On turn 4, they vaporized the second Leman Russ and it was pretty well game over for the Guard.

There were a couple other things that worked well for me as well. This was my first time outflanking War Walkers. They came in on my turn two on my preferred table edge and basically removed the threat of his artillery squadron (2 Medusa) by destroying one outright, and taking the main gun off the second. I was also impressed with the durability of the Wave Serpents. The force field makes them really good, and I was able to drive them more aggressively because of it.

Rumors are that Eldar will be getting a plastic Wraithguard kit in the near future. If that turns out to be true I will be really happy because when you can get them within 12" it seems not much will be able stand up to them.

Craft World Eldar in 6th Edition

So with 6th Edition, I think Eldar took a bit of a beating and here's why.

1. Troop Weaponry: With the move to 6th edition, a lot of what made Eldar good in 5th is now what kind of hurts them. For example, the changes to Rapid Fire weapons are great, until you realise that Eldar do not have a single Rapid fire weapon in the Codex. Eldar relied more on not being hit than armour saves but now they are being hit by more shots, and in a lot of cases outside the range of the full fire power of a squad. The only troop unit that got noticeably better is the Rangers/Pathfinders, and that's because they benefit from 6th edition Sniper rules, as well as making rolls to hit of 5 or 6 AP1 (And rolls to hit of 6 are AP1 with Precision Shot so you get to pick the target)
2. 2+ Armour saves: Not only do the Eldar have almost no 2+ saves (only the Phoenix Lords have access iirc) They also lack ways to deal with 2+ armour saves effectively, and cheaply. They have no man portable plasma guns to fall back on. In fact all of the Eldar plasma weaponry is on vehicles or the equivalent. Which in a pure foot list leaves only Fire Dragons & Wraithguard for killing Terminators reliably, and with those, they are both a 12 inch range, so you will only get 1 turn of shooting off before you are squished in close combat (on average). In close combat, only certain special characters, Monstrous Creatures (Avatar and Wraithlord) and some Exarch upgrades can deal with Terminators.
3. Vehicles: Beyond a doubt, the changes to vehicles is what hurt Eldar the most. Now that at most you get 3 glancing hits to wreck a vehicle, certain upgrades that were good before are now almost never worth their points cost, like the Holofield. Add to that, that the Eldar Vehicles still suffer from 4th edition pricing schemes and you wind up with some expensive, and greatly nerfed transports. Not being able to assault out of a vehicle perhaps hurt the Eldar most of all, as they have no way to get their close combat troops where they need to be, where they can still be combat ready on the turn they arrive.

But all is not bad. There are some good things that came out of 6th Edition too!

1. Psychic Abilities: Runes of Warding didn't get nerfed, so it is still the most effective anti psyker ability point for point of any army. In addition, Eldar received access to the all important Divination School, with the awesome killyness of giving ignore cover to a squad of Dark Reapers. Or the extended range on the prescience power which increases the utility you will get out of your Farseers.
2. Vehicles: Now that you can glance vehicles to death, the excessive amount of Str 6 shots a Eldar Warhost can put out should make any MSU army tremble (looking at you Blood Angels/Grey Knights)

The rumour is that Eldar will be receiving a new Codex next year (I would expect this in the latter half of the year in October or November). To be viable again, I think the Aspect Warriors need a revamp. It would be nice for example if Scorpion Chainswords had an AP value in close combat. Ultimately though, every single Aspect needs to be viable in tournament play. These are warriors that can spend entire human lifetimes mastering a single aspect of warfare, and that should be reflected in the rules. Will Phil Kelly pull it off? Only time will tell (Unless you are a Farseer, then you have already glimpsed what the future brings)

40k Campaign Game 1: Tau vs Imperial Guard @ 1100 points.

Tonight I played a campaign game against my friends Imperial Guard at 1100 points. We were playing a modified mission with Dawn of War Deployment, Tau deploy and go first, and Night Fighting on turn 1 to represent the Tau's dastardly dawn assault. There was a single objective in the guard deployment zone and the Tau objective was basically kill points.

The battlefield consisted of 3 ruined buildings in each deployment zone, with a no man's land in the middle with several craters and a small ruin to represent a fountain or gathering place. I pictured this as the ruined town centre for a small town destroyed in an earlier Tau assault.

My Tau consisted of Shas'O Darkfall with a Cyclic Ion Blaster and Missile Pod, 2 three man Crisis Suit Teams, 1 with Fusion Blasters and Missile Pods that I planned to deep strike in to take out any IG armour, and 1 with Burst Cannons and Missile Pods for more anti-infantry fire power. There were 2 twelve man Fire Warrior Squads, 2 four man Gun Drone Squadrons (Held in reserve to deep strike), and 2 Broadsides, each  selected as individual Heavy Support choices.

My opponent had a Lord Commissar, 2 Vet Squads with Melta Guns and Chimera and 1 Vet Squad with Gunnery Sgt Harker, cammo cloaks, and plasma guns that he deployed in a ruin for a very annoying 2+ cover save! He also had 2 Medusa taken as seperate heavy support choices and a single Vendetta.

Turn 1:

• Tau Turn 1: This was pretty successful. Taking advantage of my Black Sun Filters to negate the penalties with Night Fighting, my Broadsides were able to destroy both Medusa with a single lucky round of shooting. My Commander with his Crisis Suit squad (Burst Cannons) opened fire on a chimera out in the open with their missile pods and managed to get 2 hull points on it. Lastly I managed to kill a single guardsman in Gunnery Sgt Harkers squad when he rolled a 1 for his cover save. Unfortunately, he wouldn't fail another 2+ cover save on that squad for the rest of the game!!!
• Imperial Guard turn 1 was pretty ineffective, he drove both Chimera 12 inches forward and snap fired at a Fire Warrior squad in the ruins at the center of my deployment zone managing to kill 1 Warrior. Losing both Medusa before they got to shoot put a crimp in his plan for sure.

Turn 2:

• Tau Turn 2: This was another successful turn of putting lead on target. All 3 of my squads in reserve came in. I deep struck the 2 Gun Drone Squadrons behind Gunnery Sgt Harkers location but they scattered far to the left. Luckily, my Fusion Blaster Squad landed exactly where i wanted them and were in range to blast the Chimera this turn. The Fusion Blaster Squad split fire (the Team Leader had a target lock) and blew up both Chimera, the resulting explosions rocked the Guardsmen with one squad taking 50% casualties despite having Carapace Armour upgrades. Both Guard Squads were pinned and were quickly cut down by the combined fire power of 11 rapid fire pulse rifles, and my Commanders Crisis squad. The Gun Drones managed to inflict a wound on the Guard squad at the back, but they passed their pinning test.
• Imperial Guard Turn 2: The Vendetta came in on Guard Turn 2, but over 2/3rds of their army was gone by that point. Harkers squad turned its weapons on the Fusion blaster Crisis Squad and managed to cut down the shield drone and 1 of the suits. The Vendetta promptly melted the rest of the Fusion Blaster squad with its 3 twin linked lascannons.

Turn 3:

• Tau Turn 3: This was the least efficient turn of the game for the Tau. The Broadsides managed to get a hit on the Vendetta but it jinked out of the way of the shot. It also jinked out of the way of the missile shots form the Commanders Crisis squad. At this point the Fire Warrior squads pretty well played no further role in the game as they couldn't get any wounds past the 2+ cover save Sgt Harker's squad had, however the Gun Drones continued to pile on the wounds each turn, causing the Guardsmen to become pinned down.
• Guard Turn 3: The Guardsmen fire was largely ineffective, only managing to kill a single gun drone with the Guardsmen (since they had to snap fire for being pinned) and the Vendetta missed its targets since it had to snap fire due to jinking.

Turn 4:

• Tau Turn 4: The Broadsides managed to get a lucky penetrating hit that caused the Vendetta to crash and burn. Unfortunately, it scatted 1 inch to short to flatten some Fire Warriors! The Gun Drones continued to lay down suppressive fire on the guardsmen, who at this point were down to 4 men including the lord Commissar.
• Imperial Guard Turn 4: Down to only 4 men and trying to prevent a tabling, the Guardsmen huddled down in the ruins out of line of sight of everything but the Gun Drones. 

Turn 5:

• Tau Turn 5: The Gun Drones again laid down a curtain of suppressive fire, slaying the remaining Guardsmen and leaving only the Commissar standing. The Commander with his Crisis suits bounded forward hoping to get another chance to shoot at the enemy commander.
• Imperial Guard Turn 5: The Commissar, looking around and seeing all the bodies of his troopers, bellowed a war cry and charged the nearest Gun Drone Squadron. Unfortunately, armed only with a Bolt Gun and a Chain Sword, the Commissar was largely ineffective in close combat and even managed to take a wound in return from a Gun Drone!

 With close combat completed and the morale check for losing the combat completed, it was time to roll to end the game and my friend rolled a 1.

Victory to Commander Darkfall!! Victory to the Tau Empire!!

What I learned:
1) Gun Drones are actually really good. This is only the second time I have fielded them, and being able to deep strike in and inflict pinning wounds on models and negate part of their cover save was great.
2) Tau guns are awesome!! Seriously, I am used to bolt guns where you need 4's to wound most things. Having a game where every weapon in my army needed 2's to wound the enemy was awesome.
3) Tau need to be able to deal with dug in units like Sgt Harker. lacking any decent close combat units, Tau have to rely on shooting squads out of cover like that so I either need to take some marker lights in my next game, or deep strike in some suits with Flamers.
4) 1100 points makes for a nice quick game for an evening, it took us about 80 minutes to play a full 5 turns and on the plus side, at 1100 points, you cant over specialise or you wind up being unable to deal with one thing or another.

My friend is still learning with Imperial Guard and made some mistakes early in the game, driving the Chimera's out of cover on turn 1 instead of waiting for his turn 2 where I would have also been shooting at the Vendetta, but it was overall a very enjoyable game. He is going to write the next mission for our narrative campaign and I will post again once we have played that.

Codex Tau: The Greater Good and You in 6th Edition 40k.

Tau are one of those old codex's that got a substantial boost in playability for 6th edition due to the changes to rapid fire and a couple really good FAQ's. They still suffer high points costs, especially with their vehicles, but they actually became more survivable due to the interaction between a skimmers 5+ Jink cover save when moving, and the Disruption Pods.

Here are some of the cool things with Tau in 6th edition

1. Rail guns. Rail guns remain the best anti-tank weapon in the game (except for possibly the unreliable Zoanthropes Warp Lance). Strength 10, AP1 can wreck any vehicle in the game in one shot, and with the Hammer and Anvil Deployment, you actually get to take advantage of the 72 inch range.
2. Jet Pack Infantry (Crisis Suits, Stealth Suits, and Gun Drone Squadrons) now move 2d6 in the assault phase instead of just 6". While on average this will not make much of a difference in a game, it does mean you can potentially jump forward 6 inches, shoot, and then jump back 12 inches for a net distance gain of 6 inches which is great when fighting assault based armies.
3. Rapid Fire: Pulse Rifles have a 30 inch range and can rapid fire twice up to 15 inches away. This is huge because on average against non fleet foot infantry, they will fail a 9 inch charge more times than they will make it.
4. Hammerhead Tanks: AV13 with a 3+ cover save, this is a Tough nut to crack. Couple that with being able to move 12 inches and still fire that big gun at full effect due to the multi tracker upgrade, your opponent will have a hard time countering these on the field. And with the sub munition round on the rail gun, its deadly against horde infantry as well.
5. Night Fight Experts: Every pure Tau unit in the Codex has access to a Blacksun Filter. These give the model night vision, and you only need 1 model in a unit with night vision to gain the benefits. This lets you take advantage of your superior long range Rail Guns on Turn 1 when you are most likely to have Night Fight where it will matter.
6. Fish of Fury!: Load a Devilfish with 12 Fire Warriors, disembark 15 inches from the enemy, Rapid Fire 24 Str5 AP5 Shots, then either another 7 shots from the Devilfish (with Burst cannon and Smart Missile Upgrade) or Flat Out in front of the Fire Warriors to get some cover and protection from assaults next turn. If you have 2 of these in position, even Terminator squads will melt!
7. Gun Drone Shenanigans: The basic Devilfish comes with 2 gun drones. If you disembark them, they become a small 2 man denial unit that you can possibly take advantage of on the last turn of the game to get a win!

Chaos Space Marines: The Heldrake

The Heldrake looks like it is going to be a very tough flyer to deal with. With armor 12 on the front and sides with a 5+ invulnerable save due to its Daemon USR, it has the advantages of being tough, and durable. In addition, it has "It will not die" so it has a 5+ chance to regenerate lost hull points.if your opponent doesn't get a lucky penetrating hit on it, it should be around for a while.

The Heldrake can fill an anti-flyer role in your army if you need it to with d3 Str 7 Vector Strike attacks thanks to its Meteoric Descent rule, but it also packs a 4 shot Str 8 auto-cannon.

Where I think this unit is really going to shine though is in an anti-infantry role by taking the Bale Flamer upgrade. This free upgrade replaces the auto-cannon with a Str 6, AP 3, Torrent, template weapon custom designed for melting Marines.

I am going to try one out soon and will post my additional thoughts once I see it in action.

What were they thinking? Games Workshop and the greed of iApps.

I support Games Workshop as much as I am able to. I own (or have owned) multiple games they put out or license from Dreadfleet and Space Hulk to Death Angel, and the Dark Heresy RPG. Sometimes though they make a bone headed mistake that is bound to alienate a large portion of the players, such as today's Chaos Marine update for the Warhammer 40'000 Psychic Powers app for iDevice.

When Dark Vengeance came out, I bought the Psychic Cards as I generally see the value in buying things like that that make the game run smoother (ditto on the Objective Markers/Dice). When GW released an app for psychic powers, I downloaded it as soon as I was able to, even though the price for an app was steep, and I already had the cards. I thought the app was really great except for the exclusion of the codex powers for those armies that had codex powers. I even rated their app (4 out of 5 stars) based on what I had seen.

Well, what I had not foreseen is that Games Workshop would not provide free updates for their app so it would still be useful 6 months, or even 4 years after release. As it stands now, if you do not pay an extra $5.99 Canadian for the update, it locks out all Chaos Psykers from the App.

So I go to the app store and click on app support, fill out my complaint with GW and ask for my money back, and then see a link on the GW page about how to request a refund, so I follow those steps and guess what? iTunes/App Store direct you to Games Workshop.

My advice to one and all is, do not support Games Workshop digital products. You have no guarantee when or if they will be updated, and once they are they may ask you to pay or lock out key features of the app.
 

Njall Stormcaller

While Njall Stormcaller is not the most powerful psyker in the Imperium (which would be Mephiston), he is certainly one of the most potent psykers in the game based on what he brings to the table.

For starters, he has a 2+ armor save, and is one of the few special characters that can take upgrades. In Njall's case, that is Runic Terminator armor for a 2+4++ Invulnerable save.

Then as Mastery Level 2 Psyker, He gets to use two psychic powers a turn. He knows all Space Wolf codex powers, like Jaws of the World Wolf, but can instead trade those in for 2 powers from the basic rule book, including access to Divination and Biomancy.

On top of that, he has weird storm powers that in later turns of the game can result in lightning strikes!!!

What really makes him stand out though is the 24 inch anti psyker bubble that surrounds him due to his Runic Staff, and unlike regular Rune Priests his nullifies psychic powers on a 3+. Unlike the Psychic Hood which these items mimicked in 5th edition, these work against ALL psychic powers including activating force weapons, and blessings targeting enemy units!!

The only other race that can even come close for anti psyker is the Eldar with their runes of warding.

Here is my friends Njall Stormcaller that I painted for him.

Grey Knight Librarian

Grey Knight Librarians are a force multiplier for any pure Grey Knight army. The basic codex powers have a large selection of cheap, buffing powers, like Might of Titan which gives +1 Str that stacks with Hammerhand AND an additional d6 Armor Penetration against vehicles.

In addition, they have access to the psychic powers in the Basic Rule Book. Grey Knights can take from divination school, where there are several great powers to maximise the effectiveness of your squads.

This librarian is the GW Finecast Terminator Librarian, with a Grey Knight Terminator storm bolter mounted on the left arm, and the right arm from the Grey Knight Terminator set. I usually take him with a squad of 5 Terminators to help keep him safe.

First Impressions: Chaos Space Marines 6th Ed

Codex: Chaos Space Marine is the 1st codex released since 6th Edition came out this summer, but it is not the first Codex written with 6th in mind. Necrons was the last full Codex of 5th Edition and was clearly written with 6th in mind as lots of little things that didn't make sense in 5th suddenly made sense once 6th hit. Grey Knights was also written with 6th in mind, but at an earlier phase in the game it had to equally consider 5th edition.

First of all, the Codex is impressive. Hard cover and full colour within. It also came with a hefty price increase over earlier editions of the game. Unfortunately that price strategy also carrier over to the new units included in the Codex with the Heldrake approaching Storm Raven prices. Is the Heldrake worth the price? Only time will tell.

So, what changed for the better and what changed for the worst with Codex: Chaos Space Marines?

HQ:

The Good: The special characters seem to overall have received a buff either via reduced points cost, or increased effectiveness. Huron Blackheart in particular stands out as his Hamadrya familiar gives you 1 of only 2 chances to get Divination psychic powers in your army. Some of the special characters have specific warlord traits which lets you build an army around the specific trait instead of rolling on a trait. Also, there were 2 new HQ options in the form of the Dark Apostle (Evil Chaplain) and Warpsmith (Evil Techmarine). Most of the HQ have access to a wide range of upgrades from the armoury ranging from a 4+ invulnerable save, to Daemon weapons and daemonic steeds.
The Bad: Predictably, the best units of 5th got nerfed. Daemon Princes are still powerful, but will no longer be an auto include in most armies. Also the only way to get a 2+ save on a Lord or Sorcerer is in Terminator Armour. This puts them behind the curve compared to Space Wolves who will be able to build a more survivable Lord or Sorcerer equivalent. Lack of Daemon Weapons. There are only 2 in the Codex for use by generic characters and 1 of those requires the Mark of Khorne.

Elite:

The Good: Most of the units received a point overhaul, doing the same as in 5th edition for less points. Possessed received a huge boost, with a much revised random mutation table with 3 good effects on it instead of 3 good and 3 bad. Dreadnoughts became more reliable (they only go berserk once they take damage now).
The Bad: Dreadnoughts still can not take upgrades form the vehicle armoury and can not be marked. Chosen lost the ability to infiltrate. Cult units are now Elites unless you are able to change their Force Org via your HQ (For Example: A Sorcerer of Tzeentch makes Thousand Sons troops)

Troops:

The Good: Cheaper overall with lots of options. You can start with small cheap squads and expand upon that all the way to 20 men units loaded for bear. Chaos Space Marines can also take cultists as a cheap meat shield/scoring unit.
The Bad: We lost our extra close combat weapon and now have to pay for it. To have the equivalent of a Grey Hunter it costs us 17 points (13 base + 2 for a chainsword + 2 for Counterattack from the Mark of Khorne), though for 14 points you can have a marine with a bolt pistol, bolter and Hatred: Space Marines via the Veterans of the Long War upgrade.

Fast Attack:

The Good: 2 new units, Warp Talons and the Heldrake looks like solid additions to the army. The Heldrake in particular with a Str6 AP3 Torrent Flamer will be very good against Marine armies. For some reason, bikes also saw a huge points decrease. 
The Bad: I cant really think about anything bad with Fast Attack other than you only get 3 slots!

Heavy Support:

The Good: Forgefiend/Maulerfiend. Either one of these will be really good in any list. Defilers increased in points but picked up a 5+ invulnerable save AND It Will Not Die which is a 5+ chance to regenerate a lost hull point. Obliterators went down in points and can be marked now. Tzeentch or Nurgle Obliterators seem like they will be the most popular, plus Obliterators can now fire as Assault Cannons! Havocs can now take Flak Missiles for their missile launchers, giving Chaos Space Marines an edge against flyer heavy armies.
The Bad: Obliterators cannot fire the same weapon 2 turns in a row so you have to switch every other round. No new Land Raider Variants or increased capacity.

Overall:

Overall this is a very solid codex with lots of interesting options. Some things stand out as clear winners at the moment but as the tournament scene adapts to the current flavor of the month new combinations will come to the front. It has the potential to do everything you want it to do, the question is how many points are you willing to spend on that model to do it. The individual units start out cheap, but quickly expand to be more expensive than you would think possible. It would be very easy to see a kitted out Daemon Prince with Mastery Level 3, Wings, Power Armour and the Black Mace and come in nearly 350 points. Then the question becomes how much does he have to kill to get his points back...

Grey Knights in 6th Edition

Lets look at Grey Knights in 6th edition. First of all, keep in mind that I play pure Grey Knights. That is no Inquisitor's or Inquisitorial Henchmen which are so popular in tournaments. Lets look at what is good for Grey Knights:

The Good:

1. Grey Knights are an 'Elite' army in that they individually cost a lot of points, but their points cost compared to an equivalent unit in another codex are actually comparable or cheap. For example every single Grey Knight has a Force Weapon and a Storm Bolter. Even if you don't activate it, the Nemesis Force Weapon counts as an unusual force weapon (Str as user, AP 3). For example, a Grey Knight Purifier (from the Elite Slot) costs 24 points per model. A Wolf Guard (also an elite slot) comparably armed with a Storm Bolter and Power Weapon would be 31!!. You will probably be outnumbered, but model for model, other armies cant compare to Grey Knights.
2. Grey Knights look like an assault army, but they are actually a shooty army with assault elements. What do I mean by that? Well for starters every model in the army is getting at least 2 shots at 24" (unless you take Incinerators). You can also upgrade the basic shooting of the army to be Str 5 with psybolts. In addition, you can get 1-2 Psycannon's per squad depending on what you take. Psycannon's are probably the best ranged weapon in the game in my opinion. 2-4 Str 7 Rending shots at 24". These are souped up Assault Cannons and they destroy men and vehicles alike. Grey Knights should always pour as much fire as possible in to a single target and then follow up with a devastating assault. They are dangerous enough in the assault that most armies will not want to charge you so you stand a good chance of getting the charge off, and if they do charge you, overwatching with 8 storm bolters (16 shots) and 2 Psycannon (8 shots) almost guarantees hits that can whittle down the opponent before they get to swing back. If you throw in some special grenades as well it should be a victory for the Grey Knights. Opponents that expect you to focus on the assault will be in for a shock when you shoot them off the table through volume of fire.
3. Psychic Powers: The entire army is psychic and has some cool tricks up their sleeves. Individual squads have group psychic powers like Hammerhand which gives a +1 strength or Astral Aim which lets the Devestator  equivalent shoot and ignore line of sight restrictions. In addition, Grey Knights have access to Mastery level 3 Librarians and the codex powers are almost all worth taking. On top of that they have access to the Divination school from the Basic Rulebook (BRB). With Divination you can give a squad a 4+ invulnerable save, or let them reroll misses in shooting and close combat. Its like twin linking all your shooting and master crafting every attack dice!
4. Paladins: The toughest, baddest Grey Knights may eventually become Paladins, two wound Terminators with easy access to Feel no Pain. these guys also become scoring if you take one of the special characters. A lot of tournament lists evolved around the use of these guys so I wont go in to them too much here.

The Bad:

1. Grey Knights rely more on psychic powers than other armies, this can be a hindrance if your opponent has a way to shut down your psykers, like Eldar Runes of Warding, or Space Wolves Rune Priests.
2. 24" Range - Grey Knights fight heavily at the 24"-30" Range. A mobile opponent can take advtange of this. There are ways to overcomes this (Interceptors have an effective 36" range with their Jump Packs + 24" Shooting) but true long range firepower, like Lascannon's, come from Vehicles or Dreadnoughts and those are expensive and/or fighting for slots better spent on other things.
3. Grey Knights can struggle with AV14 vehicles. There are not a lot of options in the Codex for pure Grey Knights to take anti tank weaponry, and all of them are based on Vehichle or Dreadnought chassis.

The Ugly: (How 6th changed things)

1. In 6th edition, weapons in close combat have AP values now. All of the Nemesis Force Weapons except the Daemon Hammer are AP3. This means that Grey Knights have a hard time dealing with 2+ armor saves in close combat. If they are unable to shoot 2+ armor off the table through volume of fire they will have a hard time getting a scoring 2+ squad like Deathwing Terminators off an objective.
2. In 5th, Grey Knights were awesome because you could outshoot almost everything at the 12 to 24 range due to all the weapons being Assault 2. In 6th edition, rapid fire weapons can now shoot once up to 24" (twice up to 12") even if they moved, which has lessened the fire superiority that Grey Knights enjoyed in 5th
3. Psychic Powers/Defense: The best powers in 6th edition are those that buff your own models. This is because with a few notable exceptions, you can not do anything to interfere with enemy powers that target their own guys. While this does help Grey Knights, it is more of a hindrance than a help because letting a squad of Plasma Cannon Devastators or Long Fangs ignore covers and reroll misses will screw you up more than any offensive power ever will.