Introduction
7th Edition made two changes to the infiltrate rule that made this strategy possible out of the blue, where before it was
RAW impossible to even infiltrate things using Cypher. The two changes are as follows:
Units that contain at least one model with this special rule....
Permitting an
IC with infiltrate to give infiltrate to whatever unit he joins, and
If a unit has both the infiltrate and scout special rule, that unit can redeploy as per the infiltrate special rule and then redeploy as per the scout special rule.
Meaning that a unit with scout can redeploy a further 6'' towards the enemy. This means that effectively, if you can bag both rules,
you can put a unit 12'' from the enemy in a spread as wide as you want, up any level of elevation (redeployment, not movement) or in any cover, before the game even begins.
Conveniently or not, the Imperium can give basically any unit they have both of these special rules using two independent characters any army can take, though I think the best candidate for the infiltrating unit is an Astra Militarum platoon blob.
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What you need
1) Cypher (From the data slate)
2) An Inquisitor of any Ordo,
must have the Liber Heresius
(Technically you can also run a weaker version of this with a Raven Guard
IC but the Inquisitor gives a considerable number of benefits to the point it being almost a no-brainer)
Recommended toys you may want to take in addition:
Ordo Malleus: Terminator Armour with Daemon Hammer, maybe a Psycannon
Ordo Hereticus: Psyoccolum
Ordo Xenos: Rad grenades
All: Maybe the Psyker upgrade if you want more warp charges
3) An Astra Militarum platoon, preferably with maxed out infantry squads in a combined squad blob.
Recommended equipment for the blob:
Meltaguns For anti-tank/
MC
Plasma guns For anti-heavy infantry/
MC (though I think melta's are superior here)
Krak Grenades or Melta Bombs On a couple of guys if you can spare it, so they have better defence against offensive
MC's/dreadnoughts.
Heavy Weapons Are actually not that bad a bad choice, as in your first turn infiltrating does not count as movement and you're firing them at full
BS. Potentially decent if you want a group that holds ground.
Though honestly the only thing I can see myself absolutely needing here are the meltaguns.
I expect to be running the Ordo Hereticus branch with Psyoccolum and 5 infantry squads combined each with meltas most of the time. This comes to 555 points total, not including the Platoon Command you get spare.
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Excluded for cost efficiency, but still potentially feasible:
Commissar Yarrick. Because he gives you orders. For even more firepower, shoot and run, and for even greater mobility, for shoving another layer of
"why can't I kill all the things" in as well.
Azrael. Very expensive, but gives the entire blob that 4+ invulnerable and fearless. Against most armies, the former benefit isn't actually worth a whole lot, the real benefit from it is being immune to ignores cover, as Cypher's unit can actually easily get a far superior save if they deploy in cover. (Which I will reach in one moment)
Chapter Master SE-TH (Shield Eternal + Thunder Hammer, probably artificer armour too)Because putting a 4 man Hammernator squad in to the mix, while hilarious, again adds up to probably too many points.
Ministorum Priest For Fearless, and a 50% chance of melee buffs for a reasonably cheap cost.
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Why this should be effective
Well, first of all, you're putting a crap ton of Guardsmen down your opponent's throat on turn 1, that can immediately go around wrecking him at close range with Lasgun fire. If you brought meltaguns or melta bombs or any real anti-
MC/
AT, you're now posing a massive threat to his
MC's and vehicles and you're exceedingly close to them.
In addition, if you brought the Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor with Psyoccolum, (which I what I will be running) the entire unit, that is now danger close, gets ballistic skill 10 against any and all units with even a single psyker inside, with the rule or with brotherhood of psykers/psychic pilot. The first time I trialled the blob this fact meant an entire squad of 5
GK Paladins was obliterated off the board before it accomplished anything, automatically paying back a hefty portion of the points invested into the blob, as well as opportunity denial advantages.
But they're Guardsmen.
Indeed. But this unit has many layers of defence.
Against shooting, the entire unit can depend on Shrouded, conferred by the presence of Cypher. If you began the game in cover, particularly in a ruin, the saves will be obscene, giving you a 2+/3+. The second advantage is in numbers, with so many guys to kill it should take a fairly long time to work through the blob.
Nnnngh I take my 3 Thunderfires/Wyvern spam and blow you off the board first turn. - The entire blob can forgo the infiltrate shenanigans to outflank instead to give more time to neutralise the artillery.
Against melee units, you have a treasure trove of advantages.
1) You're a massive unit, you get a massive load of overwatch, as well as Cypher's full
BS overwatch.
2) If the attacking unit has a model with the psyker special rule, they're automatically reduced to initiative 1 due to the Inquisitor having Psyk-out grenades stock, regardless of Ordo.
3) The Inquisitor can give either Counter Attack or Hatred to the entire unit using the Liber Heresius again. (Whether this can be done on turn 1 despite having used it for Scout in deployment is ambiguous as I read it, but still useful if you do get to exploit it later)
-Furthermore, if you chose the Ordo Xenos route, you'll have Rad Grenades and/or Psychotroke Grenades here.
4) Cypher is fairly mean in melee and can whittle down
MC's you've already wounded further with his pseudo-shooting attacks with plasma pistol and bolt pistol. There's the off chance that if you bought the Psyker upgrade for the Inquisitor (particularly on Ordo Malleus) you can Force-Weapon/Nemesis some foes to death too.
5) Numbers. You've got a ton of Guardsmen, and so long as vehicle/
MC threats remain you only need the meltaguns to survive. You have multiple-scrub Sergeants to absorb challenges with so your crux characters don't die.
6) Even if you lose combat, you're leadership 10 stubborn (Inquisitor). Even if you fail the morale test, you have And They Shall Know No Fear conferred from Cypher. This means that if you're not swept (very unlikely given you have initiative 8) you retreat and automatically regroup. If you are swept, you stay locked in combat.
7) Combat round is over, and now you can use Hit and Run (Cypher) that has an 88% chance of success (Cypher's initiative) to escape and fire into the faces of that which just charged you, or reposition.
Against Psykers, if you made your Inquisitor a Psyker, you've got a 5+ DTW and an extra warp charge dice to deny with.
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Closing thoughts
If you have any comments, suggestions or input I'm all ears. As I made suggestions to in passing before, this method can be applied to a lot of units in the Imperium, and particularly the change to how units get Infiltrate is good for
CSM in my opinion.
If you wanted to do a more fluffy Red Corsairs army, you could take Huron Blackheart and Cypher (model him as a Red Corsair lieutenant) to get two guaranteed infiltrating Marine mobs, which I imagine would be pretty fun.
