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I'm currently in the process of converting some old metal PAGK and building five more plastic ones to make some Strike Squads.

My question is: Is it worth taking heavy weapons, i.e. Incinerators, Psilencers, Psycannons, on Strike Squads?

I would say yes. If you can get a psycannon, since its strength 6, take it. You can move and fire it as well I believe, so thats just a bonus.

paulguise wrote:I would say yes. If you can get a psycannon, since its strength 6, take it. You can move and fire it as well I believe, so thats just a bonus.

The cannon is S7 rending. And yes, you take a cannon whenver you can, makes the squad into quite the threat.

The incinerator is also nice, a S6 heavy flamer is going to wound nearly anything on 2s, ignoring cover, ID T3 models, get past DE FNP, and generally roast anything not in power armor or better. Heck, it can even do some nice auto hit damage against light armored vehicles.

Psycannons are usually the best option, at least for strike squads. A lot of it depends on the rest of the list though. If you have a lot of tank busting ability in the rest of the list (Henchmen meltas, Psyfledreads, etc.) then incinerators are cool, but you also have to have some reliable transportation to get them in place.

Psycannons psycannons psycannons. If I have one complaint about the GK codex, it's that the update to the psycannon made all of the other upgrade weapons kind of meaningless. Having that been said, I do use my old metal incincerator models in my Interceptor squad.

Psycannons are hands down the best heavy weapon any of the GK can take. Incinerators are fun for horde but the Psycannon has more versatility.

Psycannons all the time, is the common wisdom. Incinerators can be very useful, but they're much more situational, and too expensive on GKSS anyway. Bottom line is it's hard to go wrong with psycannons, while incinerators, if you don't have a specific plan for how you're going to use them, then don't.

Psilencers are just silly.

Thanks for all the responses folks. I kind of assumed as much in regards to psycannons being the best choice.

Now I just have to decide if I want to try to pry the incinerator from the old pewter model or just pay for it...

+1 to what everyone has said. Psycannons should be about the only thing on strike squads maybe a hammer, unless its a 10 man unit then you'll want Psybolt ammo. Incinerators I'd say are more suited to Interceptors, even though psycannons are cheaper for them, just because you can jump around and take out those pesky long fangs a little easier.

Has anyone tried and/or succeeded to convert an old metal PAGK with an incinerator to something more useful?

Incinerators are far from useless.

They are better on units that are planning on deliberatly going into CC and against certain enemies.


I wouldn't try and attempt a conversion. too much pewter to saw through.

Grey Templar wrote:Incinerators are far from useless.

They are better on units that are planning on deliberatly going into CC and against certain enemies.

Well, not USELESS, per se, but definitely not first pick. I have one on my interceptors, but they're also set up to do the choppity chop, like you say. The big problem I have with them is that they're decent antihorde in an army of storm bolters. They're kind of redundant. I also have a hard time using template weapons when I want to assault that turn. I find I tend to kill more things than are within assault range. That could just be me doing it wrong though.

I wouldn't try and attempt a conversion. too much pewter to saw through.

This I agree with 100%. Back before the plastics came out, I tried cutting the pipe and "grill" part off of one and then greenstuffing a makeshift psycannon to the front of it, and it was a pain in the ass and did not come out as well as I would have hoped. I'm sure a good amount of that is my own (lack of) GS ability, but the point still stands on the cutting through the pewter.

Agreeing with everyone else that Psycannons are the way to go as far as Strike or Interceptor squads. I usually run a 10 man interceptor squad with 2x psycannon, 1 hammer, and psybolts to keep it cheap, then just use it as a harassing force that I try to keep out of CC.

As far as incinerators, I've started trying to run a squad of Purifiers with 2x Incinerators, 1 hammer, and 7 halberds coming out of a LR Redeemer. It feels fluffy with Purifiers all having a Pyromaniac sort of bent to them and the combination of the redeemer and the incinerators basically makes hordes disappear.

Actually, I think Incinerators on Purifiers is slightly counter productive. Purifiers already have Cleansing Flame to deal with hordes. they need things to threaten big targets like Vehicles and MCs. the Psycannon fills this need quite nicely. that and they can take 4 of them. 16 shots standing still, 16 Str7 rending shots people!!! and thats on top of the 6 Stormbolters.

Oh I agree that it's not the most effective load out and I may change it back to psycannons now that they're running in a Redeemer.

However I think that the 4 psycannon build is kind of confused unless you intend to combat squad them. Purifiers are intended to be in close combat so removing one of their most potent weapons (halberds) that can boost their initiative and ignore armor so that you have a fairly overwhelming level of ranged firepower seems like a lot of points potentially wasted. Running with two Psycannons seems like it gives them enough shots to crack open some transports but doesn't dilute their halberd numbers so much that they suffer in assault. Obviously YMMV but that's just my personal view on it.

I disagree. I personally think GK is more effective when it is considered to be primarily a shooting army, with CC being a secondary role. GK have fantastic mobile shooting, yet many players place a ton of focus on CC. Purifiers in particular, at least in my lists, are mainly taken for the plentiful, cheap, psycannons. Halberds are taken because they're nice, and cheap, but not because the units main goal is CC.

Sure, Purifiers may have been designed to be a super CC unit, but they're even better as a shooting unit that can mop up in CC. That may or may not be the intent, but thats the way it is. Its a little tough to ignore the fact that they are the best unit to get massed psycannons, a staple weapon for GK in the current Meched up world of 40k.

Purifiers are a unit that has very good, and scary, shooting ability combined with being decent in the assault. this actually describes the entire GK codex fairly well, purifiers simply do it more.


My current list has 3 squads of Purifiers, 2 with quad psycannons and 1 with no special weapons(because I am out of psycannons, but that will change) to pile out of a Landraider.

Psycannons on Strike Sqds, Incinerators on Purgation Sqds. Purifiers can take either depending upon what you want the unit to do.

L. Wrex

I noticed not much was being said about psilencers... any opinions on them?

Psilencers are pretty much crap. They're heavy weapons so Strike Squads and Purgitation squads actually have to sit still and they are Str 4 AP - with 4 shots. Psycannons the unit can still move and assault.

I can only imagine what psilencers must have been originally in the playtest that they got nerfed so hard to be the crap they are now.

Pinning, ignores invuln, always wounds on a 2+ would MAYBE get them in the game, but even then the pcannon's ability to hurt vehicles would still make the psilencer crap.

l0k1 wrote:Psilencers are pretty much crap. They're heavy weapons so Strike Squads and Purgitation squads actually have to sit still and they are Str 4 AP - with 4 shots. Psycannons the unit can still move and assault.

They are Heavy 6.


Psylincers are exclusivly for taking out high toughness Daemons like Greater Daemons,The Avatar and DP.Normally,at Str 4,they would wound on a 5 or 6.But they have special rules that allow them to wound on 4+.

Basically,if you know that you are going to be fighting Daemons or CSM that focus around Summoned Greaters and DP,then take them.They are also good against hordes,where the high number of shots,low armour saves and low toughness can be devastating.

Creeping Dementia wrote:I disagree. I personally think GK is more effective when it is considered to be primarily a shooting army, with CC being a secondary role. GK have fantastic mobile shooting, yet many players place a ton of focus on CC. Purifiers in particular, at least in my lists, are mainly taken for the plentiful, cheap, psycannons. Halberds are taken because they're nice, and cheap, but not because the units main goal is CC.

Sure, Purifiers may have been designed to be a super CC unit, but they're even better as a shooting unit that can mop up in CC. That may or may not be the intent, but thats the way it is. Its a little tough to ignore the fact that they are the best unit to get massed psycannons, a staple weapon for GK in the current Meched up world of 40k.

Seconded, ESPECIALLY the bold part


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Deadshot wrote:

l0k1 wrote:Psilencers are pretty much crap. They're heavy weapons so Strike Squads and Purgitation squads actually have to sit still and they are Str 4 AP - with 4 shots. Psycannons the unit can still move and assault.

They are Heavy 6.


Psylincers are exclusivly for taking out high toughness Daemons like Greater Daemons,The Avatar and DP.Normally,at Str 4,they would wound on a 5 or 6.But they have special rules that allow them to wound on 4+.

Basically,if you know that you are going to be fighting Daemons or CSM that focus around Summoned Greaters and DP,then take them.They are also good against hordes,where the high number of shots,low armour saves and low toughness can be devastating.

Against MC's, just take Psycannons and wound on 2+ or 3+, not a 4+, with 4 shots without moving or 2 even if you move. Plus against Bloodthirsters, DP's, Oblits, etc, you have a chance to ignore armor saves.

Psycannons are more expensive,I believe?

I am not saying take psylincers.They suck eggs that suck the eggs of people that suck eggs.Always take psycannons if you can afford it.

That actually depends on the unit in question as the points cost for the 3 weapons vary wildly. Incinerators are the cheapest for Terminators, but the most expensive for Strike Squads. Purifiers get Psylincers and Incinerators for free, but pay for psycannons. Strike Squads pay less for psycannons then incinerators for some odd reason. It really depends on the unit.

still, Psycannons are always worth the points as they are useful no matter the situation. the other 2 weapons are situational.