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What is your preference: Power Weapons or Power Fists in 6th edition?

State your reasons why you chose what you chose.


[edit]

Thanks for pointing that out "Cuddly Squig".

How about base your decision on the weapon which will provide the best versatility in game whether playing against a mechanized force or an infantry only force or a balanced mix of both.

As with everything it depends on what you're fighting.

Power Maul ftw.

Power fist...it's the only way to be sure O_o

jdjamesdean@mail.com wrote:
Power Maul ftw.

Power Mauls are criminally underappreciated. They're statistically better against everything except power armour when compared to a power sword. Yet the AP4 makes people decide they suck and not take them.

What do the power mauls do thats better than the other power weapons?

There's absolutely no reason to take a power axe over a power fist

@goose: Power mauls give +2 str, more than the other power weapons, swings at int unlike the power axe, and has the concussive rule (like thunder hammers)

 Luke_Prowler wrote:
There's absolutely no reason to take a power axe over a power fist

Costs less... hey, I found a reason!

My general advice is the power sword, particularly if on a sergeant, because of challenges. The unfortunate fact of the matter is that challenges have significantly nerfed any unwieldy weapon on single wound, non TEQ because on most platforms it is all too easy to take the fist/axe/whatever out before the wielder gets a chance to strike. Additionally, while power mauls are good, you have to consider that even if there wasn't a bias towards marines in the meta, over half of the codices have power armour fairly widespread throughout them, so ironically even though the sword is more specialized than the maul (the sword is better against 3+, worse against anything else), the sword is still the generalist option if only because the majority of your opponents will be fielding units with 3+ saves.

Also, there are two reasons to take an Axe over a fist. The first is the cost, fists are often at least 10 points more expensive than an axe, and the second is that fists now have specialist weapon, meaning that you don't get a bonus attack with your power fist plus a pistol. Think about it like this, axes are cheaper and are better against single wound TEQ, whereas Fists are more expensive and better against multi-wound TEQ and vehicles.

Goose33 wrote:
What do the power mauls do thats better than the other power weapons?

+2 strength at initiative. So against 2+ saves, you're causing more wounds than a power sword, while still allowing the save, like a power sword. More wounds means more failed saves. Against AP4+, you are causing more wounds than the sword and bypassing armour like the sword.

The only thing the sword does better than the maul is get through 3+ saves. 2+ and 4+ and above are all done better by the maul. So if you don't regularly fight power armoured armies, the sword is actually not a good choice.

 Lobukia wrote:

 Luke_Prowler wrote:
There's absolutely no reason to take a power axe over a power fist

Costs less... hey, I found a reason!

Don't forget it gets another attack without another expensive specialist weapon.

Personally, I'm rather fond of the power axe. Same price as any power sword (that is to say, cheaper than the fist) with almost the same advantages of the fist. I'll happily save 10 points to wound on 3s instead of 2s, plus an extra attack from the bolt pistol.

I like the idea of the maul, it's pretty nifty, but I play against a lot of MEQ at my FLGS (with one guy running Deathwing for the TEQ) so having something that ignores those saves is really handy to have. And while the sword is traditional, it's useless against TEQ, which is just common enough for me to justify it (plus, the strength boost is nice to have against those MEQs).

 Lobukia wrote:

 Luke_Prowler wrote:
There's absolutely no reason to take a power axe over a power fist

Costs less... hey, I found a reason!

Also Power Axes in the hands of a Space Marine, are actually better than fists against T3, T4, and T5 models with a 3+ or worse Armor save, if also equipped with a bolt pistol.

I found a reason as well!

Assuming a foe with an equal WS and S = foe's t , a power fist is equal to a power axe with a pistol (1.6 wounds). Against any kind of tougher foe, the power fist gets better. But more importantly, the power fist is better against vehicles, monstrous creatures, walkers, and can instant death.

There. is. no reason. to take a power axe

well major problem for me is any thing low int gets floored when characters fight i found that out the hard way with my ork warboss vs brothers almighty chaos champions. im probly going to start playing more with big chopas and when i use marines as allies with my tau the characters are going to be taking power swords maybe hammers. QQ for my awesome warboss i converted with two powa klaws with built in big shootas.

Power Fists all the way as Templars. Yes, I know 1 attack isn't stellar, but it's a hidden fist and it's just 5 points more than a PW. Plus, we don't get kraks for free and can't run from walkers due to fearless.

 Luke_Prowler wrote:
Assuming a foe with an equal WS and S = foe's t , a power fist is equal to a power axe with a pistol (1.6 wounds). Against any kind of tougher foe, the power fist gets better. But more importantly, the power fist is better against vehicles, monstrous creatures, walkers, and can instant death.

There. is. no reason. to take a power axe

...and goes last, and costs more, and makes a single PA marine worth a minimum of 45 points... I actually think you've sold me on axes Prowler!

I use power axes.

Cheaper than power fists, can be paired with the (usually free) pistol for an extra attack, and ignores TEQ still.

When I'm not using an axe, I'm using a Maul.

Cheaper than power fists, can be paired with the (usually free) pistol for an extra attack, and wounds most things on 2s still.

On my Chaos Lord, I tend to prefer a Fist.

I've been equipping my aspiring champs with Power Swords right now, to decent effectiveness. I'm not sure if I'm gong to continue that, Switch to Mauls, or use a power weapon at all. With always having to accept challenges, I find the Axe and fist are less useful, and the fist being far too expensive.

If I continue to use power weapons on my champions, I'll likely switch to mauls. I tend to like them more and more.

No power maul or power spear choices in your poll?

 TheLionOfTheForest wrote:
No power maul or power spear choices in your poll?

Seconded, power mauls are awesome for pretty much everyone, and considering your post says (paraphrased) "pick the most all-round one" the maul wins compared to the axe and the sword.