Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I've been painting for a couple of years but I'm just now starting to put together an army to play. I'm in the middle of building my grey knight army and I had a few questions...


Why would you use a banner instead of a weapon? I cant seem to find what it even does for a squad.
What are the advantages of an apothecary?
What weapons are preferred for the storm raven?
Sword or halbred? I've used a combination so far but do they make a difference?

I have the rule book and the codex but I've never even seen a game being played in person let alone played one myself. I know a lot of people play gk so any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks, DWC

Rules for the banner are in the back in the "Equipment" section (p. 62)
Under the Apothecary entry (front of the codex, p. 30) it describes what he does.
Storm Raven weapons depend on what niche you're trying to fill with it, and personal preference. I use MM, PC, and hurricanes usually; though the HB/AC/Hurricanes with psybolt is pretty fun
Read the bonuses for each nemesis weapon, and their points cost (it's different for each unit), then you can figure out which ones work best for you. I prefer halberds and hammers because I take mostly terminators and run them a certain way, alot of people like swords.

I'd go watch a few games and see how they play out, that will fill in a lot of missing pieces for you too. Until you know how you want to play, any advice you get is just going to muddy up what you want, and it won't be nearly as fun for you in the long run. One of the things that bothers me most about this game is watching someone lose interest in their army or the game because they tried to do what someone else suggested to make a certain type of list that wasn't "them". Some units/builds are better than others, but honestly in the GK codex there's very little that is useless, so have fun with it.

For the Brotherhood Banner, check page 62 of the codex. Second paragraph, I believe.

The Apothecary gives feel no pain, which effectively means that you take 1/3 fewer wounds against most weapons. Reference page 30 of the codex and page 35 of the rulebook.

For Storm Ravens I like giving them either the multi-melta and lascannons for an anti-armor/air role, or a multi melta, assault cannon, hurricane bolters and psybolt ammo for a multi-purpose role.

You generally take some Halberds in squads you want in combat like purifiers, but otherwise they are fairly expensive. For stuff like strike squads, you are often better just taking a Daemonhammer.

Awesome! Thanks for the reply. I will check those pages out. I'm mainly trying to assemble them in a way that works and not what looks cool you know?

Judging by the questions it looks like you are looking at paladins. With helldrakes and noise marines coming to the scene I still think draigowing is just as competitive as strike spam.

Banner is good on a 10 man squad, as above to find what it does. Apothcary is a waste of points, dont bother.

Take a mix, a few halberd to strike first, and then a few swords for better invun saves. Also my raven has MM and lascannons for anti flyer duty. Hope this helps

Yes, you're correct, I am assembling Paladins right now. I have the justicar with a sword, one paladin with a sword and one with a halberd. My plan was to use two halberds and three swords but I was trying to research the apothecary and banner first. Thanks for all the help guys. Keep it coming

Storm Raven Guns:

You will always want the Multi-melta on the front of the raven. GK have limited answers to tough vehicles, and the MM on the Raven is one of the best answers they have. It is the same price as the heavy Bolter, but it is a much more powerful weapon.

Personally I think that the Assault Cannon on top is the best. The PC cannot shoot at enemy flyers, which is one of the reasons you take your own flyers in the first place. The Assault cannon is a bit more powerful than the lascannon, but it has less range. usually that is not an issue on a fast platform like a raven.

Also, the Assault cannon gets buffed as well if you are taking the Hurricane/Psybolt combo as well.

Lastly, use your storm raven as a gunship, do not put any units inside. GK units are best on the table shooting for a few turns. They make poor use of an Assault vehicle like a Storm Raven or Land Raider.



Paladins


You will want a couple of hammers in the unit for damage. Also you will want as many psycannons as they can take (1 per 5 for terminators, 2 per 5 for Paladins) There is only 1 psycannon in the kit, so you may need to be creative if you want 2 for the Paladins.

Personally, I feel that the Apothecary upgrade is very expensive and it protects your paladins from weapons they are already protected against. it does not protect them against the weapons they are really vulnerable against.

Lastly, the banner is a flat cost, but is has a greater effect the more models in the unit there are. Only take it if you are taking a 10 man squad, otherwise it is not worth the points.

A few of the regular GK players and myself commented on this thread about the difference between Swords,Halberds and Hammers. Hope this helps a a bit, some good points were made http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/505800.page

The Banner is worth taking on max size units. On units under max size, the cost is not optimal.

There is no advantage to taking an Apothecary, from my point of view; however, others may disagree. He is too expensive for his reduced abilities in 6th, IMO.

A good cheap Stormraven loadout is one based on tank hunting, Multi-melta/Lascannon. Another good loadout is a bit more expensive, Autocannon/Heavy Bolter/Hurricane Bolters/Psybolt Ammo. Of course, people tailor their loadout to fit their needs.

As to Swords or Halberds, on PAGK, Swords with at least 1 Hammer per 5 men. On GKT, 2 Hammers and 3 Halberds per 5 men. On Purifiers, its worth taking all Halberds with maybe 1 Hammer per 5men. Swords on GKT are best left to HQs, although the Staff is awesome on tanking Challenges.

SJ

So I haven't assembled my stormraven yet. I'm waiting on some metallic air paint to come in. I have two terminator squads, one with one hammer, three swords and a psycannon and one with two halberds, three swords and a psilencer. My paladin squad has one halberd, three swords, a hammer and a psycannon. I have three squads of regular grey knights with a mix of swords and halberds but I haven't decided what to finish them as. I also have a techmarine, lord inquisitor Rex, Cpt Stern and a librarian. Then there are two dreadknights and a rhino still unassembled. I had most of this before I started to play and I like the idea of having options when I start to grasp the game a little better. How is that looking so far? Should I make any changes/additions now or figure it out as I play? The things I planned on adding were henchman, draigo, land raider and crowe.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
What are the side guns on the stormraven called?

The side guns are Hurricane Bolters, I believe they're optional?

They are optional. And I'd highly recommend magnetizing all of the Stormraven's weapon options, as that model is way too expensive to be locked into just one loadout.

SJ

Yes, I have magnetized a lot of it already. It is a pain but it should be worth it.