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Source: Codex: Inquisition, Grey Knight Codex

The Codex: Inquisition has struck the Banisher unit from the Inquisitorial Warband in favour of the Ministorum Priest. What I'd like to poll the forums for feedback on is whether the Ministorum Priests are as valuable as I interpret them to be. When I review the low (Ld) leadership value of my Warbands and lack of any Squad leadership the Priests seem an obvious choice to include the benefit of the Zealot rule.

I'd like to invite Dakka to weigh in on whether the Ministorum Priests are as valuable to the cohesion of a Warband as I perceive them to be.

Well i wouldnt consider ld8 troops with ld10 leaders as neccessarily low leadership. Ironically its only the priests which are ld7.
25points for a model that can either make the unit get to reroll its armour save in combat (crusaders benefit massively) or reroll its to-wounds roll (death cult assassins, crusaders, ccw acolytes, inquisitors etc) 21/36 of the time. I would consider it pretty nice!
Imagine it to be a 25point ld7 psyker with excellent powers who doesnt risk perils. Plus you can take more if worried about not passing. After this, zelot is just a bonus.
Useless if thinking about shooting rather than assault though.

Off topic - I think this should be in tactics.

Yeah, they are pretty handy in theory, multiplying the killing power of DCA and the like massively or boosting the survivability of Crusaders by the same degree (Can you even take 2 and potentially have a squad of Crusaders, DCA and priests that re-roll hits from Zealot* and wounds and saves from War Hymns?)

They're also a neat source of high-S AP, as you can take an Eviscerator which can be a nasty surprise for enemy MCs and vehicles.

As mentioned above, though, they're useless for squads that aren't geared entirely for CC, and great for the ones that are. I can't wait for IG to get the same treatment for their priests, as re-rolling saves on a 30+ squad might just be awesome and make them far more durable.

*I'm pretty sure Zealot is re-roll hits, doesn't it confer Hatred? I've not got the BRB handy.

Yep - hatred and fearless.

Equip them with a power maul and a pistol and they can use their smash war hymn to get 2 attacks at ws3 I3 Str 8 AP2 with hatred. not too shabby.

it works against shooting as well as it gives them 'fearless'. Thats a significant boon against taking losses that just happen to 5+ armor troops

dadakkaest wrote:
Equip them with a power maul and a pistol and they can use their smash war hymn to get 2 attacks at ws3 I3 Str 8 AP2 with hatred. not too shabby.

Do note even though you have the smash rule you don't have to smash. Thus you would get 3 attacks at Str 5 Ap 2.

I talked to the guys at GW digital. They said that since the war Hymns aren't a psychic test just a leadership test they can take it at the Highest LD of the squad. 10 for me since I use inquisitors as allies.

The rules for Psychic tests say it gets taken per model. The rules for Leadership tests say it gets taken at the highest leadership of the squad.

Add in Hammerhand to that squad and they become pretty fearsome as well. S10 on the Smash attack.

Testing in the highest leadership is amazing!
I like this smash idea - hadn't thought of that. It'd be st9 with hammerhand though (unless you have 2 hammerhands), as you double the st before adding bonuses.

One of my kids always runs two units of priests mixed in with crusaders and DCA in his C:I lists.

Those are the most difficult to remove and hardest hitting units I've ever come across.

Great banter gents, thanks for all of the input!


Automatically Appended Next Post:

clively wrote:
One of my kids always runs two units of priests mixed in with crusaders and DCA in his C:I lists.

Those are the most difficult to remove and hardest hitting units I've ever come across.

@clively. What is the ratio of the various henchmen and does he run the squad at full strength? 12 models.

If I were to run preist-CC squads, I'd run with 4 crusaders (axes and shields), 6 DCA (swords) and 2 priests (1 for saves, one for wounds. 1 eviscerator and one maul)

Priests are really beastly in CC. They make up for the lack of power axes on the crusaders and DCA in the same book.

When you insert an inquisitor or two into the squad they start to become one of the best CC deathstars in the game and are still relatively cheap compared to TH/SS termies. You do need to be careful you don't go overboard with upgrades though. It can start climbing really fast.

I personally like to throw them into a LRC and take the scout book. I either push the opponent well back into their deployment zone or get a first turn charge with the unit.

ansacs thanks for the breakdown, I'm still in the planning and purchasing phases of my first 500 pt force.

The land raider seems like a wack ton of armour for a relativel low point squad.

Once you throw 6 crusaders, 1-2 well equipped inquisitors, and 5 priests it starts getting expensive. The biggest benefit is that with a scout and a dedicated transport you can redeploy 12" before the first turn. The land raider crusader with psyammo is also a pretty worthwhile vehicle that can dish out some decent damage.