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I am a regular user of soul grinders, particularly those with daemon of Slaanesh and torrent flamer.

When checking out the NOVA lists from this year, I was not surprised to see grinders, but was taken aback when I saw that they were not given any additional weapon (ie base grinder with Daemon of Slaanesh)
These are 2 example lists:
http://bloodofkittens.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/3rd-Overall-Gareth-Hunt-Nova-Open-2014.pdf
http://bloodofkittens.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/10th-Overall-Justin-Adams-Nova-Open-2014.pdf

My question is why take such a grinder, over one with an additional weapon? Cost is an obvious answer, but I have always found the torrent flamer to be an invaluable asset to my daemon forces (cooking markerlights for example), and always worth its points cost.

Any thoughts?

In both lists it is most likely because the writer just didn't have the points for them. I agree that the torrent weapon is an invaluable asset to slaanesh grinders. Though when you look at the competition, I don't think they would be all too awesome.

Plus if you're rushing them up the field you'll be making use of their bonus run moves instead of shooting I suspect. The torrent is an awesome weapon though.

Slaanesh is only worth the points if you are using it to run and get the +3" move. If you are shooting then you just spent 15 points for fleet and would be way better of just making your grinder Tzeentch for 5 points and being more durable.

Also while the torrent is solid for the type of units its good at killing, the daemon army already excels at destroying them with everything else in the codex via assault which makes taking the flamer redundant

150 points for fleet, 13 armour front/side, 4 HP 5++, fearless (functionally) and Str 10 is pretty awesome. It's pretty awesome against everything.

Torrent Str 6 AP4 is awesome against hordes, ok against open topped transports pretty worthless against anything else.

You have to ask yourself, "what will my soulgrinder be doing?", if it's punching out wave serpents, wraith kingths and riptides or tar pitting infantry then what use is a 20 point sink into a weapon that doesn't help it achieve its role within the army.

I totally agree that torrent is awesome but if you have 2/3 grinders then that's 40-60 points that could make all the difference in a unit that really needs the upgrades to do it's job. Like +2 psyker levels on a prince!

I honestly like using Warp Gaze, but that's just me... The Torrent is fantastic for one simple reason, it ignores cover. In the game of 40k removing portions of your enemies army rules can literally spell death to that army. Couple that with the new Template + Buildings / Ruins rules and you effectively have something that can murder entire armies.

The Torrent being AP4 means anything that is relatively, weak, in terms of Armor Saves (Tau and Eldar make fantastic Examples) that decide to hide in cover so they can have better saves, tend to get murdered by these in swaths. That's the main point of taking things that Ignore Cover. When you factor in that it's tending to wound most infantry on 2s you're pretty much erasing parts of your opponents defenses.

I've been having a lot of fun w/ them barebones and the Hellbrute data slate choices, Mayhem or Murder pack. Then taking fast cheap troops in mass and going for Telepathy and Invisibility spam.

It's a lot of fun.

 CrownAxe wrote:
Slaanesh is only worth the points if you are using it to run and get the +3" move. If you are shooting then you just spent 15 points for fleet and would be way better of just making your grinder Tzeentch for 5 points and being more durable.

That sounds like the reason to me. Soul Grinders are underrated as a melee walker, and with Slaneesh's run and fleet you're moving on average 14" on your first turn, making a 2nd turn assault very feasible. That can catch a lot of opponents off-guard, as they might not realize how big of a "threat radius" the Soul Grinder has.

I love to just take 3 w/ Mark of Tzeentch Nothing else , then deep strike them near something that's got Cursed Earth which is not to hard to do with Slaanesh or Tzeentch.

4++ reroll on a 1 is pretty dang nice.

It's a great way to say Hello.


3 Bare Bone Tzeentch Grinders and 3 Mayhem Deep Striking Helbrutes w/ Multi Meltas and H. Flamers comes to just under 800 which depending on your point value( we play 1700+) still leaves plenty of room for lots of Heralds and Troops.

If your not doing the goofy restrictions taking two Cads w/ 6 is fun as hell.