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The Emperor's Children can play any way you want, much like any legion.
However, they have a few things that they do really well, and a few weaknesses you'll need to deal with.
They are FAST. They hit hard on the charge, but things go horribly wrong if they get charged or dragged into attrition fights. You have to challenge, and if you lose the challenge and the rest of the round of combat it makes the Ld check much harder.
Palatine Blades, for example, are gorgeous models and effective units. Rules-wise, though, they have an option for Jump Packs. Either they need an assault transport or they need to be flying.
Similarly, the Phoenix Terminators' power spears are devastating on the charge (S5 AP2) but mediocre otherwise (essentially a two-handed power sword). Sonic Shriekers also give you +1 initiative in the first round only.
Theoretically with most Emperor's Children assault units, you charge in, cause massive damage at I5 (including your power spear wielding sergeant ripping apart their artificer-armoured sergeant with three S5 AP2 attacks), take a few wounds from the survivors, win combat, they break since they've taken a mauling and lost their high Ld sergeant, and the +D3 initiative from Crusader makes the sweeping advance a formality. Squad massacred, on to the next one.
If it doesn't work like that, though, next turn (or if you get charged) the spear is no longer able to punch through artificer plate, and after a round your +1 initiative wears off. The sergeant's duel becomes a 50-50 thing, and if you lose you lose your sergeant plus an extra penalty for losing the duel - but you can't back out of a duel.
As a result, lots of melee units in land raiders, or jump packs, is often the way to go. You are above all, a shock army.
Your unique Rite Of War is an interesting one. Maru Skara puts a load of elite or fast attack units in reserve and gives them outflank, whilst making the stuff that starts on the board even faster. It's probably a good way to use Palatine Blades - take generic assault marines for your 'open blade' and watch as they boing 13" in the first turn, then run d6+1" with the best of two die results - that puts them close enough that they will be on the enemy next turn - and then you can choose to automatically bring on all three palatine blade squads in your 'hidden blade' on the enemy's flank on turn 2, so that as they try to react to the wave of 'normal' assault marines, 30-odd WS5 I5 rending veterans pounce on something vulnerable. For a commander, Eidolon works perfectly. He's allowed to join the Palatines and outflank as well, and on the charge he's insane - his sonic shrieker pushes him up to I6 and when charging he can ignore the unwieldy rule on his thunder hammer. Very few models in this rules set have eternal warrior, and being smacked in the face 2-3 times with a S8 AP2 thunder hammer is likely to remove even a praetor before he even gets to lift the paragon blade he's probably carrying.
If you just want as many phoenix terminators as possible, I'd say Pride Of The Legion; they become troops. You need an HQ commander with the Master Of The Legion rule (or Fulgrim). The Phoenix Terminators are lethal but are a bit one-dimensional in game, though; you'll want to pair them with something able to do other roles - heavy antitank, crowd control, etc, etc - putting them in Spartans or land raiders and supporting them with either tanks or speeders might work. I'd suggest Fulgrim is a suitably iconic commander - they are, after all, supposed to be his bodyguard.
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