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Compared to other AP3 weapons like claws or ToT, is the relic blade just a bad option?

I find relic blades good to have on units like Honour guard, but as for characters heck go for other loud outs!

Exactly. If you want to arm your character with something choppy, go for Teeth of terra. If you have lots of spare points and expect 2+ save spam, take the burning blade.

The relic blade is a jack of all trades, master of none weapon.

You get +2S, but not double, do you don't ID T4 models, and have troube with tanks/high T models.

AP3, while good vs. troops, is worthless vs. 2+ saves (sported by a lot of mean things)

You don't get an extra attack from a bolt pistol.

It does have some good points though. You get to keep your initiative. And S6 is nothing to scoff at. TEQ will laugh at the AP3, but you do get to cash MEQ in rolls. And the point value is good.

I think the biggest challenge with the relic blade is that the Teeth of Terra is basically a relicblade++ For a reasonable amount of points you get some nice features.

Being a specialist weapon does free you up to do something with your other hand. Either a SS or combi bolter. If you are going to take a second CC weapon, you might as well go for the fist/LC combo (or TH/LC) rather then bothering with the relic blade.

Sounds like I was right.

Only time I see Relic Blades as useful is if you pair it with the SS, as you'll never care about the extra attack.

For 5 points more than a Relic Blade, I think dual claw works out better against everything that isn't T6.

Relic Blades would be pretty good if they were AP2. Who wants to spend that many points to be able to kill Tactical Marines?

 Andilus Greatsword wrote:
Relic Blades would be pretty good if they were AP2. Who wants to spend that many points to be able to kill Tactical Marines?

Fair point, but most of the AP2 weapons are unwieldy, so you're wasting your I5 if you go that route.
The best I've come up with is to run two power weapons or Fist & Claw to try and get the best of both worlds without spending 50+ points.

 Andilus Greatsword wrote:
Relic Blades would be pretty good if they were AP2. Who wants to spend that many points to be able to kill Tactical Marines?

To be fair, I'd rather have my CM rip apart some tac marines while something much better at killing termies (say, bikes with grav guns, perhaps) rip apart the 2+ threat. Albeit, that isn't always possible depending how your opponent plays, but if an AP2 melee weapon on a Character is your only answer to terminators, good luck.

I think it's an okay choice for a cheap Captain. But if you're building a CC monster of an IC, there are better weapon options for the points investment. It also depends a lot on your meta. If you know you plan on using the model to attack MEQ, the AP3 is good, and the S6 allows you to wound on 2s at full initiative. But even so, unless you're looking for a halfway decent weapon for a cheap HQ, you can find a better investment in one of the Relic weapons.

 wtwlf123 wrote:
I think it's an okay choice for a cheap Captain. But if you're building a CC monster of an IC, there are better weapon options for the points investment. It also depends a lot on your meta. If you know you plan on using the model to attack MEQ, the AP3 is good, and the S6 allows you to wound on 2s at full initiative. But even so, unless you're looking for a halfway decent weapon for a cheap HQ, you can find a better investment in one of the Relic weapons.

Cheap is my goal.
Relics or TH/SS seem better put on CM, not Captains.

If you really want to keep it cheap, is the +2S, -1A worth the extra cost over a plain old power sword?

Henshini wrote:
If you really want to keep it cheap, is the +2S, -1A worth the extra cost over a plain old power sword?

Reasonable question, saves more points and still enough to kill light infantry and MEQs.

 minigun762 wrote:

Henshini wrote:
If you really want to keep it cheap, is the +2S, -1A worth the extra cost over a plain old power sword?

Reasonable question, saves more points and still enough to kill light infantry and MEQs.

If you are going to cheap out, consider the maul. I think the +2S is more valuable then the AP3. The sword excels at one thing: killing MEQ. For any other target, the other options are better. With more MCs out there, S4 is not going to cut it as much as it used to. And with invulns and 2+ saves, how much is the AP3 getting you against things you -need- to kill? I'd rather have the S and force them to make saves. ID'ing T3 targets and concussive are just gravy.

Swords do look cooler though...

Might as well go for a Lightning Claw. Still AP3 and better against T4+ than a Power Sword.

Oddly enough, I was now considering the power axe. I lose I5 which is painful but gain AP2.

If I'm not getting 8 strength, I don't want to be losing my 5 initiative. Especially not on a character being built to be cheap, because they won't have the good defensive upgrades to make up for the I1.

The way I ran BA, power axes were perfect. I'd stack them all into one squad and deny all challenges. They could choose one of my weak ICs with axes to not fight, and still get axed in the face a ton.

With C:SM, it's all more unclear. I'm leaning toward powerfist on a biker captain or even biker chapter master. Couple this with the EW shield for hilarity. Make him Iron Hands for even more hilarity.

It also depends if your Captain is your Warlord. If you roll the one where you get extra victory points for killing, your going to feel foolish for not packing /something/ to deal with AP 2.

You know... a double power weapon build plus melta bomb is only 35pts. Two PWs would give you an extra attack that a LC+PA wouldn't give you... depends on how much you value Shred over +1 attack. I think I would go Maul+Axe to give you the best bang for your buck. And yeah, that is how much I think of the boltpistol on him.

Just go LC/PF in that case, it's 5 points more.

Generally, yes.

Back in 5th edition, they were pretty reasonable. When most of the things you were swinging at were T4 or T5, the relic blade was still wounding on 2s or 3s vs most targets, and ignored armor saves.

Now its AP3 so it bounces off terminator armor. There are also more high toughness targets out there. There is a big difference between a fist wounding a wraithknight/riptide and a relic blade doing so.

 wtwlf123 wrote:
If I'm not getting 8 strength, I don't want to be losing my 5 initiative. Especially not on a character being built to be cheap, because they won't have the good defensive upgrades to make up for the I1.

Good point, that's very true.

When comparing the Relic Blade to a Power Maul,  I'm really not sure AP3 is worth 10 points and losing an attack. AP4 is enough to smash most light infantry anyway.