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So I am thinking about taking the MotF as my HQ choice. I mainly want him for CC. he has artificer armor, 2 wounds and 2 attacks. plus for 70 points i get to throw in 2 servitors with 2 heavy bolters. which takes care of anti infantry for longer range and 10 point bullet shields. the servo harness gives him a flamer and a plasma cutter which is s7 ap2 and twin linked.

my question is if i do take him i would like to some how get a invulnerable save on him. and what do i take for weapons. stick with his bolt gun? take a power axe? th/ss? power first and a thunder hammer? x2 claws? the options are endless and i just need to keep him under 160 points not counting the servitors.


or should i just scrape the idea and take a captain?

Power fist and thunder hammer is pointless(and expensive) as he already has 2 servo arms(effectively power fists); a single Lightning claw works nice, or lightning claw, then switch the bolter for a power axe the switch the power axe for a grav pistol(or if you are not worried about going last in melee just switch the bolt pistol for a grav pistol and be done with it).

You cannot take a regular storm shield at all, but can take a shield eternal.

I field mine with a conversion beamer(no bike); but a conversion beamer on a bike is really good too.

I would advize against taking a MoTF if you want a CC HQ. There are much better ones (powerweapon/SS liby terminators, jump chaplains w/ jump marines, Lysander, shrike, are all better). However, if you want a super-weapon, use a MoTF with a conversion beamer gives you a str 10 ap 1 blast 42-72" away and is worth the 110 points, put him on a bike and he gets relentless, being able to move and shoot the conversion beamer so you can always be in LOS and range.

MOTF aren't really CC powerhouses. There are much better options for that. But, what you can do to make a MOTF beastly is give him a conversion beamer and put him on a bike. A hard to hit artillery platform.

Summary
This HQ is probably the best value for a non-named IC in the book. He brings so much to the table for a moderate price. If your looking for just one HQ and your trying to go on the cheap, the MotF is worth a look.

Stats
The stats on the MotF are similar to a librarian or chaplin, but he comes with a BS of 5 and WS of 4 instead of the other way around. This means that the MotF is better at shooting, and can fit the role of a ranged IC better than some other ICs.


Gear
This is where the MotF really shines. Look at the list of gear that he gets for his 90 points. After each item I am going to give the value for them if you bought them individually. Most of these items come with the servo-harness
- Artificer Armor...............(Valued at 20 points)
- TL Plasma Pistol.............(Valued at 15 points)
- 1 Power Fists.................(Valued at 25 points)
- 1 Extra Specalist Wpn.....(Valued at 15 points)
- 1 Flamer.......................(Valued at 5 points)
Most of those items come from the servo-harness which has changed greatly since the last codex. Instead of extra swings at I1, they are just a STR *2 AP1 weapon. The servo-harness comes with 2 of them, so it gives an extra attack -- something that normally an IC is paying 15 extra points for by buying a LC to go with their PF

You can also spend 20 points on him and buy a conversion beamer. As this is a heavy weapon, its best to add this with a bike or the Armor of Indomitus. Given that you can have him just hang out with a tactical squad on the back line taking pot shots at range with a BFG this is not a bad way to use an HQ slot in a shooty army.

You can also use him as an auspex caddy or teleporter homer. I think there are better roles for him though.


Special Abilities
Shoot an Extra Gun
In addition to shooting a flamer or plasma cutter from the servo-harness, the MotF can shoot his bolter at a target. If you got him Primarch's Wrath or a combi-weapon, he can pop off that in addition to his plasma cutter/flamer.

Unlock Dreads as Heavy Support
For what its worth, if you wanted to take dreads in heavy slots in addition to elite slots you could if you took a MotF. If deads were not simply horribad, this might be a decent option.

Repairing Vehicles
A MotF can forge his shooting for a turn and attempt to repair a hull point on a vehicle or remove a 'weapon destroyed' or 'immobolized' result. The MotF has a 50% to do this successfully.

This means that if your vindicator has had its weapon destroyed, you can correct the problem and send the vindicator back into the fight.

Bolter Defenses
This allows you to boost the cover save for any terrain in your deployment. This can be a great assist if you have something like devastators in a ruin. If you took multiple TFCs you might not need this ability as much, but its almost always nice to have.


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Edit :
I like primarch's wrath on him. That or a conversion beamer.

I forgot to mention that I always field a MotF for the 4 Dread naughts he allows my Sons of Medusa(Iron Hands successor); which I had and fielded before the new Codex and their boons TYVM

so how would a Conversion Beamer MotF pair with some Devs?

MoTF with C. beamer on bike has served me well.

 IHateNids wrote:
so how would a Conversion Beamer MotF pair with some Devs?

Very well, especially Lascannons and nissile launchers

 IHateNids wrote:
so how would a Conversion Beamer MotF pair with some Devs?

The bolter "combat squad" side of the Devs. The 3+ ablative wounds has some staying power. I prefer mine on a bike.

I have been toying around with the idea of a new army. Currently have IG and Orks. So, with the new SM codex, I was looking at using the Iron Hands chapter tactics and using a MotF for my HQ. Why?

1. Cheap and value based HQ. MotF with 5 servitors, heavy bolter x2. MotF w/ primarchs wrath. Put them behind a ADL w/ lascannon.

2. Fluffy. MotF seems to fit Iron Hands fluff well to me.

3. Bolster Defense. My newest list on paper has a couple of scout squads who will bennefit from this. If terrain permits. List also has two TFC so, alot of bolstering if possible.

I'm experimenting with a MotF as a second HQ, in a pod with some sternguard. 5 Sternguard with 3 combi meltas are a threat to most things, and the MotF adds a lot of flexability to the unit- plasma can help when shooting mid to light tanks, flamer vs troops, and the Servo Harness gives a lot of punch in CC, especially with the bare Sternguard sarge to fob off any challenges I don't want to deal with.

He also adds quite a bit of survivability, able to tank some AP3 hits, having that extra wound, and a 2+ LoS if needed.

The MotF with a squad of cents gets a lot more deadly once you add an inquisitor giving TL. While the TL LCs already get the reroll, twin linked blast weapons at BS 5 get very accurate.

This can let you clip 2 vehicles that are closely bunched together -- something that happens often with people bringing 8 wave serpents.

Motf with a bike and primarchs wrath.

So than there really isnt a good close combat variant? He just srems like he would make a decent fighter for not a lot of points.

Not really. While he has the potential to be at least decent in CC with 4 S8 AP1 attacks on the charge, the fact that he has a lower WS and attacks than a captain means he's not going to be chosen for that role as often, especially since he can have a conversion beamer.

However, if you want to try it out, do it! Just because we say it's not the best option doesn't at all mean it's complete gak (unless, of course, we say it is, because we know ALL).

I am toying with using MoTF as well but not for CC. Melee IC need a high WS and I imho. You want the char to strike first and hit often. Also lack of an invulnerable save hurts. Once you start dumping points on upgrades he is no longer a cheap alternative.

Swissgeese wrote:
I am toying with using MoTF as well but not for CC. Melee IC need a high WS and I imho. You want the char to strike first and hit often. Also lack of an invulnerable save hurts. Once you start dumping points on upgrades he is no longer a cheap alternative.

Either that or he can't be the one doing the challenges.

You could have him as a back-up melee dude, hitting heavy where he needs to do so. Consider the following:
MotF
Bike
Primarch's Wrath

That's 130 points. For that, you get
T5, 2+ armor save
5 BS5 S4 AP4 shots with shred OR a flamer + plasma pistol shot
4 S8 AP1 unwieldy attacks (on the charge)

That's not bad at all, especially not for 130 points. However, against a unit with AP2 weapons or a ton of attacks, he'll crumble. He won't hit first, but he will do some damage, melee or not.

Something else the motf unlocks is the fire raptor gunship. This way your getting a beastly shooting hq, along with a awesome gunship.

Platypus12 wrote:
So than there really isnt a good close combat variant? He just srems like he would make a decent fighter for not a lot of points.

Stock is decent in assault. Having 3 power fist attacks, 2 wounds, and a 2+ save is nothing to sneeze at.

Hes not the same league as a tooled chapter master, or Abbadon -- but hes also not priced as such. Hes more in league with Fabius Bile. He can sway the results of an assault between two evenly matched squads, but will not delete entire units by himself like Abbadon can.

McNinja wrote:

Swissgeese wrote:
I am toying with using MoTF as well but not for CC. Melee IC need a high WS and I imho. You want the char to strike first and hit often. Also lack of an invulnerable save hurts. Once you start dumping points on upgrades he is no longer a cheap alternative.

Either that or he can't be the one doing the challenges.

You could have him as a back-up melee dude, hitting heavy where he needs to do so. Consider the following:
MotF
Bike
Primarch's Wrath

That's 130 points. For that, you get
T5, 2+ armor save
5 BS5 S4 AP4 shots with shred OR a flamer + plasma pistol shot
4 S8 AP1 unwieldy attacks (on the charge)

That's not bad at all, especially not for 130 points. However, against a unit with AP2 weapons or a ton of attacks, he'll crumble. He won't hit first, but he will do some damage, melee or not.

Good point. He could be good for cc against troops. My concern was that the OP wanted to use him for IC challenges or MC hunting.

I was kinda looking for cheap HQ that I could field. but I wanted something that would be good at CC but could be used for some range. and if he was gonna go up against a big MC or a nasty IC he would be going with terminators or van guard vets, or something other than just himself. my other option if I dont take the MotF would be to take a chaplain. He already comes with the 4+ invu save, but i dont get the artificer armor which kinda sucks. and I need to work up what i want to do for a command squad. or throw a jump pack on him and attach him to a assault squad or van vets.
I just kinda figured the power fist attacks + flamer + plasma + artificer armor for 90 points wasnt bad. and if i could make him a little less squishy he seemed like a good choice for a cc HQ minus the fact he has 1 less WS it all seemed like a plus. guess im gonna go back to the chaplain. and maybe just make the MotF for looks.

If you're willing to drop some points you could give the MotF the armor indimitus and a conversion beamer. gives him an invul save and relentless. Pair him with some devastator centurions and you've got a mobile powerhouse