Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I seriously don't get this. Am I missing something?

The Commissar gives a squad LD9 and stubborn, and can make the squad regroup via execution.

The priest gives his squad Fearless, so this is better than both LD9, stubborn, and auto-regroup. On top of all this the priest has a smash attack, and as if that isnt already enough, he can make his squad re-roll armor saves, re-roll wounds in cc, and because of his Zealot USR, he can also make them re-roll hits in cc on the first turn of combat.

Sometimes you want your soldiers to break away or go to ground.

Priests are for when you want to tarpit, Commissars are for when you want to have pseudo-And they shall know no fear.

Commissars raise the LD of the squad. This is useful for orders, and for the priest's war hymns, which require a LD test. Personally I think the best combo for a fighty blob is a priest and a 55-pt psyker inquisitor (who raises the squad to an even better 10LD and gives built in psyker support)

Go to ground.

Priests don't help your 5 HWT pass their orders.

 I-bounty-hunt-the-elderly wrote:
Commissars raise the LD of the squad. This is useful for orders, and for the priest's war hymns, which require a LD test. Personally I think the best combo for a fighty blob is a priest and a 55-pt psyker inquisitor (who raises the squad to an even better 10LD and gives built in psyker support)

But if i recall correctly you cant use an allies increased leadership for orders so you would still be going off the LD of the sergeant. In any case a primaris psyker would be a good alternative as he can do just about the same with LD9 iirc.

Also as everyone else has said, priests make you fearless but then that means you cant go to ground and if you've truly experienced IG you would know that guardsmen die so easily that you could lose half your infantry in one shooting phase. So going to ground and giving them a 2+ behind an aegis line or a 3 plus in area terrain significantly is better than the 4+ cover of the aegis line or the 5+ of the area terrain and not going to ground.

Orders are a Leadership test, and a Leadership test uses the highest Leadership in the unit.

 tankboy145 wrote:
But if i recall correctly you cant use an allies increased leadership for orders so you would still be going off the LD of the sergeant.

Commissars aren't allies.
Even if they were, you use the highest Ld value in the unit, orders included.

It just depends on how the unit is used:

Squads behind a wall or Aegis with a command squad giving orders, a Commissar works best.
Fearless prevents them going to ground and gaining the improved cover save.

A large blob of conscripts that can tarpit a unit all game needs a Priest.

Commissars 1= LD9 for orders, stubborness, good for line holding squads, units receiving orders. 4+ LOS, also able to go to ground, can also close with enemies if necessary to tarpit. = profit for ranged units

Priests = fearless + hatred. Good for closing squads/tarpit units, especially w/ the 2+ LOS and 4++ they are survivable up to combat. once in combat, refuse challenges, squad is still fearless. = profit for CC units (in IG terms, CC= tarpit. lol, like IG would have good dedicated CC units....... >_> yes I'm looking at you orgyns)

Yup.

Commissars give out better leadership, and allow go to ground.

Also, the one thing everyone seems to have missed, is that commissars can take power fists. Priest have to pass a leadership test to get smash. And he has WS4 instead of 3. The priest buffs the squad better, but the commissar is, himself, better in close combat.

Not that it matters, but they can also take plasma pistols as well.

Still, the priest attacks at I3 instead of I1...so he can deliver slightly faster Str6 AP2 hits

When he passes a leadership test, yes.

The powerfist works 100% of the time. The priest's only a little better than half the time. On-again-off-again powerfists sounds like no fun.

It also means the Priest isn't using a prayer that benefits the rest of the squad.
And they seem much more useful than giving a single S3 model Smash.

Priests give up a kill point, commissars don't.

For a unit charging forward to stab bayonets into the enemy? Yeah priests are better.

For a unit huddled in a trenchline next to the objective going to ground to avoid horrible death every turn, followed by popping back up via Get Back In The Fight! ? Commissar all the way.

I just looked and saw that with commissars its an Auto pass now.


Commissar all the way. Not giving up KP as well as the autopass while still going to ground hell to the yea.

Since I am combining them with White scars ICs giving hit and run. Good times.

Odd question, but how is it that Commissars aren't giving out killpoints when priests are? Is it the fact that a Priest is an IC while a commissar isn't?

Because commissars are still purchased separately and then attached to a unit, like those sarge guys space wolves get. Wouldn't that mean they're still killpoints too?

On why would you want to take a commissar over a priest, he has a better hat. I mean seriously, how can a priest compete with this pinnacle of fashion?





On a more serious note, a commissar is something you would attach to a more "valuable" unit. For example, a platoon packing heavy and special weapons guarding an objective. They're going to buff your LD, and most importantly, still let your guys fall back, go to ground, and generally not get themselves killed unless you want them to. A commissar also helps getting orders and abilities to go off, which is huge if you're relying on a priest's CC abilities to swing a fight, or a critical order to help you cut a potential charge short.

Simply put, a priest has one job that he does very well, keep your guys suicidally dedicated to getting themselves killed. The Commissar on the other hand realizes that sometimes, living to fight another day is more important than getting killed in a glorious bayonet charge. One of those weird times where the rules actually kind of match the fluff. I think Commissars and Priests both have a place in an IG army. Priests are the no brainer choice for a guy needing a good tarpit unit, but if Commissars are used well, they can still be helpful. Their big problem is just that they're overshadowed by other units, and can be hard to keep alive without an invuln save and only a +4 LOS.

Yep, that is why you have to use positioning to keep the commissar safe. Remember wounds can only be allocated to models they can see. With a 30-40 man blob it is quite easy to string them out and get the com out of LOS.

Also since they are not ICs and can never leave the unit they are for all intents and purposes part of the unit and thus not an extra kill point

 MrMoustaffa wrote:
On why would you want to take a commissar over a priest, he has a better hat. I mean seriously, how can a priest compete with this pinnacle of fashion?

I use the bottom right model as my priest, so I got no probs with style Fist accounts for his ability to smash and the book he is reading from could be some holy book.