The Apex Twins (a Lord of War super psyker unit)

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**fallinq**

Ok, so a while back I read a piece of fluff somewhere about the Apex Twins. I can't for the life of me find it again, but I'm 99% sure it was from an official source (White Dwarf? GW's old website? if anyone else has read this, please let me know!). The Apex Twins are a pair of twin girls who are currently the most powerful human psykers alive. Unfortunately, they're also completely insane and tend to eviscerate thousands of people for looking at them funny, or for no reason at all. They resemble children, but have actually been around for hundreds of years, and have appeared and disappeared on various worlds across the galaxy without any explanation. I like this fluff a lot. It's creepy and fitting for the setting, but also hearkens back to the good ol' days of 40k when everything was a cheesy reference (in this case, to the creepy twins from The Shining and hip hop musician Aphex Twin). Being the lunatic that I am, and because GW decided to throw superheavies into the game with Escalation, I decided to have a go at making stats for these ridiculously powerful beings. I don't really have much frame of reference for this, as there isn't really a unit like this in the game currently. Also, the new edition came out, and like everyone else, I'm not very experienced with the new rules. I'm sure there'll be plenty that needs tweaking. Let me know what you think! Also, these rules could be used for Ravenor, or another Alpha plus plus plus psyker pretty easily.

The Apex Twins- 500 pts

The Apex Twins are squad of two. They may never be joined by characters and may not join units. They each have the following stat line and rules, and take up a Lord of War option in an Imperial Guard, Inquisition, Chaos Space Marine, or Chaos Daemon army.

WS 2
BS 4
S 2
T 8
W 2
I 5
A 1
Ld 8
Sv 2++

Unit Type: Jump Infantry (they levitate)

Wargear: None

Special Rules: Beyond Human, Lifelink, Broke the Scale

Beyond Human: The Apex Twins have the Feel No Pain(5+), Eternal Warrior, Hit and Run, and Fearless special rules, and cause Fear.

Lifelink:[b] If one Apex Twin is still alive at the end of a turn, both Apex Twins are returned to full wounds (even if the other twin was killed!). The Apex Twins also count as a single psyker when using psychic powers (so below).

[b]Broke the Scale: The Apex Twins count as a single level 5 psyker. This means they generate 5 warp charges per turn, have 5 psychic powers, etc. In addition, The Apex Twins may pick from ANY of the disciplines except Sanctic in the main rulebook (picking a different discipline for each power is allowed). In addition, they may take a single power from the Apocalypse discipline below. The Apex Twins may choose their psychic powers each game, instead of determining them randomly. The Apex Twins may use the same psychic power multiple times in one psychic phase. The Apex Twins may select up to two separate targets for their powers during the psychic phase. Finally, The Apex Twins manifest on a 3+ instead of 4+ and may reroll any Perils of the Warp result they suffer, but the second result always stands.

Spoiler:

**ThePrimordial**

This isn't really worth 500 unless I missed something.

**fallinq**

Well, I was trying to err on the side of too pricey rather than not pricey enough. The Psychic Apocalypse table has a bunch of powers that could be pretty damaging, but maybe I overestimated it. What do you think would be a better price? Or is there something that would make the psychic powers nastier that would make it worth it? One thing I toyed with was letting the player pick which psychic powers the Apex Twins get, instead of rolling randomly, which would make them a good deal meaner. I decided not to do it until I got people's opinions.

**ALEXisAWESOME**

They seem very easy to kill for 500pts, i would instead make them 2 separate models with a 2++ each, but count as a single Psyker and form a unit they cannot leave. Then, to give them a little injection of character you could pull a Sisters of Twilight idea, were if both Sisters are not dead by the end of the phase both return to full wounds, no matter what. This may sound over powered, but say they have 2 wounds each at a 2++, they are still only toughness 3. How many Archons have you killed, this is just as easy.

As for the Psyker powers, i like them choosing their powers, it just makes sense. I would also lose the Skyfire Interceptor but instead let them Manifest on a 3+ instead of a 4+ due to all their high WC powers. I also like the Apoc chart, but i would make Titian Bane assault 2 or lower WC to 3, compare it to Vortex of Doom. Gravity Shift seems a little weak for 5 Wc's, maybe for the weightlessness none Skimmers take an automatic Glancing hit that ignores cover? Maybe have Crippling Weight cause Flying Monstrous Creatures to take Ground tests as well, and any flyer under the template must roll a 2+ or Crash and Burn? Crushing Weight would be the same, but causes the str 3 hit and an auto pen on vehicles.

Wave seems fine, but might make this one 5 WC's. Mind Control is awkward, 4 WC's for a chance to control a unit IF they fail a Leadership Test? Nah. Mind Control could be like mixing Hallucination with Puppet Master, 1-2 That unit is yours until your next Psyker phase. The power can be refreshed by spending 4 WC's next turn, no manifestation needed. 3-4 The Twins can force every model in the unit to shoot at their comrades, basically like puppet master. 5-6 and the unit loses fearless and is pinned, and stays that way until it passes a Leadership on 3d6.

These Girls are meant to be one of the number 1 threats to the ENTIRE IMPERIUM, lets give people a reason to fear little girls again!

**EDIT** Also Boost their Ballistic Skill, they will be worthless if half of their shots miss all the time.

**fallinq**

ALEXisAWESOME wrote:

**EDIT** Also Boost their Ballistic Skill, they will be worthless if half of their shots miss all the time.

I don't know about THE #1 threat. They've got lots of competition there.

Still, I've edited quite a few things. I like your suggestion about the squad of 2 that return to full wounds if one of them survives the turn, so I've made them 2 separate models and added the Lifelink rule, which does exactly that. This also made It Will Not Die a bit redundant, so I removed that. This effectively doubles their wounds, plus making the regeneration more potent, so it should give them a little more survivability. The attacks on the basic statline have been dropped to 1 and the BS has been raised to 4. They can also pick their psychic powers instead of having them be determined randomly. Titan's Bane has had its WC lowered by 1, as has Gravity Shift, which has also been beefed up a bit. I didn't give it auto glances and pens, but non-flyer/skimmer vehicles now take a S 10 hit on a Weightless result, since they're effectively getting THROWN across the battlefield. FMC's now have to take a Grounding test and Flyers have to roll a 2+ or Crash and Burn on a Crippling or Crushing Weight result. Each vehicle also now suffers a S 8 hit under crushing weight as well. Mind Control now works more like Puppet Master by way of Hallucination, with a chart, and can be refreshed each psychic phase. That opened up another can of worms for how the refreshed powers worked, so I clarified that on the D3 chart. Hopefully we're getting closer to what the unit should look like.

**SisterSydney**

They are pretty fething terrifying. No idea about costing, though. If I weren't about to get on a plane I'd say something more insightful but that'll have to wait a bit...

**Glorywarrior**

Bolters would laugh at this. 4 T 3 wounds? Hah.

**SisterSydney**

Toughness 9. That's what these girls need.

Glory Warrior's right, with human stats the Twins are a glass cannon: tremendous offensive power that will die to the first round of small arms fire, because 2++ and Feel No Pain will eventually let a few shots through.

Give them T:9, though, and all of a sudden they reflect the Scary Psychic Children out of apocalyptic anime, striding through horrific fireballs without a scratch. You can fluff it as a psychic forcefield that shimmers just above their skin or leave it unnervingly unexplained.

"Yes, my Lord Inquisitor, they're little girls who take battle cannon rounds to the face and laugh. No, my Lord Inquisitor, we don't know how they do that."

"Welp, let's unleash 'em on those heretics anyway."

"Uh...."

"I believe you mean, 'yes, sir, Lord Inquisitor.'"

"Yes, sir, my Lord Inquisitor."

**ALEXisAWESOME**

Lets see how many bolters it takes to down these Girls shall we? 2++ means you need 6 saves to cause a wound with every 3rd wound being ignored by FNP, so to do 4 wounds you need to do 30 wounds (4x6+6 due to FNP negating a wound), so 30 wounds means 45 hits (2/3 wound), with 1/3 of the shots missing so that's over 60 shots directed into these two girls to wipe them off the table.

Then consider they always have access to Invisibility, Iron arm or god help you, Precognition, and they are FAR more survivable then you'd think. As 2++ re-rollables usually are...

I truly like these girls, they quite adaquately show how powerful Alpha Level Psykers are, while not being uncountable. And while they do pack a massive wallop with those Apoc powers, they all cost 4+ WC, which means at least 7 or 8 dice thrown at it, and after that they won't be able to attempt much due to Warp Charges running out.

**fallinq**

I'm inclined to agree with AlexisAWESOME, that the girls are more durable than you might think at first glance. I'm actually going to be playing a bit tomorrow, so if the guys I'm playing with are cool with it, I may give the twins a test run. The problem with making them T9 is that they turn into a unit that's basically good at everything and has no weaknesses. Those type of mary-sue units are rarely well received, especially if their house rules. To make it fair, I'd probably have to crank up the points cost considerably, and it's already a quarter of the standard army! All in all, I'm reluctant to raise their toughness. As it is, yes they can fall to small arms fire, but it's going to take A LOT of it to hit, wound, get through their saves, and cause at least 4 wounds in one turn. Keep in mind, if you don't land 4 wounds on them in a single turn, they completely regenerate, and it was all for naught. With most Apoc psychic powers having 36" range and them being jump infantry, it shouldn't be too hard to stay out of rapid fire range.

**HawaiiMatt**

SisterSydney wrote:
Toughness 9. That's what these girls need.
Give them T:9, though, and all of a sudden they reflect the Scary Psychic Children out of apocalyptic anime, striding through horrific fireballs without a scratch. You can fluff it as a psychic forcefield that shimmers just above their skin or leave it unnervingly unexplained.

My Dark Eldar are liking that idea. It might take 2 whole venoms to kill them.
With no ability in combat, and no ability to get out of combat, all you have to do is charge them with ANYTHING, and they are done for the game.

Oh, I'd make the Wave power a Hellstorm Torrent. Seems more wave like to me.

-Matt

**fallinq**

Alright, having actually gone onto the battlefield, I can now say that those who said the twins needed more buffing were correct. I've made some edits that should help with the flaws:
Toughness has been raised to 8. Anything below Strength 5 can't hurt the twins at all, and S 5 or 6 can only wound on 6's, plus having to get through 2+ invul and regenerating wounds. This should significantly reduce the effectiveness of small arms fire (Tau and GK's with psybolt ammo are the only ones I know of who can bring S 5 basic guns). The twins are also now initiative 5 and have Hit and Run. They can still be killed in CC by power fist, thunder hammer, or poison troops, but it's no longer a guarantee, because they can leave combat after the enemy assaults. That was a big flaw for a 500 point unit. The Broke the Scale rule now allows them to use the same psychic power multiple times in a psychic phase, hopefully making their psychic powers even more useful. Finally, Titan's Bane has been increased to 4 WC's but is now Assault 2, making it more damaging. I was also debating whether to drop the points to 400 to make it comparable to the Knight Titan. Waddaya think? Better now?

**Furyou Miko**

Immortal-based Necron armies bring plentiful S5 as well.

For their close-combat vulnerability, I would alter Gravity Shift a little.

Let them cast it as a Nova power, affecting everything except themselves, and let it be cast while locked in close combat with the effect that it hurls everyone within 3d6" directly away from the caster, including a hit on each model thrown with a S equal to half the distance thrown (2d6).