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Solid Metal 3rd edition SM Dreadnaught in a sock.

Wins most disputes, and most games.. with a single attack.

The Emperor class titan.
Because

Without printing the Citdel Journel Rules, most people won't understand. But for 60pts, every Genestealer Cult needed 'Manos the Mad'. Placed into a Cult Bodyguard Unit, this guy was well 'ard.

2nd edition Eldar codex or Rogue trader.

Take an Eldar Lord, tool him up, and then tool him up some more. Power sword, conversion field, some armour, Don't forget the ten jokaero digi-weapons one for each finger (which give him +10A and each counts as a pistol he can simultaneously fire, like a flamer pistol or a needle pistol with toxins. And dont forget the satchel full of vortex grenades and an eldar grenade launcher to throw them far enough.

 porkuslime wrote:
Solid Metal 3rd edition SM Dreadnaught in a sock.

Wins most disputes, and most games.. with a single attack.

For pure physical trauma, you want the old, all metal stegadon. Mostly solid chunk of lead ad big as your fist, covered in spikes.

Metal thunderhawk.


That fether needs a pillowcase, as regular socks will not suffice...

Huge blocks of Skavenslaves with a warlord in 8th edition fantasy. The fluff portrays them as being cowards, but they get leadership 10 that can't be reduced by normal means.

 Nevelon wrote:

 Fenrir Kitsune wrote:
Nagash.

Nagash was powerful, but also very expensive. Point for point, I got more milage out of putting a random vampire lord on a dragon then fielding the big death clown. This was back in 5th? edition WHFB, he might have been broken in earlier versions, not sure if he made it to later ones (it’s been a while)

In 5th ed, Nagash was still one of the most powerful characters : one of the very few lvl 5 casters, and that guy's statline was basically 7's everywhere.
Correct me if i'm mistaken, but in an old White Dwarf, they made a "duelling championship" between most special characters, and the Bloodthirster won, as one would have expected from a 1 to 1 melee duel.

But as you said, most armies could field insanely powerful generic characters. I'm not even talking about that Khorne lord and his Hydra Sword... Even a well-kitted bretonnian lord could kill basically anything in one turn.

Even modest heroes could be fearsome ennemies. Remember TFG that used to take a Cauldron of Blood and mounted witch elves that cost less than 15 spearmen? Each girl would put NINE St 7 attacks in your face.
Just gross.

But not as gross as the Chaos Trolls joined with a Great Banner... carrying the Banner of Rage.

Litcheur wrote:

 Nevelon wrote:

 Fenrir Kitsune wrote:
Nagash.

Nagash was powerful, but also very expensive. Point for point, I got more milage out of putting a random vampire lord on a dragon then fielding the big death clown. This was back in 5th? edition WHFB, he might have been broken in earlier versions, not sure if he made it to later ones (it’s been a while)

In 5th ed, Nagash was still one of the most powerful characters : one of the very few lvl 5 casters, and that guy's statline was basically 7's everywhere.
Correct me if i'm mistaken, but in an old White Dwarf, they made a "duelling championship" between most special characters, and the Bloodthirster won, as one would have expected from a 1 to 1 melee duel.

But as you said, most armies could field insanely powerful generic characters. I'm not even talking about that Khorne lord and his Hydra Sword... Even a well-kitted bretonnian lord could kill basically anything in one turn.

Even modest heroes could be fearsome ennemies. Remember TFG that used to take a Cauldron of Blood and mounted witch elves that cost less than 15 spearmen? Each girl would put NINE St 7 attacks in your face.
Just gross.

But not as gross as the Chaos Trolls joined with a Great Banner... carrying the Banner of Rage.

I thought there was an item that gave +1 CL that anyone could take, and L4 wizards were not particularly rare. Nagash was a lot of things in one model, but not stuff that couldn’t be duplicated elsewhere.

My best friend played a witch heavy DE army back in the day. I was on the receiving end of a poisoned frenzied lance quite a few times. And bretonians were so cheesy back then they traveled around in wedges. The hero with the tress of issulda (sp?) that was a one use, hit and wound on a 2+ no armor save IIRC was pretty much instant death to everything. There were a lot of games where that got clicked off to kill my vampire lord. I’d then toss the carstine ring away, place my self right back where I was before getting killed, and butcher the upstart knight who thought he could go toe-to-toe with me.

It was hero hammer good and proper, but good times, good times...

I would pick Ghaz right at the very start of 5th. I wouldn't take him because I felt he was to strong, then slowly everything caught up and I started using him every time.

For right now, point for point, Red Terror!

A certain dude from Malan'tai could have his moments.....

Litcheur wrote:

 Nevelon wrote:

 Fenrir Kitsune wrote:
Nagash.

Nagash was powerful, but also very expensive. Point for point, I got more milage out of putting a random vampire lord on a dragon then fielding the big death clown. This was back in 5th? edition WHFB, he might have been broken in earlier versions, not sure if he made it to later ones (it’s been a while)

In 5th ed, Nagash was still one of the most powerful characters : one of the very few lvl 5 casters, and that guy's statline was basically 7's everywhere.
Correct me if i'm mistaken, but in an old White Dwarf, they made a "duelling championship" between most special characters, and the Bloodthirster won, as one would have expected from a 1 to 1 melee duel.

But as you said, most armies could field insanely powerful generic characters. I'm not even talking about that Khorne lord and his Hydra Sword... Even a well-kitted bretonnian lord could kill basically anything in one turn.

Even modest heroes could be fearsome ennemies. Remember TFG that used to take a Cauldron of Blood and mounted witch elves that cost less than 15 spearmen? Each girl would put NINE St 7 attacks in your face.
Just gross.

But not as gross as the Chaos Trolls joined with a Great Banner... carrying the Banner of Rage.

If that had a magic phase, then Nagash would kill anyone. Hand of Dust was evil (Str+D6 dice off, except undead spellcaster doubles their roll. difference = number of wounds, no armour saves), and IIRC Undead spellcasters could pick their spells.

Speaking of undead in 5e:

Vampire Lord
Heart of Woe (explodes with radius = starting wounds, which was 4 for a vamp lord, with Str = Strength of guy (7), D6 wounds, no armour saves)
Carstein Ring (when dies, gets back up on full wounds)

And Lizardmen Horribleness:

Slann Mage Lord
Sword of your magic items don't work, and breaks enemy items
Cloak of being ethereal
Healing potion.
8W,, 4+ ward save, 8A. Decent WS, S, and T.

5e Lord Kroak was pretty horrible too.

Orc BSB on some form of flying monster, with the Mork's War Banner. Fly high turn 1, turn 2, charge their most powerful wizard, or, if you were playing against undead, their general.

thedavo wrote:


Orc BSB on some form of flying monster, with the Mork's War Banner. Fly high turn 1, turn 2, charge their most powerful wizard, or, if you were playing against undead, their general.

Oh, I had forgotten about that. The Banner of insta-kill any spellcasters it touches. Brutal.

At least if you fled from a Fly High charge the charger just stopped where you were. No help for Undead though.

Siren Princes anyone? A unit you cannot assault or shoot at all was pretty OP. maybe not the scariest thing in melee but used right certain armies had no defense at all.

In 2nd edition, If you discount MCs, then I think Abaddon the Despoiler was probably the toughest named character. Mainly because of all his wargear and chaos gifts. Toughness 6 with a 2+ Save on 2D6 made him impossible to wound without modifiers. And his the Sword of Drach'nyen auto wounding foes with no armour save made him very killy against other characters.

I think Kharn the Betrayer deserves and honorable mention, being the only human with Weapon Skill 9. He was better than Abaddon in CC, though I think Abaddon's ability to tank would make him the eventual winner. Fabius Bile could also become quite uber with his random stats (though WS 8 was still his maximum).

I think a few of the earlier characters such as Ragnar, had open wargear slots, so you could tool them up to be quite overpowered, with things like Terminator Armour and Combat drugs. In later books the SCs were fixed with whatever wargear they came with. IIRC Mephiston's original stat-line was was based on a regular Mighty hero with combat drugs (If you look closely he even has some little syringes modeled onto his belt).

White Dwarf held a competition for the "most broken army list" in the late 90s in Fantasy. They gave the price to Da Statu Makerz, which was something like, at 1000 points, ten level 1 night goblin mages riding Cockatrices.

A few characters come to mind

During 5th Edition.

Eldar - Eldrad
Orks - Thraka
Necrons - OLD C'Tan
Anything from the Grey Knights Codex. All of it. Including that psychic guy you throw in a tank with that 36 Inch Str 10 Large Blast that is impossible to fail at.


For Forgewold. The Tau Manta is pretty awesome.

The Officio Assassinorum Assassin in 2nd edition. WS and BS 8 and 4 attacks. Give him poly-morphine, Terminator Armour and a Vortex Grenade, and that's a kill against anybody you care to mention... And yes, you really could do that

And all of that for around 200pts.

The Bloodthirster seems to have been the consistently higher ranked model available. Not always No1 but generally always near the top and imfamous for it!

Same could be said for Abaddon too...

1st Ed Realm of Chaos Bloodthirster. Almost universally stats of 10s, caused terror, flying, chaos armor, magically resistant...


And carried an axe of khorne, which you could at any stage throw down to release a second bloodthirster.

2 for 1 giant armybreaking flying gribbly with 10s across the board...

Most bonkers stupid and broken monster ever.

PapaSoul wrote:
2nd edition Bloodthirster was a pretty mean mofo.

1st edition Bloodthirster had 10 attacks, plus 10 more from the other Bloodthirster bound inside his axe


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Some other thoughts

3rd edition - From the CJ, the Harlequin Wraithlord, T8, 3+ and a 4+ cover for like 90 points.

1st edition - 10 IG, with underbarrel grenade launchers and vortex grenades. Nice little alpha strike.

1993 Ikit Claw was pretty sick.

3 different shooting attacks, warpfire thrower, poison wind globes and a pistol. LVL 4 who could choose any but waaagha magic. WS 5 with 3 s6 attacks. 4 wounds are solid too.

His storm Daemon gives him a simple magic missle bound spell. and did count as a magic weapon, but his other 3 magic items could be chosen freely.

Egrimm van Horstmann and his two headed dragon was probably the most expensive. He was over 1200 points in 5th which is just enormous!

 Smacks wrote:


I think a few of the earlier characters such as Ragnar, had open wargear slots, so you could tool them up to be quite overpowered, with things like Terminator Armour and Combat drugs. In later books the SCs were fixed with whatever wargear they came with. IIRC Mephiston's original stat-line was was based on a regular Mighty hero with combat drugs (If you look closely he even has some little syringes modeled onto his belt).

Ragnar could take the combat drugs wargear card (or any other one card). When used it causes: Mx2, Ix2, Ax2, T+1, S+1 (each round roll a d6, on a 5 or 6 it causes one wound, and the drugs stop working once the character suffers a wound/any wound).

I think Mephiston' original stat line was just taken directly from the regular Vampire Lord in warhammer fantasy.

In 5th Logan Grimnar was pretty unstoppable. 7 power fist attacks on the charge at weapon skill 6 with preferred enemy. If he survived until his initiative step whatever he touched died.