Sun Killer

Swapping out Screamo music for something hotter.

The Sun Killers were the Emperor's Children Legion's veteran Heavy Support Squads, during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy, that were exclusively armed with heavy Energy Weapons as their name implies. They were somewhat analogous to a modern-day Devastator Squad, except with all plasma.

Overview

Sun Killers had a reputation of being pompous pricks even by the lofty standards of the Emperor's Children at that time. So up-their-ass, that their arrogance was suspected to be the reason behind their eschewing indiscriminate primitive projectile weapons, in favour of more elegant and precise energy weapons. The Sun Killers used these to great effect in war, operated far ahead of their Legion's battle lines, in pursuit of an enemy's largest bioforms or war machines. In doing so, they ensured that they and they alone destroyed such targets, with exacting precision and defined kill shots. In the rare instances that the Emperor's Children opted to make a strategic departure from the field, it fell to the Sun Killers to provide covering fire for their Battle Brothers. True to their name, Sun Killers all wield energy weapons. But contrary to popular beliefs, they don't have a raging boner for plasma; they're not Dark Angels. Rather, they typically wield a diverse range of directed-energy weapons of which plasma just so happens to be part of the armoury. They carry Lascannons, Volkite Culverins, Plasma Cannons or Multi-Meltas, with an additional Chainsword if things get too close for comfort. Despite their high and refined standards, they all wore the derpy and bargain-bin Mark V: Heresy Armour for some reason.

When they were grouped in squadrons, they were individually referred to as a Sun Killer and were led by officers known as a Novaetor. The elite of their formation bore the mark of the Sundered Star upon their gilded panoply. The Novaetor can be armed with either a Power Weapon, Power Fist or a Charnabal Sabre and can swap out his heavy-duty energy weapon for a lighter Combi-weapon, such as a Combi-Flamer, Combi-Plasma, Combi-Grav, Combi-Melta or Combi-Volkite. Granted, him using a combi-weapon that has a Bolter attached to it, kind of defeats the Sun Killer's memo. The Novaetor most likely wore Artificer Armour, but since we have no models of him, there is a chance he also wore the Heresy Armour too.

These warriors were renowned across the Imperium as space Ahabs, due to their Great Crusade exploits, where they had, time and again, sought out to destroy the deadliest Xenos monstrosities and armoured behemoths. Curiously information about Sun Killer squads that failed in their mission, or fell to the enemy, though, are all but unknown. Some believe that all such failures are stricken from the Emperor's Children's records by order of their Primarch Fulgrim himself. In doing so, there was nothing left to tarnish the flawless honour associated with the Sun Killers.

It is unknown what has happened to them post-Heresy. But given the sheer level of sex, drugs and rock and roll which comprised the modern-day Emperor's Children, such habits would have a severe negative impact on their quality. They were most likely dissolved and, if not, most likely replaced their Plasmas for something more shoutier.

Crunch

For a 185pts, you get a specialized BS5 Heavy Support squad but without Vexilla or Nuncio Vox that only uses energy weapons because they're more elegant and refined than those crude bolters and auto weapons. They all start with Lascannons and any model in the unit can swap them for Volkite Culverins, Plasma Cannons or Multi-meltas for free. All of them have chainswords so they aren't totally bad in melee. The Novaetor can buy Power or Charnabal weapon; he can also swap his Lascannon either with a power fist for 5pts or a Bolter/Combi-Weapon/LC for free (this is the worst trade ever). He can also buy a Melta bomb. Their real use comes from their ability to deny cover and/or (wording?) mitigation saves and being able to re-roll 1s to wound against a Designated Quarry super-heavy, Knight, Titan, or Gargantuan unit while also adding 1 to their rolls on the vehicle damage table against it. They can take Rhino or LR Proteus Carrier as DT. In games that allow fortifications, Sun Killer squads can take a Defence Line instead of a transport.