Editing Lion El'Jonson (section)

====General Primarch Tactics: Lion El'Jonson====

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The Lion is nothing short of absolutely terrifying in this edition of Horus Heresy. He's got an incredibly powerful statline and wargear fit for a king, but he takes substantial skill to use to his full potential.

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One thing to consider is which weapon to use. The Lion has two weapons, The Lion Sword and the Wolf Blade, both of which are suited to different situations. For dreadnoughts, vehicles, and other Primarchs, you're going to want the Lion Sword, and for massed infantry, you'll want to be using the Wolf Blade. I've done some math below:

*Tactical Marines (WS4, T4, 1W, 3+)
**'''The Lion Sword:''' 5.97 hits, 4.98 unsaved ID wounds
***Lion's Choler (+1 Attack): 6.81 hits, 5.78 unsaved ID wounds
***Lion's Choler (+2 Attacks): 7.64 hits, 6.37 unsaved ID wounds
**'''The Wolf Blade:''' 7.64 hits, 7.43 unsaved ID wounds
***Lion's Choler (+1 Attack): 8.47 hits, 8.23 unsaved ID wounds
***Lion's Choler (+2 Attacks): 9.31 hits, 9.05 unsaved ID wounds
:The Wolf Blade is superior here, dealing almost 1.5x the damage of the Lion Sword without factoring Lion's Choler.

*Cataphractii Terminators (WS4, T4, 2W, 2+/4++)
**'''The Lion Sword:''' 5.97 hits, 4.98 wounds, 2.49 unsaved ID wounds
***Lion's Choler (+1 Attack): 6.81 hits, 5.78 wounds, 2.89 unsaved ID wounds
***Lion's Choler (+2 Attacks): 7.64 hits, 6.37 wounds, 3.19 unsaved ID wounds
**'''The Wolf Blade:''' 7.64 hits, 7.43 wounds, 2.68 unsaved ID wounds
***Lion's Choler (+1 Attack): 8.47 hits, 8.23 wounds, 2.97 unsaved ID wounds
***Lion's Choler (+2 Attacks): 9.31 hits, 9.05 wounds, 3.27 unsaved ID wounds
:In this case, the Wolf Blade is slightly better due to Reaping Blow (2), but not by a ton.

*Contemptor Dreadnought (WS5, T7, 6W, 2+/5++)
**'''The Lion Sword:''' 5.97 hits, 4.98 wounds, 3.32 unsaved ID wounds (6.64 wounds)
**'''The Wolf Blade:''' 5.97 hits, 5.80 wounds, 2.09 unsaved wounds
:Against a dreadnought, the Lion Sword is the superior option, due to having Armourbane and Instant Death, dealing D3 wounds per successful unsaved wound. The Wolf Blade isn't great, due to having AP3, and its inability to use Reaping Blow (2) against a dreadnought, since it's a single target.

*Land Raider Spartan (AV14, 6HP)
**'''The Lion Sword:''' 5.97 hits, 0.66 glancing hits, 4.34 penetrating hits, '''1.45 explodes results.''' Holy fuck, that spartan is gone.
**'''The Wolf Blade:''' 5.97 hits, ~1 glancing hit, ~1 penetrating hit.
:The Lion Sword is the FAR superior option, due to having Armourbane, Lance, and AP1.
:The Wolf Blade doesn't have anything to make it particularly great against vehicles.

Generally, the bigger the thing you're killing, the better the Lion Sword is-- especially Primarchs ([[Rogal Dorn|with a single exception]]).

The Lion isn't particularly durable, but his single invulnerable save re-roll can make him dangerous, especially against enemies that deal low amounts of wounds. However, the Lion isn't particularly difficult to overwhelm.

How many guns do you need to kill the Lion, on average, in one turn?
*Lascannons: 22
*Multi-Meltas: 17
*Plasma guns: 17 (34 shots)
*Disintegrators: 28 (52 shots)
*Autocannons: 28 (52 shots)
*Heavy Bolters: 41 (184 shots)
*Bolters: 163 (326 shots)

The Lion isn't very tanky against shooting attacks, but that's why you have a retinue. Speaking of which...

The Dark Angels have the two of the best retinue choices in the entire game:
*Deathwing Companions: These guys are amazing. 275 points buys you 10 veterans (WS5, BS4, 2W, SV 2+) with bolters and Calibanite Warblades, which are fine, but you're taking these fine gents with a Primarch, so you should pimp them out as much as you can.
**For melee weapons, you've got two additional options: power fists and Terranic greatswords. Generally you'll want to take the greatswords-- they're swords, so you get +1 to hit with the Deathwing sub-type, and on a 5+ to wound, you get AP2 ID, which means you're still inflicting ID on models with Battle-Hardened or any strength modifiers (e.g. Fafnir Rann). Additionally, consider giving one Companion a Cytheron-pattern Aegis, and keep it deployed. You only need one because of their ''Death-Sworn Companions'' rule, meaning that the whole unit ''including the character that joins it'' is immune to Precision Strikes, Precision Shots, and Sniper, so you don't have to worry about your shield man being sniped. With that, you've got 10 men that can do heavy damage to any target while taking plenty of damage in return. The cherry on top? that Cytheron-pattern Aegis gives enemies -1 Initiative when deployed, so the Lion gets a fantastic defensive boost!
*Inner Circle Knights Cenobium: Enough playing around, the boys are back in town. These dudes are ridiculous. Like, Matt Ward level stupid. 525 points gets you 10 Cataphractii terminators with WS5, Terranic Greatswords (which they can replace with thunder hammers FOR FREE), flamers with AP4 and Breaching (6+), and an ability called Orders of the Hekatonsystika, which gives them a whole slew of options:
**<u>Augurs of Weakness</u>: +1 Strength when making an Armour Penetration roll against a vehicle's facing if it is AV11 or more.
**<u>Icons of Resolve</u>: +1 Leadership when Charged or Charging? Pass.
**<u>Slayers of Kings</u>: Re-roll 1s to-hit when in close combat with enemy models that have WS5 or higher, or completely re-roll failed hits in Challenges against WS5 or higher.
**<u>Hunters of Beasts</u>: Re-roll 1s to-wound when in close combat against models of T5, or completely re-roll failed wounds in close combat against Toughness 6 or higher.
**<u>Reapers of Hosts</u>: Gain +1 Attack when in base contact with more than one model.
**<u>Breakers of Witches</u>: Re-roll to-hit and to-wound rolls against units containing Daemons, Psykers, or ''Corrupted'' units.
:Even as a squad drawn from individuals from a particular Hekatonystika, this unit can still choose a Hexagrammation sub-type; Deathwing applies to Terranic Greatswords, so it is possible to hit WS4 on a 2+.
:Obviously, Reapers of Hosts is still the best option against everything your opponent has, as +1 attack for every model in base contact with Terranic Greatswords or Thunder Hammers is way too good to pass up. The other Hekatonystika options are too situational if players don't know what they're facing beforehand. Against single models, Plasma Burners will drown them in templates for a crap-ton of hits, so anything Cenobites engage in melee will already be hurting by the time they get into range regardless; for tanks and Automata, you have the Hammers.

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