Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Imperial Agents

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In an interesting hiccup of fate, a little book called Codex: Imperial Agents have been bequeathed to use by the folks of Games Workshop. It contains within many factions and small detachments that an enterprising player (especially those of the Imperial bent) may wish to utilize.

Why Play Imperial Agents?

This book is better to be known as Codex: Allies. If you play using Armies of the Imperium (and even then if you don't,) Imperial Agents offer relatively cheap ways to fill in some of the holes in your lists.

• Rely on vehicles? The Engineseer Congregation gives you a direct means to repair and even buff them
• Lacking psychic oomph? Take the Astra Telepathica or the Culexus or the Grey Knights or the Inquisition
• Lack flyers? There's a formation that gives you flyers free of tax.

Overall it is quite funny to think about with it. Small detachments allow for a mess of an army. Which might not be the best on the min/max side of the game. But having it together with Inquisition and the, very cool, Divisio Military special rule can make you an army that is just oozing character. It is still a mess in some parts and missing some toys the Inquisition have in their codex.

Additionally, there are some more things to consider:

• This codex covers Inquisition, Sisters of Battle/Ecclesiarchy, and Assassins in a nice hardback format. If you already have these armies, you need this book.
• Many of the cloned units have either new formations or straight upgrades/alterations that make them better than other versions.
• So much conversion potential! Seriously, get out there you crazy modders.

Factions

This book lacks a unified Faction that is anything different than the generic Armies of the Imperium. Instead, there are several factions contained within that contain one or more formations that can be fielded.

This is particularly important with the newest ally ruling stating that Battle Brothers cannot begin the game embarked in an allied transport (Thanks a lot, Eldar). One of the largest downsides to taking these new units as allies is that they have to stay outside your transports turn one.

Cult Mechanicus

Somewhat noteworthy here in that it gives new(ish) units to an existing faction. The new formation is probably the best way to field them still, but it makes for an interesting addition to a cult force.

Formations

Enginseer Congregation:

• Requires:
  • 1 HQ, which must be an Enginseer.
  • 0-1 Elites, which must be Servitors.
• Units of this Formation gain Canticles of the Omnissiah

A simple formation, but a handy one. Hurt severely by lack of a transport, it nonetheless makes for a handy escort to slogging tank forces. If you're using an IG Armoured Company or a slow-walking Household Detachment, having a few of these guys helping out can really add some miles.

Special Rules

Canticles of the Omnissiah

At the start of every turn, before reserves mosey on in, count the number of units with the Canticles of the Omnissiah unit. If you have more units, the resulting buff gets even better. Also, when counting the number of units you discount any squads that are falling back, and the canticle remains at that power level even if units regroup or new ones arrive on the table and bring your total higher. You may enact one Canticle of the Omnissiah which lasts until your next turn. With some exceptions, generally you can only use each Canticle once per game. The Canticles are:

• Incantation of the Iron Soul: - Having 1-3 units gives them Stubborn, 4-7 gives them Stubborn and the ability to reroll failed morale, fear & pinning checks. Having 8+ units just goes stuff it and gives them all Fearless.
• Shroudpsalm: 1-3 = Stealth, 4-7 = Shrouded while having 8+ gives both rules.
  • This can combo beautifully with an allied force that you attached the Engineseer to.
• Chant of the Remorseless Fist: 1-3 units gives re-rolls of one to-hit in close combat, followed by re-rolls of one and two at 4-7, then simply getting to re-roll all fails to hit if you have 8+ units on the tabletop.
• Benediction of Omniscience: 1-3 units gives re-rolls of one to-hit while shooting, followed by re-rolls of one and two at 4-7, then simply getting to re-roll all fails to hit if you have 8+ units on the tabletop.
  • This is great for gun servitors
• Invocation of Machine Might: 1-3 = plus one strength, increasing to plus two at 4-7, then plus three at 8+ units.
  • This can make your basic servo-arm servitors surprisingly deadly in combat considering their cheap price tag.
• Litany of the Electromancer: Your dudes generate electricity; in close combat, for every model you have with the Canticle the enemy takes a S4 AP- hit at Initiative 10 that phase. Increasing to two hits at 4-7 squads, and three hits at 8+.

Also note that the buffs only apply to friendly models that have the Canticles of the Omnissiah special rule as according to the rulebook, Canticle effects held by independent characters do not confer unto squads unless specifically noted and vice versa, so you can't attach a Dominus to a space marine squad and make them electrical or boost the accuracy of guardsmen. The only ones that apply to allies would be Shroudpsalm and The Incantation of the Iron Soul, which provide USRs that can confer to attached squads.

Units

General Tactics for both are here.

HQ

• Techpriest Engineseer: Exactly the same as the Astra Miliatrum Engineseer. However, you are giving away orders and intra-codex synergy for effectively no limits in how many you can take and Canticles of the Omnissiah. If you were going to take Engineseers, this probably the preferable manner because Canticles are flat out worth it. Since Engineseers are Independent Characters, they can give their attached units stealth/shrouded/both to their attached squads one turn per game, for instance.

ELITE

• Servitors: Same deal as the Engineseer. Arguably benefit from Canticles even more. Normally milquetoast, the ability to get temporary re-rolls in shooting/melee as well as buffs makes servitors much more valuable.

Aeronautica Imperialis

A good faction to ally in wherever you need a little extra air support or transport with no strings attached, Aeronautica Imperialis also has the added benefit of being the only faction that bypasses the usual restriction on embarking allies. Thanks to the most recent FAQ, "Transports from this Faction can transport Astra Militarum, Militarum Tempestus and Inquisition units as if they were all of the same Faction." Also, since this specifically applies to the faction as whole, that should include Forge World units like the Aquila as well, for whatever that's worth.

Formations

Imperial Navy Section:

• Requires:
  • 1 Fast Attack
  • 0-1 HQ
• You may re-roll Reserve rolls for this detachment. Combined with a fleet officer, your air support is pretty much assured to arrive turn two.
• Must be of the Aeronautica Imperialis faction

Units

HQ

• Officer of the Fleet: The Officer must pass a command test to either give you a +1 to your reserves or force a -1 on enemy reserve rolls, seriously jeopardizing their well-thought schemes. However, he won't stop drop pods, his Ld is 7 (giving a 58% of his shit even working), and if the enemy doesn't reserve anything you've bought an expensive meat shield. So a bit more random, at that Leadership it's a bit of a risky gamble, and forces you to choose buff or bane. In combat, the Officer is as good as dead - use him as another warm body to stop a shot for your commander in the back of the squad. To boost his price up to equaling a powerfist, you can give him a refractor field for a slight boost in his chances of survival. Unlike his Astra Militarum counterpart, he's an independent character so you can use him to eat challenges that your real HQs find distasteful. He is also a massive fuck you towards Daemons players.
  • In summary: he's great for or against reserve-heavy armies, otherwise mediocre. There's also the Valkyrie paywall you have to consider.

Fast Attack

• Valkyries: More on them here. You want to get these if you lack flyers, transports, and/or AA and do not want much else. Sure there are other units that do those duties better, but these are more accessible and can save you some well-needed points.

Forge World While they may be difficult to fit into a proper list, many Forge World fliers do have have the AI faction. These include the Marauder Bomber, Thunderbolt Fighter, Lightning Fighter, Aquila Lander, Vulture Gunship, Arvus Lighter, and Avenger Strike Fighter.

Adeptus Astra Telepathica

Formations

Psykana Division:

• Requires:
  • 1 HQ
  • 1-3 Elite
• Must be of the Astra Telepathica Formation
• HQ harnesses warp charges on 3+ when 5+ Wyrdvane Psykers from the same formation are within 12"
• If your army doesn't rely heavily on transports, like blobguard, you can add any number of Primaris Psykers or Astropaths to your forces. The extra leadership, useful psychic punch/defense, and, for the Primaris the melee boost, can add a great edge for a fairly minimal cost investment.

Units

HQ

Both units can be found here When taking this formation, you have to choose between the Primaris Psyker and the Astropath.

• Primaris Psyker: Knows Pyromancy, Biomancy, Telekinesis, and Divination. All in all not a bad secondary character.
• Astropath: Cheaper and weaker than the Primaris Psyker. Lacks a force weapon and needs to purchase the refractor field. Also only knows telepathy and telekinesis. The trade off is that upon any successful casting of a psychic power by the Astropath, you may re-roll any of your reserve rolls on your next turn. So consider taking this one if you want general psychic ability and have reserves you want to bring in somewhat reliably.

ELITE

• Wyrdvane Psykers: Read up on them here. Of note, however, is that these guys can't take a chimera as default, which severely limits their utility. As with the IG version, there's very little reason to buy larger-sized squads, but without the transport they tend to die quickly whenever they close enough to use their psychic powers.

Adepta Sororitas

This is a side-grade of the already extant Codex: Adepta Sororitas and does not replace it. Rumor has it that a true 7e SoB codex is in the works, substantiated by the confirmation of plastic SoBs and a new model for Saint Celestine

Formations

Ministorum delegation:

• Requires:
  • 1 HQ which must be a Ministorum Priest
  • 0-1 Elites
• All units must be of the Adepta Sororitas faction
• All units gain shield of faith, perfect for MSU command squads or small battle conclaves
• Like the Psykana Division, this gives you an excuse to add a priest to *every single* unit in your army. Zealot alone makes this worthwhile, but your prayers, AM, and the option for an eviscerator or plasma gun is fantastic, as well.

Vestal Task force:

• Follows the same structure as the Combined Arms Detachment except this excludes Fortifications and Lords of War
  • Once per game re-roll failed saving throws of 1 for one turn until your next turn
  • Re-roll for Sisters' Warlord Trait on the Sisters Table.
• You're better off taking the normal Combined Arms Detachment unless you really plan on having a turn that requires making many saves.

Ecclesiarchy Battle Conclave:

• Requires:
  • 1 Ministorum Priest or Uriah Jacobus
  • 3-10 units of Arco-flagellants, Crusaders, and/or Death Cult Assasins
• All units become one single unit and gain Shield of Faith.

Units

Follow the general Sisters tactics here. However, the Adepta Sororitas of the Imperial Agents book have been slightly modified.

Differences:

• Saint Celestine is not in the codex, but can instead be found in the Fall of Cadia supplement as well as in Codex: Adepta Sororitas.
• Priest is now an HQ.
• Ecclesiarchy Battle Conclave has become the aforementioned Formation rather than a free HQ slot. However, you can field dedicated units of Crusaders, Arco-flagellants, and Death Cult Assassins as generic Elite slots that do not require Priests.
• Sororitas Command Squad now takes up an Elite slot but no longer requires a Canoness.
• Also the Acts of Faith do not end at end of a phase, now they are in effect till the End of the Turn. Which is a slight buff.
• If you are used to priests from the IG or Inquisitors faction, these guys are far superior. Aside from AW from the formation, they also have the option to take power weapons, eviscerators, combi-weapons/condemner, relics including a daemon-slaying mace, and is a full independent character.

Deathwatch

Formations

Deathwatch Kill Team

• Requires:
  • 1 Troops
• Must be of the Deathwatch faction
• Non-vehicles of this formation re-roll armour penetration and to-wound rolls of 1. This, combined with Mission Tactics, acts as Preferred Enemy. Not bad at all if you're taking them as a single "assassin" unit.
• Squad Donatus and Squad Crull are Deathwatch Troops and therefore qualify for the formation.

Special Rules

Yes, Deathwatch Kill Teams still get their Mission Tactics

Units

Troops

• Veterans: See here

Fast Attack

• Corvus Blackstar: Can only be taken as a dedicated transport for your veterans. Know how to be found here.

Grey Knights

Formations

Daemonhunters Strike Force

• Requires:
  • 1 Fast Attack OR 1 Troops
  • 0-1 Heavy Support
• Start reserve rolls on turn 1 for units in this formation that are deep-striking with 3+ being a successful reserve roll. Also, deep-strikers may shoot and run on the turn they arrive from reserve.

Units

Not really changed from their base book. So head there for tips.

Troops

• Terminators:
• Strike Squads (not included in the book):

Fast Attack

• Interceptor Squad:
• Stormraven Gunship (not included in the book): Yep, you can drop as many of these in your army as you like.

Heavy Support

• Nemesis Dreadknight:
• Landraider:
  • Basic:
  • Redeemer:
  • Crusader:
• Purgation Squad (not included in the book): For putting in the Stormraven.

Legion of the Damned

Formations

Spectral Host:

• Requires:
  • 1 Elite
  • 0-3 Additional Elites
• Must be of the Legion of the Damned faction
• All units of this Detachment start as Deep Strike reserves but may choose to automatically pass or fail their reserve rolls.
• Aside from tournament faffing, there is no special reason to take the other elite choices from this formation versus taking multiple formations.

Units

Elites

• Damned Legionaires: See tactics here.

Officio Assassinorium

Formations

Assassinorium Operative:

• Requires:
  • 1 Elite
• Gain 1 additional Victory Point if enemy warlord was killed by an assassin from this detachment. Better for some assassins than others, but pretty much the only way to take assassins (other than unbound or with an Excecution Force, below).

Execution Force:

• Requires:
  • Vindicare Assassin
  • Callidus Assassin
  • Eversor Assassin
  • Culexus Assassin
• All gain Preferred Enemy (Warlord)
• Gain 1 additional Victory Point if enemy warlord was killed by an assassin from this detachment. Generally a little overkill for anything short of Apocalypse. The Vindicare really, really likes having PE, however.

Units

Really, just look here.

Elite:

• Vindicare Assassin:
• Callidus Assassin:
• Eversor Assassin:
• Culexus Assassin:

Inquisition

Much like the Adepta Sororitas, the Inquisition of this book do not replace that of Codex: Inquisition. As another side-grade, they gain certain things and lose others.

Detachment

Inquisitorial Representative: Resembles the Inquisitorial Detachment but keep in mind several things. First of all, in order to take another Inquisitor: you have to field another one of these, and considering the benefits you would probably want to do that already. Secondly, with this you cannot field mobs of select models. Acolytes are the only Elites choice that can be fielded in units of more than one model. All others are solitary unless taken in a specific formation. You lose direct access to the Arco-flagellant, Ministorum priest, Death Cult Assassin, Psykers, and Servitors unless you take a specific formation, though the new formation highly resembles the old unit and comes with a few new bonuses.

• Requires:
  • 1 HQ
  • 0-3 Elite
• The Inquisitor from this detachment may generate a Warlord trait even though they are not the Warlord. For the sake of the Warlord trait they count as a Warlord. Honestly fantastic for grabbing an extra Tactical Warlord trait, and thanks to the wording you can keep taking additional detachments (of one Inquisitor each) for additional traits.
• All units must be of the Inquisition faction.

Units

HQ

• Ordo Malleus Inquisitor: Easily the most melee focused of the three, the Malleus Inquisitor still has access to the Daemonhammer, and he still has access to his Daemonblade, though they can now dual-wield them and the blades make it clear which of their effects affect the user, and which affect the blade (meaning that he can get four effects by using two blades, even though he can only attack in close combat with one), though you shouldn't expect something amazing out of it, even if you do purchase two swords for him. His ranged weapons aren't that bad either, though getting a Psycannon costs a lot of points, as does the Terminator armour it requires (to the point that it's arguably not worth it), and the Hellrifle is almost cheap enough to spam it as a MEQ-killer, though as already mentioned this Inquisitor mostly shines in melee. Make him a Psyker, give him the Daemonhammer and Empyric Brain Mines and let him go to town with his force weapon.

If you want to make the most out of him and you happen to be fighting Daemons (or really anyone with the Daemon rule), then feel free to take the Grimoire of True Names, and use this alongside your Brain Mines to drop Greater Daemons down to I1, then smash them with the Daemonhammer. It's not unheard of for Bloodthirsters to charge into fights against these guys and fucking lose.

• Inquisitor Coteaz: Coteaz covers a lot of bases, and covers them very well. He's a good psyker, has a decent enough ranged attack, is good enough in melee and doesn't cost a lot of points, what's not to love? Well for starters even though his model is wearing a rosarius whoever wrote the rules didn't recognize it, so he has no Invuln save. This is easily remedied by putting him in with a unit of Acolytes, with at least one of whom has a storm shield (though unfortunately he's kind of boned if he gets into melee combat with anyone S6 or higher). Secondly his special rule, Lord of Formosa isn't really all that useful in the current rules, thanks to the fact that Daemonhosts and Jokaero are single-model units now (you can give three models ObSec, yay) and between the three, Daemonhosts, Jokaero and Acolytes make up all of the models he can give the rule to.

That being said, he's still good for his points, and his I've Been Expecting You rule is nothing to sneeze at, in a properly shooty squad (gained by using the Inquisition's formation or by allying him in with another army) he can cause an absurd amount of damage in a very short time, and even if he doesn't, the bubble he generates that scares away Deep-strikes and Outflanks could easily be worth the price, though if you want an Inquisitor who isn't a jack-of-all-trades you'd be better off with the generic one.

• Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor: The saddest of the bunch, though not fully without advantages. Unfortunately the Malleus and Xenos both have more going for them than the Hereticus Inquisitors, and of the three the Hereticus is far and away the most specialized. They also get shafted in odd ways, such as their thunder hammers costing 5 point more than the Malleus' version, and that one's a force hammer! Their power fists also cost 5 points more than their thunder hammers! That being said, there are a number of ways to get a lot of use out of these Inquisitors, mostly through buffing/defending the unit they're currently in.

Both of these revolve around using the Null Rod and Psyocculum. The Psyocculum is straightforward, put him in a unit (even a unit of conscripts) and so long as you're shooting at a unit with psykers, they'll be BS 10. Preferably you'll be using weapons meant more for killing the unit around the psyker than the psyker themself, as that means you get more out of it. The Null Rod on the other hand is mainly meant for countering the psychic bullshit that's been going around as of late, simply put it makes the Inquisitor a miniature Culexus Assassin. Their attacks are at AP3 with Instant Death against psykers (which encompasses a surprising amount of characters, hell two Inquisitors with Null Rods and an allied Priest can kill a Hive Tyrant while remaining cheaper) and no psychic powers may be used against them or their unit. Getting a few Inquisitors with Null Rods to protect from Magnus and Ahriman could have been worth it on their own, even if this detachment didn't also let them come with their own Warlord Traits. They can also take the Liber Heresius to further buff their unit, and considering the buffs it can offer it's well worth the 15 points to do so.

• Inquisitor Karamazov: Still no Invuln save, still no Eternal Warrior, still gets ID'd by a railgun shot. Put him in a unit that has storm shields to give him some sort of protection, or better yet add him to the Inquisition's formation, try to get the 12" range bonus from the Jokaero and laugh as he burns shit with a 36" multi-melta before crushing opponents in assault.

Karamazov best shines in an assault-heavy army, preferably one that has alternate means of traversing the board (such as Marines with their Geomancy) but he can still work with the Inquisition, all you need is an Acolyte unit who got far in a transport (one of whom is a mystic), an Inquisitor who happened to get Gate of Infinity, and then you can deep strike Karamazov and his unit right next to the Acolytes without fear of scatter. This is of course assuming you opponent's not coming to you, if they are then they'll have their work cut out for them as Karamazov can rip and tear with the best of them.

Karamazov's also pretty good as a buffer too, Dread Reputation makes sure that he and everyone else around him stay exactly where they should be (functioning as a priest-lite, but for multiple units) while By Any Means Necessary is actually helped by the Daemonhost's new size of one model per unit, so long as you can get any of them into combat you can sacrifice a 10 point model to make sure his blasts don't scatter, which is more than worth it.

• Ordo Xenos Inquisitor: A good shooter and de-buffer, of the three the Xenos Inquisitor is best suited for an all-comers list as their Rad Grenades, Plasma Syphon and Psychotroke Grenades all work wonders on everything. Put them in an assault squad to help it mulch through the opponents and keep it safe from rapid-fire plasma, or give him a Conversion Beamer, sit him back, and start shooting. Interestingly it could be argued that the rad grenades stack with each other, and since they don't stop at lowering their victims to T1, you could have three Inquisitors charge the same T3 target, and it would die before striking back at all. While not ideal, this could also be used to cancel the new Pink Horror's bullshit split rule.

Unfortunately the Ordo Xenos don't have a special character of their own since Inquisitor Valeria's now dead.

Elites

• Acolytes: Acolytes are an excellent unit, being cheap enough to function as extra bodies to any army lacking them, while having decent upgrade options. You could outshine the Tempestus with hotshot lasguns and power armour (still BS3, though Prescience from an Inquisitor or a Psyocculum can help with that) or you could give them all bolters/storm bolters, which makes them an odd squad, one that doesn't cost a lot and still gets good weapons. They're also cheap enough that you'll have to start weighing what's worth more, a killier/hardier squad or multiple, weaker squads?

Do not use them as melee troops. Though they have two weapons they still have the statline of a regular human, and unless they're up against similarly-sized units of humans, or they charge units of humans that don't number too much, they're going to lose and any of the armour options to make them live longer are wasted on an assault squad of these guys. If you still really want to use them in an assault role, then just take the formation below and stock up on better melee units while putting any wounds you can on the acolytes first.

Of note is that they're one of the very few units in the game who can make use of the gunslinger rule. Acolytes can buy plasma pistols and combine them with their laspistols to fire twice, though don't expect this to be any sort of game changer.

• Available Transport Options:

• Chimera: The tax for getting it isn't so bad however, Acolytes are dirt-cheap and the Inquisition's Chimera's have certain advantages to them, like being able to upgrade their heavy bolters with psybolt ammo so that you're ID'ing GEQ's, Tempestus and Tau, all the while ignoring most of their armour saves. A storm bolter also wouldn't go amiss either since it'll also benefit from the psybolt ammo. It's a good little transport, and well worth the points once upgraded.
• Sororitas Rhino: That's correct. 5 points more than Codex: Inquisition but now with a 6+ invulnerable save and Adamantium Will. Debatably not worth it compared to the Chimera, it's cheaper, loses a point of armour in the front but gains a point in the side, and it doesn't have options to the psybolt ammo that the Chimera has, though it otherwise keeps the same roll. Take it if you're strapped for points, or are really worried about Psyker shooting your tanks, but not so worried about it that you'd by an Inquisitor with a Null Rod.
• Land Raider Variants:

• Godhammer (basic): Shouldn't be taken. You've got monkeys for lascannons, Inquisitor's (or allied Astropath's) for re-rolls, and even Chimeras provide deadlier heavy bolter fire. You also don't have the troops needed to make this one worth it, and if you're allying just to get an Assault Transport out of the Inquisition then you're better off with one of the next two options.
• Crusader: If you're taking this it'll be because you're allying the Inquisitor in with another army that doesn't have access to Assault Transports, or you're using the formation that allows you to take a massive unit and you built if for assault. If it's the former, then load it with your best unit, charge in, don't risk going through terrain (seriously, the Crusader shines in close range and getting immobilized is a huge waste of 250 points) and have fun. If it's the latter, then it's a bit iffier. While the Inquisition can get good assault units, Chimeras with psybolt ammo (which the Crusader can no longer purchase) are cheaper, more spammable, and more likely to make their points back. If you used the formation to build a good assault squad though (see the formation for more details) then it could still be worth it to load the Crusader up, charge into the enemy, and use buckets of dice considering how many attacks you should get from charging.
• Redeemer: Iffier than the Crusader, the guns are good, the issue simply comes from the fact that it is extremely short ranged. If you can get it there it'll tear shit up, but if your opponent has a few melta's/monstrous creatures/chainfists (or their equivalents), then its range easily puts it into their range, which is the fastest way to lose it. If your opponent doesn't have any of those however, then the Redeemer is good both against MEQ's and hordes and can arguably make its points back the fastest out of the three, only needing to flame/shoot a few particular squads to break even.

• Valkyrie: Unless you use a formation to ally in the Deathwatch (and you really shouldn't, explained in the formation) this is the only flyer you're going to have access to. It's a good thing that it's a good one then. It still doesn't have access to the armoury (so no S6 heavy bolters for it) but it's still the tough and deadly plane from before, and it still has access to grav-chute insertion, which is great considering that Acolytes cost so little it doesn't matter if one of them dies or not when you use it. Put them inside, use it to pester infantry/destroy aircraft (loading it up with high Strength or blasts as is appropriate) and have fun.

• Daemonhost: Free kill points for the enemy! Seriously, Daemonhosts are not hard to kill and their effectiveness is extremely random. They can be fun in huge groups, but you're limited to one model per unit, so if you take them you're either running an unbound list, you're using the formation below, or you're going to be abusing the fact that they now come with the Daemon special rule as there are some weapons/rules that can activate when a model is near a Daemon, and paying 10 points to make this a guarantee is certainly worth it. Don't take them if your plan is simply to run lone Daemonhosts at your enemy, more often than not it won't work out in your favour.
• Jokaero Weaponsmith: The shooting monkeys everyone remembers and loves. They still keep their all of their old weapons (including the ring/lascannon/multi-melta/heavy flamer) however now they are limited to one model a unit. Single-model Jokaero aren't going to do too much unless you roll really lucky on either their shots or their special table, and even then the special table is only going to affect the Inquisitor or whatever other character you're allied with. Buffing any Independent Character with +12" to any non-template ranged weapon is really good. If you added Cawl to the unit for example you could turn his gun into a 24" S10 AP1 Melta that fires D3 times.

Overall though, if you want to make sure your Jokaero are going to do something then you can't just stop at one. Get at least 3, yes that'll max out your detachment, yes that can leave you open for Kill Points, but another detachment gets you another Warlord Trait and with 3 you can at least guarantee they are going to do something. You'll get a good result on the random chart, or they'll blow up that transport that you needed gone, and unless your opponent can make kill points off of them then they'll likely not consider a single 35 point model worth the firepower of an entire squad, especially when there's larger, more threatening targets out there.

Heavy Support

• Chimera: The Inquisitorial Representative detachment has no option for a Heavy Support unit of any kind, so if you take a Chimera it'll be as a dedicated transport (see above for tactics on how to use it best), or it'll be in an unbound list and why would you go unbound with this army? Getting a bonus Warlord trait is worth the points and the Acolyte tax is so minimal for their Chimera.

Formation

Inquisitorial Henchmen Warband:

• Requires:
  • 1 Inquisitor of any type, including Unique Characters
  • 1 Acolyte unit
  • 0-1 Ministorum Priests unit
  • 0-1 Crusaders unit
  • 0-6 Daemonhosts units
  • 0-1 Arco-flagellants unit
  • 0-1 Death Cult Assassins unit
  • 0-1 Tech-priest Engineseers unit
  • 0-6 Jokaero Weaponsmiths units
  • 0-1 Astropaths unit
• All units/models (excluding the Inquisitor) combine with Acolytes into one large squad.
• One Inquisitor from this detachment may generate a Warlord trait even though they are not the Warlord. For the sake of the Warlord trait they count as a Warlord.
• Depending on your Inquisitor, you may field an additional unit at cost, with all of the units now sharing the Inquisition Faction rather than their own faction(s):
  • Ordo Malleus and/or Inquisitor Coteaz may purchase a Grey Knight Terminator Squad. The effectiveness of this squad should be obvious, though unless you choose to Deep-strike them they don't offer much the Inquisition doesn't already have (and for far cheaper) other than 2+ saves. If you do choose to Deep-strike them however, then you should make one of the Acolytes a mystic to ensure that there is no scatter. Having termies always arrive with perfect accuracy is great, they can serve as a nice scare tactic, absorbing fire so your other units have nothing to worry about or they can hack apart anyone in melee (and considering how easily Grey Knights can become S6 with 3-4 Attacks each, that shouldn't be an issue).
  • Ordo Hereticus and/or Inquisitor Karamazov may purchase an Adepta Sororitas Battle Sisters Squad. The Sisters are a little harder to justify over the Knights, and are better at supporting a shooting force rather than a melee one, even though Hereticus Inquisitors are better suited for melee (their ranged options simply not being as good as the other two Ordo's). If you gave the Inquisitor a Psyocculum and are up against a Psyker-heavy force then they could easily be worth it (especially if the Inquisitor also uses Prescience), a decked-out Sisters squad can also greatly benefit from the mobility provided by a Valkyrie that the Inquisition can provide for them this way, being tough enough not to die to random fire like most of the Inquisition's units, while remaining a better option over a fully loaded up Acolyte squad thanks to their special rules and Act of Faith.

Alternatively you could station them a little farther ahead than your other squads and let them valiantly die to enemy gunfire and charges (or put them wherever your own force is weak to do so), soaking up a fair amount of damage in the process that could have been used against your other units. If making them martyrs is your plan then keep their loadout minimal, in this role they're likely only going to use their Act of Faith once and even if they don't get it you won't see a big loss. Paying for martyrs to get anything besides more bodies is just a waste of points.

You could also use them to get extra Rhino's or Immolators, but rather ironically the Sisters' vehicles will benefit your other units a lot more than they will the nuns, most of your other units being better off closing the distance while the Sisters will want to keep away from the enemy.

• Ordo Xenos may purchase a Deathwatch Veterans unit. There's very little point to this, if you ally in the Deathwatch you get Aquila Doctrine, allowing you to re-roll any AP/To Wound roll of 1, whereas if you get the Inquisitor to bring them in you get nothing, aside from them being a part of the Inquisition again (so the only reason you'd do it, is because you care about the fluff). If for whatever reason you're forbidden from taking allies, then this is more of a mulligan than anything else. In that case you'd want to take them, load them up with melee or ranged (whichever fits your preference, although preferably they'd do the opposite of whatever your current Henchman Warband is doing so that all of your bases are covered) and then go to town. If you're going ranged you could try giving them a Chimera or Sororitas Rhino to help close the distance (both of which are more likely to last longer than the Deathwatch's own vehicles) and if you're going melee wise then you should take the Blackstar, or a Land Raider if you know that you're going to be up against a lot of AA.

• The warband may take a Chimera, Sororitas Rhino, Land Raider (basic, redeemer, or crusader), or Valkyrie as a transport.
• Because your allied units are now Inquisition faction, they can start embarked in an allied AI Valkyrie. This is especially helpful for Sisters who otherwise lack a flying transport.
• Generally there's no monobuild with the Henchmen Warband, though there are a few things you're going to want to add right off the bat. Get Crusaders or Acolytes with storm shields to take the hits for everyone (Acolytes would likely be better, Crusaders don't usually do the killing and Acolytes with storm shields are 11 points cheaper) else and get a Priest to ensure your unit stays where it is (25 points is a small price to pay for Fearless).
  • From there you can build off of whatever you want the squad to be doing, get a few Jokaero if you're going shooty (make sure to get at least two monkeys so you can avoid the shit result on their table) and make sure to buff them with the near-mandatory Astropath (always choose Divination so that BS3 doesn't screw you over as hard). This also makes a good bunker to station a shooty Inquisitor in, such as an Inquisitor with a conversion beamer (though be warned that the Jokaero's range buff is actually a nerf in the case of the beamer).

You could also add a Hereticus Inquisitor with Divination and a Psyocculum if you wanted to skip the Astropath entirely and are up against a Psyker-heavy force (buying the Inquisitor the Psychic Level is only 5 points more than getting the Astropath, and they also get a free force weapon to boot, just in case you get into combat). Coteaz could also be fine if you got the +12" range buff from the Jokaero. A Malleus Inquisitor with a Psycannon could also do well, but that combination eats up a shitload of points and you'd be better off with 2 more Jokaero for your shooty squad.

You could also get a shitload of Acolytes and Boltguns, 10 of them are only 50 points, and if you get the range buff from the Jokaero then 10 Acolytes with Storm Bolters + Prescience (aka what the entire squad was getting in some way anyway) then they can mulch hordes across vast distances (yes, this means you'd not only outrange the Tau with their pulse rifles, but you'd be doing it with better guns).

• If you're assaulting then depending on what you're up against you're going to need either Death Cult Assassins and/or Arco-flagellants. Death Cults are slightly better against MEQ's (it's a very slight difference), Arco-flagellants are better against everything else except Monstrous Creatures with high Toughness and/or high saves, but if you get into combat with those then the Death Cults weren't going to save you anyway. If you're going melee then as far as Inquisitors go you should stick to Malleus, Xenos, Coteaz and Karamazov. Karamazov's lack of an Invuln save is greatly mitigated by Crusaders, unless buffed by Jokaero, Coteaz mainly shines in combat and both the Malleus Inquisitors and the Xenos Inquisitors get better gear than the Hereticus as far as this unit goes (such as a cheaper Thunder Hammer that's also a Force Weapon, or Psychotroke/Rad Grenades/Plasma Syphon).
• Notably there isn't much as to why you'd take an Engineseer, he might come in handy fixing a vehicle and/or in combat but those points are still better spent on another unit as the Engineseer's role in the warband is limited (and if you really wanted him, you should just ally him in anyway, at least that way he gets the Canticles of the Omnissiah rule and that version's an Independent Character to boot). The Daemonhosts are also iffy, either being really good or really bad depending on the roll of the dice, but then again they're only 10 points so go for it if you're feeling lucky and have the points to spare, just make sure to get a lot of them as when they finally get that really good roll, you can be rewarded by a fantastic result. Another thing to note is that Inquisitor's who choose Sanctic Daemonology might get lucky and get Sanctuary, in which case they can make every Crusader/Acolyte with a storm shield gets a 2++ save to effectively make the squad unmovable.
• While not recommended, a ridiculous tactic is to take this unit specifically with the Acolytes, a Chimera and two Jokaero just so you can pull up to another transport (presumably one looking for a much meatier unit), use the two multi-melta's to burn open the transport, and then the use everything on the Chimera to gun down the exposed occupants. It's a pricey tactic and one that relies on your opponent not knowing what you're doing (it's also easily countered), coming in at 162 points minimum (preferably 172 with the recommended psybolt ammo and storm bolter on the Chimera) but if you're feeling lucky then go ahead and fuck up a Land Raider with it.

See Also:

• Adepta Sororitas Tactics
• Astra Militarum Tactics
• Deathwatch Tactics
• Grey Knights Tactics
• Inquisition Tactics
• Officio Assassinorum Tactics