Bad TheoryHammer: WyrmBlade (Revisited)

 Bad TheoryHammer:  WyrmBlade (Revisited)

(Image Credit:  GW again!)

Okay, so the shock of not getting the pony I wanted for Christmas has worn off a bit.  I'm still not a fan of the WyrmBlades, but I'm going to try to give them a fair review now.  The key word here is try.  I'll go through all the stuff.

WyrmBlades have a really stupid name (I get to get some digs in every now and then, sorry, I still want that pony!), but they do have some advantages over a normal Brood Coven team.  That said, I still believe they are a distinct downgrade unless you want to play Guncult, but if you do...

• You get two Operatives that can have better shooting (at the cost of four operatives that really did nothing but stood around on objectives)
• You get some interesting melee options (at the cost of a LOT of melee options)
• You get models with more than 8 wounds (at the cost of less overall wounds)
• Cult Agents have APL 3 (but two Neophytes have APL 4 and GA 2)

In case you haven't noticed, it's a bit of a mixed bag here.  Some people are going to love them.  I'm not some people.  But this is meant to be fair!  Sorry if the tone seems a bit critical, but it's probably going to stay that way.

Pics are going to be slim because they're a box and a few expensive models, so please, please bear with me here.

Operatives

Neophytes (All Together, I'm just gonna talk about them all at once)

(Image Credit:  GW)

My apologies.  I didn't want to search for individual images for each of these guys, since they're all utterly...  well, they bore me, to be honest.  It's not that they can't be made awesome, but basically they're the most human of the Cult (outside of  Brood Brothers) and it just doesn't appeal to me.

So, I'm going to break it down as follows:

Leader:  He's got a really nifty chainsword and can actually fight technically better than a Space Marine now.  That's pretty darned cool, but also really hilarious to me, because this guy is meant to be basically the equivalent of an IG Sarge.  Still, he's no slouch in melee, and it is interesting to see a master-crafted autopistol available.

Gunners:  While it is sad you can take only two (Brood Coven can take three in Guncult), I get it.  You're going to take the Grenade Launcher because it's useful and then you're going to have to decide between a Flamer and a Webber depending on your opponent and the mission and all that jazz.

Heavy Gunners:  Always, always take a Mining Laser.  Other choice is situational, but I still love the Seismic Cannon just for funsies.  I'm going to point out that you have absolutely nothing to mitigate the Heavy keyword on their weapons, so you're stuck dashing if you want to shoot.

Brood-Adepts:  They're grunts.  I like Autoguns more than Shotguns, but you can mix it up all you want.

Icon Bearer:  I'm going to be real with you here.  I don't consider him of much use in a WyrmBlade Kill Team, but hey, you do you!  He's certainly useful if you're clustered up TP1, but most of your heavy hitters will have to wait to be able to do anything.

Geez, sorry for the weird format.  I just didn't want to go search for pics!  My bad!

Kelermorph

(Image Credit: GW)

Here is the reason you're running WyrmBlade.  If you don't take one and you're running it, please let me know, because I will be absolutely stunned.  He's amazing, even though he costs two models.

Double shooting is always great.  Double shooting on a shooty model?  Even better.  Being able to go indirect (for 1 AP) on his short-range version of the pistols?  Fantastic.  He's not really much of a melee threat, but hey, who cares?  This desperado will make sure it's high noon all day long.

Sanctus (both Versions because I'm lazy)

(Image Credit:  GW)

The Sanctus Sniper is probably the best sniper model in Kill Team...  but it has Heavy.  That's an issue because the WyrmBlade list is, well, plagued with Heavy weapons (and can't do anything about them).  Additionally, since the Sanctus can't take equipment, it remains a huge threat, but it's still likely spending TP1 trying to get into position.

The Sanctus Talon, on the other hand...  You're probably not going to take it.  I actually really do think it brings some neat stuff to the table, being able to charge, fight, and dash away while remaining concealed.  It's neat.  Plus, with that combo, you're always using your familiar to give you better attacks.  It can bring some nasty melee into a team that doesn't really have much.

Locus

(Image Credit:  GW)

I actually really love the Locus, although not for the reasons you probably expect.  For one, the model is freaking cool.  Secondly, I really love that GW has introduced ways to interrupt an opponent's activation and hope it continues with other things (looking at you, mines).  Keep in mind, it's still a squishy melee Operative, but it can probably get the job done with a mix of its abilities.  Just don't expect it to survive a few serious fights.

Special Rules

Cult Ambush

This is actually really great being built-in instead of costing a CP.  For one, free CP!  For the other, it's even better than Brood Covens' version of it.  So I mean, win-win there.  It's phenomenal and take advantage of it as much as you can.

Just keep in mind it only applies in TP1 and you're most likely going to be running 3 Heavy Weapons in a 12-Operative Kill Team, so don't expect a ton of use from it unless you get some really favorable terrain.

Preternatual Assassin

Not being able to take equipment sucks.  It is what it is.

4+ Invulnerable is great.  No argument there.

Bonuses in cover?  Even better.

All in all, it's a little bit of a mixed bag, but only a little.  Mostly positive.

Ploys

Meticulous Plan:  This is basically trading a CP for an AP.  Not a bad trade in some situations and could be really useful once per game.

One With the Shadows:  Can be potentially really really strong, but it depends on what is on the board.  I like it.  I don't love it compared to, say, Underground (still gotta get my jabs in), but it is extremely powerful if the board favors its use.

Writhing Ingress:  That name alone gives me the heebies, but it can be very useful to let your little semi-squiddly boys go OH YEAH through a wall as needed.  Only issue is that the opponent will know which wall you're able to wriggle through, so it's not that surprising.

Crossfire:  For when you really, really need to kill something, and you only have Autoguns to do it.  It's useful, don't get me wrong.

Slink Into Darkness:  Why in the heck are they making Ploys once per whatever now?  I don't know.  It's darned useful to pop your Mining Laser dude back into Concealed, but I just hate once per whatever ploys.

Coiled Serpent:  It works.  It's nice.  It's a lot nicer on the big, expensive guys with the big guns.  It's just kind of expensive for a few more wounds.  Very nice on the Sanctus Sniper, mind you.

Unquestioning Loyalty:  I REALLY LIKE THIS EVEN IF I DON'T THINK I WOULD EVER USE IT.  I love the idea of being able to interrupt the opponent's activations.  This is cool as heck!

Hiding:  Meh.  What it could do, it doesn't do well.  It's nice, I guess.

Equipment

Spotlights and Climbing Equipment take the cake here.  That's all I got to say about that.

Stratagems

Here's where I think the major failing of WyrmBlade comes.  They just aren't that good.  As anyone reading this knows, I love Security.  Not having it is like...  well, not being secure.  Their personal strategems, likewise, not my bag.

Sample Roster and Kill Team

Honestly, this is pretty easy since the team builds itself.

Leader (Bolt Pistol, Chainsword)

Kelermorph

Sanctus Sniper

Sanctus Talon

Locus

Icon Bearer (Autogun)

3x Gunners (all options)

3x Heavy Gunners (again, all options)

4x Brood-Adepts (Autoguns)

4x Brood-Adepts (Shotguns)

Kill Team:

Leader (Bolt Pistol, Chainsword)

Kelermorph

Locus (I JUST WANT TO RUN HIM, OKAY?  USE THE SANCTUS SNIPER INSTEAD)

Icon Bearer (Autogun)

2x Gunner (Grenade Launcher, Flamer)

2x Heavy Gunner (Mining Laser, Seismic Cannon)

4x Brood-Adepts (Autoguns)

So, did my opinion change?

I still don't like them and have no interest in them (outside of the Locus, who I admit is a bawss), but I can understand why some people are stoked.  They're just really not my thing and completely not what I expected from a bespoke Cult team.

That's on me.  I was wanting a pony for Christmas and instead I got a bike.  It happens.