Part 2 of The Advancement of Psychic powers in 40k: tactics

[papa smurf]

hi guys, papa smurf here. i just recently posted a thread about the prevalence of nicer and neater psychic powers in the new codices, and whether or not this trend will last, and whether or not it is a good or bad thing for the game.

however, this post i feel is a little more about the fun part. What are your favorite psychic powers to use, and why? And maybe your army doesn't have psychic powers. whether they do or not, what do you do to fight against the psyker? i know some armies are better than others at this (looking at you, tau) but let's hear it.

for my space marines, i like using an epistolary with smite and might of the ancients. i stick him in with a regular tactical squad in a drop pod and he's like a buffer against big baddies that might want to hurt the squad. the smite helps against those 2+ baddies, and might of the ancients allows the libby to take on monsters and other characters in relative safety. if i'm lucky, i could use Might of the Ancients and his force weapon at once (the epistolary being able to use 2 psychic powers a turn) and kill something in one mighty blow. the psychic hood is a worthwhile and self-explanatory deterrent.

my tau, well... my tau sit in the corner and wish they had psychic powers.

i haven't used my tyranids much since the new dex came out, but i feel like my flyrant could benefit from paroxysm and leech essance, especially the latter because everyone and their dog will be shooting at him...
also i have a question: can a tyrant use two psychic shooting attacks in the same turn, since monstrous creatures can fire two weapons a turn?

anyways, let's hear it guys, what do you do when the warp affects you (or hivemind in the case of the nids?) :)

[darkninja962]

I like using the flying Hive Tyrant with Psycic Scream. He gets shot at a lot, and it's a gamble, but if he can make a couple units break while close to their board edge, it's worth it.

[LadasN]

My ork weirdboyz in general are just plain fun. Teleporting around the board or shooting lightning bolts outta my eyes? lol soo much fun! The randomness is alot of fun too! we actually started betting potatoe chips on what power was gonna come up next lol.

With my guard, well they don't get any real "options" they just have em and they all have their uses in certain situations which im sure we're well aware of by now lol.

Chaos turning people into spawns is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much fun if u can get it! lol turning that uber-man on the board into fleshy-doom blob is awesome!

[papa smurf]

Chaos turning people into spawns is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much fun if u can get it! lol turning that uber-man on the board into fleshy-doom blob is awesome!

even though i don't play chaos, i have always loved the idea of this power. it is probably one of the most characterful powers i've heard of, and i am really disappointed that i've never actually seen it in action before.
"hello sir, would you like the gift of chaos?"
"well not really i..."
"OK then here you go!"
*mutates*
"glargle glorp, screee!!!"
"you have a nice warp filled day now :D!"

[the jeske]

and i am really disappointed that i've never actually seen it in action before.
maybe because it is cast before you move so the only way for a sorc to pull it off is to either your opponent trying to assault and fail or a IC somehow survive in hth for a turn.

I really like the support power or psychic powers that help the game play of an army ,like fortun or SW powers or if the rumors are true the BA LoS blocker.also aside for chaos a psyker means you also get a way to counter your opponents powers what is also very important.

[LadasN]

maybe because it is cast before you move so the only way for a sorc to pull it off is to either your opponent trying to assault and fail or a IC somehow survive in hth for a turn.

I really like the support power or psychic powers that help the game play of an army ,like fortun or SW powers or if the rumors are true the BA LoS blocker.also aside for chaos a psyker means you also get a way to counter your opponents powers what is also very important.

Personally, my sorcer tends to be really tough and can almost always survive a round or two. Best luck with the guard and tau that kick around my local group but its a bit rare with the space marine army my buddy has. If you can pull it off though, that spawn is a cute lil fella to toss around for a bit!

EDIT: our gaming group is really small (6 ppl on a good night) with a space marine army, tau, guard and a nid army so thats probably why I seem to pull it off every so often.

[Unlighted]

To answer your question papa smurf: Normal Hive Tyrants can only use one psychic shooting attack a turn. Only the Swarmlord can use two psychic shooting attacks. :(

I have to say that Paroxysm is great for the Hive Tyrant. It's great to use when you get within rapid fire range, but still to far to assault the enemy. You can essentially neutralize any non vehicle unit that poses a threat to you. It's great fun to watch sniper scouts fail horribly to shoot you. :p

My favorite psychic attack would have to be the Zoanthrope's Warp Lance. I always take Zoanthropes and they have yet to leave a Dread in one piece. S10 AP1 =BBQ Dread

[gannam]

The new nid codex is amazing for physic powers.

Broodlords can neutralize IC's in melee. HT's can reduce entire units BS and WS to 1 for a turn, shadow of the warp neutralizes a great many physics in other armies.

I hope GW continues this trend.

[Force21]

The new nid codex is amazing for physic powers.

Broodlords can neutralize IC's in melee. HT's can reduce entire units BS and WS to 1 for a turn, shadow of the warp neutralizes a great many physics in other armies.

I hope GW continues this trend.


Well if they do....


Mephiston is going to own everything...lol. :D

[Aenir]

I like Ezekiel's Powers Mind worm (got Nightbringer and a Trygon Prime with that) and then the Sheervariablity of hellfire 2d6-2 STR and d6 AP :D dislike that he doesnt have an Invul save tho

[DarkLink]

Well if they do....


Mephiston is going to own everything...lol. :D

And then the Grey Knights will split everything with him:D.

[MunDMC]

I've seen Boon of Mutation cast once... sucessfully... turning my Eldrad into a spawn. I won the game , but morally he destroyed me!

[N-Bomb]

I had a friend who for a short period of time obsess with Boon of Mutation on how cool it is (ignoring it's reliability) and he would run lists with Daemon Princes, Lords of Change, and Heralds of Tzeentch (changing how he runs each game) to maximize the number he got. Quite a few games I used armies like eldar and guard with low toughnesses and he rarily got it off, he did two times get my autarch which proved most helpful early game (sadly for him Eldrad's toughness 4 actually made a difference). Then the last tournament he used Daemons he ended up playing marines, turning both his characters and 3 marines (one or two being terminators) into spawn, easily winning the game.
(I know Boon of Mutation is TECHNICALLY not a psyker power)
In short, the ability is very unreliable but when it does work it can be huge, and plus, it's just plain fun, especially knowing a grot and a carnifex mutate into the same power model. :D

My favorite psyker power is Mind War, although it isn't exactly the most useful power, especially compared to Doom and Fortune, it is fun to do.

[Melissia]

Anything from the Weirdboy psychic powers list.

Anything. Mmm weirdboyz.

[N-Bomb]

Anything from the Weirdboy psychic powers list.

Anything. Mmm weirdboyz.

I love the idea of weirdboyz so much, but sadly from my experience they never deliver on the field, but man they are fun.