Topic: Justicar Anval Thawn - review and discuss 6th ed value

[Grand Master Rex Nihilo]

GK Brothers,

Is Thawn worth the bump in points? He costs almost 2 GKTs but gives you above a standard GKT ...

+1 increase in WS
Halberd (init. 6)
Character - can challenge where the WS bump and init are a boon
Fearless - so he upgrades the unit to fearless
I Shall Not yield - his ability to resurrect 50% of the time
Psyker mastery level 2 - this may be the kicker to earn his points especially now in 6th

Any thing I missed? pro or con.
Thoughts on his value in 6th edition?

[Prophecy]

I personally feel he could be viewed as a positive. I think if you are keeping the squad 10 man, and you have a weak character or no character in the squad, and you are fielding this squad as the main form of CC in the list then he is a solid pick. As a user of coteaz I need someone to hold the fort on the CC front. I wouldn't mind sticking him in there and taking psybolt ammo with no psycannons in order to concentrate fire on infantry targets. He could then keep coteaz safe and allow me to then concentrate on finishing out the remaining troops with henchmen.

[Locarno]

He's a scoring unit that keeps coming back. I say the man's worth his weight in gold.

Plus he's an ideal monster/character-killer; if they win the challenge the first time, he'll keep getting up and keep stabbing. Plus his ability to charge his force weapon and pull hammerhand at once means he can (in theory) even solo kill a wraithlord

[DutchSage]

I always thought the point cost listed in his entry would have to be added to what you already pay for a regular justicar (as it mentions you upgrade the justicar, not replace). As such costing almost the same as 3 terminators seemed a little steep to me.

However if his points are switched with those a justicar costs I will definately try and fit him into my list. I will loose the warding stave justicar, but just the fact he adds fearless to the squad would be worth it to me (I am really bad at making morale checks).

[MortVader83]

 His 'I Shall Not Yield' combined with scoring makes him almost priceless. I think of it as buying another unit cheap. I rarely keep him alive long enough for the unit to benefit from his fearless and PML2. His standing back up throws a wrench into a lot of well laid plans and can force your opponent to react in a way that helps you. In summary, with challenges, more objectives, and DTW, he has gotten more points efficient to take but is still pricey. I suggest he's best used in 1500+ pts games where you might be able to spare some points.

[Grand Master Rex Nihilo]

In fifth what I like about him was the mastery level 2 which meant, as Locarno stated, that he could Hammerhand the squad and still use the force weapon for the squad meant big nasty nids, Wraithlords, independent Char. etc were far less of a threat and more easily dealt with especially at Init 6! Challenges make this easier to get the match up you want! Adios Power Fist!!

But the Mastery Level 2 is a bigger boon in 6th ed. for it advantage in Psy Defense.

Coming back adds much more than I expected when I used him, he is a total nuisance to your opponent who can't reliably deal with him w/o having a back up plan ... or two!

I agree he is best in a 10 man squad in a larger point game.

 

[Galef]

If he comes back once, he is worth 2 Terminators, 3 times and he more than paid for himself.

If I could stomach fielding Terminators instead of Paladins, I would take him everytime.  As it is, though Paladins have way too many bonuses for me to ignore.

[MortVader83]

 Either way, unless it's a kp type mission I try and get him killed right off the bat. Some say suicidal, I prefer 'beneficialy dead. Regardless, to kill him that means something will have to shoot/assault him with something that  could be targeting your other scoring units that don't come back. Or, he can be ignored to the detriment of the enemy. Even alone a  ressurecting terminator is mean. He can lay a hurting down on anything I6 or lower before taking reprise, then he can stand up and do it again next turn. Each time getting the charge attack bonus, if he lives through the overwatch. Plus, if he was psybolted, he can threaten AV10-11 in both shooting and combat. So in reality, the points used to get him go pretty far. As a matter of fact I think I'll start using him more. I love fielding armies of all scoring units, except for the HQs usually, and he fits the bill.