Apparently people on some forums (not so many on our beloved 40konline) have been speaking ill of the Triarch Praetorians because they are slow (low I), do not have many attacks for their points (in comparison) and just don’t match up. So let’s do a brief look at them in their defense.
For the equivalent FOC slot and point cost of a tactical terminator (because marines are the most common comparison), Praetorians have identical WS, BS, and W. We have +1 S, T, and Ld. On the down side, they have -1 A, -2 I, and a slightly worse Armor Save. Terminators also have an invulnerable save, but we have a matching Reanimation Protocol, which is awesome if the attack does not ignore our armor because they effectively stack (sort of). That is where our comparison of stats ends.
Now let’s delve deeper into the abilities of the Praetorians. They are Jump Infantry, allowing us to Deep Strike and giving us movement enough to launch an 18” (12”+6”; not the same turn that we DS) assault, vaulting over terrain and models alike. This is a much better assault threat range than those terminators we were being compared to earlier. “But you have such a low Initiative and low number of attacks,” you say? We have this really cool “rod” that has a short range, matching strength to our profile, armor ignoring shot. So, if we know how to correctly use our fast moving, resilient, assault-y units, we know that this is equivalent to another cc attack, before anyone gets to even look at their statline initiative and that hits on a 3+, regardless of your WS (which against MEQ’s, in combat we’d hit on a 4+).
So now we’ve shot our target from within assault range, what to do next? Well, we could have that unit of scarabs move 18”-24” to tar pit them, or we can do the assaulting ourselves. We have most likely eliminated part of the opposing unit (yes, I’ve done the math hammer, it’s boring to read), reducing their number of attacks if we do assault, so, being an informed player, make a decision to attack or not on your own. But please don’t leave them open to assault, tie that unit up with something else if you don’t assault them. If you are going to put Praetorians in cc, do it on your terms, you are jump infantry after all.
Now, remember, if you do assault, they hit slow but strong. They’re faster than those power fists and thunder hammers, but slower than those lightning claws, and they don’t get to come back until combat has been resolved. Fortunately, they won’t be running, even if they lose combat, unlike our lychguard brethren or terminator counterparts. So Praetorians can’t be swept, but they do have to stand and fight. This is good or bad, as with any unit, but they have the leadership and armor save to back it up also.
The goal is to cripple the enemy unit in the first assault turn, because after that you are stuck with one attack per model per turn, and it’s not too pretty.
So, other notes.
- Give them a Destroyer Lord with Res Orb and War Scythe for some real fun. Now they get back up more often, have some additional kill potential in cc from the war scythe, still can’t be swept, and can still get the 18” assault (12” + 6”) and Deep Strike.
Sure, they still hit slow, but they’ll feel you. - No their statline doesn’t show it, but they have 3 attacks on the charge, one just happens to always hit on 3+, regardless of the target’s WS, and before they get to do anything initiative based (because its a shooting attack, duh). Unfortunately in subsequent rounds they only get to hit once. So kill them right the first time.
- “But we have stormbolters with a really nice range,” you say? We have plenty of stuff at 24” too, but Praetorians are jump infantry and can vault terrain separating us and still kill you. Even if some Bolter shots make it through our armor, Praetorians can still get up. Praetorians are not a shooty unit! Leave that to someone else.
- My suggestion is to pair them with some destroyers. Good strength, good armor penetration, standard range, tough, and equally as fast. Destroyers can lay down the pulverizing fire while the Praetorians close for the kill. Not a cheap combo, but looks good to me.
- Another idea is wraiths. While wraiths will make you hit first, you still only have one attack in subsequent rounds, so make it count. I personally like this combo less than the Destroyers unless I’m up against really fast power weapons or poison.
- What about the voidblades and particle blasters? A pistol that is equal strength to our rods but with the ap of a gauss flayer? Not so much. But it does give that extra attack in cc. Voidblades are nifty and all, but I’d rather spend 25 less points for more entropic strike attacks. I think Praetorians are over priced to do the job of scarabs and only have a chance of ignoring armor.
So in conclusion, no, Praetorians are not terminators and do not fulfill the same role as terminators, but I think they are definitely worth their value for what they do. This post is not to say that Lychguard are not worth it, because face it, they’re awesome. But Praetorians are much faster and a great reactionary unit. And yes, there are other comparisons besides terminators, but it’s an equivalent cost and just simplifies it.
