A (not so) Humble Review of Inquisiton Allies for Scions

[Master Antaeus]

This is a review of the Inquisition forces as allies of Militarum Tempestus (since that's where most of my experience with the new AM lies), hence its inclusion in the AM section.  If a mod moves it to Inquisiton, it will not hurt my feelings.  I will only be reviewing Inquisitors.  If the review is well-received, I'll do another one for Henchmen.

 

Codex: Inquisition is a very complicated addition to the game and can improve the performance of any imperial army if done correctly.  Just to warn you in advance, this review will be long, so put on your favorite playlist and grab a beer; we're going to be here a while.

 

Inquisitorial Allies

So, to fill an allied detachment, you need a single Inquisitor.  This means you can bring lots and lots of them, but I would caution against it.  Inquisitors by themselves are very expensive and, absent sinking huge numbers of points into them, quite fragile.  In MT armies where you aren't taking a whole bunch of henchmen, I would recommend an Inquisitor with any mounted squad that you expect to operate away from the rest of your army.

 

A thorny issue:  by rules as written, an opponent could argue that a Scion unit containing an Inquisitor is no longer chosen from Militarum Tempestus.  I don't read it that way (though I have a stake in that view), but it is something you should bear in mind and have a plan to shuffle your Inquisitors around to avoid this if your opponent does not see things the same way.

 

Pros:

-Leadership:  Do your Scions run from grots?  Put in an Inquisitor and suddenly, you are stubborn leadership 10 with very little chance of an Inquisitor shooting one of your guys.

 

-Psyker: MT have no native psykers, so a psychic Inquisitor can act like a one mand command squad.  Divination is good, but it also mimics a lot of the functions of the orders (prescience, misfortune).  Foreboding, Forewarning, Perfect Timing and Scrier's Gaze are all great force multipliers.

 

-Less cumbersome than Astra Militarum: You can get psykers through Astra Militarum, but you're stuck with an HQ and two troops choices which means your psykers will come with a several hundred point tax.

 

Cons:

-Can Be Expensive: with the myriad of options in C:I, you can really go overboard on points.  An Inquisitor who is not a warlord should not be over 100 points, ideally less than 80.

 

-Complicated: Yeah, if you have a psychic Inquisitor with Daemonblade, a Jokaero and a Daemonhost in the same unit, you now have to keep track of Daemonblade powers, the Jokaero's modifications and the Daemonhost's powers in addition to everything actually happening on the battlefield.  This can add a lot of time and frustration as you learn it.

 

-Fragile: Although you buy decent protection for your Inquisitor, he's still highly vulnerable to Str 6.  An opponent with any kind of assault element will have no trouble generating a deluge of such attacks and if he dies, your psychic support goes with him.

 

 

 

Characters:

 

Coteaz: Considering the amount of wargear and special rules he brings, his points cost is so low as to be borderline criminal.  He is Mastery lv 2 with a 2+ armor save.  He's certainly not invincible (invulnerable), but I have seen him single-handedly rescue a Scions squad from a lucky assault.  He gives you some significant benefits before the game even begins and his unit can unload their shots on anything that arrives from reserves within 12", so don't fear moving him up the side of the table.

 

Karamazov: Double the cost of Coteaz, Karamazov is a walking tank that can't ever get into a vehicle or building.  He does have a very reliable orbital strike he can put on a friendly model , but he's not a psyker and his inability to deep strike or be put on a vehicle really limits his usefulness in a Scions army.

 

Non-character Inquisitors: All come with the same statline, carapace armor, bolt pistol, CCW, Frag grenades, krak grenades and psyk-out grenades, their differences and specialties lie in their wargear.

 

Ordo Malleus Inquisitor - Heavy hitters and arguably the most competent in assault, bring an Ordo Malleus Inquisitor when you know your Scions will be heavily engaged as he can keep them alive a long time, especially with FnP from a command squad.

 

-Nemesis Daemon Hammer: Great for wasting Daemons and an absolute steal for the cost everyone else pays for a simple power weapon.  That said, if this is a weapon you want, I highly recommend Coteaz above as he has one.  Interestingly, this weapon is so cheap, you could buy a pair of them for your inquisitor.  has a function that causes instant death against daemons.  They aren't so amazing as to be an auto-include as your Inquisitor's precious initiative 4 goes to waste and if he is in a challenge, his odds of dying before swinging are pretty good, even against standard MEQ upgrade characters.

 

-Daemonblade: a 2-handed CCW with two random powers for the cost of a simple power weapon.  Interestingly, some powers affect the weapon's performance, while some affect the Inquisitor using them, meaning that you could buy two of them and conceivably get an inquisitor with 9 attacks at Str6, AP2.  What a profoundly unpleasant surprise for the guy who assumes his assault is in the bag.

 

-Hellrifle: An MEQ-killing sniper rifle. for the cost of a simple power weapon that puts out a single high-quality shot.  Not ideal for an Inquisitor on the move, but if you're going to leave him back to babysit a bunch of servitors camped in a chimera, its profile matches up with their heavy bolters and plasma cannons nicely.

 

-Incinerator: For the cost of a common power weapon?  Unless you just can't bring yourself to mutilate one of the beautiful Inquisiton models, this is an auto-include for an inquisitor who is going to be forward deployed with your Scions.

 

-Terminator Armor: bizarrely, a model in terminator armor can ride in the tiny Taurox Prime and an Inquisitor that you hope will protect you in assault should probably be given this. Sadly, taking it means you can't have a Daemonblade (sorry Quixos fans).  You do get a Daemon Hammer for free, though the upgrade, along with Psyker will put your Inquisitor within striking distance of Coteaz' points cost. 

 

-Psycannon: for the cost of a power weapon above and beyond terminator armor, you can get this monster gun.  Honestly, if you have shelled out the points for terminator armor, you might as well get this, too.  4 str6 shots will not go amiss in any Scions squad that had to make room for a guy with terminator armor in the Taurox.  Interestingly, with terminator armor, the Inquisitor can deep strike along with the rest of your army.  Not a bad deal.

 

-Empyrean Brain Mines: Were you victimized by Mindshackle Scarabs all through 6th ed?  Now you can inflict that horror on your necron opponents for the cost of one of this book's power weapons.  Seriously, these can go a long way toward helping your Inquisitor survive a challenge and can even shut down things like C'Tan.  I wonder if it works on Knights and stomp...  Anyway, the only reason not to take these is that your Inquisitor is already very expensive.

 

Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor - Hereticus Inquisitors specialize against Psykers as you will see.  They are defensively nowhere near Malleus, but can certainly hold their own and bring some utility.  They occupy the middle ground between Malleus combat and Xenos support.

 

-Inferno Pistol: It's a melta pistol, and for a measily number of points gives a unit of plasma scions some excellent incidental ability against tanks.

 

-Condemnor Boltgun: an odd kind of combi weapon whose combi component is a crossbow that shoots a stake causing perils of the warp to a psyker who suffers an unsaved wound.  Not a very good weapon as there are just too many die rolls between this thing and getting any use out of it, you must hit, wound, actually hit a psyker, that psyker has to fail an armor save, FnP (if applicable) then fail to look out, sir!  Moving on...

 

-Thunder Hammer: It's a thunder hammer.  If you're buying this and not taking a psyocculum, just get the Malleus guy above.

 

-Null Rod: For the price of a common power weapon, you get a power sword that makes it impossible to target the bearer's unit with psychic powers, friend or foe.  Also causes instant death to psykers.  Ideal for command squads who don't need buff abilities but do need protection.  Also, note that the guy carrying this can cast psychic powers all day, just not on his own unit.

 

-Psyocculum: For the cost everyone else pays for a power fist, the Inquisitor's whole unit suddenly shoots at BS10 at any unit containing a psyker.  Psykers are so prevalent now that this is an excellent mid-tier choice in a big shooting unit, it saves you using prescience or an order, although with Scions having access to both of those things and BS 4, this might be better used on an Inquisitor who rolls with a henchmen squad as they can't hit anything.

 

 

 

Ordo Xenos Psyker - The Inquisitions nerds.  Certainly the weakest in combat, Xenos Inquisitors are toolboxes of support abilities, particularly with their relic.

 

Needle Pistol: An AP2 poisoned (2+) pistol.  If the plasma pistol wasn't 5 points cheaper (and cheaper than what everyone else pays), this would be an auto-include.  If you notice your Inquisitor takes lots of wounds from overheating, you might consider this.

 

Scythian Venom Talon: A poisoned (2+) CCW with no AP.  Since you can't take a power maul, this is probably your best choice against big, meaty opponents.

 

Conversion Beamer: Expensive, but powerful heavy weapon.  Good for sitting far away in a chimera and raining misery down on your opponent.

 

Digital Weapons: extremely cheap and highly useful if you have 5 extra points.

 

Ulumeathy Plasma Syphon: Makes plasma (including Tau pulse and Eldar star weapons) shoot at BS1.  If you buy this, your Inquisitor becomes an instant target for such armies, so do your opponent a favor and park this Inquisitor in a Valkyrie and fly it back and forth along his lines.  Watch how your opponent feels about this. When he begins to complain, in your most patronizing tone, say the following: "Other armies have lame abilities, too."  Even if you lose horribly at this point, you have still won.  Wait, what was I talking about?  Oh yeah, this thing is cheap, and it works on your forces, too, so don't forget where it is. 

 

Rad Grenades: have you ever dreamed of wounding Tyranid Warriors or Death Company on 4's with fists and bayonets?  Now your dream can be a reality (at least on the charge turn).  It doesn't really help the Xenos Inquisitor, but if there is a heavy hitter on your side in the assault as well, such as an Ordo Malleus or a Space Marine Captain, this can really turn the combat into whack-a-mole, and can save your Scions the worst part of an assault--the charge.  An excellent choice, even for the points.

 

Psychotroke Grenades: I don't personally put much stock in these, but I have friends who swear by them.  Causes a radnom effect when you assault or (more likely) are assaulted.  It can do nothing, or it can absolutely neuter your opponent, or even have them attack themselves.  I would recommend these or Rad Grenades, but not both in a Scions army.  We want to get out of assault, not get deeper in.

 

Gear/Upgrades common to all Inquisitors (I'm only going over the noteworthy stuff)

 

Power Sword, Plasma Pistol: only noteworthy in that they are 5 points cheaper than what everyone else pays.

 

Power armor: unless you are playing a low points game or you can't find a model for a decent power-armored Inquisitor, this should be an auto-include.

 

Servo Skull: Ahh, the servo skull.  Each of the Inquisitors can take 3, but 3 give you excellent board coverage and makes it impossible for your opponent to infiltrate on a refused flank.  If you play Scions, at some point (probably every game) you will be working with large areas of your own deployment zone where you have no troops and no eyes.  At less than 5 points each, this keeps infiltrators from shooting you in the back and even keeps scouting enemy units from getting side shots.  You also scatter one less d6 when deep striking within 12" of one of these, making them excellent beacons for deep striking Scions.  Littering them over the field gives you options.  Not an auto-include, but damned close.

 

Psyker: This should be on every Inquisitor you take.  'Nuff said.

 

 

 

Relics - Though the relics are all clearly tied to a specific ordo, any inquisitor can take any one or all of them.

 

-Book of True Names: Pretty useless until you're in a challenge against a Daemon, when he is suddenly hitting you on 5's, taking significant penalties to leadership, initiative and weapon skill.  Actually, if you know you're going against Daemons, the leadership penalty of this combined with the daemonbane special rule of the Nemesis Daemon Hammer can eliminate major threats like greater unclean ones from the table entirely.  It is so cheap that if you have 5 points lying around and think you might see a Daemons player across the room, go ahead.

 

Tome of Vethric: Gives the bearer's unit a specific USR based on what codex/codices your opponent is using.  For example, if your opponent is using Necrons and Orks, the bearer gains Counter attack and Tank Hunter.  At the most expensive (and reliable) it's still pretty cheap, though as it only affects the bearer some of the time, your points are probably best spent elsewhere.

 

Liber Heresius: - Lets you add one from a list of USRs to the bearer's unit at the beginning of the turn on a (very probably) successful Ld check.  You can't use the same one twice, though you can  use it to scout a unit forward before the game.  The USRs are Scouts, Split-Fire, Counter Attack, Fear and Hatred.  It is probably the best of the relics as it is relatively inexpensive and does not rely on you facing a particular army.  I personally am of the 'less toys, more boys' approach to army building, but for Tackleberry list builders, it definitely has a place.

 

 

 

[WarriorFish]

This is the right place for it, as it's looking at Inquisitors from the Scion's perspective. I like the Inquisition stuff but I find the lack of decent options to be disappointing, they should have far more weapons and upgrades to pick from but they can be useful as this helpfully outlines :)

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

I'm finding this little series helpful. Though allies I'd be considering would be more of the Power armored variety. I'm thinking Ravenwing for hard hitting cavalry shenanigans, or Grey Knights for Tons of termies and psyker support. Granted, my current list is supported by Imperial Guard, to add in the support that they're lacking (I'm bringing Elysians for The flyers, and Regular IG for Armored sentinels and a master of ordinance).

I have been thinking about using inquisition, and I'd probably only use one or two very basic inquisitors, and I'm not really huge on the henchmen. Besides, the inquisition makes my boys irritable, just like most Commissars (We made most of ours to MWR managers and Supply clerks and Services, gave them something to do since they weren't needed in the field ).

Anyway, the Inquisitors themselves seem like they could have been a huge help, can you just take inquisitors, or do you have to take henchmen too?

[Master Antaeus]

You can just take an Inquisitor.

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

You can just take an Inquisitor.

 

In that case, I'd fill out those points you spent on henchmen, by boosting your Stormie count, get more hotshots and special weapons, and just take some inquisitors for psyker support and leadership. That's how I intend to use them (if I ever get any). I'd rather that, and be able to say that an inquisitor and his acolytes have appropriated a Stormtrooper unit for their purposes, rather than deploying their own stormtrooper force. 

[march10k]

I have a bit of a problem with the blanket characterization of allied IG HQ and troops requirements as a "tax."  They can actually provide some things that stormtroopers sorely lack, to wit long range firepower and numbers.  A tank commander in a vanquisher (dare I nominate Pask?) with a hull lascannon gives you two high-probability-of-hit shots with AV13-penning potential and AP2.  If the required wingman is a LRBT, you have a long range pieplate that can shoot a separate target most of the time.  That's no tax in my book, it fills gaps in C:MT capabilities.  As for troops, you have options.  On the cheap-ish end, you could just take a veteran squad with autocannon (or lascannon) and forward sentries for camping an objective from 3+ cover while providing more of that long range shooting that stormtroopers lack...or you could go crazy with a bloated platoon of two blobs of 50 and a platoon command squad...400 points for 100 men, plus points for the command squad and probably a bunch of flamers and a pair of priests.  Not a bad way to spend 500 points, it gives you a ton of bodies in the context of a "I'm paying 12 points a model for T3 4+ infantry," giving you a bunch of hyper-capable elites without suffering from low model count.

 

Anyway...I'm not sure the underlying premise of "lets give stormtroopers some psychers to replicate abilities that their orders already provide" is all that hot.  Inquisition might be one of the least attractive potential allies for stormtroopers...."lack of divination casters" is really low on the list of what's holding them back!  I would be looking for an ally to provide at least two out of melee, horde control, long range shooting, and model count.  Inquisition maybe could help with melee, but even there there are better options.

[Master Antaeus]

You are correct on all counts, from a game perspective, of course.  It would be trivially easy to fold your Scions into a full AM army, hell, the unit entries are already in there along with a set of orders that is arguably better in some ways.  If I wanted to do that, I would just play AM and be done with it.  I, and I suspect, most Scions players are playing Scions because we want to play the scalpel rather than the sledgehammer.

 

Inquisition is perfect for this, like a deconstructed peach cobbler, it lets you have as much of your favorite parts as you want without being bogged down by extra stuff.  Need better armor?  Buy a single land raider or a couple of chimeras.  Want some long range fire, servitors in a chimera.  Want some mobile support that isn't as cumbersome as guard?  Acolytes in chimeras.  Mobile command vehicle?  Acolytes and mystic in Taurox prime, racing around like a mobile teleport homer.  Want some psychic support? 55 point inquisitor and done.

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

I have a bit of a problem with the blanket characterization of allied IG HQ and troops requirements as a "tax."  They can actually provide some things that stormtroopers sorely lack, to wit long range firepower and numbers.  A tank commander in a vanquisher (dare I nominate Pask?) with a hull lascannon gives you two high-probability-of-hit shots with AV13-penning potential and AP2.  If the required wingman is a LRBT, you have a long range pieplate that can shoot a separate target most of the time.  That's no tax in my book, it fills gaps in C:MT capabilities.  As for troops, you have options.  On the cheap-ish end, you could just take a veteran squad with autocannon (or lascannon) and forward sentries for camping an objective from 3+ cover while providing more of that long range shooting that stormtroopers lack...or you could go crazy with a bloated platoon of two blobs of 50 and a platoon command squad...400 points for 100 men, plus points for the command squad and probably a bunch of flamers and a pair of priests.  Not a bad way to spend 500 points, it gives you a ton of bodies in the context of a "I'm paying 12 points a model for T3 4+ infantry," giving you a bunch of hyper-capable elites without suffering from low model count.

 

Anyway...I'm not sure the underlying premise of "lets give stormtroopers some psychers to replicate abilities that their orders already provide" is all that hot.  Inquisition might be one of the least attractive potential allies for stormtroopers...."lack of divination casters" is really low on the list of what's holding them back!  I would be looking for an ally to provide at least two out of melee, horde control, long range shooting, and model count.  Inquisition maybe could help with melee, but even there there are better options.

 

I don't characterize any of my allied units as a tax. Each allied squad brings something to the table, My Elysian vets have infiltrate and tracker beacons, as well as being grenadiers, and they're packing plasma. My Elysian Stormies are bringing the valkyrie, and more plasma. My IG command squad is bringing the Master of ordinance, and for issuing orders, my IG vets are grenadiers with melta riding in a taurox prime from my Primary. They all work together, and build off of another unit's strengths, while covering it's weaknesses. The Inquisition wouldn't do anything a basic commissar and primaris psyker couldn't do for cheaper. 

 

As for divination, who needs it, our orders do that, and without self destructing too, plus our orders can do more than divination can. Now, used in conjunction with other orders it might be useful, like using the reroll wounds power to boost your sniper order or to boost the twin linked order might be helpful, still, I'd rather have psychic shriek to drop on an enemy squad, or a debuff to drop on an enemy. I'll just take a Librarium formation of rune priests and divy them up to my stormie squads, and just throw murderous hurricanes at the enemy, and tesla lightning them to death, or shroud my squads or anything else that would do far better.

 

Everyone wants psykers to be squishy wizards, forgetting that they can throw down a hell of a lot of hurt.

[GreenPlasma]

Inquisition is nice but their lack of inherent DS is aggravating. I do think the Malleus TDA kitted with a Psycannon makes a decent 2+, 3W tank for a Plasma/Melta command squad. At 80pts you're losing about 27pts for every wound, which isn't more expensive than a plasma Scion. You can also throw in a medkit to get more mileage out of the Inquisitor. Unfortunately anything S6 or above is really gonna ruin your day.

 

Librarius is an apoc thing right? I thought only the DA could legally field 3+ librarians.

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

I think there is one for each SM codex, but maybe they changed it.

[march10k]

Librarius is an apoc thing right? I thought only the DA could legally field 3+ librarians.

Que?  I'm not aware of DA getting three libbies in a standard FOC....

[GreenPlasma]

Librarius Conclave formation, check here

 

http://servantsofruin.blogspot.com/2015/01/blood-angels-tactica-dark-angels.html

[Kontakt]

That's too many dirty witches for me.

[Father Mehman]

That's too many dirty witches for me.

Hey! Stick to your own sub-forum, Kontakt, or we'll sledgehammer you right proper !

That's a little joke. Feel free to relax, put your feet up, and have some tea unless you've signed up with the Emperor's Imperial Guard. Because if you did, you'd have to listen to one of my sermons and then it's repainting-the-barracks-time !

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

The inquisitors themselves seem worth it since you can take 2 per Inquisitorial Detachment, and they're dirt cheap, as kitted out as I wanted them they came out to 75 points each.

[march10k]

Ah...the formation...well...technically, if you're counting that, sure...but then the original statement:

I thought only the DA could legally field 3+ librarians.

 

 

Needs revision.  ANYONE can legally field 3+ librarians by taking this DA formation...

[Father Mehman]

I wanted to hate these so much. By "these" I mean these series of review threads. It was something along the lines of "Who's this guy? Why is he telling me the Pros and Cons of stuff we already know? Where's my cheeseburger?" I, in fact, have the opposite reaction to them. The time spent writing all of this good information down for everyone to see is very much appreciated .

This just solidifies my idea for running an Ordo Hereticus and Ordo Xenos Inquisitor duo for my Scions. Huzzah!

[Master Antaeus]

You want to hate them because they lack humility. Hence, the title.

[SW1]

Seems like my old school inquisitors in TDA are now obsolete. Weapon options just ain't there anymore. :(

[Master Antaeus]

Also, I forgot to mention in my initial post that an Inquisitor can be used as a Warlord, even if MT is your primary detachment.  This means, instead of a fragile Prime, you can get a psyker in terminator armor to be your warlord.  WAAAGH!!!