Crowe Army, Potential?

So my friend got me thinking, can Crowe work? Well many people keep pumping out these lists and you know what, I think this is the first time I am going to agree with Stelek from YTTH and say yes, Crowe can work, but only via a fairly basic and spammy list.

Why? Well I think the best way to make use of the “crowe” tax it to maximize shooting. If you mix this with the fact that purifiers have access to cheap halberds, cheap hammers & a base of 2 attacks and the nasty cleansing flame, they are also great at kicking stuff in combat. No, they aren’t amazing in combat, but I would consider them to be effective, just like a space wolf grey hunter unit. The unit has the potential to be kitted out for a few points and effectively boost their close combat potential. I say, why not? Not like it costs many points.....

So after having a little think about it and going over a list with my friend, I came to the conclusion that an MSU approach to Crowe can work. It has the potential to pick up a lot of Psycannons, you can still take Dreadnoughts with Autocannons, and the units are scoring. Horde units don’t look half as scary, combat unit can be dealt with by assaulting them with 2 of your own units, and there is plenty of redundancy to be had. Let’s look at the list.

Can Crowe Work?

First we pick up Crowe for obvious reasons. What to do with him I wander. Well I thought long and hard about it, and have come to the conclusion…not much. He can provide some area denial; after all he is a great speed bump. He can, with his high I and 4+ rending sword, kill msu units by himself. This isn’t something to be taken lightly and your opponent knows this. His not Mephiston, not by a long shot, but by keeping him behind your advancing Rhinos / Razorbacks, I’m sure he can come in use. I would personally not even bother doing that in a Killpoint mission. Hide him behind a LOS blocking terrain piece and just go to ground lol. Another use is putting him on your objective in capture and control behind a rhino / razorback which can block LOS. This stops your opponent thinking it will be fairly easy to bum rush your objective, as he can effectively hold them up long enough for another unit of yours to arrive (re-roll able armour/inv saves is pretty juicy). This could really break your opponent’s plans in such a mission.

Are Venerable Dreads worth it?

Next we look at the Elite section. Since purifiers have now been moved to Troops, there isn’t much fancy stuff left here. I love the Venerable dreadnoughts, but the option seems a little too expensive for my liking. If I use them as melta support, I should ask myself (do I really need it?) If im taking a plethora of Psycannons, even Land raiders can be knocked down, so perhaps not. If I’m using them as Rifleman, surely that’s quite the investment over a Heavy support Dreadnought. I think we can skip this section for now, and come back to it if we have points spare.

Is spamming Purifiers the only way?

So the fun section, Troops. As I stated at the beginning, I think an MSU spam list would best work with Crowe. For his tax (the Crowe Tax) you want to get the most out of it right? So let’s look at filling our Troops slots with them. 6 units of 5 can do that nicely. How to equip them? Well first, the obvious choice is 2 Psycannons. These are great weapons and for the price, need little explaining.

Next Ill take a Hammer on each squad. Why? It stops them getting bogged down by big nasties such as trygons. Even with force weapons, if I’m activating it I need a 6 to wound. I’d rather have the Hammer there just incase. Also a STR 10 weapon is nice to instant gib characters hiding in units as well, or can even be used as a last resort against vehicles sitting on objectives.

Next are the Halberds. Some players like to keep their purifiers cheap, but I say “Why not?” Honestly, why not? 4 pts for 2 halberds per squad is a bargain. It give you the chance to knock down a few of your opponents models before they overwhelm your unit (its going to happen if you in combat with a proper assault unit). Id rather pay 4pts any day to be given that chance. Not many Combat specialist units out there are more than I5, even characters, so I’m going to put my hands up and say that I’d be stupid not to take them, so I will.

So far, each unit is looking at 149pts per unit, not too shabby, but we haven’t put them in a transport yet, but which one to choose? I for one love the Rhino. Its cheap, comes with 2 fire points (just right for our Psycannons) and doesn’t care for moving 12 inches to get into position. Razorbacks are also nice as it gives us an extra threat and potential priority target for our opponent. How do we get something in-between which would work best for us? Well we can’t take Chimeras so that’s not really possible. Let’s take a closer look at the Razorback.

How can we give ourselves more useful units without affecting the others? Well I believe it’s possible. Having a Razorback move up and unloading your purifiers behind the razorback which is pivoted sideways. Why? Because now your opponent has 2 threats next turn. In your next turn you move the Razorbacks (which should pop smoke the turn before so you know) out the way 6 inches, and viola you now have double the threats to your opponent. To prevent this, your opponent needs to immobilize, wreck or weapon destroy the Razorback in front. Even if it is wrecked or immobilized, the unit can move forward around and shoot. This isn’t everyone’s desire though. When using a Rhino, you will never have to be on foot, so when facing armies such as dark elder which punishes foot based armies, it isn’t the best plan hence the usefulness of a Rhino. I however believe putting pressure on an opponent to deal with multiple threats from turn 2 can be a larger benefit overall. Bare in mind if your opponent lacks anti-infantry firepower, you could still move the Razorback forward 12 and disembark, whilst still unleashing a reasonable amount of firepower. The more threats your opponent has the more worry he has to deal with them.

So lets recap, 6 Units of 5 Purifiers with 2 Psycannons, 2 Halberds & 1 Hammer in a Razorback with Twin-linked Heavy bolter & Psybolts. Pretty solid amount of shooting there.

What is needed to support the army?

Onto Fast Attack. Interceptors are nice, but don’t really fit in a Crowe list at 1750pts. Id rather look to the Elite section if I needed to fill in FOC slots.

Heavy Support. We all know what to take, and I don’t think I need to delve much into this. 3 Dreadnoughts with dual Autocannons & Psybolts. Great buy. One thing to consider is moving one up with the Razorback wall when playing psyker lists. Things like Psyker battle squads and Rune priests will find it hard to cast their powers with reinforced Aegis nearby.

So here’s the list:

Army List - 1750pts

Crowe: 150pts

5 Purifiers: 200ps
2 Psycannons, 2 Halberds, Hammer. Razorback with Twin-linked Heavy Bolter, Psybolt Ammo & Searchlights.

5 Purifiers: 199pts
2 Psycannons, 2 Halberds, Hammer. Razorback with Twin-linked Heavy Bolter & Psybolt Ammo.

5 Purifiers: 199pts
2 Psycannons, 2 Halberds, Hammer. Razorback with Twin-linked Heavy Bolter & Psybolt Ammo.

5 Purifiers: 199pts
2 Psycannons, 2 Halberds, Hammer. Razorback with Twin-linked Heavy Bolter & Psybolt Ammo.

5 Purifiers: 199pts
2 Psycannons, 2 Halberds, Hammer. Razorback with Twin-linked Heavy Bolter & Psybolt Ammo.

5 Purifiers: 199pts
2 Psycannons, 2 Halberds, Hammer. Razorback with Twin-linked Heavy Bolter & Psybolt Ammo.

Dreadnought: 135pts
Two Twin-Linked Autocannons & Psybolt Ammo.

Dreadnought: 135pts
Two Twin-Linked Autocannons & Psybolt Ammo.

Dreadnought: 135pts
Two Twin-Linked Autocannons & Psybolt Ammo.

Grand Total: 1750pts
Killpoints: 16



Plenty of firepower (18 str 6 shots Twin-linked, 20 Str 4 Storm bolters, 24-48 str 7 rending shots & 12 str 8 Twin-linked shots). Decent counter attack capabilities from the Purifiers with Hammers & Halberds (and even possibly Crowe lol), and lots of redundancy to go with it. I think it’s a fairly boring list, but in terms of competitiveness, it’s certainly reliable & balanced.

Will I use this list personally? Well I may give it a few games but I’m still enjoying my own grey knight list, we shall see as time goes on.

Cheers,
Killswitch