Making Crowe Work

[DarkLink]

Given that I'm a Grey Knight player, and the Purifiers are awesomeness incarnate, I'm stuck wondering how to make Crowe work despite his horrible rules.

Crowe has two problems:
1. He's not an IC.
2. He grants the unit that assaults him a couple bonuses.

He has a couple benifits:
1. Purifiers become troops!
2. Another Cleansing flame
3. Relatively cheap compared to other GK HQs, reasonably potent in CC. He can probably kill most units that don't have a powerfist or lots of power weapons, and has a good chance of ganking enemy multi-wound stuff

Unless you can overcome his problems, however, his benifits are not worth it. So, looking at how to overcome his problems:

1.
He can't join a unit, and thus can't fit inside their transport. There is a possible solution. You buy a Land Raider/Storm Raven and put the unit inside that, then stick Crowe inside the empty Rhino/Razorback.

This basically gives you another Razorback that you can take potshots with. You can keep this Razorback near the rear of your force to grant it cover and keep it hidden. You can also use it as bait to draw your opponent's shooting away from more important units.

2. Don't get assaulted with him. Keep him far enough away from your own units so that your opponent cannot multi-charge to get the bonuses. Keep Crowe hidden in the back (another reason to hide him in a spare Razorback), and use him as a counter assault unit.


Overall, if you're taking crowe you're taking him for the Purifiers. There is no other reason to ever take him over any of the far, far better HQ choices you get. But if you are taking him you might as well try and make full use of him.


Though I wouldn't suggest taking him in lower point games, where a 150pt tax is a much bigger chunk of your army, here's a baseline 1500pt list you can build up from as an example:

Crowe
10 Purifiers, Halberds, 1 Daemonhammer, Razorback (TL Assault Cannon, Psybolts)
7 Purifiers Halberds, 2 Psycannons, Rhino
7 Purifiers Halberds, 2 Psycannons, Rhino
Land Raider
2 PsyRifle Dreads

Comes out to just over1500. Build up from there as you see fit.


Thoughts?

[Tynskel]

he's only 150 points, right? I think he's awesome. He's a controllable Tycho, what's wrong with that? Just suicide him on things.

[Mr.Pickelz]

it sucks that one of your HQ slots is taken up by a unit that your not going to use and/or throw away. :(

[DarkLink]

A big part of the problem is that Grey Knights can't afford to waste 150pts the way you could in a BA army. Gks are desperate for every point they can get, since you have so few models and so many potent upgrades to take you need to be very careful how you spend every point.

When you can take a Librarian or a Grand Master or Coteaz instead for a similar number of points, the only reason to take Crowe is for purifiers. And since Crowe doesn't have a personal teleporter, isn't an IC and is only two wounds, it's awkward to find somewhere to fit him in the list. He's too slow to charge out in front of your army and go kill something, and he doesn't have the stats to allow you to expose him to much enemy fire. The lack of speed, durability and being able to attach to another unit makes it awkward to fit him into your list.

[bonedale]

Just a quick side thought. Don't BA players put Meph into a stormraven? Since it takes two squads, etc. That of course is if you like the SR. It is fragile, but, you could put a unit of 10 in there, and Crowe IF I understand the rules correctly. Then you save about 110pts.

[thecactusman17]

I was trying to come up with some solid ideas, but most of them are pretty easy to see through.

I would set up Crowe as an Anvil, getting into a scrap with a massive horde or other powerful unit and doing as much damage as possible with Cleansing Flame, then using Blade Shield to force the initial fight to a draw or victory. Then a second (if possible, even a third) squad of Purifiers would multi-charge nearby to really put the hurt on and link up a massive block of enemy units.

As with all purifiers, crowe will most effectively work when he is facing large hordes in the first 1-2 rounds of combat. Put him there whenever possible.

[mstingray]

Why don't you use a grand master, although slightly more expensive (and random) to get the purifiers scoring, as you're unlikely to fit in 6 squads of purifiers.

[plawolf]

Why don't you use a grand master, although slightly more expensive (and random) to get the purifiers scoring, as you're unlikely to fit in 6 squads of purifiers.

If you take Crowe, you would be taking purifiers as your main troop strength instead of GKSS, that is 3-4 sqads minimum, but realistically, you will be aiming to spam as many purifier squads as you can afford. This also frees up your elite slots for other killy units.

With a GM, you only get to make 3 squads scoring max, what more, a GM's roll only comes into play after you have picked a list. Without Crowe making purifiers troops from the start, you will need to take at least two squads of regular troops to make a legal list, and any purifiers would need to be taken as elite to start with, thus limiting them to 3 squads max and you won't get any other cool units from the elites section.

[Mr.Pickelz]

it seems he is best used as bait, for an assault unit to charge him, overkill him then be out in the open for your guys to assault next turn. i just don't see a way to properly use him being that he's non IC and the way his rules work in favor of the enemy. either toss him on your back corner and have him goto ground or throw him as a suicide unit.

[DarkLink]

Just a quick side thought. Don't BA players put Meph into a stormraven? Since it takes two squads, etc. That of course is if you like the SR. It is fragile, but, you could put a unit of 10 in there, and Crowe IF I understand the rules correctly. Then you save about 110pts.

Storm Ravens can't "carry two units". They can carry one unit of infantry and one dreadnought. You still need the IC rule to fit a character and another unit inside the Storm Raven.

[Drew da Destroya]

Buy a Purgation squad a Razorback, and stick him in it? They don't actually have to start in the thing, and it'd at least keep the killpoint safer than hiding and hoping nobody outflanks.

[jorz192]

I have this idea that if he is charged by or charges a large horde unit, preferably without power weapons,
that he could use cleansing flame and then use his defend stance so he can re-roll all armor saves, It would let him survive through the combat and then he could continue using that tactic until he eliminates the opposing unit.

[Lerra]

It's going to be scary if Krowe hits a large squad alongside a Purifier squad. Two Cleansing Flames could wipe out a big horde in one round.

[plawolf]

You don't really need to faff about with a rhino. Just spread a full purifier squad less than 1 base length from each other in a rough line and walk crowe behind them.

Crowe gets a decent cover save if people try to shoot him, the purifier squad would prevent the enemy from actually being able to charge Crowe, so do not gain any special Crowe bonuses, and would need to fight through the purifiers to get at Crowe. They get hit with the purifier cleansing flame and base 2A power weapons. Next turn, Crowe charges in for more cleansing flame madness as well as adding his own attacks to the fray.

At first I though Crowe was pants, but he is starting to grow on me, as purifier troops is so much better than GKSS to the point where you can probably get away without needing to take any Elites to have a perfectly viable list for not much more points.

You have to be careful with Crowe, but there are pretty straight forward ways of mitigating the benefits he grants to enemies, and he is respectable for his points cost in CC.

He actually gives you a fair few tactical options.

You can use him as either a bait unit, or an intimidation unit.

The enemy will be tempted to try and multi assault you to gain the buffs against other squads, but that can be used to draw them out of key positions.

The enemy will also be pretty weary about letting their tooled up HQ or special character get into CC against Crowe as there is a good chance he can take them with him after they beat him.

Thus you could potentially have a 'push' and a 'pull' tactic to use to best position your own units while trying to draw or force enemy units out of position and go where they would not chose to go normally.