Goatboy here to pull back the curtain on how you can tell which 40K detachments are actually good, and worth your time.
Goatboy here and I want to pull back the curtain a bit and look at how you can review detachments and figure out if they are actually good or not. This isn’t rocket science but there are some really basic things you can look at and figure out – heck yeah this is going to wreck my opponents. Each new codex has a ton of options and it always seems like the “good” ones get figured out real quick and all follow the same sort of rules to showcase if they are worth it or not. There are also some things that might not hit all three of these yardsticks, but with one of the options being so strong it pushes it to good status especially with a savvy general.
Potent Detachment Rule
We’ll start with the top one the overall method to judge whether your detachment will do the good work for your army. The overall rule the choice gives you is an important one and usually follows into three pathways to success. There are the rules that are always on and work for your entire army choice. There are rules that has you choose to activate them but they always work even if the “task” it requires you fails. Then there are the army rules that build your entire army up to create a wrecking ball of doom.
- Always On Rules – Affect Your Entire Army
- “Switch On” Rules – Always Work
- Army-Wide “Power Up In Stages” Buffs
Always On Rules – Affect Your Entire Army – Imperial Knights Noble Lance
Let’s look at why the Imperial Knight Noble Lance option follows the first one with the rule of granting a basic 6+ Feel No Pain and if you kill your opponents warlord you get a 5+ Feel No Pain. Any option that is always on and lets your army become more powerful, tougher, or just faster is an amazing rule. This is why armies like this always work as there isn’t a need for a go turn – you just are always ready to go.
“Switch On” Rules – Always Work – CSM Pactbound Zealots
The next one is the option to activate rules in order to increase your power. Look at Pactbound Zealots for Chaos Space Marines. Yes their extra rules matter with the Marks but no matter what the Dark Pact works for you. Yes it could fail and take damage but the initial power still powers up and if you make it you supercharge your army. You can also see this in the Infernal Lance for Chaos Knights when doing a Malefic Surge. You could take the damage but the power still powers up.
Army-Wide “Power Up In Stages” Buffs – Emperor’s Children Coterie of the Conceited
The final bit are those armies that build up to be more powerful as they complete their tasks. The Emperor’s Children Coterie of the Conceited is a great example of this as they kill more enemies to match their pledge and just more powerful. It is like that giant boulder crashing down the slope – they will continue to gain speed and just even more wrecking power. The army ends up having multiple mini go turns where they utilize some options, sacrifice this to gain more kills, and then watch as the rest of the army relishes in their death’s that helped push the army forward.
Must-Have Enhancements – Chaos Knights Lords of Dread
The next way I look at any army detachment is to see what Enhancements they have and if they activate something so powerful you have to take them. The one I see has a combo of a pretty neat detachment rule mixed with so many enhancement options it really is a way to push the army to the top. The new Chaos Knights Lords of Dread don’t have the most exciting army rule but all their enhancements have methods to help control the game. The Blade of Celerity on a Rampager is such a murderous threat to any assault based army. The Throne Mechanicum of Skulls shows that a giant Cerastus Knight Lancer can all of a sudden get into your army as it crashes through buildings. Even the simple Warp-Borne Stalker can throw a giant Knight at an angle that will wreck the enemy with double Daemonbreath Thermal Cannons of doom. All of these things can easily be a backbone for the army and just show you that an enhancement or two can make or break your army.
Focussed Play Style Stratagems – Space Marine Gladius
The last one is the easiest to think about when you play any specific detachment. The Stratagem suite is such a big and important deal for any army. Does it have some ways to mitigate damage? Does it have some way to increase damage? For an assault based army does it have advance and charge? How about a shooty army can it either double up on some shooting options or really push a powerful go turn thru? Why is Gladius so strong for Space Marines? Is it because it can do all of those things and gives you the best set of options to kill just about anything?
Putting It all Together – Killer Detachments
I would say for any detachment to be really powerful it needs at least two of these things. There are a ton of them that have all three and they end up being the “solved” options for any codex. I know the Bezerker Warband for World Eaters feels like the best option by a long mile in that book and it has the 3X combo to make it the best choice. You can see this in Blood Angels too with their version of that detachment in Liberator Assault Group. Heck this is why Gladius is always used in Marines as it does everything you need no matter what color your Space Marines are.
Happy Gaming!
Thomas Reidy, aka Goatboy, the ever-evil member of BoLS. I do arts, play 40k, and even paint a lot of stuff. I have been playing Warhammer 40K since the 1990s, and have won multiple national events including Adepticon and GW GTs. I’ve been writing for BoLS for 15 years. Look at my Instagram to see what I am working on – or working on for someone. I am always doing something hobby related.