Hi folks,
It has been a long time since Lictors have been a thing to fear in a GW game. Back in the glory days of 2nd Edition you could give them some pretty devastating wargear, which (along with the character-centric ruleset) afforded them a high degree of lethality. They were also much harder to kill. Since then they have crashed pretty hard as a unit, though I have always fielded at least one. Deathleaper itself has had a few good innings in my army lists, particularly in the earlier editions. I never liked the pose, though, so converted him scampering on all fours without the goofy looking grasping claws.
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| Derpy derp |
Now, with the release of Kill Team, Lictors have created their own little niche as a small, elite, hard to kill and hard hitting force. Their heavy to-hit modifiers in cover, high movement rate, combination of high AP or 2 damage close combat weapons and high strength shooting weapons provide them with a lot of tactical options on the battlefield. Once they get stuck in, they really take heads; I love one-hitting Primaris Marines (or anything else, for that matter)!
In terms of Tactics, Scorch Bugs and Hunting Roar are no help at all; I don't have fleshborers or warriors. Caustic Blood is great when you get into a hard fight and just need to pip one more wound off your enemy. I don't use Lurk much, but it makes a Lictor ridiculously hard to hit in cover. I find that actually moving them to where they can't be shot is usually more effective, however. Feeder Tendrils are very situational, but I always keep it in mind when attacking a Leader, a few spare command points at the end of the game can be the difference between winning and losing. Metabolic Overdrive wins games, no questions asked. Coupled with a Scout specialist, this Tactic puts Lictors where they need to be, a turn before they need to be there.
So, here is the Lictor Kill Team I have assembled, for a campaign I am playing with Sgt Waz and The Trooper.
Six Eyes (Leader)
I often hide this guy in the back lines, keeping him as a counter-charge unit and farming Command Points. I then team him up with another Lictor to take advantage of the Level 1 Leader Tactic, allowing both of them to hit before the enemy. More often than not, this forces an opponent to sink command points into hitting first or getting out of the way safely. I am thinking about moving this guy towards being a Tactician at Level 3, though Paragon also fits how I use him. That's assuming he survives that long; so far he has died every game to auxiliary grenade launcher shots.
Ol' Squidface (Veteran)
Ol' Squidface started the campaign as a grunt, back before I knew I could have another specialist. In that game he out-performed every other Lictor, earning himself immediate Veteran status! Adaptive Tactics gets him
that much closer to charge range, or, more usually, into cover before the bolts start flying. Grizzled keeps him in the game when the bolts start flying. I am going to move this guy towards being a Level 3 Survivor; it would suit him well.
The Formless Maw (Combat)
I really wanted a snakey Nid to fit in with my Numereji Hive Fleet, so this guy was born out of an old Ravenor body, with some Venomthrope parts for good measure. All of the tactics and abilities for combat specialists are brutal, which makes him a bullet magnet. I don't know where I will go with him, but Deadly Counter, the ability to hit back with a mortal wound on 5+ when an enemy rolls a 1 to hit in the Fight phase is jelly.
Herald of Numereji (Scout)
I modeled this little fella using an old 3rd Edition Lictor body in a more dynamic pose, using the rending claws off Deathleaper and another Venomthrope head. I can't emphasise how much I have grown to love this guy. So damn
fast. Stealing objectives and breaking the enemy lines like a ghost.
I'll try and post the details of the campaign we are playing soon, in case anyone is interested in following our progress or wants to give it a go themselves.
See you across the table,
Marc
