Space Marine HQ Review: Pedro Kantor

Hey everyone SaltyJohn from TFGRadio here again with Pedro Kantor Chapter Master of the Crimson Fists. As always, check out the tactics corner for more reviews and battle reports.

Pedro Kantor, stoic leader of the famed and doomed Crimson Fists chapter, has been a part of the fluff going back to essentially the beginning, but is he worth his weight in this edition of the rules?

 

Overview:

Pedro Kantor is a 50/50 mix of force multiplier and hard hitting Close Combat guru in design but in reality, he is actually worth more to you as a force multiplier. That said, if you position him well and don’t expect him to go into a fist fight (punny!) with anything that is strength 8+ and win, you will be playing with realistic expectations. He is also a very good value for what you get, weighing in at 185 points. Beyond his susceptibility to instant death, his slow speed is his only other downfall.

Wargear:

• 2+
• Power Fist
• Grenades
• 4++ Iron Halo
  
• Dorn’s Arrow: Assault 4, AP 4 Storm Bolter
• Orbital Strike

Warlord Trait: Iron Resolve (Feel No Pain)

Special Rules:

• ATSKNF
• IC
• Imperial Fists
• Oath of Rynn: So long as Kantor is in the detachment all friendly models from the detachment within 12″ get +1 attack. Great ability! And all of the models in his detachment also get preferred enemy Orks… People play Orks? I’m kidding guys. Ok, no, I’m not.
• Hold the Line: Friendly units of Crimson Fists Sternguard are scoring units if Kantor is in your army, he doesn’t have to be the Warlord.

Tactics:

Pedro largely does what he did previously but now with an improved stat line. He was an incredible value points wise last go around and now he has the 2+ armor save! With his bonus in armor save, he is still a great value. You basically pay 30pts over a Chapter master with power fist but get all of Pedro’s cool abilities which are easily worth well more than 30pts. He is quite the bargain.

Pedro himself is still fairly straight forward to use. He is a decent combat character who can reap a large tally in enemy models in melee so long as you keep him away from things that can instant kill him. That is easier said than done as the game is rife with Smashing MCs, Gargantuan MC, D Weapons, and Knights; but if you can bring his high number of attacks to bear, it will really help you to pulverize your opponent. That many Power Fists swings is scary to anything in the game.

You will want to keep a sacrificial Sarge or similar character in his unit to fall on the sword if you do find yourself in a combat with an enemy model that can ID him in a challenge. Keep Pedro out of harms way so that he can inflict maximum damage with his Fist. His 4 wounds will keep him in the fight so long as you avoid those instant death weapons.

Obviously, running him with a unit that will make good use of his +1 attack bubble is also a wise move. Hammernators, Assault Centurions, and Command Squads will really benefit form this as do Sternguard, who now go up to 4 attacks on the charge. Sternguard also, obviously, benefit from his special rule making them scoring units. He meshes well with them with his super Storm Bolter, too, and that unit can be counted on to inflict a lot of damage while also proving to be pretty unappealing as a target to be assaulted due to Kantor’s presence in it.

Senior Pedro also really assists lackluster units like Assault Marines who all of a sudden go to Veteran status when in his radius. Due to their speed, they can be relied upon to get into that radius consistently without having to telegraph your intentions to your opponent by running them in a tight formation which also leaves you vulnerable to blasts and templates. Bikes also benefit in the same way.

However, as I have mentioned over and over, do not make an assault Space Marine army if you want to consistently win in a competitive setting unless it is comprised of Bikes, a Conclave, and SW allies. I am not saying you can’t win with assault oriented Space Marines at all, just that there are too many Xenos armies, and other Imperial armies, with assault units that will swing before you, ignore your armor and cost less points. Marine assault units, in general terms, are best used in a support role these days and Pedro really buffs them up to do that. My point being that I would advise not to build an entire list around this ability of Kantor’s (although I would love to be proven wrong on that point!). Look at it more as a really good bonus to an already really useful character. Run your army the way you would assuming he didn’t have it and be thankful for the nice little boost!

Sternguard as scoring units is awesome, too! I love Sternguard. You can read more about them here and here! They shoot brilliantly, they assault well, they are reliable. Just an all around A+ unit, IMO. In the meta we now find ourselves in: T8, EW, super Kaiju monsters all over the place, a poison 2+, rapid fire weapon is just what the Emperor ordered! That is the equalizer, right there my friends and I have sent many a MC back to the Warp, or TMC back to the Hive Mind with my Sternguard. They also put a number on any toughness based models. I could go on, but I’ve already gone over them in detail. For now, suffice it to say they are an absolutely fantastic unit and making them scoring is just the cat’s meow.

As for a list with Pedro, you have a lot of options. As is typical with Imperial Fists (or any Marine army), using those CTs is where you gain increased points efficiency in your list as they are free. Bolters, Devastators and Centurions gain the benefits and as such, taking those units gets you “free points” so to speak as they are better than normal at no additional cost. Beyond that, simply deciding who Kantor is going to go with is going to be your biggest choice. I like Sternguard as stated, but he also meshes well with Centurions as he makes them scarier to assault and it allows him to move and shoot his orbital Bombardment (due to Slow and Purposeful) which he would not otherwise be able to do. As stated in previous tactics articles, a character like Pedro really benefits from flexibility. He is slow, and vulnerable to ID, so leave a spot in a Drop Pod or outflanking units for him so that you can best adapt to changing conditions, game to game. This allows you to put him where you need him most which is the key to utilizing any of your assets to best effect.

Oh, and as an aside, if you are playing Crimson Fists and you find yourself across the table from a fabled Ork player, be a gentleman and apologize before you blast him off of the table. Preferred enemy for your entire army against an army like orks that is already poor on defense. It is not an un-winnable battle for the Greenskins, just that your army increased in offensive efficacy against them across the board by roughly 33% for no reason at all. Brutal. Like, not fun for either player, brutal.

As always, share your thoughts in the comments section! And remember, Frontline Gaming sells Games Workshop product at up to 25% off, every day.