Hi all,
Here is my final article ranking the crusade rules. In my view A tier is the ideal slot. These armies have fun rules that aren’t too hard to involve in the narrative an aren’t oppressive. Alternatively, they have rules that aren’t poorly written or abusable.
A Tier:
- The Tau have some fun rules, their ability to improve prototype systems is excellent and might be accidentally. They do have rules for taking over planets but it’s a slow process and heavily focused on agendas.
- Harlequins have a very solid set of rules that balance risk and reward. The Solitaire mechanics are great and will encourage you to be conservative with your psycho-blender. They miss out on some Eldar upgrade tables and relics but their own are pretty strong.
- While the standard Eldar army rules are a bit bland they get a lot of good unit upgrade choices. The Path system is complex but captures the flexibility of the Eldar in how they wage war and the complexities of their nature. The only downside is how long it takes to move through one path to access another.
- Drukhari have a very strong set of rules despite being a relatively early book. Their mechanic to take over territory is very random and slow but a fun way to build a narrative. Their legendary relic is one of the strongest options and a great way to screw over any Space Marine players who took the Know No Fear agenda.
- The Sisters of Battle have one of the fluffiest set of rules possible. Their Saint Mechanics are perfect for building the lore of your army, while also creating a powerful character whose death is both sad and meaningful. They have some pretty good relics and some fun options for their agendas. Add in the additional tables from Piety and Pain and you are golden.
S Tier:
- Ynnari are such a strange beast. You lose none of the crusade rules for other factions you roll into your army all while gaining the Soul Point mechanic which is insane. As you can get large numbers of Soul Points each game (I believe I got 25+ in one game). Soul Points are busted, 5 points to remove a scar? Free experience at 2 points per level of experience with no cap? Just insane. While your army is stuck with the Ynnari restrictions this is not much of an encumbrance after a few games. If you play close combat Eldar Ynnari are your go-to for crusade.
- The Tyranids are on this list by having very strong rules (borderline oppressive) while also being hard to fit in a narrative. This isn’t terribly surprising given the fluff behind Nids, they are such a pain to try and explain fighting alongside most factions.
- The Chaos Space Marine codex is so close to being great. So many custom rules for legions and some very interesting risk/reward mechanics. My big issue is that the some of the upgrades the CSM get specifically ignore the cap on Battle Honors creating characters that can get a lot more buffs than anyone else for no discernible reason. Chaos can create the most powerful characters, which is fine, but their power is very easily abused to create no-fun units!
There we go! What are your thoughts on this list or any of the previous? Am I too harsh on some armies? Lenient on others?
Let me know in the comments!
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