Hi All,
After the release of the Votann, Chaos Daemons, Astra Militarum and updated Necron crusade rules it’s time to update our rankings!
Now, it is important to note that these rankings are subjective and you are welcome to disagree. Also it is important to note that these rankings don’t men that you can’t build a good (or even oppressive) crusade army with these factions. Rather I see these rankings as comparing the relative completeness of each army’s rules and how fun and/or engaging they are. Crusade is an inherently unbalanced system, and if you go into it trying to min-max it you will make the experience worse for you and everyone you play with. The most important rankings to pay attention to is your own internal ranking for which armies you enjoy playing. If it helps, think of these not as power rankings, but grades I would give each faction for the completeness/fun-ness of their rules.
Astra Militarum (AM) – S Tier
The AM get high marks, not only based on the strength of their units, but the amazing crusade rules they have. Getting the ability to hand out awards and customize your strengths and weakness is amazing and can make for some very narrative game play. They also benefit from some truly incredible relics and the best experience engine in the game.
Votann – S Tier
Another strong rule set. While they have lost some effectiveness due to the army nerfs, their crusade rules remain potent. The Votann have a really fun mechanic to gather resources and their grudge rules are both powerful and fluffy. They can border on oppressive if you have only a few opponents, and their anti-invuln abilities are little over the top.
Chaos Daemons – B Tier
The Daemons get some truly fun relics, especially the “summon a Bloodthirster” one. They also get a unique mechanic tracking the great game, but this can add a lot of extra paperwork to the crusade system. The endlessly cyclical nature of these rules are fluffy and thematic, but can also get a bit dull over time. If you want to run an army based on greater daemons this is a great rule set, if you have any other interests….not so much.
Necrons – B Tier
The Necrons make a surprising jump from D tier with their White Dwarf rules. While they aren’t expansive the faction-specific relics, agendas, etc. are a huge breath of fresh air and allow you to create so unique and terrifying units!
So what do you think? Did I over rank Necrons? Under rank Daemons? How would you divide up the power/fun levels? Let me know in the comments!
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