2000 Coteaz/Draigo Hybrid

Context and strategy outline (list is first comment)

I've played a dozen games with my GKs now, the army I picked up restarting the hobby after about an 8 year break for college. My record is 9-3, though 4-0 at 2000. Every time I've played the army has evolved slightly as I've learned more about the game/remembered things i used to know. The constant intent has been an all-comers list that is primarily ranged.

The one realization I've come to more and more as I've played is... I dislike non-relentless psycannons.

Against ranged armies 24" is too short, you're moving into their fire for too long and every ranged army loves to eat 5 man squads in power armor

Against assault armies... yourrange is 24". While it's true that your footslogging, fireing marine moves 6 and charges 6, no real assaulting army I've played against relies on a 12" charge. Using Assault vehicles you're looking at (usually) a minimum of about 20". The different between 20" and 24" is a small margin for those psycannons to be effective in before the marines become a speed boost to the assaul army going past them.

What this means is that in most situations my Strike Squads sit in transports... 110 points of backup that see little tabletime. I stopped even taking them out of the box unless needed.

2nd, I abhor GK terminators... 40 per wound is a lot, I've never liked single wound termies.
So.. I like GK but dislike both their troop choices.

I like paladins, but all paladins feels like too few points of fire.
I love psybacks - psychic pilot being my favorite aspect of the GK codex mechanically, but don't want purely small IG units as troops as they have 0 chance of holding a charge.

The list I'm leaning towards at this point (and have hte models for) combines both special characters to take advantage of all 3 wonderful elite choices the GK offer.

(see list below)

Against assault armies the paladins + driago hold the middle with one unit of purifiers as counter-assault, the other purifers are in the SR hunting, the NDK deep strikes.
Coteaz and the plasmas stay central, preferably behind cover and a corner of the chimera stays within 12" of a paladin for sanctuary.
The rest is a lot fire support/ screening, with the option of psybacks running for objectives late.

Against ranged armies the paladins and draigo either DS themselves or mount up in the SR, the 6 man size allowing me the option of full mechanization if that's what's best in the scenario.

The one psycher in the plasma cannon squad is 1, the most effiient points per output way to run pyschers, and 2, a nice range finder for the plasma cannons, since they want to fire before the turret.

Another thing I like about this list is that while it benefits from the flexibility of grand strategy, it does not rely on it.

I realize this army is not fluffy.. I'm OK with that.

I'd love to hear comments and criticisms.

The Last Stand

HQ
Draigo
Coteaz

Elites

2x 5 man Purifier teams
Purifier
2 incinerators (these being free is amazing)
2x Psyback

Troops

 Paladin Squad , 5 Paladins
P1 Storm bolter, Halberd
P2 Storm Bolter, Force Sword
P3 Storm Bolter, Warding Staff
P4 Psycannon, Halberd
P5 Psycannon, Daemon Hammer

Inquisitor Warband (coteaz squad)
3 Inquisitorial Servitors w/ plasma cannons
1 psycher
1 warrior

Chimera

3x 3 man Inquisitor Warband
3 warriors

3x Psyback

Heavy

Nemesis Dreadknight
Heavy Incinerator

2x Psyfulman

Fast Attack

Stormraven w/ TL Lascannon, TL Multi-Melta, 4x missiles

Totals 2000
9 AV 11 or 12 targets, everything else in terminator armor until disembarked.

Interesting concept. You seem to have a well thought out strategy against most types of armies. To me it seems like you are going to try to counter whatever your opponent throws at you. One question I have is what are the warrior acolytes armed with? You have them in squads of three, so I'm guessing plasma? It seems pretty solid, however, you may want to consider jokearo weaponsmiths. A couple of them per warrior acolyte warband will give them bonuses that should prove benificial and they can support the warriors with their digital weapons, adding range, antiarmor, and flamers for when things get too close for comfort. That is if you can find the points to do it, of course.

I think a 1 jokero 5 warriors w/ Bolters could
Be a good squad design, but it comes out to 60 points. That may be better than 3 warriors with special weapons.

I'm this case the warriors are stripped. Three of them evaporate outside their transport. Basically, each of those units
Reads "62 points for a payback that counts as a troop choice and is scoring" the only times
I see the warriors peaking their noses out is when the vehicle is immobilized or destroyed.

Hopefully, because everything I have has to be shot at with antivehicle weaponry the target saturation means that won't happen very much.

I don't know. Most army lists that I've seen that were over 1000pts seem to take AV pretty seriously. Other codexes have a lot of serious AV options at the troop level. I think you would be better off arming the WA properly and if/when the vehicle gets hit, being able to still contribute to the fight.

The question is: is it better to have 2 psybacks with with special weapon warriors, or 3 with stripped warriors? The psyback is the desirable unit. Very low points for an av11 tank w/ a S6 Three shot turret at 36" AND pyschic pilot is amazing. The total cost of getting an the third one is only 2 more points than arming the warriors from the first two.

So it's not that I don't want them to have weapons it's just not worth the point trade off.

I see your point. Please post how well it works.