Mordrak. 200 points of meh??

I have tried over and over and over again to make a list that utilises Mordrak with his "First to the Fray" special rules.

Without him Deep Striking he's just an overpriced Grand Master with a big hammer IMO without the cool wargear.

and the Ghost Knights......well Having Shrouding and Stealth is nice. but they can't take any shooting weapons save storm bolters. And the fact that even if Mordrak takes 3 wounds in one round of combat the max he will get back is ONE Ghost Knight!


I keep thinking Mordrak with a Librarian is a good idea cause the librarian can have teleport homer and summoning to bring other forces to Mordrak's unit, but this is expensive!

thoughts?

Mordrak is a pretty decent Character, perhaps not the best but he manages to kill stuff. His Ghosts are what keep him alive, and as such he should always go with them. And yes he works bests with a Librarian. First Turn Warp Rift fun is one thing Tau players just hate.
Perhaps a very mobile army with personal teleporters can support him better. I'm thinking Interceptors and NDKs. So you have a very heavy CC unit in the middle of the enemy lines, and your other units surrounding and eliminating threats first turn. Of course if you go second, you should find cover form the rain before alfa striking.

Mordrak works well as a distraction, and effectively increases the threats that your oponents have to choose between. I believe that is what he was designed for, and if you want him to play a different role you will be dissapointed, and as you stated, would be better off with a different HQ.

Having Mordrak, a Libby, and ghost knights in your enemy's deployment zone forces them to pay attention to him, which in turn offers the rest of your force a respite from the enemy's full attention, and allows you to execute your masterful battle plan more accurately. 

Has it always been that way with Mordraks wounds and the creation of ghost knights  Brother Corennus? :scratch:That sucks

you roll the D3 whenever mordrak suffers a unsaved wound. so even if you lose 3 wounds, you can get 3 ghost knights.

I understood the rule just like Souba says too. Whenever he suffers a wound you roll a d3, at the end of phase.

That was also my understanding of how the Ghost Knights are generated, and why I was asking for clarification.

Does anyone have a Mordrak list and/or advice to share with Brother Corennus so that he doesn't loose his faith in Grand Master Mordrak?

I'd say if your going to field Mordrak keep him in small to medium sized games (1000-1500) since his 'ghost knights' can't take incinerators or psycannons he's limited to mopping up small squads of enemies in either ranged or melee combat. He's certainly the cheaper equivalent to a grand master with retinue but for 1500+ point armies I'd stick with the master or librarian for their strength and versatility.

Funny this was posted today because I came here to ask the question of Mordrak vs just generic Inquisitor. I used Mordrak for the first time Tuesday night against the sisters and he was a lot of fun to play. I attached an inquisitor in terminator armour with psycannon and tried to pop some transports from the rear turn one. Luckily he survived some melta shots turn 2 and was able to make it in combat and took care of business against an inquisitor and one of the sister's hq's. He'd be better if he was eternal warrior cause it's painful when he gets ID'd and all of those expensive ghost knights disappear from the table. He's harder to protect with a 4+ lookout sir! I also failed the only ghost knight roll I was able to make. But those drawbacks aside, it was fun placing them where I wanted and watching them go to work. Deep striking turn one with no scatter is nothing to sneeze at. And you could always drop them in some ruins and be a nuisance with a great cover save while the rest of your army makes it's way up field.

A generic GM is only 25 pts cheaper and you lose first to the fray and stealth. But you have the option to buy some good grenades or weapons and the ability to join other units. Who has everyone had more success with, Mordrak or the GM?

alright. one final stab at a Mordrak list at....(Doctor evil little finger to mouth!) ONE THOUSAND POINTS!!


Grand Master Mordrak
200

Ghost Knights (5 man)
200

TROOPS

Terminator Squad (5 man)
Justicar w/ Halberd
x 1 Daemonhammer
x 3 Swords
Psycannon

Terminator Squad (5 man)
Justicar w/ Halberd
x 1 Daemonhammer
x 3 Swords
Psycannon
225

FAST ATTACK

Interceptor Squad (5 man)
Psycannon
Daemonhammer
150

that's right. that's 16 2+ armour saves in a 1000 points list.

I know it lacks anti-air, but at 1000 points how much air stuff can an opponent realistically take?

I like this list.
In regards to playing Mordrak it is important to remember why you are playing… Are you being competitive, having fun, or somewhere in between? Mordrak is fun, fluffy, and can be effective in many situations. Is he a sure thing in regards to victory? no. But he can win.

I want to make a Mordrak list with a Librarian, Ghost Knights, terminators, a LR Godhammer, and a Dreadknight  
Low model count?…yup, competitive?… not overly, fun?… Hell yes!!!!  

I've been toying with the idea of running Draigo with a Ghostwing.

- The non scattering DS will mean you can use sanctified flame in conjunction with stormbolters to wreck an infantry unit on deployment.

- Twin grand strategy means you could spend as little as 110pts on two Soladins to fill the troops slots.

- Draigo can tank whilst Mordrak smashes

* On a side note - with the new ]I[ codex is it now possible to field a 3 psycannon Ghostwing? Second GM and 2 x OMI........

Draigo
Mordrak
2 x OMI
5 x Ghostknights

Or

Belial Primary with a full cyclone / hammer squad and Mordrak and Ghosts with two additional psycannon OMI's - The rest of the Deathwing can servo skull deepstrike!

Yes its all stupid expensive but would be so much fun to play

stupid expensive is the right words!

Can you take Mordrak as a single HQ and make him join a "régular" terminators squad ? Or is it specified in the FAQs ?

meecham63 wrote:Can you take Mordrak as a single HQ and make him join a "régular" terminators squad ? Or is it specified in the FAQs ?

Nope, Mordrak isn't an independent character so he either rolls with ghosr knights or solo

Brother D! Those suggestions Are definitely thinking outside of the box!!! I would love to see a batrep using these lists!

Those would be the battles that novels are written about! Not to mention that a 9 model army would be affordable and actually get fully painted!!!

revised opinion of mordrak.

as a normal grandmaster without deep striking I still think he's overpriced and underpowered.

BUT, as part of an alpha strike list....wow.

example:

1500 list so opponent can't go massively overboard on what he takes:

Mordrak
200

Ghost Knight
40

Librarian
Teleport Homer
165

TROOPS

Strike Squad (5 man)
100

Strike Squad (5 man)
100

FAST ATTACK

Interceptor Squad (10 man)
Psycannons x 2
280

Interceptor Squad (10 man)
Psycannons x 2
280

HEAVY SUPPORT

Dreadknight
Heavy Incinerator
Teleport
235

FORTIFICATION

Aegis Defence Line
T-L Quad Gun
100


Mordrak makes the Interceptors troops. Deep Strikes into best position on turn 1. Interceptors and Dreadknight shunt to 6" around him and the librarian. Unleash hell

Nice.

I played him last week for the first time, and I was really happy about him. I popped him behind my opponent deployment (we played "hammer and anvil") and as I had a librarian in his squad, I was able to summon my Dreadknight on the second turn and a terminator squad on the third in the back of my opponent. "Hammer and Anvil" was well appropriate

Have played a fair few games with mordrak about the worst thing he has is the character rule, all the good placement in the world cannot make up a failed look out sir when you are up against S8 or instant death weapons, while I can see why they did not let him be an independent character I cannot understand why they would not have given him a rule that lets his ghost knights should get a 2+ to look out sir onto them.

For my money a normal Grand master gets more value.

MOrdrak is great as an (expensive) distraction unit or to build an alpha strike list around. I agree a normal Grand Master may be more flexible, but IMO a Brother Captain is better than a Grand Master...apart from Grand Strategy you get everything a GM can do for 25 points less.

It's my one major gripe really. that there isn't enough to separate Mordrak, GM and Bro Captain.

not like in the old Daemonhunter Codex where the rank of the Gk determined the power of his weapons..

Corennus wrote:MOrdrak is great as an (expensive) distraction unit or to build an alpha strike list around. I agree a normal Grand Master may be more flexible, but IMO a Brother Captain is better than a Grand Master...apart from Grand Strategy you get everything a GM can do for 25 points less.

It's my one major gripe really. that there isn't enough to separate Mordrak, GM and Bro Captain.

not like in the old Daemonhunter Codex where the rank of the Gk determined the power of his weapons..

The thing is, what Grand Strategy gives you for those extra 25points is an absolute steal. Guaranteeing at least one more scoring unit if not more is awesome, and really gives you an edge in terms of deployments and flexibility.

+1, I would never take a Bro captain in the current rules

may I ask why not?

He's the same stats basically as a GM. has access to exactly the same wargear, and yet is 25 points cheaper...

I'm currently trying to decide on what fits best into my Shunt list. See the thread in Tactica.