The Phoenix Court of Khaine pt 1: Asurman

He is the right hand of Asuryan. He is the the oldest and first amongst the Phoenix Lords. He is Asurman the Phoenix Lord of the Dire Avengers.

As you know Dire Avengers are probably my second favorite Aspect warrior temple. Asurman is a good all around HQ choice. Phoenix lords have a nice stat line, usually have all the associated Exarch powers plus an additional power. They are eternal warriors and have a 2+ save. Asurman has a 4+ invulnerably save which is a big thing as none of the other Phoenix Lords have an invulnerably save. I find this rather annoying but you learn to deal with it. Since Phoenix lords are fearless and make any squad they join of their aspect fearless, Asurman can really bolster a squad of Dire Avengers. A fearless troop unit is pretty nice when holding an objective.

Wargear wise Asurman has nothing to fancy. It seems fourth edition really killed weapons reflecting the fluff. There is a lot of counts as that is a bit lackluster for the points you pay in some cases. Asurmans' vambraces count as an Avenger shuriken catapult that is assault 4. His Dire Sword is still just a Dire Sword, albeit one that allows you to re-roll misses. The Phoenix Lord stat line is nice so you do get to have a very exceptional character. His BS of 7 gives Asurman a re-roll of 5+ for shooting. Clocking in at 230 points though is a little excessive in my opinion. There are a couple of different Phoenix Lords that are much better that are much cheaper. With HQ slots at a premium Asurman is not one I would take unless I was running a rather hefty force of Dire Avengers. 5 attacks on the charge in close combat with a 2 handed power weapon is nice with the ability to re-roll misses but, I hardly ever voluntarily charge my Dire Avengers into combat. They usually get charged. Dire Swords are also lackluster as is pretty easy to pass leadership tests anymore especially if you are a space marine.

All in all I would not use Asurman unless I was doing a theme list. He is to expensive and really just not worth blowing an HQ slot and 230 points. He will make a single squad of Dire Avengers very deadly as they hold the line. I generally still include an Exarch in squads with Phoenix Lords. I would definitely do this with Asurman as I would want a second power weapon and a Shimmer Shield in the squad for the 5+ invulnerably in close combat. You don't have to give the Exarch powers of course. It would be nice if you could take Phoenix lords as a squad upgrade that did not take up an HQ slot. Like Lemartes or one of the other dozen Imperial players get.

Kind of an unenthusiastic start I know. Honestly Asurman is not the best Phoenix lord. He is a mediocre choice for lots of points.

SO next time we will talk about a Phoenix Lord that is worth the points. The Bringer of Death. The harbinger of doom. Maugan Ra the Phoenix Lord of the Dark Reapers. I also have a battle report for the latest round of the store campaign. The Judge and I went head to head again. I lost, but managed to get some payback. So that battle report is in the pipe for later.

Until then...........

Blood Runs, Anger Rises, Death Wakes, War Calls!!!!!!!