non-Agents Kroyle combos

who does Inquisitor Kroyle work for?

last week we reviewed the Agents units that benefit most and least from Kroyle’s buff, which provides full hit re-rolls in your Shooting Phase—but only for attacks made by qualifying models (those from the Agents faction or that have the Imperium, Battleline, and Infantry keywords) against a target hit by at least one of Kroyle’s own attacks. now let’s look at how Kroyle might be helping the Imperium in non-Agents lists:

some (nearly) faction-agnostic picks

since Kroyle’s buff applies to all Agents even when they’re taken as allies, every Imperium player now has access to some pretty powerful options. note that some of these are limited by the Assigned Agents army rule, which caps the number of Agents units you can take according to certain keywords; in a 2,000 point game you can take up to two Retinue and Character units, plus up to one Requisitioned unit (Dedicated Transports instead use the normal restrictions from the Core Rules). here are a couple winners from last week’s article that still seem promising when taken as allies:

• Inquisitor Draxus costs a hefty 110 points when taken as an ally (up from only 75 in pure Agents lists) but can still be worth it in the right list—for example when joined to a unit of Custodian Guard. because of how Kroyle’s buff is worded, both Draxus herself and her Battleline Infantry Bodyguard can enjoy full hit re-rolls. non-Custodes Kroyle lists may also want Draxus, but should consider pairing her with Imperial Navy Breachers if they have no native source of wound re-rolls.

• two (Retinue) Corvus Blackstars can dish out some hefty damage with re-rolls from Kroyle, plus they deal fly-over mortals in the Movement Phase, have Toughness 10 (hello Tank Shock), and innately ignore cover with their Auspex Scanner ability (the value of which will only increase in 11e). i like running them with a mix of anti-infantry weapons (two blackstar rocket launchers and a hurricane bolter) and a twin-linked lascannon; you can also swap the lascannon for a twin-linked assault cannon and just hunt scoring units. these are one of only a few units in the Agents codex that don’t cost a premium as allies.

• two (Dedicated Transport) Inquisitorial Chimeras containing (Requisition) Inquisitorial Agents output a good number of shots with Firing Deck. give each Chimera two heavy bolters, and equip your Servitors with either multi-meltas or heavy bolters depending on whether your list could use more anti-tank or anti-infantry. the Inquisitorial Agents cost slightly more than what you’d pay in a pure Agents list (10ppm [points per model] instead of 8.33ppm), but they’re still good value as long as you put them in Chimeras—which don’t cost a premium as allies.

Astra Militarum: Grizzled Company or Combined Arms

Guard Battleline units are ideal beneficiaries of Kroyle’s buff since they have plenty of shooting attacks and lack other sources of full re-rolls to hit. the Grizzled Company detachment in particular is great with Kroyle since its Purging Fire stratagem grants Lethal Hits in the shooting phase to any Guard unit that’s within range of an objective and affected by an Order (most likely First Rank, Fire! Second Rank, Fire!).

the Combined Arms detachment also competes for Kroyle’s attention with its Born Soldiers ability: it lacks Grizzled’s Lethal Hits stratagem that can be used against any target, but all of its Regiment units gain Lethal Hits against Monsters and Vehicles.

Space Marines: Bastion Strike Force

Marines already have full hit re-rolls via their Oath of Moment army rule, so Kroyle offers the flexibility of an additional (Shooting Phase-only) target rather than something brand new.

the Bastion Strike Force detachment’s Interlocking Tactics ability is all about Battleline infantry, allowing them to shoot, charge, and start to perform an Action after Advancing or Falling Back. in addition, every time one of your Battline units attacks, you can “auspex scan” one enemy unit hit by at least one of those attacks; and until the end of the turn, all of your other Adeptus Astartes units will re-roll hit rolls of 1 when attacking a unit that’s been auspex scanned.

the rest of the detachment synergizes with both the Battleline keyword and the auspex-scan debuff, a few of which further benefit from Kroyle’s buff. for example, the Light of Vengeance stratagem can be used in the Shooting and Fight Phases to grant Lethal Hits or Sustained Hits 1, so long as the unit is targeting an auspex-scanned unit or has the Battleline keyword. another must-have is the Hero of the Chapter enhancement, which grants the Battleline keyword to the bearer’s unit—probably a Devastator, Desolation, Hellblaster, or Terminator Squad.

Adeptus Mechanicus: Eradication Cohort

similar to Marines, AdMech already have full hit re-rolls via Belisarius Cawl’s Canticles of the Omnissiah ability. regardless of whether you take Kroyle for additional flexibility, be sure to take advantage of the Unshackled Wrath stratagem, which grants Lethal Hits and/or Sustained Hits 1 to any Skitarii unit during your Shooting Phase (note that the unit’s weapons will also become Hazardous if you elect to benefit from both rules at once).

Adeptus Custodes: Shield Host

any Custodes unit in this detachment can use the Archeotech Munitions stratagem to gain Lethal Hits or Sustained Hits 1 in their Shooting Phase; and since Custodes all have BS 2+, Kroyle’s buff makes fishing for 6’s to hit an especially spicy proposition. as mentioned above, Custodes lists from any detachment should also consider adding Draxus to a unit of Custodian Guard, and Kroyle is a nice addition to that formula.

Adepta Sororitas: Champions of Faith

you probably don’t want to spam basic Sisters squads in this detachment just because of Kroyle, but if you do they can be given Lethal Hits or Sustained Hits 1 via the Suffer Not The Unfaithful stratagem. any Sisters list taking Kroyle is probably more interested in his 12” move and Lone Operative ability than in his re-roll buff.

Grey Knights: Brotherhood Strike

getting value out of Grey Knight Battleline units in the Shooting Phase is a stretch. but if you’re inclined to do so with Kroyle, you might enjoy the Brotherhood Strike detachment’s Purgation Pattern stratagem, which grants Sustained Hits 1 to ranged attacks from a unit that was set up via Deep Strike. please think twice before pursuing this “combo”, since Grey Knights are already quite good at mulching infantry.

return to the source

if you’re a non-Agents Imperium player souping Kroyle into your army, consider showing your appreciation for his rules by playing his actual faction. we know he’s fun, and we know he isn’t exclusive to us, but it’s nice when pity becomes solidarity.