Continuing on with our Crowe based lists (we looked at Dreadbash last time); it's now time to look at an MSU based list. Now we've had this discussion before in relation to a regular RazorKnight army with GKSS instead of Purifiers so the majority of the post is going to really be looking at the differences between these two armies as the army isn't that difficult to put together. Let's do this quickly and then do some analysis.
We start with Crowe obviously which takes 150 of our precious points away but gives us access to Purifiers as Troops, yay! We then need to consider the options of Rhinos or Psybacks. We are most likely going to be hopping out of our tanks to double the targets your opponent has to deal with which Psybacks obviously help by having firepower of their own and importantly adding 12" of range. Rhinos on the other hand allow the Purifiers to ride around in safety and shoot out of the top hatch. This is less important compared to other armies as Grey Knights have stormbolters so are quite effective on foot themselves but having Rhinos to hide depleted squads in (i.e. 1 or 2 guys left) for protection and still allowing them to shoot is a great bonus. In the end the Psyback is going to provide more with the extra firepower being a huge bonus but some Rhinos won't go amiss. We're also going to want some hammers in our squads for some back-up combat ability.
With that in mind we'll have our Purifier squads run with 2x psycannons, a hammer and a psyback for 195 points each. Six of these uses 1170 points and gets us 12 psycannons, 30 Purifiers and 36 S6 shots and a lot of points still to work with. We'll then take some Purgation squads to access some more Psycannons. We can go the full haul here and take 4x psycannons per squad but that's very expensive. For the moment let's take 2x psycannons and 2x incinerators + a Rhino for 180 points. Again, the Rhinos don't add firepower but allow depleted squads to hide and re-mobilise and allow for some top-hatch work as needed. Otherwise these units (we'll take three) are the 'spearhead' of the army with the Purgation squads deploying behind them and using Astral Aim.
This takes our points total to 1860 so we have some options on what to do now. We can grab an Inquisitor w/TDA + henchmen unit in a Chimera for an extra psycannon and potential melta though points would be very tight for this. We could add more Psycannons to the Purgation squads and Halberds to the Purifier squads. We could run a Libby which would make the whole army very potent in midfield but have issues getting there (you'd have two Crowes!). We could also run a Vindicare for a very reliable and ranged anti-tank shot which would be quite useful and he can always hijack one of the Rhinos for protection.
In the end I think they are all pretty viable but the Libby one is the hardest to pull off due to lack of a transportation for him. I'll write up the list with the Inquisitor but the increased Purgation psycannon option and Vindicare have merits as well. Also, we could drop one of the Purgation squads for another Inquisitor + Henchmen squad combination and also get some melta weapons in there though you lose a psycannon and Rhino (but gain a Chimera).
Purifier RazorKnights
Crowe
Inquisitor w/TDA, Psycannon
3x Acolytes, Chimera
4x5x Purifiers w/2x psycannon, hammer, Psyback
2x5x Purifiers w/2x psycannon, Psyback
3x5x Purgation w/2x psycannon, 2x incinerator, Rhino
Totals: 1997 points
10 vehicles
50 infantry
Let's compare this then to a GKSS based RazorKnight list; something similar to this:
Inquisitor w/combi-melta
3x5x Purifiers w/2x psycannon, hammer, Psyback
4x5x Grey Knight Strike Squad w/psycannon, MC hammer, Psyback
2x5x Grey Knight Strike Squad w/psycannon, Psyback
2x5x Purgation w/2x psycannon, 2x incinerator, Rhino
Totals: 2000 points
11 vehicles
56 infantry
or this:
Libby w/Quick, Might, Shrouding, Sanctuary
Inquisitor w/3x Skulls
2x Acolytes, 3x MM Servitors, Chimera
2x5x Purifiers w/2x psycannon, Psyback
6x5x Grey Knight Strike Squad w/psycannon, Psyback
2x5x Purgation w/2x psycannon, 2x incinerator, Rhino
Totals: 1997 points
11 vehicles
57 infantry
The Purifier RazorKnights army has 19 psycannons across 10 units compared to 16 psycannons across 11 units or 14 psycannons across 10 units so the Purifier list clearly has the advantage there. The non-Purifier RazorKnight lists have the important advantages of more bodies/tanks and more S6 shots at 36" with the addition of more utility, particularly in the 2nd list with the Librarian and MM Servitors. These squads also lack the Crowe tax and having 150 points of mehness which is nice to have though he is giving you more psycannons which is nice.
Importantly however, the Purifier RazorKnight list has really difficult target priority for your opponent as it currently stands. Everything has two psycannons (except for the Inquisitor) at range and your Troops are Fearless which is pretty damned useful against shooting. The other RazorKnight armies bring more utility to the table which also allows your opponent easier target priority choices, though the force multiplier of the Librarian is very strong.
Ultimately I think all the lists have merits whilst not being my cup of tea. If you're looking for as many psycannons and an MSU based army, the Purifier RazorKnight army is your best bet. The other armies move away from this slightly and are probably better with the Purgation squads replaced with Psyfledreads in the end for a less uni-dimensional army (or the Purifiers when they are Elites) by providing ranged support and fleshing out the Henchmen screening squads with more melta, etc.
P.S. photo again from Bulldog UK who really has done some nice GK stuff...
