Email in: Court of Paladins list advice

"Dear Kirby,

I was curious to see if you were sick of advising on Paladins list's yet. I've run mine successfully for a long time in the stores I go to in Washington (I play mainly SM, SW, Eldar and DE, IG, and other GK), though its not terribly competitive there I think. It focuses on a Death Star with Draigo/Libby and a retinue of paladins rolling in a Land raider crusader with shrouding( 3++ cover) , then turn 2-3 deepstriking the two paladin squads in reserve to an ideal location thanks to the libbys teleport homer and ripping the heart out of my enemy's list, using the awesome might of so many psycannons and stormbolters to torrent and then get into the thick of things. Alternatively, to play defensively when the enemy comes to me. Grand communion to control their arrival, with grand strategy to give them Hammer of righteousness to ensure they crush whatever squad they come into contact with. To boot, I am a big fan of pragmatism, with almost each paladin armed somewhat differently to accomplish most any mission and more importantly for supreme wound allocation (which seems to help with rolling for them too, hrm, wonder why..?)

Psychic powers from the libby such as might of titan + hammer hand, then hammerhand from Draigo make the squad able to rip apart tanks, hopefully multi- assaulting to get the most out of them. Sanctuary has ruined many enemy assaults days, allowing the paladins to either dispatch them before they get a chance to strike or have them halt all together. The list almost entirely relies on that lynchpin, being the crusader, but Draigo and his squad have been able to walk against the board (I am somewhat notorious I suppose for never failing the beautiful 3++...).

I fear that I have not been challenged enough at my local stores in washington, so perhaps I am deluded in thinking that my Draigo wing is "all that". At the end of the day its a good time packing them up with so few models, but I want to know any tips or advice to change the list that you might have. Ah, an important note is that its not quite 2000 points yet even, I have left it as is as a "handi-cap" to myself but I wanted to know what you had in mind to bump it up. I am not too opposed to Dreadnoughts with tw/autocannons, but it seems like thats what everyone does. Maybe add some power armored knights? Switch weapons up? Trim fat? I do like Dreadknights a lot, though fitting one with a sword/teleporter to outflank with grand strategy is far too expensive. The only thing I would be wary on is Coteaz, as I would very much like to run a pure Grey Knight list without henchmen. Still, I would want to hear anything you have to say on the matter regardless. At some 18 models and one tank, it doesnt get too much more "elite" then this. I

The list-
Draigo Wing
HQ-
Draigo-217

Libby- w/warding stave, teleport homer, 4 powers (Warp rift, sanctuary, might of titan, shrouding) -220

Troops-

Paladin retinue: 6x-505
Apothecary w/warding stave
master crafted daemon hammer w/master crafted psycannon
halberd w/master crafted psycannon
falchions
sword
brotherhood banner

Paladins: 5x-355
Master crafted daemon hammer/master crafted psycannon
warding stave w/master crafted psycannon
sword
halberd
falchions

Paladins: 5x -340
Master crafted daemon hammer/master crafted psycannon
master crafted daemon hammer w/master crafted psycannon
sword
halberd
falchions

Heavy Support: Land Raider Crusader w/multi melta, stormbolter -275

(***1912***)

Thank you so much for reading this, as always I am very excited to see any response to this and eagerly watch 3++ for other updates :)

-Noah "

I would indeed say the list is doing well more due to the competition than its ability to be good. Draigowing can be solid but it needs support to do so and just a Libby and Land Raider isn't enough :P.

With that in mind, I'd be trimming a lot of the extras and keeping one Paladin squad - I'd probably go a full 10 for combat squadding options (i.e. walk across as a big squad, split up for LRC use + walk or deepstrike, tec.). Keep Draigo and the Libby and the LRC - they can be worked around and one assumes you like them since you have them :P. Drop some of the bling as well - Apoth is not really needed as is MCing everything. I'd wound allocate to an extent but you don't need it on everything - I'd rather have an efficient squad than be able to play around with wound allocations.

So with that in mind, grab some Psyfledreads - they are cheap firepower that you want. Beyond that, well you already have the GrandMaster abilities so you don't need too many more Troops but what you do need is more bodies and firepower. A couple small Strike squads with a Psycannon in Psybacks gives you more bodies, stormbolters and psycannons whilst also adding some ranged S6 firepower to the table - never a bad thing.

Depending upon points you then have a couple of options - Purifiers or Interceptors. Purifiers bring more Psycannons and anti-infantry in combat to the table + with Scout can be quite annoying as a first turn charge option. They also bring a Rhino/Psyback. Interceptors bring less Psycannons than Purifiers but more stormbolters and importantly, mobility. Either way, start with a large 10-man squad so you have combat squadding options. Any spare points can go back into upgrades for the Paladins or small Grey Knight squads (flavor up to you).

This keeps the Paladin + Draigo core but adds lots of support in extra (and different) firepower and bodies and makes the list a lot more flexible in its ability to deal with opponents.