The Grey Knights Dreadnought was once an extremely durable mainstay of the Grey Knight army along with the Land Raider, but does it still hold it's own against the Nemesis Dreadknight, Purgation Squads, Land Raider Crusader and Land Raider Redeemer are now vying for supremacy of those all important heavy support slots?
Ok, so your basic Dreadnought in the Grey Knight codex comes complete with Multi Melta and a Nemesis Doomfist with a built in Storm Bolter, pretty standard stuff you would think but what separates the Grey Knights Dreadnought from other Dreadnoughts is the fact that the Grey Knights Dreadnought comes with reinforced Aegis making those nasty Psychic powers harder for your opponent to cast (provided your within 12") and the Fortitude Psychic power which basically works the same as the extra armour weapon upgrade for free!!
Now lets take a more in depth look at the Grey Knights Dreadnought and his options to help us decide whether he still commands a position or whether is now just too under armoured and under powered to perform an effective battlefield role within your Grey Knight Army...
Options Available:
Replace Multi Melta with:
Twin-Linked Heavy Flamer - Not bad but only really worth it against Horde armies.
Twin-Linked Heavy Bolter - Take if short on points but Auto Canon is better.
Twin-Linked Auto Canon - One of the must take items for Gun line Grey Knights.
Plasma Canon - Risky as can scatter, but can provide low AP at range if you need it.
Twin-Linked Lascanon - Less risky than Plasma Canon but over priced compared to Auto Canon potential, take if you need low AP at range.
Assault Canon - Always take the Auto Canon as same points, never rely on Rending.
Replace Nemesis Doomfist with:
Twin-Linked Auto Canon - Again must take if going for a Gun line Grey Knights formation.
Missile Launcher - Frag is good for Horde armies but can scatter, however Auto Canon can potentially hit at Strength of Krak and can re-roll to hit.
Replace Storm Bolter with Heavy Flamer - Again good choice for Hordes.
May Take Following:
Searchlight - If you have a point spare.
Psybolt Ammunition - Definite for Auto Canon.
Psyflame Ammunition - Definite if taking Heavy Flamers.
Warp Stabilisation Field - Worthless unless taking the Grey Knights Librarian.
Truesilver Armour - Only viable for points cost against armies with large Psyker units (Grey Knights anyone??).
Extra Armour - Pointless when Fortitude does almost exactly the same for free!
So with those options in mind lets look at a few load out options for the Grey Knights Dreadnought:
Dreadnought 1: 135pts
2 x Twin-Linked Auto Canon.
Psybolt Ammunition.
Ah the 'Rifleman' pattern Dreadnought, dubbed the 'Psyfleman' when referred to within the Codex due to the addition of Psybolt ammunition...Keep this guy 48" away from the enemy and just keep firing! If you feel like you need a little extra oomph or just plain loco trying running 2 or even 3 of these guys...
Dreadnought 2: 130pts
Twin-Linked Heavy Flamer.
Heavy Flamer.
Psyflame Ammunition.
This configuration is great so long as you don't mind making your Dreadnought a sacrificial lamb but has the potential to be effective against those Horde armies...Drop him down in the middle of your enemy either via Stormraven Gunship or Deep Strike and watch him unleash an inferno of pain upon the vile heretics! Remember he isn't likely to survive such close proximity to your enemy and will likely die in your opponent's turn so keep him cheap, but use the time and turn he spends shooting up your Dreadnought to manoeuvre your Grey Knight force into position to to strike the final blow...
Dreadnought 3: 150pts
Twin-Linked Lascanon.
Missile Launcher.
This guy was once the staple for a lot of competitive Grey Knight armies providing some of the only long range low AP support alongside the Land Raider, however with the new codex options (primarily the 'Psyfleman' configuration) this Dreadnought load out has almost priced itself out of the market...honestly you're only ever going to field this guy now if you are feeling nostalgic or if you regularly fight highly armoured opponents and need long range low AP weapons to get through it (I.E Deathwing)
Conclusion:
The Grey Knights Dreadnought will still have a definitive role within the majority of Grey Knight armies although its guise will almost certainly change, it certainly seems that the 'Psyfleman' pattern is becoming the new black in a lot of competitive lists owing mainly to the cheap long range firepower they can provide.
I do feel that the thing to remember is that is still only a Dreadnought so don't pour too many points into them or you could find yourself very short of models on the board...Labels: dreadnought, Grey Knights, List Building, Ordo Malleus, Tactics
Dreadnought 1: 135pts
Conclusion: