It’s impossible to argue with the sheer power of thirty Primaris transhuman warriors. Yet amazingly heretics and xenos still try!

Captain Grimstone

Although I’ve played many, games of Warhammer 40K over the years, due to Covid-19 restrictions I’ve only managed to get a single game of 9th edition under my belt since it came out last year. But with restrictions having lifted further in England this week, I’m hoping to take my Crimson Fists into battle very soon. That means it’s time to look through my painted models and gather a 50 Power level Crusade force!

Company HQ

First of all I wanted to think about my warlord and leader of my Crusade. Without a doubt that would be Captain Grimstone. A heroic captain is the centre of any large narrative Space Marine force for me. I decide to immediately spend some of my requisition kitting him out. You start Crusade campaigns with the maximum allowable of 5 Requisition points and you gain an additional Requisition point after each game – win or lose – so it made sense to spend at least 1 point. So I spent 1 Requisition point to give him the Crimson Fists relic ‘Fist of Vengeance’ and another 1 Requisition point to give him the Crimson Fists warlord trait ‘Refuse to Die’. The main reason I chose these two is simply because when I’ve fielded the previous version of Grimstone in smaller games, I’ve always had this relic and this trait, so if I didn’t buy them there’s every chance I’d forget and use them anyway! So this is 2 Requisition points spent to protect against accidental cheating!

I also wanted to include Epistolary Gabriel. I’m really not a fan of allowing the psychic phase to go uncontested if I can help it. In keeping with the way he is modelled I opted for the Geokinesis discipline and the ‘Fortify’ and ‘Chasm’ powers for a mix of offence and defence.

I was fairly sure I was also going to include at least one Lieutenant (I have three painted), but I didn’t know whether it was going to be Alehoc with his slightly more expensive equipment, or whether I’d need to downgrade him to one of his more cheaply equipped brothers. In the end I had the Power to spare, so Alehoc made the cut – which is just as well as I love the model!

Troops

The choice of Troops for my Crusade force couldn’t have been more straightforward. I needed three Troops choices to meet the minimum requirement for a Battalion, and I had three units of Intercessors painted. Job done!

Heavy Support & Elites

With 30 out of 50 Power spent, how was I going to spend the remaining 20? HQ and Troops were sorted, so it was time to consider a bit of heavy firepower. Looking at my painted units, I had to choose between some combination of my Redemptor, Eradicators, Hellblasters, Reivers, Judicar and Primaris Ancient (and whether or not my Lieutenant would be equipped with a neo-volkite and storm shield or simply a power sword).

The Redemptor was a must – a great all round unit and also a visual centrepiece for the army. The Eradicators were also an essential choice for their shear offensive power. That left me a bit short on Power for the Hellblasters, so I settled on the Reivers and the upgrade for the Lieutenant. While the Reivers might not have a lot of firepower they do give me a bit of much needed objective-grabbing reach with their grav-chutes. I think this will be useful in an otherwise slow army.

So there we have it, Task Force Grimstone, ready for Crusade on a battlefield near you! I’ll report back soon with how their first game goes. Wish me luck!