Have you ever faced an Assassin? Warhammer 40,000 armies that are Imperial will often have the option of fielding an Assassin – a rare, and deadly, unit with a lot to fear. The first Assassin I ever faced off against was a Vindicare Assassin. Armed with his massive Sniper Rifle that could kill practically anything, this guy, to me, was more effective than a Lascannon.
Not only that, but he could pick off specific models within squads, forcing out all your sergeants, special weapons, and anything fancy.
But I didn’t lose that game – definitely not to the Assassin. At the end of the day, he still hit on 2+, and still wounded on 4+, just like any other snipers in the game (with the benefit of no armour saves allowed against him).
Now I use my own Assassin regularly as part of my Space Marine army – the Nighthawks. Assassins fit their theme very well. The Nighthawks are a stealthy Space Marine army, placing secrecy, and well-timed surgical strikes above such silly notions of honour or glory. Assassins seemed to fit the bill perfectly. My Assassin of choice? The Eversor Assassin (not in any small part because it was also the least expensive Assassin).
Through repeated uses, though, I’ve discovered that Assassins are NOT Spearhead units. They can’t just go gallivanting into enemy territory expecting to slash apart their enemies and then win the day – no matter how deadly they may at first appear.
In a way, Assassins are microcosms of Warhammer 40,000 as a whole. The Vindicare Assassin is about target priority with your shooting. The Culexus Assassin is about weird special rules that give you an edge against some opponents, but cost you against others. The Callidus Assassin is about taking out one key unit, no matter the cost. The Eversor is about brute strength of close combat.
This article will discuss the Eversor.
In many ways, the Eversor is the simplest and easiest Assassin to operate, aptly fitting its description as a human bomb. Release, and watch the carnage. This is very simple. But, as mentioned, the Eversor is a microcosm of the close combat aspect of Warhammer 40,000. In a sense, every dedicated close combat unit can be operated exactly as just mentioned – start with a squad of them, then release them at your opponent. If they get there, boom! You deal huge amounts of damage.
However, to best operate the Eversor Assassin, you must be more careful. Eversors have many strengths, and can be assigned many rolls:
- Anti-Heavy Vehicle
- Anti-Light Vehicle
- Anti-Heavy Infantry
- Anti-Light Infantry
- Character/Monstrous Creature Assassination
- Flanking
That’s a lot of options for a single unit – usually enough to classify it as a Spearhead unit. But, for as much as the Eversor represents the power of close combat units, it also represents their weaknesses. To further examine the Eversor, I think it’s prudent that we look at its unit entry a little more closely:
WS 5 (hits anything on either 3’s or 4’s)
BS 5 (S4 pistol, or Poison 4+ pistol)
S 4 (power weapon, or Poison 4+, or always glance on a 6)
T 4
W 2 (explodes when he dies)
I 5 (Infiltrate, Meltabombs)
A 3 (+1 for 2 CCWs, +1d6 instead of +1 when charging, 12” charge range)
Ld 10 (Fearless)
Sv 4+ (Invulnerable)
As you can see… a WACK-load of special abilities. Actually, he has another special ability (Fast Shot), but as of 5th Edition it’s useless (Pistols being Assault 1 now – before, he always counted as stationary for purposes of shooting, which meant he could shoot his pistol twice, now that means absolutely nothing). Like all Imperial armies, the Eversor is more defined by his equipment rather than his stats. His stats, really, aren’t that impressive.
If you’re aiming to shoot with him, you’re probably doing something really wrong. Admittedly, there’s probably nothing wrong WITH shooting with him – but chances are that the shooting will be less than effective, and is really just an icing on the cake more than it is something worthwhile. If anything, being too tempted into using his Pistol can leave you more often in a bad spot (pulling you out of assault range if he kills with it) than it will help. Yes it can wound anything on a 4+, but if it’ so tough that it necessitates you using that aspect of it, then what you’re really hoping for is to get it in assault anyways.
The greatest asset of the Eversor Assassin is his charge range and bonus attacks. Whenever the Eversor Assassin could charge, take the range he could charge, and then double it. That means that, even when going through difficult terrain, he will still bound ahead of your opponent. Keep in mind, as an Independent Character, he also can move through cover more easily than most units. A 12” charge always catches people by surprise. Just when they think they’re safe at 18”, BAM, you’re in! Combined with his Infiltration ability, and you can be assaulting on turn 1 provided he’s out of Line of Sight of ANY units.
However, for as much as the Eversor Assassin is lethal, it is also very vulnerable. With only 2 wounds, a toughness of 4, and a 4+ (albeit invulnerable) armour save, the Eversor Assassin cannot spend any time out in the open, and dies pretty quickly in close combat too. A single squad shooting at it will most likely take it out. Not only that, but if your enemy fails to break, or there’s too many of them, the Eversor will get hit by so many retaliation attacks that he’ll likely blow up.
When fighting an Eversor, keep this fragility in mind. If you don’t get the chance to shoot at it as its darting through cover, watch what happens when it charges. Any squad it touches on the charge will likely be annihilated (though, since it does NOT have offensive grenades, it will strike last if it’s assaulting into cover). If the squad it charges is annihilated, you have a prime opportunity to take it out with shooting. If the squad miraculously survives and doesn’t kill it back, counter-charge. After that initial charge, the Eversor is MUCH weaker. Yes it explodes on death, but that’s nothing to the carnage it can do if it survives the next combat round and is allowed to charge again on the subsequent turn.
For those controlling the Eversor that go the slow and steady route (waiting to charge later rather than charge right away), be very careful not to get caught in the “grand melee” that can sometimes occur, with tons of units entering into a massive multi-unit combat. The Eversor does NOT thrive in this area! Your opponents will more often get hits back on the Eversor, and if you lose due to your side taking more casualties, the Eversor’s Fearlessness will keep him there, and he’ll probably die from having to take armour saves as a result of this.
Finally, when using the Eversor, always be mindful of what you’re attacking. If the vehicle didn’t move last turn, a melta-bomb is the way to go. If it did move, getting tons of attacks with the Neuro-Gauntlet (auto-glance on a 6) will more likely damage and shake the vehicle, allowing a melta-bomb on the next turn. If your opponent is T3, turn off that gauntlet (the Eversor still has a regular power weapon that ALSO ignores armour) so that you can wound on 3’s rather than 4’s. If you’re against a Monstrous Creature (Carnifexes are great targets), turn that Neuro-gauntlet on, as it TOO ignores armour saves.
Choose your targets carefully ahead of time. The Eversor is the checkers of the Assassins. If your opponent is poorly placed, 1 Eversor assassin can chew his way through as many as 3 units in relatively short time. If you poorly place your assassin, be prepared for him to go pop turn 1.
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