White Scars Codex Review: Part 2- Warlord Traits and Stormspeaking Discipline

Part 2 of my White Scars codex review looks at the new warlord traits and psychic powers available to the army. 

Warlord Traits

The codex supplement contains six new traits to help out your forces. 

Deadly Hunter- After your warlord finishes a charge move, select one enemy unit within 1". On a roll of a 2+, the unit suffers one mortal wound. 

Not the best trait available. The chance to do a mortal wound on an enemy units is a decent bonus, but there are better traits available to your warlord. 

Chogorian Storm- If your warlord makes a charge move or performs a heroic intervention, add D3 to their attacks until the end of the turn. 

One of my favourite traits for the White Scars. With Shock Assault, you will be getting D3+1 attacks on the charge. This really boosts the damage potential of your warlord, making them great with a number of weapons and relics that the army has access to. With the Teeth of Terra relic, you will be getting 8-10 attacks on the charge with a Captain. 

Trophy Taker- When your warlord destroys an enemy Character, add 1 to their attacks characteristics for the rest of the game. 

A nice permanent bonus for your warlord, but is reliant on killing enemy characters, so may be limited by your opponent's army or how they play their forces during the game. One I would probably leave in most cases, but could be useful if you are going up against a character-heavy army such as Genestealer Cults or Astra Militarum. 

Master Rider- Biker only. When a charge roll is made, you can re-roll the dice. When resolving an attack against your warlord, they are -1 to hit if your warlord advanced in the previous movement phase. 

With a re-roll to your charge, and the ability to advance and charge, this helps to ensure your warlord gets into combat to do the most damage. The additional -1 to hit is a nice boost to his durability in combat. 

Hunter's Instincts- When resolving an attack with your warlord against an enemy Monster or Vehicle, add 1 to your hit and wound roll. 

This is a great bonus for your warlord when armed with a Thunder Hammer or Khan's Spear. The +1 to hit will allow a Captain to still hit on a 2+ with his Thunder Hammer and will be wounding most vehicles on a 2+. This makes him a potent threat to enemy monsters and vehicles. This is a solid warlord trait, one of the best in the list, in my opinion. 

Master of Snares- When an enemy unit within 1" of your warlord is chosen to fall back, on a 4+, they cannot do so. 

This is a very powerful ability to lock enemy units in combat. Not only does this stop them from firing most ranged weapons in their turn, but it stops your warlord from being fired upon. This is great for keeping your warlord and any other units locked in combat safe from enemy firepower if you can roll the 4+ to keep the enemy units locked in. The fact the White Scars can fall back from combat and still shoot, as well as shoot (with a stratagem) makes this a powerful ability. 

Some very powerful traits for the White Scars. Master of Snares and Hunter's Instincts are two of my favourites, making your warlord a very powerful threat in combat. 

Stormspeaking Discipline

The White Scars have access to six new powers for their psychic to inflict upon the foe. 

Blasting Gale (WC7)- Select a visible enemy unit within 18". The unit cannot advance, and rolls one D6 fewer when charging (typically 1D6), until the start of your next psychic phase. 

A great psychic power for reducing the movement of enemy units. This will limit most infantry to a maximum of 12" move during a turn. Combined with Tremor Shells on a Thunderfire Cannon, you can potentially shut down the movement of at least two key enemy units each turn. 

Lightning Call (WC7)- The closest enemy unit suffers D3 mortal wounds. If they are not destroyed, roll a D6. On a 4+, they suffer another mortal wound, then again on a 5+, then on a 6+. 

This is a more powerful Smite that has the potential to do 6 mortal wounds on an enemy unit. It's not going to do a lot of damage every time, but has the ability to do some good damage on a selected unit. This power is not restricted to units in line of sight, so you can use it to take out close and hidden enemy units. 

Ride the Winds (WC6)- Select a friendly White Scars unit within 12". Until the start of the next psychic phase, add 2 to advance and charge rolls for the unit. 

A great power for many of the units in the White Scars armies. Bike units will be able to move 22" and still charge (getting +2 on the charge roll as well). This will be a great power for units arriving from reserve, meaning you only need a 7" charge from deploying, giving you much better odds of getting a successful charge off. 

Storm-wreathed (WC6)- Select a unit within 12". That unit cannot be targeted by enemy overwatch. In addition, after the unit finishes a charge move, select one enemy unit within 1". Roll a D6 for each model in the White Scars unit, on a 6, the enemy unit suffers a mortal wound. 

Another great power. The ability to shut down enemy overwatch is a great power against a range of enemy units. The chance to do mortal wounds to a unit you charge is also a nice bonus, but really it is the ability to stop overwatch which is the main appeal of this power. 

Spirits of Chogoris (WC6)- Select a visible enemy unit within 18". The unit is at -1 to hit and -1 Ld until the start of your next psychic phase. 

Any ability that makes enemy units -1 to hit (both in shooting and assault) is pretty powerful, especially against armies such as T'au or Astra Militarum. 

Eye of the Storm (WC6)- Roll a D6 for each enemy unit within 12" of the psyker, adding one if the unit has the Fly keyword. On a 4+, they suffer 1 mortal wound. 

A decent power, useful against armies with a high number of Fly units, such as T'au or Aeldari. Probably not one I would go for most of the time, as it will be difficult to target more than one or two units at once. Plus, you could manifest this power and fail to have it do anything. 

Overall, some very powerful psychic powers for a White Scars army. I think Ride the Winds and Blasting Gale are my favourites in the list. The ability to increase the move of your own units and limit an opponent's move is a great boost.