The psychic discipline of Pyromancy has the most offensive options of all of the disciplines. This is tempered by the fact that only five armies may draw upon these powers.
Of the six powers, only one has a Warp Charge of 2. This leaves five of powers
available to Mastery Level 1 psykers.
Looking at the Warp Charge 1 powers, there are many new ways to inflict damage upon the enemy.
(1) FIERY FORM - this blessing grants the psyker a 4+ invulnerable save and increases their strength by +2. In addition, any close combat attacks made by the psyker have the Soul Blaze special rule.
This power is primarily a close combat based one. The psyker's survivability will be improved by the invulnerable save, and opponents may think twice before assaulting a psyker with this power. As this is a blessing you are able to cast the power while in close combat. One important change with the new edition's psychic rules is that Blessings cannot be nullified.
(2) FIRE SHIELD - this blessing targets a single friendly unit within 24". That unit gains a 4+ cover save against shooting attacks, save for those with the Melta or Soul Blaze special rules. Additionally, any unit that makes a
successful charge against a unit with this blessing suffers 2D6 Strength 4, AP -
hits at the same time as Hammer of Wrath hits.
The most defensive of the Pyromancy powers, it still has offensive potential. The extra attacks against charging units can tip the scales in an assault. The cover save would be advantageous for units holding objectives which are in the open, and in conjunction with going to ground or stealth could see a unit's survivability increased dramatically.
(3) INFERNO - this witchfire power fires a S4 AP 5 small blast template up to a distance of 24" which ignores cover saves and has the Soul Blaze special rule.
With its ability to ignore cover, this power will be the bane of units like Rangers, Pathfinders, Imperial Guard and Kroot which rely on cover saves to enhance their suvivability. It is also very effective in night fight situations.
(4) SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION - this focussed witchfire power has a range of 18". The target model suffers a wound with no armour or cover saves allowed. If the target is slain, place the small blast template on the model - any models touched by the template suffer a S4 AP 5 hit with the ignores cover special rule.
This is similar to the previous power, but with a shorter range and you are able to select a specific target. Best used on a model with a single wound to try and ensure the secondary effect takes place. Models standing near vehicles with an AV 10 facing may be attractive targets to give you a chance at a lucky glancing hit.
(5) SUNBURST - another one of the new nova powers, its range is only 6", but as a nova it affects all enemy units within this range. Each unit takes a shooting attack with 2D6 S4 AP 5 shots which ignore cover.
This power's limited range makes it a bit of a curiousity. As a nova, enemy units in close combat can be hit by the power, but casualties can only be taken from within it's effective range of 6". A psyker with the ability to move close to enemy units prior to assaulting would likely realize the most potential from
this power.
Of the six powers, only one has a Warp Charge of 2. This leaves five of powers
available to Mastery Level 1 psykers.
Looking at the Warp Charge 1 powers, there are many new ways to inflict damage upon the enemy.
(1) FIERY FORM - this blessing grants the psyker a 4+ invulnerable save and increases their strength by +2. In addition, any close combat attacks made by the psyker have the Soul Blaze special rule.
This power is primarily a close combat based one. The psyker's survivability will be improved by the invulnerable save, and opponents may think twice before assaulting a psyker with this power. As this is a blessing you are able to cast the power while in close combat. One important change with the new edition's psychic rules is that Blessings cannot be nullified.
(2) FIRE SHIELD - this blessing targets a single friendly unit within 24". That unit gains a 4+ cover save against shooting attacks, save for those with the Melta or Soul Blaze special rules. Additionally, any unit that makes a
successful charge against a unit with this blessing suffers 2D6 Strength 4, AP -
hits at the same time as Hammer of Wrath hits.
The most defensive of the Pyromancy powers, it still has offensive potential. The extra attacks against charging units can tip the scales in an assault. The cover save would be advantageous for units holding objectives which are in the open, and in conjunction with going to ground or stealth could see a unit's survivability increased dramatically.
(3) INFERNO - this witchfire power fires a S4 AP 5 small blast template up to a distance of 24" which ignores cover saves and has the Soul Blaze special rule.
With its ability to ignore cover, this power will be the bane of units like Rangers, Pathfinders, Imperial Guard and Kroot which rely on cover saves to enhance their suvivability. It is also very effective in night fight situations.
(4) SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION - this focussed witchfire power has a range of 18". The target model suffers a wound with no armour or cover saves allowed. If the target is slain, place the small blast template on the model - any models touched by the template suffer a S4 AP 5 hit with the ignores cover special rule.
This is similar to the previous power, but with a shorter range and you are able to select a specific target. Best used on a model with a single wound to try and ensure the secondary effect takes place. Models standing near vehicles with an AV 10 facing may be attractive targets to give you a chance at a lucky glancing hit.
(5) SUNBURST - another one of the new nova powers, its range is only 6", but as a nova it affects all enemy units within this range. Each unit takes a shooting attack with 2D6 S4 AP 5 shots which ignore cover.
This power's limited range makes it a bit of a curiousity. As a nova, enemy units in close combat can be hit by the power, but casualties can only be taken from within it's effective range of 6". A psyker with the ability to move close to enemy units prior to assaulting would likely realize the most potential from
this power.
The Pyromancy discipline has a single Warp Charge 2 power. At first glance it
may not seem to be worthy of such a cost, but upon further examination the
destructive potential of this power justifies its place as the most powerful of
all Pyromancy powers.
(6) MOLTEN BEAM - This beam has the same profile as a meltagun
12" S8 AP1 Assault 1 Melta - which in and of itself is a pretty powerful attack
- however the nature of a beam attack makes this even more deadly. A beam
automatically hits all models on its target line - even if they are out of line
of sight.
Tightly packed units will suffer many hits from this power, while the strength does diminish, the first few models hit will still almost certainly be wounded. Tightly packed Vehicles are especially vulnerable providing the attack is initiated from close range.
+++
Should any of these powers when they are rolled up not be to your liking or
align with your army's tactics, you can always opt to change one of them to the
PRIMARIS POWER of the discipline. These powers always have a Warp Charge of 1. For Pyromancy, the power is:
(P) FLAME BREATH - this witchfire power unleashes a template attack at S5 AP4. The power also has the Soul Blaze special rule.
By rule, all template attacks ignore cover, so this like many of the other Pyromancy powers make those units that rely on cover exposed. This power is similar to a number of other psychic powers found in other codices and shares the same tactics as other template weapons.
+++
Pyromancy prooves to live up to its billing as the most destructive of all the
disciplines. Pyromancy's powers have a shorter range on the whole than those of other disciplines but with their offensive nature, this is understandable.
While only available to some Imperial armies and Chaos Space Marines, other
armies will come to respect Pyromancy as a force to be reckoned with.
Pyromancy - Fire on my brain.
may not seem to be worthy of such a cost, but upon further examination the
destructive potential of this power justifies its place as the most powerful of
all Pyromancy powers.
(6) MOLTEN BEAM - This beam has the same profile as a meltagun
12" S8 AP1 Assault 1 Melta - which in and of itself is a pretty powerful attack
- however the nature of a beam attack makes this even more deadly. A beam
automatically hits all models on its target line - even if they are out of line
of sight.
Tightly packed units will suffer many hits from this power, while the strength does diminish, the first few models hit will still almost certainly be wounded. Tightly packed Vehicles are especially vulnerable providing the attack is initiated from close range.
+++
Should any of these powers when they are rolled up not be to your liking or
align with your army's tactics, you can always opt to change one of them to the
PRIMARIS POWER of the discipline. These powers always have a Warp Charge of 1. For Pyromancy, the power is:
(P) FLAME BREATH - this witchfire power unleashes a template attack at S5 AP4. The power also has the Soul Blaze special rule.
By rule, all template attacks ignore cover, so this like many of the other Pyromancy powers make those units that rely on cover exposed. This power is similar to a number of other psychic powers found in other codices and shares the same tactics as other template weapons.
+++
Pyromancy prooves to live up to its billing as the most destructive of all the
disciplines. Pyromancy's powers have a shorter range on the whole than those of other disciplines but with their offensive nature, this is understandable.
While only available to some Imperial armies and Chaos Space Marines, other
armies will come to respect Pyromancy as a force to be reckoned with.
Pyromancy - Fire on my brain.
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