The psychic discipline of Telepathy is among the most common of all the disciplines across the nine armies with access to psychic powers, with seven being able to draw upon Telepathy.
Of the six powers, two have a Warp Charge of 2, leaving four with a Warp Charge of 1. Based on these numbers, Psykers with a Mastery Level of 1 have a better chance of rolling for and getting these four Warp Charge 1 powers than they would for any of the other disciplines.
Looking over the Warp Charge 1 powers, there are a good mix of types to consider.
(1) DOMINATE - a medium ranged malediction which requires a unit to take a LD test prior to taking action each phase.
This is a useful power against lower LD armies like Imperial Guard and Dark Eldar and Tau. It will have limited affect on armies with high leadership, but note that Fearless units in v6 only pass Pinning, Fear, Regroup, and Morale tests automatically. So units like hormogaunts, termagants and gargoyles with their low leadership are prime targets.
(2) MENTAL FORTITIDUE - A blessing that targets a single friendly unit within 24". That unit gains the Fearless special rule for the duration of the power. If cast on a unit that is falling back, the unit rallies automatically.
This power will be benificial for units coming under heavy fire or engaged in combat, or even holding objectives.
(3) PUPPET MASTER - As a focused witchfire power you can target a specific model in an enemy unit within 24" and make a shooting attack.
Selecting a model with a blast or template weapon can cause significant damage - of course heavy and melta weapons can also have spectacular effects. Subtle choices such as 1-shot weapons like combi-weapons or IG demolition charges, or even the first shot from IG Stormtroopers using their Behind Enemy Lines Special Operations rule can be quite entertaining. Remember that whatever model you select cannot target it's own unit.
(4) TERRIFY - Another malediction which targets an enemy unit within 24". This removes the Fearless special rule from a unit which already has it, and the target unit now treats all of your own units as having the Fear special rule. In addition, the targeted unit must take a morale check.
This power can certainly have quite a dramatic affect on the course of play, making once implacable foes turn tail and run to the hills. With its medium range, you'll need to get your psyker into the thick of things if you're looking to force enemy units to break and run off of the table. But outflanking or deep striking can put your psyker into position to bring this potential game changing power to bear. Of course, a successful leadership test will keep those units in the fight.
Perhaps the more subtle part of Terrify is Fear. Fear is back in v6 and can affect weapon skill in combat if a morale test is failed. Imperial Guard with a Psyker Battle Squad which use their weaken resolve power could turn an ordinary guardsman into a devastating combatant should fear reduce their opponent's WS to 1. Of course, Space Marines know no fear so this additional effect does not affect them.
Of the six powers, two have a Warp Charge of 2, leaving four with a Warp Charge of 1. Based on these numbers, Psykers with a Mastery Level of 1 have a better chance of rolling for and getting these four Warp Charge 1 powers than they would for any of the other disciplines.
Looking over the Warp Charge 1 powers, there are a good mix of types to consider.
(1) DOMINATE - a medium ranged malediction which requires a unit to take a LD test prior to taking action each phase.
This is a useful power against lower LD armies like Imperial Guard and Dark Eldar and Tau. It will have limited affect on armies with high leadership, but note that Fearless units in v6 only pass Pinning, Fear, Regroup, and Morale tests automatically. So units like hormogaunts, termagants and gargoyles with their low leadership are prime targets.
(2) MENTAL FORTITIDUE - A blessing that targets a single friendly unit within 24". That unit gains the Fearless special rule for the duration of the power. If cast on a unit that is falling back, the unit rallies automatically.
This power will be benificial for units coming under heavy fire or engaged in combat, or even holding objectives.
(3) PUPPET MASTER - As a focused witchfire power you can target a specific model in an enemy unit within 24" and make a shooting attack.
Selecting a model with a blast or template weapon can cause significant damage - of course heavy and melta weapons can also have spectacular effects. Subtle choices such as 1-shot weapons like combi-weapons or IG demolition charges, or even the first shot from IG Stormtroopers using their Behind Enemy Lines Special Operations rule can be quite entertaining. Remember that whatever model you select cannot target it's own unit.
(4) TERRIFY - Another malediction which targets an enemy unit within 24". This removes the Fearless special rule from a unit which already has it, and the target unit now treats all of your own units as having the Fear special rule. In addition, the targeted unit must take a morale check.
This power can certainly have quite a dramatic affect on the course of play, making once implacable foes turn tail and run to the hills. With its medium range, you'll need to get your psyker into the thick of things if you're looking to force enemy units to break and run off of the table. But outflanking or deep striking can put your psyker into position to bring this potential game changing power to bear. Of course, a successful leadership test will keep those units in the fight.
Perhaps the more subtle part of Terrify is Fear. Fear is back in v6 and can affect weapon skill in combat if a morale test is failed. Imperial Guard with a Psyker Battle Squad which use their weaken resolve power could turn an ordinary guardsman into a devastating combatant should fear reduce their opponent's WS to 1. Of course, Space Marines know no fear so this additional effect does not affect them.
We now move on to the Warp Charge 2 powers. Telepathy is the only Discipline with more than one Warp Charge 2 power. These powers may only be selected by the more powerful psykers in the game.
(5) INVISIBILITY - This blessing targets a friendly unit within 24". That unit gains both Stealth and Shrouded special rules. A unit charged by a unit with Invisibiltiy does not benefit from the Counter-Attack special rule. Units attacking or attacked by an invisible unit count as WS 1.
This power adds survivability to all types of units making it quite versitile. Even in the open the unit gains a 4+ cover save from Invisibility, which can be inproved even further when in cover. Models assaulting non-stationary Vehicles that have Invisibiltiy only hit on a 4+ as their WS counts as 1 (the same as the vehicle).
(6) HALLUCINATION - This malediction targets a single enemy unit within 24". They gain a random effect ranging from being pinned, doing nothing, or striking out against their own unit members.
This power has the potential to really be devastating. Of course, automatically pinning a unit or having a unit unable to defend itself is certainly a powerful outime - the real gem is the chance to have a unit inflict hits upon itself - especially if the unit is equipped for close combat. Terminator squads, or lightly armoured units can really do a great deal of damage to themselves.
The potential of both of these powers makes their Warp Charge 2 rating a fair cost.
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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 Telepathy, the power is:
(P) PSYCHIC SHRIEK - a witchfire power with a short range of 12". Roll 3D6 and subtract the target's Leadership. The target suffers a number of wounds equal to the result. Armour and cover saves cannot be taken against these wounds.
Desipte its short range, this is a very powerful ability against units with low leadership. With some above average dice rolling, even very well led units need fear this power. Vehicles however are completely immune to its efects. This power can tactically be used to attempt to blunt a unit which enters play near your lines by deep striking or outflanking. In a short range response role, this power can stop a thrust before it gains any momentum.
Imperial Guard commanders may find this power combined with a Psyker Battle Squad's power Weaken Resolve to be a unit killer. The Warlord power Intimidating Presence which makes a unit test on their lowest Leadership value will also provide a bit of a boost to this power. As this is a witchfire power, it can be fired from inside a transport, providing it has is a fire point.
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The Telepathy discipline has a wide variety of powers to call upon to boost your own units or hinder your opponent's. The best defence against these powers is to be embarked in a transport as units embarked cannot be the target of psychic attacks. The Imperial Guard have the potential to pull off some of the more extreme results with a Psyker Battle Squad's ability to reduce a unit's leadership - but this should not deter other armies from making good use of the Telepathy discipline.
Telepathy - it'll get into your opponent's head.
(5) INVISIBILITY - This blessing targets a friendly unit within 24". That unit gains both Stealth and Shrouded special rules. A unit charged by a unit with Invisibiltiy does not benefit from the Counter-Attack special rule. Units attacking or attacked by an invisible unit count as WS 1.
This power adds survivability to all types of units making it quite versitile. Even in the open the unit gains a 4+ cover save from Invisibility, which can be inproved even further when in cover. Models assaulting non-stationary Vehicles that have Invisibiltiy only hit on a 4+ as their WS counts as 1 (the same as the vehicle).
(6) HALLUCINATION - This malediction targets a single enemy unit within 24". They gain a random effect ranging from being pinned, doing nothing, or striking out against their own unit members.
This power has the potential to really be devastating. Of course, automatically pinning a unit or having a unit unable to defend itself is certainly a powerful outime - the real gem is the chance to have a unit inflict hits upon itself - especially if the unit is equipped for close combat. Terminator squads, or lightly armoured units can really do a great deal of damage to themselves.
The potential of both of these powers makes their Warp Charge 2 rating a fair cost.
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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 Telepathy, the power is:
(P) PSYCHIC SHRIEK - a witchfire power with a short range of 12". Roll 3D6 and subtract the target's Leadership. The target suffers a number of wounds equal to the result. Armour and cover saves cannot be taken against these wounds.
Desipte its short range, this is a very powerful ability against units with low leadership. With some above average dice rolling, even very well led units need fear this power. Vehicles however are completely immune to its efects. This power can tactically be used to attempt to blunt a unit which enters play near your lines by deep striking or outflanking. In a short range response role, this power can stop a thrust before it gains any momentum.
Imperial Guard commanders may find this power combined with a Psyker Battle Squad's power Weaken Resolve to be a unit killer. The Warlord power Intimidating Presence which makes a unit test on their lowest Leadership value will also provide a bit of a boost to this power. As this is a witchfire power, it can be fired from inside a transport, providing it has is a fire point.
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The Telepathy discipline has a wide variety of powers to call upon to boost your own units or hinder your opponent's. The best defence against these powers is to be embarked in a transport as units embarked cannot be the target of psychic attacks. The Imperial Guard have the potential to pull off some of the more extreme results with a Psyker Battle Squad's ability to reduce a unit's leadership - but this should not deter other armies from making good use of the Telepathy discipline.
Telepathy - it'll get into your opponent's head.
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