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 ommissar
Yarrick is, without doubt, one of the single most iconic heroes
of the galaxy-spanning Imperium. Yarrick has the kind of glorious
past more commonly associated with a Space Marine Commander, not
a mere Commissar of the Imperial Guard. Already an old man when
Waaagh! Ghazghkull descended upon the hive world of Armageddon,
Yarrick fought like a man possessed in the defence of Hades Hive,
and his defiance laid the foundation for ultimate victory. Since
then, Yarrick has fought in countless campaigns, always seeking
to avenge himself upon the Ork Warlord Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka,
including a fateful return to Armageddon 50 years after the
first battle. Yarrick is a hero to the Imperial Guard regiments,
a beacon of resolve to the Imperium at large, and a rightly feared
foe to the Orks.
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the face of it, Yarrick seems to be a typical Imperial Guard hero
with a modest statline and, for the most part, a collection of
commonly available wargear. Don't be fooled — Yarrick has
a number of bonuses going for him. As a true independent character,
Yarrick
can go wherever you need him without having to worry about trailing
a squad around behind him. In an army like the Imperial Guard,
where almost everything operates as a squad, this ability is invaluable.
Yarrick's second trick comes in the shape of his Force Field, a
truly wondrous piece of kit that reduces the Strength of incoming
attacks by D6. Forget for a moment that this makes the Commissar
all but immune to small arms fire — its real boon is to keep
Yarrick alive in combat until he can bring his formidable Power
Klaw into
play.
The Fortress
of Arrogance. With the release of Apocalypse
this month, what better way to bring Yarrick to battle
with his very own Baneblade, the ?
Not only does this all but guarantee that Yarrick will
weather the storm of enemy fire and reach his destination
intact, it also puts the blistering firepower of a
Baneblade at your disposal. As with all Baneblades,
the Fortress of Arrogance is best employed against
large groups of infantry (although it does have a
pair of
lascannons to deal with any enemy tanks that need eliminating
right away). So take care to support it with some anti-armour
firepower, such as Sentinel squadrons. |
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honesty, Yarrick fits nicely into almost any Imperial Guard army
(once you've got past the minimum points value of 2,000 that is
the requirement for fielding him). Don't expect him to turn your
army into a one-man assault wave of fury — he's only human,
after all. Instead, keep Yarrick lurking with your battleline alongside
a counter-attack force of Ogryns or Rough Riders. While the rest
of your troops engage the enemy rank and file, Yarrick can deal
with any enemy characters who show themselves. His 4 Strength
6 Attacks are modest but are generally up to the job of smiting
most minor heroes. Against tougher foes, Yarrick is likely to come
off
worst in a one-on-one fight, but his Force Field and Medallion
Crimson will ensure that he stays around long enough to get in
some solid hits.
 he
main problem when trying to deal with Yarrick is getting your mitts
on him. No sooner do you shoot up the unit that he's with, then
the pesky Commissar darts to join another one, or worse, ducks
out of sight. With his Force Field eating up much of the incoming
fire, Yarrick can weather a storm of fire better than most heroes,
so I'd recommend you don't even waste your time shooting at him.
As mentioned earlier, a tooled up Chaos Space Marine Lord or Ork
Warboss will probably prevail over Yarrick in Assault, but it may
take a few turns. Accordingly, I have a radical proposal for neutralizing
the troublesome Commissar: don't fight him. Yarrick can only move
6" a turn, which means that your assault troops should normally
be able to hit the line somewhere out of his immediate reach. In
the meantime, you can keep shooting up the enemy army to your heart's
content — without backup, Yarrick's going to have a hard
time winning the war.
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