It’s Like Tactics: Lucius the Eternal Review

My Tactics pledge: I am not the greatest player, nor a seal pup. I will endeavor to speak from my experience and always be honest about what is theory and what is play tested. Never will I assume to know better than anyone else... unless I must call out ego or pretension.

Before we get to that one little bright spot take a look first at what little has changed between editions.

Here is a side by side comparison.

(Click to Enlarge)

Compare & Contrast

• Point Increase from 160 to 165 points
• Duelist Pride
• Noise Marine Troop unlock
• Shreding Whip
• Veteran of the Long War

 --I just don't see it--

Lucius shouldn't be sniffing anywhere close to 160 points let alone 165. A similar Chaos Lord is 115 without the Lash of Torment, Armor of Shrieking Souls, Duelist Pride, and Doom Siren. So you can see where the extra 50 points go, but all those tricks mean squat when your a Powerfist or a few Power Weapons swings from dying.

 --Pride in Dying--

Lucius is Phil Kelly's Lilith with a slight twist. Lucius only has 3+ armor and most Characters you would want him facing likely will have 2+ armor or at least a 4+ invulnerable save. So, at best Lucius will cripple a character, but in return dies.

 --Good for something--

Lucius does unlock Noise Marines as Troops and with the recent FAQ this is a great turn of events, but when you can make a Chaos Lord so much better than Lucius, what really is the point?

 --Re-rolling is something--

Lucius got the added bonus got Shred for his weapons. Typically, that means Lucius will be hitting on 3s and re-rolling to wound. So, Lucius should avoid most Challenges and focus on killing Troops, but wait Lucius has only three Attacks!

 --That is where those five points went--

I was trying to figure out why Lucius was five points more expensive in this edition, and all of sudden I noticed Veterans of the Long War and since Chaos Lords pay five points...

Putting it all Together...

Lucius is too expensive for what you get, but worse he doesn't do anything particular well. Lucius can kill most basic Characters, but doesn't stand a chance against the big boys. The idea of a Character killer is always appealing, but better make sure he can at least do the job! A Slaanesh Chaos Lord can get a better save, a bike, and a Chaos Artifact all for the same price! Lucius has a better Initiative and Weapon Skill, but he is too darn fragile for any real consideration.

If not being able to kill special characters wasn't enough Lucius cannot kill basic units very well either. Lucius only has three attacks, he doesn't even have an extra Close Combat Weapon! How about give him a power, say called Duelist Spite, where he adds the average Weapon Skill to his attacks instead.

Lucius also doesn't get a specific Warlord Trait, which is a missed opportunity. Lucius would get more mileage if he had Hatred Incarnate, that would have given him utility beyond his original design. It could have made assault Noise Marines that more appealing with Lucius leading.

The one (I mean one) bright spot with Lucius is he still gets a Doom Siren. Lucius is the only way to get two Doom Sirens in the same unit. Having two Doom Sirens not only removes a whole MEQ unit it also prevents many assaults. The key is pre-measuring ranges and making your opponent string out, so even a few models removed leaves them out of charge range.

Then you can multiply this effect if you also take a Chaos Lord with the Burning Brand of Skalathrax. Now you have three AP3 Flamers in a unit that outside of Terminators won't be assaulting.

The simple special character rule of thumb is this: can I make a basic character better than you? If the answer is yes, just make the better generic character and don't waste your time on a unit that will only disappoint you. I could go on demeaning Lucius, but he is so bad that I don't think it is worth wasting anymore time.

--Ways to play Lucius--

The following lists are by no means meant strictly for competitive play, they represent a cross-section of the Chaos Space Marine codex allowing for flexibility and variety. 

Death Star Configuration: Lucius Death Star List

Balanced Configuration: Lucius Balanced List

MSU Configuration: Lucius MSU List

Horde Configuration: Lucius Horde List

Fluffy Configuration: Lucius Fluffy List

Daemon Ally Configuration: Lucius Daemon Ally List

Imperial Guard Ally Configuration: Lucius Ork Ally List

If you have any questions about how to play these lists feel free to email me using the contact information below.

Final Thoughts...

Overall, Lucius is a dud. Luicus has never been very thought out and the new codex didn't really change much. Lucius’s back story is cool and if like St. Celestine or Trazyn he could die and come back, it would have fit fluff, and have the added bonus of making him playable. The worse part is Lucius has a very cool model and for it to continue to go unused is a travesty.