Grey Knight Codex - Elites

Here's the next installment of the Grey Knight Codex, the Elites selections. Techmarines, Purifier Squads, Venerable Dreadnoughts, and Paladin Squads are the GK options available. This is an interesting set of options. Let's start with the Techmarine.

Techmarine
The Techmarine is the supersized version with the extra 4 arms and he is a GK, so he is also a psyker. Yes, your Techmarine, while studying the Rites of the Machine Cult can also tilt his head and point a servo arm at you and try to kill you with only his thoughts. In reality, his psychic potential is best used to upgrade his strength before close combat, or to allow him to repair something with a better chance of doing it. I don't know if he should exist. Obviously a Space Marine chapter needs their Forgemasters, but should he really be deployed? I would have liked to see a Chaplain character, especially one to watch over those who fight Chaos. The Techmarine looks like he is here because of the emphasis on vehicles and that he could deploy with exotic weapons (conversion beamer, orbital strike relay).

Purifier Squads
This is a strange unit option. They are the guardians of Titan's vaults. They are capable of fighting off hordes in close combat by causing a wound to the unit in melee combat before strikes are made. Beyond that, the Purifiers are very similar to the standard power armor squads. Beyond that, the Purifiers are technically the most faithful (read: fearless). They are a subset of the GK, an elite unit designed to take down hordes. This unit felt like it was misplaced in the Elite section and should have been a troops choice. From a fluff perspective, this unit feels like an add on. The Purifier concept appears as part Star Wars Emperor's Royal Guard and part generic GK.

Venerable Dreadnought
This is your standard, expensive, veteran psyker Dreadnought. He's a little more resilient than the standard one. It would have been nice if he able to buy a couple of the other psychic powers instead of only having the assigned ones. I have mixed feelings toward Grey Knight Dreadnoughts. They don't necessarily fit the fluff (GK in armor wading through waves of Daemons) and that the dead are interred on Titan. Other than as entries in the game mechanics, Dreads don't appear to exist in the TO&E. They should exist and I imagine that they should be used more frequently

Paladin Squad
These are the 2 wound, improved weapon skill Terminators. This squad can upgrade to include an Apothecary, a Standard Bearer, and master-crafting anyone's weapons. The Paladins are what I pictured as the unstoppable Grey Knight Terminators. They can also cast Holocaust, a holdover from the previous edition's elite Terminator selection. I like the design of the Paladins. This is one of the few entries that feels like GK, and it would a centerpiece unit that would escort a Captain or Grand Master into battle and come put on top.