Ordo Hereticus, Purgation Force: The 11th-Edition Imperial Agents Arbites Detachment

Ranged weapons equipped by ADEPTUS ARBITES, INQUISITOR, INQUISITORIAL AGENTS and ORDO HERETICUS models from your army have [IGNORES COVER].

And each time one of those models makes an attack that targets a CHAOS unit containing five or more models, that attack has [SUSTAINED HITS 1].

The first clause is unconditional and it is the reason to take the detachment. [IGNORES COVER] as a standing army rule rather than a stratagem is unusual, and it is worth more than it reads: most of what an Arbites line shoots at is infantry sitting in ruins, and cover is the single biggest reason those shots fail.

The second clause has two gates and both are worth checking. The target must be a CHAOS unit and it must contain five or more models. Neither is under your control, and the second changes during a game: a ten-model unit you have been shooting all turn may drop below five before your last unit fires. Check the model count rather than assuming it still qualifies.

The keyword list is broad, which is the detachment's quiet strength. ADEPTUS ARBITES covers the Exaction, Subductor and Vigilant Squads. INQUISITOR covers every Inquisitor datasheet regardless of Ordo, including the pack's new Ordo Xenos Inquisitor Kroyle, whose Jindarii tox-cycler carries [PRECISION] and which combines with [IGNORES COVER] into a genuine character-killing tool. INQUISITORIAL AGENTS covers the retinue. Only the fourth keyword is Ordo Hereticus specific.

All four are mirror-sourced. Note that two of them can go on a MINISTORUM PRIEST as well as an Inquisitor, which is the only place in the faction where that datasheet is named.

No Escape (Aura) (25 points). INQUISITOR model only. While an enemy unit is within 6 inches of the bearer, each time it is selected to Fall Back it must first take a Leadership test, and on a failure it must Remain Stationary instead. The most expensive enhancement on the card and the only one that removes an opponent's decision rather than improving one of yours. On a TAKE AND HOLD detachment that wants to pin an enemy off an objective, that is more than a flavour effect.

Witch Hunter (15 points). INQUISITOR or MINISTORUM PRIEST model only. While the bearer is leading a unit, each time a model in that unit attacks a PSYKER unit you can re-roll the Hit roll. Narrow, and worth its 15 points only against the right opponent, which you do not choose.

Ignis Judicium (10 points). INQUISITOR or MINISTORUM PRIEST model only. The bearer's ranged weapons gain [DEVASTATING WOUNDS], [MELTA 1] and [PRECISION]. Three keywords for 10 points is the best raw rate on the card, and [PRECISION] combines directly with the detachment rule's [IGNORES COVER] to pull an enemy character out of a squad sitting in ruins.

Liber Heresius (10 points). INQUISITOR or MINISTORUM PRIEST model only. After both players have deployed their armies, select up to three AGENTS OF THE IMPERIUM units from your army and redeploy them, and you can set those units up in Strategic Reserves if you wish, regardless of how many units are already in Strategic Reserves.

That is the strongest card on this page and it is not a combat effect at all. Redeploying three units after seeing your opponent's deployment, with the reserves cap lifted, is a list-building and deployment tool rather than a rules bonus, and at 10 points it is priced like an afterthought.

Enhancement points are dataslate-volatile and none of the four carries a change marker in this pass.

The mirror lists six: Execution Order (Epic Deed, 2CP), Dispense Justice (Battle Tactic, 1CP), Exact Punishment (Strategic Ploy, 1CP), Inviolate Jurisdiction (Strategic Ploy, 1CP), Line of Fire (Strategic Ploy, 1CP) and Stun Grenades (Wargear, 1CP).

We are not reproducing their text. The Faction Pack does not print this detachment, does not amend it and does not mention it, so there is no first-party version to check any of these against. That is a stronger caveat than on the other four pages in this faction, and it applies to the whole card rather than to part of it.

What we can tell you is the shape, and the shape is normal: six stratagems and four enhancements is the standard spread for a 2 Detachment Point detachment in this faction, matching Alien Hunters, Daemon Hunters and Imperialis Fleet exactly.

Read all six cards in the Warhammer 40,000 app before you rely on any of them.

Plus [Veiled Blade Elimination Force](/40k/armies/imperial-agents/detachments/veiled-blade-elimination-force) (1 DP, total 3). Exactly a Strike Force budget, and the only detachment this one can pair with, because every other Imperial Agents detachment also costs 2 Detachment Points.

The fit is genuine rather than forced. This detachment's second clause is a horde-clearing bonus with a five-model floor, so its worst matchup is a single high-value target, and that is precisely what an assassin is for. Note that assassins carry none of this rule's four keywords, so the two rules cover disjoint halves of your army.

No Unique Tags are involved. This faction has none.

What to build. Kill Team: Exaction Squad is where the Exaction Squad models are sold, and Exaction Squad is an ADEPTUS ARBITES unit, which is the first keyword in the detachment rule. Inquisitorial Agents is named by keyword too, so the retinue collects [IGNORES COVER] alongside whoever is leading it. Inquisitor Greyfax is the Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor we track, and she is current rather than Legends, which matters in a faction where six named Inquisitors are.

Sanctifiers is one of the pack's three new datasheets, printed in full on pages 8 and 9, and thematically it is the Ministorum body this card's Priest enhancements expect. We track no product for it, so it is named on this page without a link.

One first-party change worth knowing. The pack's Rules Updates section moved the Ministorum Priest from Leader to Support. If your plan involved attaching a Priest to a squad, check what Support does in the current core rules before you build around it.