Prime Brothers Tactics

Prime Brothers

Setting:	Grimdark Future
Games:	Grimdark Future, Grimdark Future: Firefight
Species:	Human
Version:	v2.50

Note: as v2.50 is in constant development the following might not be accurate.

Why Play Prime Brothers

Take everything you like about the Battle Brothers and then give them better guns. So what if you're paying twice as much per model? Your weapons are powerful enough that you'll likely not need more bodies.

Pros:

Your army has excellent protection, with most of your forces sporting a 2+ defense.
An incredibly elite force with a majority of your forces sporting a 3+ quality and Fearless everywhere you see.
A high amount of customization when including the specialized Detachments.
- Unlike with the Battle Brothers, your entire unit selection remains untouched.
Plenty of Tough infantry.
Your troops are more specialized in their particular role.
Your transports all have Strider.

Cons:

Your forces are even more expensive than Battle Brothers. Especially the tanks.
You will often have fewer activations than the enemy and fewer models than the enemy. Every loss you take will hurt you considerably.
High AP weapons remain a threat, but Deadly becomes something else to watch out for with your Tough units.
You only have one Psychic model. Some detachments add more, but you'll be paying a pretty penny for that.
Unit flexibility is pretty bad.
Some of the more unique advantages of certain detachments are limited when compared to how much they change for the Battle Brothers.

Army Special Rules

Battle Rites: The model and its unit get +1 to hit when shooting.
Medical Training: Your unit now has Regeneration.
Precision Shots: This model and any attached unit add AP by +1 when shooting.
Repair: Once per activation, roll 1d6. On a 2+ you can restore D3 wounds on a Tough unit within 2".
Shield Wall: If every model has this rule, then all enemies take a -1 to hit them.
Veteran Infantry: This model gets +1 to hit rolls in melee and shooting. Extremely costly
War Chant: The model and any attached unit gets +1 attack in melee when charging.

Psychic Spells

Prime Brothers/Dark Brothers/Watch Brothers

Blurred Sight (4+): One enemy unit within 12" takes -1 to hit with shooting. Vital for protecting your troops from heavy weaponry of any kind.
Psychic Terror (4+): One enemy unit within 12" takes two AP(2) hits.
Cerebral Trauma (5+): One enemy model within 12" takes a single AP 3 hit. Pretty much all you can ask for when sniping a hero or heavy weapon.
Cursed Ground (5+): An enemy unit within 18" that attempts a charge loses 6" to their charge distance next time they charge. Note that this won't save anyone from a charge if they're too close, but it will prevent any long-range gambits.
Lightning Fog (6+): Two enemy units within 6" take eight hits each, making this hell for mobs of grunts.
Time Passage (6+): One friendly unit within 12" can immediately move 6". This gives you a desperate escape button or possibly an easier charge.

Blood Brothers

Fear (4+): Enemy unit within 12" suffers a loss of 3" to its next movement. It's trading off Cursed Ground's range for a penalty that's always on.
Lance (4+): Enemy model within 12" takes an AP 2 hit. Compare with Psychic Blast.
Quickness (5+): Friendly model within 12" may immediately charge up to 6", making this a godsend when you get it off on that pack of very angry death brothers.
Blood Curse (5+): Two enemy units within 6" take 6 hits each. Essentially Lightning Fog.
Break Shields (6+): Enemy unit within 12" takes a -2 to their next defense roll, giving an extra AP 2 to any attacks you make. Especially useful if you want to guarantee death.
Rage Burst (6+): Enemy unit within 12" takes 3 AP 3 hits. It's essentially a focus-fire Cerebral Trauma.

Knight Brothers

Ward (4+): Enemy unit within 12" suffers -1 to hit with melee on their next turn. Important since you're only protected by a mere 2+ save for the most part.
Cleanse (4+): Enemy unit within 12" takes 2 AP 2 hits. Somewhat equivalent to psychic blast, though it hits the entire unit.
Warp (5+): Enemy unit within 12" takes -1 to defense, which you'll want if you're struggling to turn the tide.
Doom (5+): Enemy model within 12" takes an AP 3 hit, making this a prime sniping spell.
Strike (6+): Friendly unit within 12" can immediately shoot.
Purge (6+): Two enemy units within 6" take 2 AP 1 hits each, making it comparable to Lightning Cloud.

Wolf Brothers

Fury (4+): Friendly unit within 12" gains Furious. You definitely want to set this off whenever possible.
Hurricane (4+): Two enemy units within 6" take 4 hits, making it a diet Lightning Cloud.
Storm (5+): Enemy unit within 18" takes -1 to their next shooting rolls. You absolutely want this to protect a vulnerable unit as they make their attack.
Thunder (5+): Enemy unit within 12" takes 3 AP 2 hits, making it better for punching big boys.
Wrath (6+): Enemy unit within 12" can be thrown 6" in any direction, leaving them out of a weak unit's hair or right in the sights of a charging mob.
Lightning (6+): Enemy unit within 12" takes 2 AP 3 hits. The inverse of Thunder, making it for blasting vehicles.

Unit Analysis

Heroes

Prime Master: Your gold standard when it comes to Heroes. He's fairly customizable to fit out any mix of shooting or melee, which becomes rather odd since if you spring for a better gun you also need to trade in your rifle for a free Heavy Pistol(halving the range of the rifle) and improved CCW. You could also grant them Veteran Infantry for the most busted hero that hits on a 2+ with a 2+ defense.
- Shooting: The base Heavy Rifle gives you a good ranged attack with AP(1) to harass infantry. If you're looking for better range, you can instead grab a Precision Rifle for Sniper prowess or a short-ranged Auto-Rifle for extra attacks at the cost of AP. Swapping to the Heavy Pistol+CCW opens up a great number more options, including even buying back the Heavy Rifle or Precision Rifle. The Plasma Pistol gives short-ranged AP(4) to handle most heavy infantry while the Carbine provides some mid-ranged Rending. The Flamethrower Pistol provides a comedically short-ranged flamethrower for crowd control up-close. The Gravity Pistol gives more Rending firepower than the Carbine, but comes with the pistol's range. Last is the package deal of the Fist-Pistol (with two shots at 12") and attached Energy Fist.
- Melee: You've got quite a few attacks to rely on, especially if you grab the pistol. If you're looking for more punch, you can purchase an Energy Sword for AP(1) and Rending, an Energy Hammer for Blast(3) to pop crowds, the AP(4) Energy Fist, or the hero-killing AP(2) Deadly(3) Relic Sword.
- Personal Upgrades: As with the BB Captain, you've got plenty of variety in forms. Aside from Veteran Infantry, you can also pick up an upgrade that more fundamentally changes how they work. The Combat Shield grants some basic protection from getting hit, though it will require any accompanying squads to also buy it. The Jetpack allows the master to surprise enemies with some Jetpack Brothers. Grave Armor gives some extra wounds for a more aggressive hero. The bike gives those wounds as well as Fast and an extra gun to shoot with, but it makes the master incredibly costly.
- Buffs: They have a bundle of special buff rules for their attached units, but all are mutually exclusive. Judge gives War Chant, which works particularly well with some source of Furious, like with the Raiders. Archivist offers Psychic(1) for spell support. Ancient Banner gives Fear in case you need to push the advantage in a fight. Captain gives Battle Rites for some shooting support. Lieutenant offers Precision Shots, which is particularly costly but makes your stock Heavy Rifles and Pistols capable of popping any infantry. Engineer gives Repair, making you capable to heal your tanks and more frequent Tough troops.

Elite Raider: The lightweight version of the Prime Master, given a 4+ quality and 3+ defense in exchange for Furious, Strider and a reduced pricetag. Being stuck with a CCW+Heavy Pistol, they can tap into the wide swath of weapon options as well as unit buffs, but cannot upgrade themselves beyond taking either Ambush or Scout, making them accompany either Raiders or Infiltrators.

Infantry

Raider Squad: Short-range specialists. If you stick with the default loadout, you get AP(1) on your pistols and 3 melee attacks and Furious, which is an effective combination that stacks with Furious easily. Alongside Medical Training for Regeneration and Ambush, you can give one model either an Energy Sword, Energy Hammer, Energy Fist or you could trade your weapons in for a Heavy Chainsaw Sword.

Infiltration Squad: The shooty counterpart of the Raiders, given Carbines for Rending at mid-range. Your lone upgrades for these give you Medical Training and the ability to effectively give Sniper an all your rifles, making them a squad of precision killers to wear down heroes and special weapons.

Assault Squad: These Prime Brothers are all given Heavy Pistols and CCWs, giving a tanky force with a 3+ quality and 2+ defense. However, you can tell how limited it is, as you get Medical Training and two special weapons (one with the Master's share of weapons, the other getting energy weapons and a Plasma Pistol). These guys need transportation because they will be very visible targets for the enemy.

Prime Brothers: Your basic unit will describe the basis of how your army operates, and it's none clearer than here. You've only got guns to pick from with only one of the pack selecting a melee weapon of some sort from the Prime Master's list. Fortunately, you can pick up a special weapon for some additional support. If you're worried about survival, you can also buy Medical Training so they gain Regeneration.
- Shooting: Each Prime Brother comes with a Heavy Rifle for long-ranged AP(1) to pop most infantry, though any of them can swap it out for either an Auto-Rifle for mid-range rapid-fire without AP (and an optional Grenade-Mod to slap on a lone model for crowd control) or a Precision Rifle to replace the AP with Sniper for heavily-armored marksmen. One model can purchase either a Plasma Rifle for high AP, a tank-popping Fusion Rifle, a rapid-fire Flamethrower for short-range battles, a Gravity Rifle for Rending, and the long-range Heavy Machinegun.

Blaster Squad: Prime Brothers who focus entirely on Plasma. Indeed, their only guns are variations of the plasma gun, all of which offer some uses that the Prime Brothers lack. Purchasing Heavy Plasma Rifles boosts the range of their guns while the Plasma Auto-Rifle gives more shots but compromises the AP to make it less desirable against high defense.

Guard Squad: Your most elite beatsticks, provided shields, Heavy Pistols and Energy Swords. This is pretty much all you need to act as a hero bunker, all you need beyond that is a transport to make sure they can actually reach the front quickly, though Shield Wall can make them decently defended on the field.

Elimination Squad: Your actual snipers. Unlike any of your Precision Rifles, these guys carry actual Sniper Rifles with 30" range and AP(1) to reliably pop enemies. They have both Scout and Stealth, making sure that they make the most out of their protected position. If you feel like killing the enemy even faster, you can buy Laser Sniper Rifle for AP(3) and Deadly(3), capable of wiping any heavy armor hero and denting vehicles.

Eradication Squad: Your Prime Brothers singularly dedicated to firing fusion rifles. Sure, they're shorter range compared to most weapons, but this is a pack of five with Relentless, meaning that they could likely level tanks with a good shooting turn - more so if you buy Heavy Fusion Rifles for Deadly(6). Under no circumstances are you allowed to waste them on piddly grunts - if you've got no tanks, then fire at the heavy armor elites and bikers.

Heavy Prime Brothers: Your Prime Destroyers. Each one carries Grave Auto-Rifles for heavy fire at mid-range but lack any options for melee. You can purchase a Grave Heavy Machinegun for long-range AP(1) power, while your others can pick either Grave Heavy Rifles for similar firepower or Grave Precision Rifles for super-tanky Snipers.

Suppression Squad: A small pack of Prime Brothers with jetpacks, making them surprise-attacking sharpshooters. These guys have Autocannons so they can shoot anti-armor rounds from a long range, making vehicles and heavy infantry alike relent. That said, they also lack the ability to defend themselves much in close quarters and there are better guns if you plan on actually destroying tanks in short order.

Jetpack Squad: Each of your models comes with a jetpack and relatively short-ranged Twin Assault Blasters, making them surprise assault units. If you feel like you need to destroy heavier units, you can instead use Twin Plasma Blasters for AP(4). The drawback is that this short range leaves them vulnerable to any counter-attacking and from there, only their CCWs and 2+ defense with Tough(3) will stave them.

Aggro Squad: More melee-focused Heavy Primes. Your shooting to firing ratio is more balanced between having Twin Fist-Pistols pumping four short-ranged shots (or freely swap out for Twin Fist-Flamers for even more shots) and two Energy Fists with AP(3) to handle combat. This is pretty much your only option, so you'll absolutely want make sure these guys are protected if you bring them in. If you're worried about crowds, you can purchase Shoulder-GLs for small blasts.

Prime Bikers: About the same as base brother bikers, toting Fast and Tough(3) with their high defense. Each one doesn't only have Twin Auto-Rifles and Heavy Pistols for decent mid-range firepower and plenty of CCW attacks for the charge. This makes War Chant particularly necessary, as you don't have any faster forces for the assault.

Vehicles

Prime ATV: A pretty zippy attack vehicle with Scout and Strider, letting you make plenty of use with its firepower. It comes with the Twin Auto-Rifles for rapid-fire and the option between either even more rapid-fire with the Gatling Gun or purchasing the Heavy Fusion Rifle to make it a faster tankbuster.

Anti-Grav APC: Your APCs have Strider, which you'll absolutely need since you're gonna need to make use of Transport(11). Fortunately, your loadout is also a bit more robust than just storm rifles. The Twin Frag-GLs it comes with let you take care of plenty of crowds, though replacing them with a Twin Storm Rifle gives you better range.
- Upgrades: You can purchase a Heavy Machinegun for more long-range shooting regardless of what you take. You also have one upgrade slot which gives you quite a few different options. The Shield Projector gives you Regeneration to ensure your troops' survival, the Twin AA-MG gives you long-ranged missiles with Lock-On to harass anything anywhere, the Artillery Relay gives you a long-ranged explosion to handle crowds, but Indirect conflicts a little with being a transport, and the Missile Array lets the APC handle tanks.

Anti-Grav Tank: A beefier APC, sacrificing the transport space for a much beefier Tough(15) and a Twin Laser Talon to destroy other Battle Brothers alongside the crowd-cracking Twin Frag-GLs. That Twin Laser Talon can be swapped out with either the cheap Twin Gatling Gun for a boatload of shots at mid-range while the Twin Laser Cannon gives longer-ranged tank destruction. The Twin Frag-GLs can still be replaced with Twin Storm Rifles, but you can also purchase Twin Tempest Rifles for extra shots at shorter range or Twin Heavy Fusion Rifles to outright demolish tanks. You can also purchase an AA-Pod to ding aircraft and a Heavy Machinegun to handle things at long range.

Heavy Anti-Grav Transport Tank: A much beefier tank with Tough(18) and Transport(11), bristling with guns between the two Heavy Machineguns, a Twin Heavy Machinegun (different from the Heavy Machineguns) and a Laser Talon for a long-range barrage. The Laser Talon can be swapped off for a Gatling Cannon for an obscene number of shots, while one of your Heavy Machineguns can be swapped off for a Gatling Gun. The Twin Heavy Machinegun can instead be replaced with a Twin Laser Cannon to demolish tanks. On top of this, you can also buy a Proximity Defense Array if you see the need to shoot any approaching aircraft.
- The reason you'd pick this over the Anti-Grav APC is because you're absolutely expecting to demolish tanks while also carrying a squad. Considering its cost, you're likely not going to be seeing it in most games unless you're looking to destroy all the tanks.

Heavy Anti-Grav Destroyer Tank: Now you're sacrificing some of your transport capacity, but considering you're hauling a literal Heavy Plasma Cannon, it's worth it. Indeed, your weapons make this more like a battletank with a bit of transport, with your preferred target likely lining up with whether you take the horde-destroying Heavy Plasma Cannon or the tank-destroying Heavy Laser Cannon. Aside from that, many of your options from the transport version remain, with the additional benefit of being able to replace both Heavy Machineguns with Gatling Guns.

Assault Speeder: A rather lightweight craft with Ambush to hit unsuspecting foes, and with Twin Strike Missiles and Fusion Destroyer, tanks are in for a very bad time against them. The Fusion Destroyer can be cheaply swapped for either a heavy-fire Gatling Gun or the armor-popping Laser Cannon. The Twin Strike Missiles can be replaced with either a Twin AA-Pod to target aircraft or the Twin Heavy Machinegun to handle most infantry. You have a third slot as well, letting you purchase Twin Frag-GLs for crowds, Twin Rocket-GLs to crack armor, or the costly Twin Fury Missiles made to boost the range of their tank-busting.

Light Walker: While fairly Tough, it's somewhat limited in armaments with only a Light Fist and Incendiary Cannon for a torrent of shots (replace with Twin Iron-Cannon if you want better range and AP). You can grab a few more weapons to bolster your shooting (Twin Frag-GLs for more crowds, Twin Rocket-GLs to pop vehicles, or Twin Walker-MG to handle anything in between), but you're still going to be staying within mid-range with a means to fight up close.

Attack Walker: Big and tough, having Tough(15) over the Light Walker's 9 and with an AP(4) fist. This is where your big guns lie, like your Gatling Cannon (which you can replace with a Heavy Plasma Cannon for cheap if you hate mobs) and Heavy Flamethrower (which can make way for a Gatling Gun for better range and shots at the cost of AP). Alongside the option for Chest-GLs or Chest-Guns, you can also buy an AA-Pod for something to harass something hiding behind cover.

Support Turret: A static placement with a Twin Laser Talon to fire upon anything with AP(3). Replacing that with a Twin Autocannon gives you better range but sacrifices AP, making it less of a choice.

Detachments

Blood Prime Brothers

The Blood Prime Brothers provide you a very swift and aggressive force. While your infantry picks up Furious to drive home their place getting in the opponent's face, the tanks all get Very Fast so they can zoom around wherever they want.

Frenzy: Furious+1, a unit that charges now gains two extra attacks.
Holy Chalice: An upgrade for your Blood Prime Master and Blood Elite Raider, this synergizes in melee by giving an attached unit Regeneration and +1 to hit in Melee. Considering how elite your army already is, this comes at quite a cost, and your Prime Brothers are already at 3+ quality. Your Raiders might see more use though, as they're at 4+ quality and Frenzy offsets the lack of War Chant.
Very Fast: Fast+1, your tanks now add +4" to their base movement and +8" to their dash/charge distances. Your tanks are now very much able to sprint in between lines of cover for protection.

Heroes

Blood Prime Master: Your leader is the same as the default with the addition of Furious. On top of this, they also have the option for Holy Chalice, providing a powerful defensive boost as well as an offensive boost. For Prime Brothers, this might be a bit overkill with their 2+ defense and 3+ quality, but it can make them impossible to remove.

Infantry

Blood Raider Squad: Your lone source of Frenzy, their aggression makes them a natural fit for the Holy Chalice. Incidentally, they can get a Heavy Chainsword for much cheaper than base Raiders, but come at the cost of some other weapons being a little pricier.
Blood Prime Brothers: Largely similar to their base variants, but curiously have the option to buy Grave Armor, giving each model Tough(3) for an incredibly tanky squad. This can make Auto-Rifles a bit more appealing since you have more protection, but the cost is more than even Veteran Infantry.

Dark Prime Brothers

The Dark Prime Brothers are a resolute force, made to hold the line and arrive when they're needed.

Dark Assault: A souped-up form of Ambush that lets your squads arrive on any turn. This is particularly important for your tank hunters, as this lets them pop in without any worry.
Grim: A souped-up form of Fearless, shared by all your units. Whenever a unit fails a Morale check, you must deal an instant wound to make them pass. Considering just how high the average unit's quality is and how few models you have, any incident where you fail will be a terrible loss, so you'd best hope that nothing happens.

Knight Prime Brothers

The Knight Brothers are your psychic masters, capable of not only controlling the board by blocking all spells thanks to Aegis but also additional casting on your units. That said, your power will likely be diminished by both the incredible costs and limited number of units that can cast.

Aegis: A universal rule, your army can block spells as if they had Psychic(2). On top of that, any Psychic models can also add +2 to their block rolls, making them the most effective at blocking.

Infantry

Knight Assault Squad: Your elite aggression unit introduces an interesting trend by being able to take Psychic(1). This allows you to support more of your forces by letting them cast more aggressive spells while letting your heroes cover support.
Knight Prime Brothers: While lacking the special guns of the Knight Brothers, you do get two new options: Grave Armour to make your line troops even more tank-like with Tough(3) and Psychic(1) to offer another vector for casting.
Knight Blaster Squad: Another squad that can be Psychic, though their preferred range might make them better at supporting others rather than outright aggression - that's why you have the plasma guns for.
Knight Guard Squad: Your hero-bunker can purchase Psychic(1) to match with their charge, but it's likely to be ignored as you can let your hero do the casting for them.
Knight Heavy Prime Brothers: Yet another squat that can buy Pcychic(1), better suited to backline support.

Watch Prime Brothers

The Watch Prime Brothers are unmatched in close-quarters. Stacking Disciplined on top of their high quality and defense can assure that any enemies up close will want to think twice before trying to engage in melee.

Disciplined: A universal rule for your infantry, this provides +1 to hit when shooting enemies within 12". Of course, this makes your forces incredibly powerful in close ranges.
Special Ammo: A special upgrade for your heroes, this gifts their squad Rending and ignores cover, which is incredible for your gunline-heavy army.

Heroes

Watch Prime Master: Your heroes come with the option for Special Ammo, making your many guns even more powerful. This can be a serious blessing considering how precious each one is, so you can have a squad of basic Prime Brothers rip through most armored infantry or have a pack of Rapid-Fire Plasma Blasters regain enough of their anti-armor power to carve out high-defense tanks.

Infantry

Watch Prime Brothers: Largely similar to their base variants, but curiously have the option to buy Grave Armor, giving each model Tough(3) for an incredibly tanky squad. This can make Auto-Rifles more appealing since you have more protection, but the cost is more than even Veteran Infantry.

Wolf Prime Brothers

The Wolf Prime Brothers aren't much like their Wolf Brother variants, as you do not get special units for support. What you're left with is a close-quarters squad that dissuades charging foes by turning their advantages against them.

Counter: A universal rule for your troops, this gives them a bonus attack any time they're charged. This puts them on tier with any aggressors and packing the proper weapon can make that charge fall flat on its face when your surprise weapon flattens their offensive or kills their charge-happy hero.

Infantry

Wolf Prime Brothers: Largely similar to their base variants, but curiously have the option to buy Grave Armor, giving each model Tough(3) for an incredibly tanky squad. You're not likely to bother though, as you're now a bunch of walking pincushions to demolish and Counter gives them a warning against charging...and that's before talking about the price.

Prime Brothers Tactics

Contents

Why Play Prime Brothers

Army Special Rules

Psychic Spells

Unit Analysis

Heroes

Infantry

Vehicles

Detachments

Blood Prime Brothers

Heroes

Infantry

Dark Prime Brothers

Knight Prime Brothers

Infantry

Watch Prime Brothers

Heroes

Infantry

Wolf Prime Brothers

Infantry

List Building & Tactics

General Advice

Tactics

See Also

Navigation menu

Prime Brothers Tactics

Why Play Prime Brothers

Army Special Rules

Psychic Spells

Unit Analysis

Heroes

Infantry

Vehicles

Detachments

Blood Prime Brothers

Heroes

Infantry

Dark Prime Brothers

Knight Prime Brothers

Infantry

Watch Prime Brothers

Heroes

Infantry

Wolf Prime Brothers

Infantry

List Building & Tactics

General Advice

Tactics

See Also

Navigation menu

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