Reflecting on Running Tokens and similar...

As the new edition of Warhammer 40,000 looks likely to be imminent with the withdrawal of the 6th edition rulebook, I thought I'd take a moment to reflect on some of the lesser used aspects of that and earlier editions.

In particular, I wanted to bring up the subject of the "running" tokens (pictured). I bought a set of these (along with objective markers) for use in games, but in all honesty, they haven't seen the light of day, or much play. 

Reflecting on this, I think the reason is obvious enough: its simple to remember which units have run in a game. Its very rare that myself or an opponent forgets between us which have run or not. Hence this is one purchase that I don't really use. 

That said, the objective markers from this set, and those from 6th edition (you know - the ones that are essentially die) are ones that frequently get used -- in the absence of modelled objective markers (like the dying space marines sold by Games Workshop, or the ammo crate dumps created by many players). Hence when the new edition comes out, I will be looking very closely at what accessories it comes along with and thinking carefully about purchases. 

Space Marine Tactical Squad Points? Did we really get a large point reduction?

Hi All, Eldrad Vect here, the Space Marines codex has been out for a while now and even then the Dark Angels before them, but I have discovered something quite horrifying, most Marine players would have already figured this out too. When the Dark Angels came out everyone was in awe of the fact the humble Tactical marine was dropped from 17 points to 14! this was wonderful for Dark Angel players and something Marine players looked forward to seeing, but was it worth it.
I have put together a few examples of why the points drop have not been a great as we may have thought, I've dusted off my 5th edition Marine dex and started comparing...

First off, your typical Tactical squad setup:
Tactical Marines x10
Sergeant with Chainsword/Bolt Pistol
Missile Launcher
Flamer.
Now, in the 5th Ed codex this setup was 170 Points, due to the fact Flamers and Missile Launchers were free. This was a very common setup, due to its tactical flexibility as well as its practical use when combined with the Combat Squad special rule. Now however, Missile Launchers cost 15 points and Flamers cost 5, add this to the standard 140 points for 10 marines and this equals 160 points. So there is a point reduction here, but only 10 points! you almost can't do anything with that 10 points.

Anyway, onto the next setup, this is the primary Tactical squad that a friend of mine (Crimson Fist player) has used in his army since 5th Ed.
Tactical Marine x10
Sergeant with Power Fist/Plasma Pistol
Plasma Gun
Missile Launcher.
This squads used to cost an absolute fortune, with the sergeant spending way to much cash on the premium Power Fist and Limited Edition 'Dorn' pattern Plasma Pistol, not to mention the Plasma Gun, which would always get hot. This squad racked up a hefty 220 points, but how does it compare now? well, not much better, since the good ol' days Plasma Guns and Missile Launchers have taken a pretty big price hike, the price is 210 points, hmm... I think a pattern is emerging, once again 10 points less, here you are friend! 10 points, go buy yourself a Combi-Grav.

The third one is simply a personal favourite setup of mine, it isn't some ultra competitive tournament winning squad, I just like these weapons and think they
are cool.
Tactical Marines x10
Sergeant with Power Sword/Melta Bombs
Meltagun
Heavy Bolter.
So this was always 195 points, I loved this setup so much I memorized the points and still to this day, have never built this squad. Anyway what is the point difference now? quite simply its a 15 point difference, which is pretty alright, but still not amazing.

I guess in the long run, three squads with a 10 point reduction gives you 30 points all up, sadly though it isn't the huge drop in points most people think, unless you play all Bolter Imperial Fist Tactical squad or are like me and play CC Carcharodons (loving the new CT by the way), in which case you'll have huge 30 point savings per Tactical squad. Anyway, I thought it was an interesting thing to think about, it doesn't matter too much that there isn't a big point difference between additions, since Marines are still really awesome. 

Power Weapons: Are your Warriors using the right Weapons?

Hi all, Eldrad Vect here. Ah, the humble Power Weapon, the tool of champions and no name squad leaders, however in 6th edition they released the new rules on the different types of Power Weapons, this was awesome and I think one of the greatest things in the new rulebook (I love 6th Edition so much). It does beg the question though, what weapon should I use? well I'm here to give you the run down on what I think are the best choices for each race.

Space Marines/Chaos Space Marines (and Codex Chapters)
Power Sword and Power Axe:
Starting with the most popular race in Warhammer, Space Marines and their evil counterparts excel when using all weapon types but are particularly effective with these two. Since their base Strength is 4, the Power Sword is exceptionally useful, it's AP3 at full Initiative means in the hands of a Space Marine, can pull apart xenos and MEQs with equal ease. The Power Axe is also a great weapon for Marines but should be used defensively, i.e. if you have a Devestator (or Havoc) squad leader with a Power Weapon make it a Power Axe. The reason behind this is that the Power Axe's +1 to Strength and AP2 gives it sundering power unmatched, so it is effective at holding off attackers as it mean you won't lose combat and may even sweep your attackers since the upped Strength give you an greater chance to wound your foe.

Dark Eldar
Power Sword and Power Lance:
Dark Eldar need speed above all else and the Power Axe is too clunky for Dark Eldar and is also unnecessary because almost every Dark Eldar unit has access to AP2, whether it be shooting or CC, not only that but they have access to one the best Power Weapons in Warhammer, the Agoniser which always wounds on a +4 and is AP3 which can carve through Infantry and Monstrous Creatures. The Agoniser also makes the Power Maul useless too. Power Sword is for your shooty units to give them continuous AP3 to help even the Combat Resolution and maybe prolong combat so a more aggressive unit can help, where as the Power Lance is for your attacking squads, the +1 Strength on the charge is very handy for Dark Eldar. Personally, I typically use Agonisers but I do use Swords and Lances sometimes since they are cheaper than the Agoniser.

Imperial Guard
Power Maul:
Imperial Guard Sergeants should only ever wield Power Mauls, for them, the +2 to Strength allows them a chance to pummel even Marines in combat. No other Power Weapon is worth it, in my opinion the Sword is too weak, the Axe not needed and the Lance is pointless because IG don't often charge into combat, (well, I do).  

Sisters of Battle
Power Maul and Power Axe:
Sisters are weak, sad to say it but its true, S3 is not very good and unlike Eldar and Dark Eldar, these chicks ain't fast, with I3 they have the same problem as Guard. The Power Maul and Power Axe buff the Sisters to new levels, if your going to strike last anyway may as well do it with an AP2 Axe and take some foes out with you.

Eldar
Power Sword, Power Lance and Power Axe:
The Triforce of Power Weapons used by the Eldar all work well, Swords and Lances keep the Eldar's high Initiative whilst killing Infantry easy, even Terminators or other 2+ Armour save units if the Jinx Psychic Power is in play, however you may be wondering why I have the Power Axe on this list. Eldar Aspect Warrior Exarchs have good armour and WS, this means a good Power Axe doesn't go to waste, however I only use this on units that is makes sense to, an example of this is one of my Dire Avenger Exarch, I always play Power Weapon and Shimmershield but the Diresword is AP2 and in order to give the unit a +5 Invuln. Save I have to sacrifice the AP2... well, not really, I simply give my Exarch a Power Axe, this gives him both a lovely Strength bonus that makes him quite a good Marine killer and the AP of 2 that he was missing out on. So while it all depends on your squad and what you like to use.

Orks, Necrons, Chaos Daemons, Tyranid, Tau, Grey Knights.
Sorry you guys, you either don't have access to conventional Power Weapons or have unique weapons that a similar but way better (i.e. Boneswords, Warscythes, Hellblades...) just keep doing what your doing and you'll be fine. I know that some of them do have Power Weapons but it is not as widespread as the others.

Whatever Power Weapons your troops wield just remember, it better than a Combat Knife.

Of plague zombies and typos: a limited 40k FAQ Digest

The news of the new FAQs from Games Workshop is now getting toward a day old or more!  I wanted to use this post to have a quick skim over what I found the most interesting (which may or may not correlate to "most significant" for others).

Firstly, the main rulebook.  The (re?)introduction of killzones is interesting.  This means that if you only have bolters and your target squad ranges from 22 to 26" away from you, then only kill those within 24".  Should you have taken a missile launcher, or lascannon, then you can kill the whole lot of them.  Interesting!

For my daemon playing colleagues and friends, plague zombies don't count toward Epidemius' tally.  I wasn't going to play that way any how, since I figure the rules cover models with the mark of Nurgle, or followers of Nurgle.  Plague Zombies are neither, since they haven't *voluntarily* decided to follow Nurgle.  (okay, don't get me started on Nurgle's Rot and Plaguebearers ... that's different ... ish ... well maybe ... okay: I wasn't playing plague zombies as counting toward Epidemius and now this is confirmed!  Anyone want to admit they were, or had contemplated it?)

For chaos space marines, noise marines get a boost, and the heldrake is classed as having a turret!  Blimey, that's a biggie!  Am I glad that I got one of those as a gift over the holidays?  Yes.

And for my favourite loyalists (Dark Angels, not Alpha Legion), the typos have been fixed up.  So at least the required units can now access the sacred relics and standards as it was obvious that they should have been able to!

There are more rule changes beyond these that I like (shooting overwatch from vehicles, Black Templars getting superior dreadnoughts and so on), but for me, the above changes seem most immediate given my gaming preferences!

Is First Blood correlated with First Turn?

A question for those of you who organize tournaments or play a whole lot more games than I do.  Do you believe that the "First Blood" secondary objective in 6th edition is correlated with First Turn at all?

We're currently having a little debate within our own league about this one.  Although we have gone through a combined total almost 50 games in the past few months, we're none the wiser as we didn't record any solid statistics on the matter and only have our memories to rely on.  We can all recall games that went either way though.  But the question remains: does having first turn mean that you are (statistically) more likely to get first blood?

Opinions welcome.

Crusade of Fire

Two surprises today: firstly the release for pre-order of the new warhammer 40k sourcebook: Crusade of Fire.  The second: no prelude rumours!  

There's plenty of people who are super excited by this source book.  But there's a little twist.  The descriptor says that the sourcebook contains additional, expanded rules for flyers in 40k.  This poses a potential issue: will these rules be "core" rules from now on in tournaments (etc.)?  Given the limited stocks of the product, I can see it selling out fast.  So, what for folks who don't manage to get their paws on to this release?  Perhaps a soft-back book later on?  

Turning to the actual content that was released.  Aside from the images of the miniatures and artwork, the background story features a clash of chaos, imperials and dark eldar.  On the one page that is dedicated to new rules, we see a new system for fighting on daemon infested worlds.  These involve tokens.  Before the game begins, each unit takes a Ld test on 3d6.  They get tokens for each point of failure.  These tokens are a double-edged sword: they grant a unit a bonus on the grounds that they've been (partially) possessed; but there's a downside: when removed, bad stuff happens.  

In the case of Khorne, for instance, the unit gains the rage special rule. But at the end of any assault phase, the opponent may remove any number of counters.  The unit then takes d3 automatic hits as if the unit attacked itself (using its most common weapon).  Analogues are presented for the other 3 major powers.

The other set of rules are what I would think of as "environmental" rules -- in the sense that they present daemon world hazards and their effects on models within the battlefield.  They're random and a bit like the "volcano explodes!" innovations of homebrew rules at worst, but very interesting, flavourful and pro-narrative campaigning at their best.

Looking forward to reading this one in more detail when it comes out. Hope that there's going to be some copies left!!

The Chaos Space Marine FAQ / Errata

The new Chaos Space Marine FAQ / Errata has been released for a day now.  Its brevity shocks me.  Either the authors really believe strongly there's nothing else to correct, or they forgot something.  If they forgot something, then what would it be?  I'm looking at you Daemon Princes.  You guys need to have MARKS as well as Eternal Warrior to make you worthwhile.

But let's look at what we got.  Three boons, and two oddities.

The two oddities are the same: Axe of Blind fury can now be wielded by both miniatures with the Mark of Khorne and Khornate Daemons.  But how are we purchasing Khornate Daemons to wield the Axe of Blind Fury please?  Is this some kind of strange fore-shadow to a future chaos daemons update / codex?  Hmmmmmmmm.

The first true Errata is the Typhus / Plague Zombie controversy.  Resolved in favour of large blobs of plague zombies.  Yay!  Time to purchase some zombie bits and mx with Cadians, Catachans, Ghouls, Skeletons, and green stuff!

The second is the correction to chaos terminators.  Instead of only being able to purchase either a special ranged weapon, or specialist melee weapon, or a pair of lightning claws, we can now do any of the three.  So don't go removing arms from those plastic terminators yet: our combi-meltas with chainfists are legal once more!

The third is a 5 point points-cost drop to the Helbrute (now 100 points).  That's actually very unusual for a FAQ / errata.  A sales inducement perhaps, since I don't know too many people online or offline who were worried that the Helbrute was mis-priced at 105 points.

Blight Drone Revisited for 6th

The Blight Drone of Nurgle has been with us (via Forge World) for a while now. And since 6th edition seems to be shining a light on flyers as a new meta-game, I thought I'd re-consider the utility of the Blight Drone in the new environment.

So, what use is the Blight Drone?  Well, I personally see it as a chaos alternative to the land speeder.  Thinking about it in those terms immediately highlights a number of key facets of the Blight Drone.  Firstly, it is a (hovering) flyer.  Being a flyer means that it is tough to shoot out of the skies for many armies that aren't already packing skyfire units (or flakk missiles).  And yes: there are still plenty of army lists that can be found casually or at tournaments that can't truly cope with the influx of fliers that 6th edition seems to be emphasizing.  I'm sure that'll change fairly soon, but as a chaos flyer, the Blight Drone seems to fit a mould that other entires in the codex do not.  I'm looking forward to seeing the full stats of the Heldrake in the new codex and seeing how it stack up against the Blight Drone -- I can imagine that they fulfil two different roles from the leaks that we've seen so far though, and (to be clear) daemons are not getting the Heldrake unless as allies.

In addition, the Blight Drone can act as both an anti-infantry and anti-(light)-tank, including a spot of anti-flier duty if required.  Although the BS of the Blight Drone is low, the twin-linked reaper makes up for this (somewhat), and the mawcannon still impacts a good punch at ground level.  

For Daemons and Chaos Space Marines, the Blight Drone occupies a fast attack slot.  But for the marines, a unit of plague marines must be included before a blight drone can be included.  This competes (maybe too strongly) with the Heldrake for a slot.  If purchased as part of a daemons army, it will deep-strike on to the battlefield (hopefully via an icon) and come on to the board as the rest of the daemons (i.e. daemonic assault) would. And then, if it goes off the board, it will come on (once again) via the daemonic assault rule and could therefore re-appear at a convenient icon.  This opens up some entertaining possibilities for redeployment -- particularly late in the game if some line-breaking secondaries (etc.) are required!  Therefore, I think I'll be seriously considering Blight Drones in daemon-primary armies. Coupled with the splendid new rules for flamers and screamers, daemons is once again looking interesting and competitive...

(image taken from Forge World for illustrative purposes).

Vector Strike (Notes to Self)

In my daemon and chaos marine armies, I regularly take flying monstrous creatures -- even in 4th and 5th edition.  Now that 6th edition is upon us, I feel I'm really missing out -- forgetting -- about the vector strike ability.

Given how many of my opponents are fielding flyers themselves, I really think I need to remember this rule more often.  d3+1 hits against any enemy, including opposing flyers, at AP3 is good news!  I haven't remembered to use this rule a single time yet.  I've been systematically taking pot shots at opposing flyers up to now and generally trying to bolt of Tzeentch them out of the skies.  Hopefully writing this note will help me remember!

Anybody got similar stories?  What are the new rules you're forgetting?

Imperial Guard Allies for Deepstrike Armies

Here's a concept that I've been thinking around over the past few weeks: an Imperial Guard Ally detachment for deepstriking armies.  

The idea is to use the Imperial Guard specifically as a way in which to augment a fully (or mostly) deepstriking armylist such as Death Wing, Daemons, and the like.  It revolves around manipulating the reserve roll: taking options like the astropath to improve early, rapid deployment.

Here's one option:

HQ: 

Company Command Squad, 1 Astropath, 1 Officer of the Fleet (110 points)

Troops:

1 Veteran Squad (70 points)

Fortifications:

Aegis Defence Line, 1 Communications Relay (70 points)

Total = 250 points.

Now, combine with your favourite (e.g.) daemons list and you have a 35 in 36 chance that all your units will be on the board on turn 2.  The Officer of the Fleet is there to oppose enemy deepstrikes so that your own army can take down the enemy piecemeal if they're employing a similar army.  Deploy somewhere out of sight (perhaps even add a Chimera) and behind the defence line to control communications array and keep them there until the start of turn 2.  Then redeploy and engage as required.

At 250 points, it might not be so worthwhile in a 1500 points total army, but at greater points, I think it would be invaluable.  

FAQ Digest

Given the recent release of the plethora of FAQs, I thought I would take a bit of time to digest what it means.  My assorted thoughts are below, and I focus on the chaos codices unapologetically.

Core Rules.

* The "look out sir" rules got clarified, and as some folks put it, nerfed.  The crazy multi-character mobs of Nobz and the like can no longer pull their tricks.  The closest model is now the guy that tries to save the character's life and there's only going to be one character per squad as I see it.  The phrase "or unsaved wounds" has left the building.

* An interesting gem is that "very bulky" is added to bikes and jetbikes.  That means that they take up 3  spaces in a vehicle.  I can't recall the last time I loaded up a vehicle with bikes and jetbikes .... makes me wonder what is coming down the road!

* A grounded swooping monstrous creature becomes gliding immediately.  As suspected!

* The problems with Deny the Witch and multiple targets that are hit from beams (etc.) is clarified: only the target -- the first unit in the line -- can make the save.

* Ageis defence lines can't be split in to smaller segments. (Darn!).  I think this one is a pity really.

* Modifiers to reserve rolls do not apply to units from allied detachments.  This one is bad, I think, as it means CSM + Daemons detachment won't *all* benefit from having a communications relay captured (e.g. with an Aegis defence line).

* Monstrous Flying Creatures can enter in swooping mode.  

Daemons Codex.

* This one (and the analogue in Chaos Space Marines) intrigues me:

Q: If Chaos Daemons are allied to Chaos Space Marines, do they roll for scatter if Deep Striking within 6" of a Chaos Icon carried by a Chaos Space Marine model? (p73) A: If the wording on the Chaos Icon’s description refers to ‘all friendly units’, then yes. If not, then the Chaos Icon only affects the specific units referred to in its description.

This implication being that the next iteration of Chaos codices will be fully interactive.


Chaos Space Marines Codex.
* Daemon Princes with wings are Flying Monstrous Creatures.  As suspected!

* Daemon weapons are AP2.

Note to Self: Deny The Witch

Dear Jabberjabber,

In 6th edition, all models may attempt a Deny the Witch saving throw against hostile psychic powers and sorcery.

Please remember that you're not playing 5th anymore and don't need a psychic hood, or anything similar, to attempt Deny the Witch.  Sure, its not likely to succeed most of the time, but you might as well roll the attempt and see what happens. :-)

Oh -- and don't forget the bonus if you have a Witch of your own that is superior in Mastery Level to the incoming hostile psychic power caster.

Best regards,
Jabberjabber.

Hellbrute Thoughts

When I first saw the initial glimpses of the Hellbrute that were leaked on to the web, the excitement was almost tangible and manifest.  Having now seen the hellbruet rules, I'm struck by several thoughts.

Firstly, to state the obvious: the hellbrute is little more than a dreadnought with a multimelta and a powerfist (or perhaps dreadnought close combat weapon) inside the game.  I realize that the new chaos codex is not yet out, but I was personally hoping for a little more.  Some rage?  Some "crazy" rules?  Some warpage of space and time in the vicinity of the hellbrute?  There is little to differentiate the hellbrute from a regular dreadnought except for the name.

Secondly, the sculpt itself is fantastic: but only from the front. The rear of the hellbrute is ... well ... somewhat plain to be honest. In comparison to the forgeworld Nurgle dreadnought that I own, there are lots of little details on the rear: ranging from little sores and pustules, to larger cracks and amorphous looking indents. I know that the piping at the rear is meant to be there, I was just hoping for something a little more chaotic on the reverse, that's all.

Looking forward, I trust that the new chaos codex is going to include some neat rules for the hellbrute.  I'm aware of the marks that this thing can get -- the Nurgle one inparticular is appealing (i.e. self-regeneration / repair), but I imagine that the points cost will be steep for it.

Dark Vengeance Miniatures Evaluation

I was all ready to place a pre-order (or two) for the Dark Vengeance set, when I decided to count some pennies and think about what miniatures would be in the box and whether I really (truly) wanted them.

Sure, I've got a soft spot for the Dark Angels, as my long term readers will know.  And, I'm a self-confessed heretic.  So, on the surface, this starter set looks absolutely fabulous for me personally!  

But then I started to think about what is in the box.  Clearly the rule book contained within doesn't warrant my money -- I already got that, thanks.  The rules for the Dark Angels and the Chaos Marines are a different matter -- they're tempting and may shine light on future codex releases.  But again, I think I can wait for the real codex releases and therefore that doesn't interest me so much either.

Now, the miniatures.  They really are awesome.  The sculpts look great fully painted up and I know I'd just love to let rip on a few of them already.

Let's start with Chaos.

The chaos lord deserves a pedestal.  He's wicked good in my opinion.  If this kind of sculpt is a taste of the things to come, then I'm sold.  The same goes for the chosen marines. They are also looking very resplendant. I could easily imagine these guys in Word Bearer iconography and colours (heck, the colours of the Crimson Slaughter chapter are pretty close already on the pre-order website).  Then, the hellbrute is probably going to be one of those must-have miniatures for the future chaos codex. 

On the other hand, I'm not taken with the cultists.  The sculpts in themselves look good, but there's a little too much repetition for my taste (i.e. almost two of each sculpt).  I can't help thinking Necromunda either.  I'm fairly sure that the boxed set of cultists will be superior to these guys (or at least I hope!).  Considering these guys are going to be snap-fit, the boxed set will have the advantage of pose-ability at very minimum.  

Turning now to the Dark Angels.

The interrogator-chaplain is a superb model.  And I think it'd be easily converted to a dark apostle (or similar) for chaos with a bit of scrubbing here and there.  The company master is good, but not outstanding for me -- one for the Dark Angels fundamentalists perhaps.  I really like the librarian though.  The pose and sculpt are excellent -- this is really a hidden gem in plain sight.  The company master is standard fare -- I like it, but it doesn't "pop" for me personally.  I like the terminators -- the heresy era power fists, and legs of one terminator look great.  And the poses remind me of the dynamism of the Space Hulk Blood Angels a few year ago.  

The regular marine squad though, is just that for me: seen it, done it before and not very interested. Even less so with the raised iconography that implies tough conversion work to make in to other chapters.  The bikes would be a nice investment if folks were interested in a ravenwing army (perhaps even White Scars with some conversion work).  

Overall.

Numerically, I think I'm 100 per cent taken with under half of the miniatures in the boxed set, and not in the rules so much at all.  Moreover, I didn't find any mention of scenery bits in the boxed set that I was hoping would be in there (recall the crashed lander in 4th edition).  I was really hoping for some chaos and/or Dark Angels themed scenery not available elsewhere ... and maybe cowls and robes on the regular marines since the Dark Angel veteran miniatures are so cool.  Financially, that means that I'd be buying the boxed set for (probably) one third of its contents, maybe less.  Although I could sell the parts I'm not interested in, it seems like a bit of extra effort ... as I suspect that many folks will like the same miniatures as me. So, I've pretty much decided to save the pennies and wait for the big codex releases.  But that's just my personal take on things.  I'm sure the boxed set will sell like hotcakes and will be a humongous hit overall.

Swooping Deepstrike into Cover

Top of my list of things that I picked up this week:

If playing with a monstrous creature that can deep strike (I'm looking at you greater daemons of Tzeentch and Khorne), they can come in to play in the "swooping" mode.

When doing so, we can elect to deepstrike them in to ruins (they'll hit the ground level) or other buildings.  Since monstrous creatures all get the move through cover universal special rule, they do not need to take any dangerous terrain tests. 

More significantly, enemies need 6+ to hit them, and they benefit from a 4+ cover save.  Nice.

Citation: Imperius Dominatus and others locally (i.e. from real world conversations!) covered this earlier this week.

Scenery: Creating Crystal Growths and Stacks

You're down to your last few drops of superglue and you know that if you re-seal the tube, it probably won't open again.  And if somehow it does re-open, the precious few drops you have left will have mysteriously evaporated.

To combat this, I have a stash of odds-and-ends kind of projects that use up the last few drips.  One of more more innovative ideas was to purchase a bag of plastic "crystals" from the local hardware / garden store.  These items are sometimes used in fishtanks, or to create a garden feature / pathway.

What I've done here is to glue four of these crystals together in to a small stack and base them on some CNC mdf board.  The height of the crystal growth is just slightly taller than a standard space marine model.  Therefore these little stacks create an unusal kind of terrain and scenery for miniature wargames. 

In Warhammer 40,000, they're perfect to represent some of the "mysterious forest" results in the scenery tables provided in the 6th edition rulebook. 

I have a few more of these made up, and in the works, that I'll post at a later date. 

Leaderless Squads

Personal challenges in close combat are one of the main changes in 6th edition of 40k, bringing it closer in similarity to fantasy.  For my plague marines, I've been toying with the idea of attempting to construct a list that does not contain any squad leaders.  The main reason for this is that at initiative 3, they're usually going to get kicked by most other squad leaders (ignoring those with power fists of course).  Having said that, their increased resistance to power weapons (thanks to feel no pain) is making me second guess this tactic.  And having a power fist of my own buried in my squad is generally a good idea I find.  

So what would a plague marine list with no squad leaders feel like to play?  Probably little different to a regular plague marine list if I kept it reasonably mechanized.  The guys stay in their armoured personnel carriers and get out to shoot when required, leaving the big boys (daemon princes) to tackle the major threats encountered.  For the points saved (23 points for a regular plague marine, versus 63 for a power fisted plague champion), I can get another plague marine and have spare points over.  This increases my tarpitting ability.  I'm therefore seriously tempted to make an ally of Epidemius and use his ability to buff my plague marines (as required) to make up for the lack of squad leaders.  Very tempting...

Flying: The New Meta?

Over the course of 5th edition, various meta-defining army lists appeared.  These ranged from the well known Grey Knights paladin armies marshaled by Draigo, through the Imperial Guard "leaf blower" army lists, ork biker Nobz death stars, and others in between.  Each of these ideas came about from a single codex (in general), although some did feature some generic traits (e.g. a very tough core unit; plentiful firepower, etc.).  Most players at tournaments will have encountered these kinds of list at some stage in some form or other.  Arguably the strongest meta-idea in 5th is a full-on mechanized list.  Plenty of players packed multiple melta-guns (or similar) to deal with these eventualities.

I think that in 6th edition, the meta-defining army lists will no longer come from solely a singular codex.  Much like the mech-lists of 5th, I think that various concepts will come to the fore in the style that army lists are defined.  So, I'm going to make a prediction here: I think the next major meta-game will be "flying". 

Why flying?

Well, the recent focus on mechanized flyers, the promised chaos dragon flyer (and others) all make me think that almost every gamer out there is going to be opting to select at least some flyers.  This will mean that all army lists are going to require something to counter this style, or join in with this style. 

For me, I'm toying with the idea of 5+ daemon princes or flying daemons in my chaos lists.  Consider this: daemons can field 2 HQs with flying (bloodthirster / lord of change) coupled with 3 Heavy support flying daemon princes.  Add in some chaos space marine allies for an extra HQ flying daemon prince, and you can see my point here.  Granted, this isn't the strongest, most points efficient list that could be built (I'm playing daemons and chaos marines, remember!), but I feel that multiple flyers (whether monstrous or mechanical) will be the way forward. 

That said, I think that we're going to see an increase in weapons that have skyfire (and/or) interceptor special rules as well.  The reliable quad gun comes as an upgrade to the Imperial Bastion or Aegis Defence Line and I therefore think that we're going to see a number of players go down that route as well.  i.e. rather than radically rebuilding lists to go with multiple flying options, simply tweak existing armies to ensure an adequate spread of skyfire weapons.  For (arguably) a low tier codex like daemons, purchasing a fortification with a quad gun suddenly looks very tempting. 

So, there's my prediction!  Happy to be proven wrong.  Maybe fortifications are going to be the new meta to beat?  But I'm also interested in what other folks reckon the meta-defining feature of 6th might end up being?

Of Asymmetric Chaos Icons in Allied Lists

Let's say I've got two detachments: one chaos space marine and one chaos daemons (one is the ally / batttle brother of the other). Check my logic subsequent here:

Chaos Space Marines are able to use Chaos Daemons' icons.

But:

Chaos Daemons can not use Chaos Space Marine icons.

Is that right!??  Because that is what the "rules as written" seem to imply unless I've missed something?

Fortifications: Thinking about Aegis Defence Lines

I've been giving some serious thought to whether I want to include any fortifications in to army lists.  For the price of a rhino with havoc launcher, I could get an Aegis Defence Line for my armies.  That seems reasonable -- but what are the advantages?  Beyond getting a 4+ save exactly where we want it during deployment, I noticed a unique bit of wording with the Aegis Defence Line in the 6th ed rule book:

"each section [...] must be placed in contact with at least one other section"

So, we could certainly create a big circular defence line to place an important long range shooting unit behind ... or perhaps two smaller circular / rectangular sections.  But since we get 8 sections, we could create four walls for our units to hide behind (see image).  Each section is adjacent to one other and therefore fulfils the rules requirements.  

Why is this any good?  Well, the number of times I feel I've deployed on boards without sufficient cover saves in my deployment zone is large.  With this strategy, I can have 4 "buildings" with a 4+ cover save (i.e. the same as ruins!) that I can shoot behind of in safety and go to ground on an objective behind all game long (i.e. 2+ cover save).  The only negative is that I don't get the elevation that I would ordinarily get with multi-level ruins.  This may or may not be an issue depending on the rest of the scenery across the board.  I'm thinking that purchasing an aegis defence line in an army list could well be worth-while.

The other thing I've been thinking tactically about is also illustrated in the image: two sections with one in front of the other.  Here's the thought: have a tarpit unit behind the first wall to engage and charging units (presumably because they're on top of an objective?) and have an all-round unit behind the second (i.e. one that does both shooting and melee).  Any charging opponent will get shot at (maybe twice if they get out of a tarpit), risk a counter assault, and potentially have to assault the second unit next turn.  Well ... it'd have to be set up in a "funnel" manner, but the idea is entertaining.  Aerial strikes and outflanking units clearly nullify this idea pretty quickly, but against a ground assault, it'd work very well.