A quick Vanguard Detachment for 8th

I have been thinking about how to translate some of my Space Marines forces in to 8th edition recently. So, here is a quick and dirty Vanguard detachment that I came up with. It is based on the Alpha Legion 30k miniatures that I already own and is simply an experiment to see how some of the points costs and power levels might translate across.

HQ: Captain with Thunder Hammer; Librarian with force stave

Elites: 10 Company Veterans, Sergeant with Power Fist; Contemptor with Kheres; second Contemptor with Kheres; Tartaros terminator squad with plasma blaster

Fast Attack: Assault Squad with 2 plasma pistols and sergeant with plasma pistol and thunder hammer.

Total Points = 1192.

Power Level = 72.

Okay, so this is a very quick and frankly dirty list that needs a lot more thought. However, it is a viable list that will give some pause for thought for opponents in how to deal with the multiple threats (contemptors) simultaneously whilst watching out for the faster moving assault squad backed up by both veterans and terminators.

The librarian is there for utility and the captain was originally meant to be represented by Dynat and might not be a bad approximation for the model at the time of writing. 

The points and power levels are low, so this is an army that is meant for a fast moving game and one that can be concluded in under 1.5 hours with a bit of luck. I might test it out against other people at a later date and see how it goes!

FAQ for 8th

Released yesterday, the FAQ for 8th Edition 40k is already out and available!:

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2017/07/02/warhammer-40000-faq-now-available-july2gw-homepage-post-1/

Some interesting inclusions, clarifications, and omissions:

* Units occupying upper floors of buildings still have no FAQ for them (re being charged)
* Assault squads now have access to melta and plasma guns
* The points values for Typhus vs Lord of Contagion have NOT been corrected
* More than nine inches away does mean more than 9 inches away (thank you very much!)
* You can fire your vindicator backwards. Because vehicles are always turning on the spot during a turn.
* Do Orks re roll one or two die when they charge?
* What about Warp Time and Deepstriking?

Tactical Objectives for 8th Edition

Alongside other purchases, I bought a set of 8th Edition Tactical Objectives for the new Warhammer 40,000 rules.

The quality of these cards is high. Or maybe I just used to play with dilapidated playing cards too much when I was younger? They are easily shuffled if needed and dealt out with ease. That said, these cards are matt finished, rather than anything else. I might grab some of my old Magic:The Gathering card sleeves for these cards perhaps in order to improve their longevity.

The design of the cards is very functional. This ranges from their rounded corners through to the rules themselves and the pictures on the (sub set of) cards that illustrate their point (or are gratuitous space marines!).

Now, I know that many people have a dislike to these kinds of tactical objective cards. And I for one can readily understand why. The lack of option to ditch one of these cards that is simply not obtainable is a royal pain. I would expect to see many house rules allowing players to re-draw a card that is simply not obtainable. That said, there are of course command points in play that can help a player do exactly that. So maybe its not all bad?

Of course, at its base level, the cards are adding in an extra random element to certain games of 40k in 8th edition. Whether this is good as a ground levelling concept, or bad just because it is too random is up for debate.

That said, I do like these cards and their implementation. I just had hoped for them all to be usable in all missions.

Horus Heresy Rules

I'm a bit late to the proverbial party on this one. But on the Warhammer community website, it has been announced that the Horus Heresy will be getting their own rules set. This is not new, of course, as we have known about it for a while.

What strikes me is the replies on the Games Workshop Facebook group. When asked whether the psychic phase was going to be revised or not, there were a lot of non committal answers given. Why would this be so? Have Forge World or GW not agreed upon the rules yet? Are things in such a state of flux that straight forward questions like this cannot be answered? Or perhaps are we saving ourselves up for spoilers that will be revealed later.

From what was stated though, it is clear that the Horus Heresy rules are going to be an updated version of 7th with all of the needless stuff eliminated from the set. So entries like "And They Shall Know No Fear" will likely be removed from this rule book and other rules (perhaps a full explainer of "Primarch" rules) will be inserted?

In all of this, I'm somewhat torn. I do like the effort they have made to keep things in 7th at some level. But at another level, its really disheartening that the community has been split like this. I'd still like to play against Eldar using whatever set of rules we can. But should that be 7th or 8th edition? I no longer know. No one does. Until there is a 30k Eldar book released, I guess we will do what we can. Which will probably mean I write a space marine army list for my Alpha Legion. It will lack all the character that I have grown accustomed to though. Equally, this is a fate shared by 40k armies like the Raven Guard (or basically anything that isn't vanilla marines). Hopefully the newer 40k codex releases will give some flavour back to these armies and I can write some kind of army list for 8th that would be an Alpha Legion analogue (perhaps based on the Raven Guard -- hence my mentioning them in particular).

8th Edition Command Dice - Thoughts

I decided to order a set of Games Workshop's "command dice" when I ordered my copy of the hard back 8th edition rule book.

These die are a bit of a novelty thing for me if I'm perfectly honest. In the picture above, I show them fresh out of the plastic cylinder tube (top of image) that they came in. The skulls on the die in the middle of the image make it tough to see or discern the actual number being rolled in my opinion. For die, it would have been better to just use pips or a single number in a recognisable font. 

That said, the express purpose of these die is to keep track of the command points that one has in their pool. It is for this purpose that I'm going to give them a pass mark. The thing is, these die are very obviously different to any other die in anyone's collection. As such, they are hugely distinct. This is fundamentally what makes them perfect for this kind of "keeping tabs" usage. I will personally be using them in this manner. Most assuredly, I will never be using them for rolling purposes. 

The final six die (lower part of the image) are for combat statuses. They make it simpler to keep track of various things that are going on during the game and the phases that happen. I am uncertain if I will actually use these particular die. I'm a bit on the fence about them. Take, for instance, the ones that show footprints inside an arrow. The design is precisely the same as the plastic counters / markers that came out with 5th edition. I never even used the full array of counters -- particularly the run ones! Hence, my feelings about these 6 die are exactly the same that I had in 5th edition. Just a bit of a gimmick really. 

Hence, overall, I'll be using some of these die, but not all of them. Would be interested to hear other people's point of view in the comments or via Facebook. 

8th Edition Story

Most of what I'm about to put in writing has already been stated plenty of times over. Today, I wanted to chime in with an old timer's point of view. As my long term readers will be (painfully or otherwise) aware, I have been involved in this hobby since Rogue Trader days to a greater or lesser extent.

Over that time period, I've seen a vast number of things change. Not just rules, but the setting as well. Back in the old days, Tau were nowhere. Necrons did not exist. Tyranids were gaunt looking things. Genestealers were beasts that lurked on space hulks and infected whole planets much as they do right now, but were not connected to the Tyranids. Unlike Zoats. They were a Tyranid slave race. Eldar were pirates. They didn't have any aspect warriors at all. Orks were orks. And some of them liked Khorne so much that they worshipped him. (some were also hyribized by genestealers). As did some of the Night Lords. The Alpha Legion might have been Slaanesh fanatics. The Iron Warriors might have been slightly too.

Many people will contend that the 40k timeline has never evolved. I would agree, but with the critical caveat that it has evolved by ret-con to a strong degree. Eldar were once piratical maniacs to be feared. But now they're the seed of a new victory over the chaos gods. The necrons were merely asleep. The Tyranids were always on their way, you see.

With 8th edition, the timeline has truly advanced for the first time in a long time. The return of Guilliman is simply unprecedented in all of 40k. And with him, the ten thousand year long plan that no one ever heard of, or discovered, to build better space marines. The Primaris Space marines. But they don't fit in rhino tanks much like terminators don't. Drop pod armies also seem to be a thing that is about to be dropped in to the past.

The new 40k seems ripe with new possibilities. Although I am cautious about the story line being advanced significantly, I actually don't mind. I think this has been coming for a while and I approve of it. I will be looking forward to seeing where it actually winds up in the months and years ahead. Will they truly consider other sweeping moves like this? Or is it better that we all burned in the fires of Horus' ambition after all?

8th Edition Rulebook First Impressions

It feels like a very long time since I pre-ordered my copy of the 8th Edition rulebook. (Note to self: it isn't that long ago really!). It also feels like a long time since Games Workshop send me their notification email that it had been dispatched. (Note to self: it wasn't -- it was totally consistent with the expectation date of dispatch!). It feels like it has been in the postal system for quite some time. (Note to self: you are absolutely correct in that assumption, even if you're wrong about the other two!). 

But finally. FINALLY! It is here!

The shrink wrapping in the picture certainly didn't last too long, rest assured!

There are a number of facets of this new rulebook that I would like to comment on. I don't think I will do it all in one post though. So today, I'm going to focus on global impressions.

Organisation.

Firstly is the organisation of the book itself. Most of the background material is presented to the front end of the book, with a strong focus on the Imperium of Man itself. This is to be expected at some level. Yet, it does represent a deviation from some of the other core presentations where the rules came nearer to the front and the background materials to the back of the book. And of course, it differs from the 7th edition rule book that had three different volumes combine in one sturdy cardboard sleeve. 

I rather like the idea of having a lot more focus on the background and on the fluff side of things right up front. Being an old-timer (Rogue Trader) person, this certainly appeals to me. I just find it a pity that they could not small-font all the unit entries in to the back of the book as well instead of having several different pseudo-codexes produced alongside this (and codexes that are going to be outdated rather quickly if I'm reading between the lines correctly). That would have been much better, and probably would have harkened back to the Rogue Trader era a bit more for us very old timers!

Gaming Photography.

The second and final thing that I'm going to note for today is some of the photography. If I flick through the older rulebooks and search for people playing the game, they are generally (but maybe not exclusively) white males. Many appearing somewhat middle-aged. In this rule book, what is striking to me is how this has changed (for the better) to have more women visibly playing the game. Now, of course, these are probably staged photographs. But with daughters of my own who are getting in to the hobby, I welcome this change of focus away from men and encouraging women and girls in to the hobby. About (redacted) time frankly. Gaming should not be seen as a white, male, young person (possibly testosterone poisoned judging by some of the comments on various forums out there) hobby. It is for everyone who is interested. 

Good on Games Workshop for updated their marketing, sincerely from me. 

8th

There seems to have been an issue with the postal service. The issue is not quite on the scale as a certain Icelandic eruption, just to be clear.

Hence, it looks like I'll be pottering around at least one more day before the new rules and everything else arrives!

Gah! I want my new toys already!

Land Speeder Raider Ahoy!

Is it a Land Speeder?

Is it a Land Raider?

Is it the offspring of both brought about by mechanicum heresy development? Is Cawl a secret traitor to the omnissiah? What the?

Of course, I refer to the recently announce "Repulsor". What a name it has for a start!

The image above is taken from the Warhammer Community. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this new tank to be honest. On the one hand, it is really nice for the Space Marines to have something new to toy about with. On the other hand, there's a lot of other factions that could use some love right now. And, I'm not sure how this fits in to the background materials at all given that the Grim Dark of the far flung future was all about the stagnation of technology, rather than the invention of new things and combining older machines and ideas together to forge something brand new. 

None the less, the Repulsor appears to be joining us very soon. I think it looks a bit blocky myself, but I can see aspects of land raiders, land speeders and a few other bits beyond that in the tank. I think it looks very powerful with those las cannons ... and are they frag launchers we are seeing on the side or something else that is new entirely? I cannot quite make my mind up on that. 

So, full marks for surprising us still. Less marks as I'm yet to read the background materials to see how it all fits in. Somehow. 

40k 8th Edition Release Date Announced

It is old news by now, but the 8th Edition of Warhammer 40,000 has been announced this morning UK time. The book will go on pre-order on June 3rd, with the book available in shops across the Imperium by June 17th.

In addition to the core rules, there are all of the expansions that go along with it. No less than five whole books of new army rules -- two for the Imperium and Xenos each and one for Chaos. Very impressive. That said, a part of me really wants to hold off purchasing these as I strongly suspect that they will be superseded with haste in the coming months.

In the words of Warhammer Community, "Accompanying the new box set and books are a range of gaming accessories for the new edition. These include new Tactical Objective cards, Command Dice, Wound Trackers, a flexible Combat Gauge and the most thematic set of Warhammer 40,000 objective markers we’ve ever made, including a mini-supply drop pod and a xenos bio-containment tank." I really like the sound of this.

Overall, I can see myself purchasing many of these new products.

However, I'm going to court some controversy next. I'm not so excited by the new Death Guard miniatures. To me, they look just a little bit too much on the wrong side of cartoonish I'm sorry to say. Yes, they are impressive. Yes, they are very well sculpted. And the paint jobs are fab. But overall, their proportions look a bit off to me. Maybe I'll get the sorcerer -- he looks about the best to my eye. The bloat drone is fine as well. I do like the Poxwalkers -- presumably the mortal remains twisted by Nurgle -- as well. But the main Death Guard Characters and marines less so. Particularly the guy with the big bell above his head. No thanks.

As for the Primes, I'm very curious about the ones with the jump packs -- have a close look at their shoes and their bolters for instance. What is going on there? I need a rotating model to get a better view of the rear of these models to figure it all out! I like the look of the hell blaster squad (armed with plasma guns / rifles / big plasma hell blasters) -- I think they would fit in nicely in a 30k army for true scale purposes myself. 

I will leave you now with an exclusive. A picture by no less than Gav Thorpe who kindly shared it on Twitter. This is what the new devastator primaris will allegedly look like!

The Green Oorookiagoths

"Any chance of some faction names we can pronounce? Please don't change Orks" asked a fan on the Warhammer 40,000 Facebook page.

The reply? 

"You mean, the green Oorookiagoths?" quipped Games Workshop to a multitude of likes. Including my own giggle.

The question was asked in response to the latest faction focus issues today -- on the Dark Eldar. Or as they seem to be calling themselves this week, the Drukhari. Drunk Hairs? Or something like that at any rate.

I get it. At least at an intellectual property (IP) level. 

To ensure that copyright is enforceable, one has to have an identifiable and unique name. Space Elves don't cut it. Neither does Space Marine. Adeptus Astartes, yes -- that is enforceable IP. Eldar. Well, I would have thought that that would be an enforceable name myself. So why change? I'm not sure. Its clear that Drukhari is a word that has never been used before, and therefore is eminently more enforceable though. I'm reminded of when Games Workshop changes all their paints. Gone was Skull White to be replaced by Corax White. And so forth.

The other item of recent news is the deep strike rules. Looks like you can come in to play on any movement phase after the first so long as you stay 9" or more away from an enemy. And no scatter either. I'm a little disappointed by the lack of scatter (or perhaps they're just withholding the full description of competitive play, but I doubt it). It has been such an iconic part of teleportation for a long time and the ways of minimising it (folks on the ground with chaos icons and so forth) have been integral parts of many army builds for a long time. How this will all pan out, I don't know, but I'm willing to wait and see at least. 

Just let's not start re-naming Orks. Okay?

On Primaris Space Marines

Like many other people, I have been following the development of the Primaris Space Marines and the new rules that are being discussed for weeks now over at the Warhammer 40,000 community. Today, I wanted to give some assorted thoughts on the newly revealed Primaris Space Marines.

In a nut shell, they are bigger space marines that were ordered by no less than the primarch of the Ultramarines many millennia ago. It is a bit of a ret con to say the least (or perhaps it will somehow work its way in to the Black Library novels in the late days of the Horus Heresy somehow?).

In terms of stat lines, they have an extra wound compared to regular space marines and are therefore in line with 8th edition terminators. The other fact that sets them aside is the bonus attack coupled with the newly invented, manufactured and issued bolt rifle. This is better than a normal bolt gun in range and damage potential. All told, this makes the Primaris better than a space marine, but not a terminator despite gains to a number of things.

I can readily see entire chapters being built from Primaris marines. I could envision that they might also eclipse regular marines perhaps. Personally, I am hopeful that they will slot in alongside other marines in regular space marine armies with a bit of luck, as I don't want them to be over dominant for 40k.

The other thing that occurred to me is that they look reasonably like true scale marines to my modeller's eye. I therefore wonder if we will see some 30k armies (I'm looking at Alpha Legion in particular here) starting to be modelled on the Primaris design eventually? It could certainly provide a nice alternative to the usual conversions that I and many others employ to create such marines.

Plasma Pistols Were Always Good

The new rules for shooting and close combat in 8th Edition seem to be getting very interesting indeed. A lot of my mates are saying that plasma pistols are finally becoming worth the points cost because of that. Not withstanding that the points costs for everything are probably going to be revised very soon, my own personal take is that plasma pistols were always worth it!

Many of my current models, such as the one below, feature plasma pistols. I frequently use them on raptor or assault style squads for packing an extra punch. 

But that is not the real reason that I grew to like them.

One of the first tournaments that I remember playing in involved me using a chaos space marine lord equipped with a power fist, plasma pistol and a jump pack (or wings!). The guy is pictured below and as can be seen is a very, very old miniature that dates back to when my painting skills were not as honed as they have become over the years. 

In the tournament, I used this HQ selection to "hop" from one squad to another in relative safety -- joining one squad and then another until I was in range to do something with him. As it turned out, I jumped him close to a rhino. The plasma pistol unloaded in to the rear of the rhino and caused it to explode (yes -- it was one of *those* editions of 40k). 

The small squad of space marines had to make an emergency disembarkation. I followed this up by charging right in to them with this chaos lord. He suffered a wound for his troubles before getting to swing with his power fist, obliterating all of them off the board.

Since that day, I've been sold on plasma pistols. Okay, I know full well I got a lucky roll to kill a tank with a plasma pistol. But it worked wonders on the game I was playing at the time as a youngling taking my first forays in to the tournament scene!

40k 8th Ed. Broadcast Digest

I am sorry to say that I didn't take notes (I was on public transport), but here are a few points from the 40k broadcast on 8th edition that I was listening to just now.

* There is a rebate available if you've purchased a codex or rules book within the past 8 weeks (of the announcement of 8th).

* templates are gone.

* 40k will get some Age of Sigmar'ing -- there will certainly be annual generals handbooks.

* on release, there will be 5 (I think I heard that right) faction books available. There will be digital releases.

* all current units and models will be playable.

* don't stress about factions not being there on the 40k website at the moment -- they are still in.

* there are 14 odd force organization charts available. more bonuses available for themed armies (perhaps even not taking allies will generate more bonuses).

* each chart will generate different amounts of command points.

* command points purchase one-offs (re roll a die; activate your unit in close combat even if you would be going last due to being charged)

* 3 ways to play (see Age of Sigmar).

* TWO points systems: one for a very granular level (tournament play) and one for a broad brush stroke power level analysis (narrative play).

* the current death stars may be a thing of the past -- the ability to spread bonuses to units will only affect units with certain keywords associated with them (see Age of Sigmar!).

* no unit stat is capped at ten.

* no armour values for tanks! I guess they will have wounds greater than 10!

* sped up gameplay -- 1500 pts in about 1.5 hours.

* there has been plentiful playtesting and it is "very balanced".

Anyone remember anything else?