6th Edition – thoughts in advance

This is now completely fine.

As you should all well know, 5th edition is drawing to a close. We’re had some good times with her, but now it is time to say goodbye, and look at the new, shiny things that 6th edition is flinging our way. And so, here are my top 3 things 6th is giving us.

1 – Allies

This is genius, if a little odd from the point of view of old Daemon Hunter and Witch Hunter player; as it seems GW have wiped out allies, only to bring them back again. That notwithstanding (3 points I think), this clearly brings new elements into the game. Firstly, C:CSM players no longer have to put up with their crappy Daemons, they can ally in some proper ones. You can have an Inquisitor leading an army of Guardsmen. It really does allow you to build some real fluff into your army.

However, GW also saw the possibility for people gaming the system, so their are limitations. Firstly, certain armies cannot ally with others, or are distrustful of those they can ally with. Secondly, you cannot nearly add a unit. You have to take at least 1 Troop and 1 HQ (not a named one, apparently) from the allied force, and then can only take 1 Troop (which would mean 2 overall), Elite, Fast Attack and/or Heavy Support; so your allied contingent is never going to make up the bulk of your army, but it could be really game changing.

2 – Flyers

Lets face it, we have been expecting this since the Guard Codex premiered the Valkyrie and the Vendetta. Now, rather than being highly conspicuous skimmers, they are proper Flyers, and unit type in their own right.

Flyers can move quickly, and from what I can tell, seem to be meant to be used as fire bases rather than transports, as they can move fairly swiftly and still fire a lot of guns. This is great, as you can get whichever guns you need to any part of the battlefield ASAP.

Of course, there is a downside. When they go down, they crash. And then probably blow up. This is brilliant if it smashes into your opponent, but can be a bit of a problem if it blows up your guys. My advice is to get them where they are going ASAP. Otherwise, you could have a problem on your hands.

3 – Capturing

As well as being able to capture objectives, your Troops can now capture other things on the battlefield, for example, weapons emplacements, such as the one that (somewhat conveniently) comes with the pre-fab walls GW produces. Scatter a couple of heavy weapons about the battlefield and have some fun with pure anarchy should someone capture a load early on.

However, it also seems that one can capture pieces of terrain which are not objectives. This can be a big deal, as now your Heavy Weapons team or Long Fang pack can capture a load of ol drums for some pretty solid cover. The downside? Ever watched a movie where the oil drums conveniently blow up, taking out a load of baddies? That can now happen. Which should make the game more interesting, if again, more chaotic.

 

So there you go folks, my top three things 6th edition has given us. Naturally, after a couple of games of 6th I will do another one of these lists. Which is probably going to be completely different.

The Space Wolves are coming!

Note the Thunderwolves in the front, and the Wingy things in the back.

Ok, so there may also be some Tyranids as well, but really it’s the pace Wolves I’m interested in!

Pictures can be found here: http://www.beastsofwar.com/warhammer-40k/tyranids-space-wolves-march/

Thoughts

Firstly, very well done GW, very well done indeed. The Thunderwolves are different from the third party stuff we’ve seen, but still manage to look awesome. The Tyranids also look pointy and appropriately gribbily, as well as appearing to bit quite bit.

I knew there was a reason we waited so long…

Chaos Space Marines-Fast Attack

This is the shortest section in the book, with but three unit choices. Which is why I decided to write this post late on a Tuesday.

Lets crack on.

Raptors

Ignore the Finecast logo Haters

Just as the Chaos Marine is an evil Tactical Marine, so is the Raptor an evil Assault Marine. They have the same stats as an Assault Marine, but like the Chaos Marine, sacrifice And They Shall Know No Fear for an extra point of leadership. Like Assault Marines, they are more than slightly lacklustre in assault. So, where do they fit in.

Like with many units in this Codex, they can take more than one special weapon in a five man squad. And, like with Assault Marines, they have Jump Packs, and so can Deep Strike. Put these two glorious facts together, and you’ve got yourself a cheap, dangerous Deep Striking anti-tank (meltaguns)/anti-MEQ (plasma guns)/anti-GEQ (Guardsman Equivalent, and Flamers) unit. As I have said before, remember to double up all the special weapons you take, just to make sure, as these guys will probably not last long, and you want to make sure they do their job.

I am also familiar with the idea of a unit (probably 10) of these guys bounding up the field with a Lord to provide a scary assault unit. As a Space Wolf player, I’m afraid I just don’t find it that scary, but anyone playing Guard, Tau or Eldar may very well have a problem with it.

Bike Squads

I like the purple. I like it a lot.

Ah. This might be a bit less positive. Bike squad can work very well, don’t get me wrong, it’s just quite expensive to get them to work. For a start, you might as well give them the Mark of Nurgle so they get T6. I don’t think these guys are going anywhere anymore. Secondly, you’ll want to pick something you need these guys to kill, give them doubles of the appropriate weapon (meltagun/plasmagun/flamer), and send them out there. Then you’ll need enough ablative wounds to keep them going (a 5-6 man squad should do the trick). And finally, you’ll need to try to keep the thought that a couple of Land Speeders with Multi-meltas can do it for a lot cheeper (I’ve always wondered why Chaos never got the Land Speeder. It’s not as if the technology wasn’t around during the Heresy, they had jetbikes, or that Chaos never steals anything).

I can see them as being a distraction. A smaller squad with the Mark of Nurgle and a single special weapon could panic/distract/annoy the enemy whilst your precious Cult Troops advance up the field, but again, still a bit to expensive for my tastes.

Spawn

Gribbly-gribbly-gribble!

This is a bit of an oddball, in that it has Slow and Purposeful, which kinda’ contradicts it place in the Fast Attack section. As a Fast Attack choice he’s not worth the points you’re paying. He’s way overcosted for a slow unit, with a mediocre strength and D6 attacks. It’s just not worth it.

However, you can get them for free (or your opponent has to pay for them, it’s really a matter of opinion) by using the Gift of Chaos power (which will be covered in more detail when we get to Sorcerers). Think of this, every 1/2 times you try, a Spawn pops up in the middle of an unsuspecting Guard squad. He give up gut 40 VP when killed, and can shut down a units shooting for a good while (he is T5 and W3). In that respect, I like the gribbly old beast (and it is a Beast).