Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Locked thread
PierreTheMime
Dec 9, 2004

Hero of hormagaunts everywhere!
Buglord


What is this thread?
Welcome to the latest Warhammer 40,000 thread! The previous threads reached their discussion capacity or were dragged shitposting and screaming into the warp thanks to the dedication of hobbyist goons and have been closed (although they can still be viewed here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here)

:siren: Are you a new player, or interested in starting the hobby? This OP should answer some of your questions! :siren:

So what is Warhammer 40k?
Warhammer 40k is a tabletop miniatures game created by Games Workshop that has spawned a universe of novels, art, video games, and has even inspired power and death metal. It has a massive goon following and is the most popular of tabletop wargames (sometimes despite itself).

Warhammer 40,000 is set in the 41st millennium, far into our future. Mankind has spread its empire over the bulk of the Milky Way, led by the immortal God-Emperor. The Imperium flourished under the rule of the Emperor and his 18 gene-enhanced primarchs, and a Great Crusade spread the dominion of man across the sea of stars. The God-Emperor led humanity through the secular light of truth and science, until he was mortally wounded 10,000 years before the present game time. The events of this great betrayal, called the Horus Heresy, make up the backbone of 40k history. After the wounded Emperor's ascension to the life-support systems of his Golden Throne, the Imperium was seized with great troubles. The progressive Imperium devolved into an ultra-religious pseudo-theocracy. Technology hasn't been advanced in any major way in 10,000 years, but the Imperium still forges on, fueled by the lives and the faith of its people. They are not unopposed. There is no peace. There is no respite. There is no forgiveness. In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war. And goons.

And colossal loving robots



How do I get started?
The current starter set for is the Dark Vengeance set. At $99USD it comes with a wealth of awesome Dark Angel and Chaos models, all incredibly-detailed and capable of being assembled without glue. In addition, it comes with nice extras such as dice, and templates, making it a great starting purchase for new players. Currently the starter comes with the 6th Edition rules in a mini-booklet. It is likely that in time this will be changed, but for now don't buy DV expecting to get the rules along with it (though 6th Edition is pretty close and if you're just starting out it'll get you used to the game system and general rules). Just be sure to split the costs with a friend or find someone who wants to trade half of their box so you can both double-up.

Don't care for those armies? Have no fear, Games Workshop sells “battleforces” for all armies. For about $100 you get a decent variety of units that would usually be more expensive to purchase individually, though some boxes are a better deal than others. In any case, they are a great way to start an army, usually only an HQ or so away from being playable. You can find the content of each army’s Battleforce (and individual units) at the Games Workshop website.

40k Video Games
For those of you who are new to the game and just want to dip your toes a little before starting your plastic habit, I strongly recommend picking up one of the Dawn of War games.

Dawn of War plays like an RTS with it’s base building and large number of troops duking it out on the screen. For a mere thirty clams on Steam you can pick up Dawn of War: Platinum Edition, which comes with the original Dawn of War along with two expansions: Winter Assault and Dark Crusade. If you need further convincing, watch its awesome introduction video. Go ahead and watch it. We’ll wait.

Dawn of War II and it’s expansions play more along the lines of Company of Heroes with skirmish-style action and less emphasis on base-building, and comes with an extra mode of gameplay: The Last Stand, in which you control a character unit and try to fend off endless waves of enemies. While they don’t given an accurate portrayal of how the tabletop game is played, both games have their share of high praise, including from gamers who’ve never touched a model.

Finally, there is Space Marine, in which you play Captain Titus of the Ultramarines as he attempts to defend a forge world from a massive Ork invasion. The thread for it is here, and it routinely comes up on Steam as part of a weekend deal for a low as $8. Space Marine, even outside of its license, is one of the most fun beat-em-up/shoot-em-up games released in recent memory. If you need any further convicing, I recommend giving TotalBiscuit AKA the Cynical Brit’s review of the game a watch as he melts into a puddle of happiness playing through the tutorial level.

The Armies (Click on the banners to be taken to the army’s page at the GW website :ssh:)



"We swore an oath, to obey orders, to spread the light of the Emperor before us and banish the dark. It is our duty to complete our mission no matter what the obstacle! We do not back down in the face of adversity, else we fail in his most blessed sight. We are the Daughters of the Emperor, Sisters of Battle!"

The Adepta Soriritas are the militant arm of the Imperial Ecclesiarchy. Since organization law prevents any men from carrying arms, the Sisters of Battle, which are entirely female, exist in a clever loophole. They specialize in heat weaponry, using flamers and melta weapons, along with a faith so strong it can produce mid-battle miracles, to bring the light of the Emperor to the heretic.

What sets the Sororitas apart from their Toughness 3 cousins in the Astra Militarum or the bolter-bearing, power armor-wearing Space Marines are their Faith powers. These can make the Sisters strike faster and/or harder in close combat, cause their shots to Rend, or even make their armor saves count as Invulnerable instead. They can even have widespread access to Stubborn on all of their squads. In addition, they have easy access to flamer and, more importantly, melta weapons. As a result, AS are surprisingly flexible army due in part to the propensity of mechanized lists these days. The downside? They’re relatively difficult to collect due to GW only selling them in limited quantities and the entirety of the range being metal, making them the last army to not have basic troops in plastic.



"I have at my command an entire battle group of the Imperial Guard. Fifty regiments, including specialized drop troops, stealthers, mechanized formations, armored companies, combat engineers and mobile artillery. Over half a million fighting men and thirty thousand tanks and artillery pieces are mine to command. Emperor show mercy to the fool that stands against me, for I shall not."

Formerly Imperial Guard. Don't be scared. Aside from a somewhat silly new name everything about the old Imperial Guard has gotten better.

If the Space Marines are the spear tip of the Imperium, then the Astra Militarum is the rest of the spear, the hand that holds it, and the arm that throws it. The AM is made up of untold numbers of citizens from all across the galaxy, armed with a low-power laser rifle and hand-me-down armor. The Astra Militarum is massed infantry supported with heavy tanks and artillery. It is the common man, standing shoulder to shoulder with his brother, fighting against a galaxy of foes. A example of the different regiments of Astra Militarum can be found here.

Astra Militarum is a horde shooting army; if you like a massive gunline backed up by a variety of tanks this is the army for you. The Astra Militarum get massacred in close combat, but anything exposed to the withering fire of their guns usually dies a very messy death. The most recent Astra Militarum codex introduced a number of new options including Tank Commanders allowing you to field more tanks as your HQ choice, wider access to Psykers (and better psychic powers), and Ministorum Priests who grant powerful bonuses to the "true believers" they preach to while striding into battle.

The Astra Militarum also has a minor offshoot known as the Militarum Tempestus. These are the elite of the Astra Militarum and offer a number of powerful weapons and abilities that other AM units do not have access to. The Militarum Tempestus is capable of being fielded as their own small contingent, typically taken as an ally with a larger Imperial force.



"With the thirty-seven keys of Tzeentch, we open the way for our brothers. With the thousand whispers of Slaanesh, we call to them. With the twelve plagues of Nurgle, we fell their enemies. And with the mighty axe of Khorne, we cut open the world for them."

Chaos Daemons are the newest full army to hit the 40k universe. They used to exist as part of the Chaos Space Marine codex, but have since been given their own book. Each Chaos god has their own horrific units, such as the Fateweaver of Tzeentch and the Masque, a servant of Slaanesh. The army has a wide variety of units and can form very unique forces by mixing the four powers.

The Chaos Daemon army is unique in that every single model has the ability to Deep Strike (spring forth from the warp) and the various gods interact with one another differently. As you play, the winds of chaos blow and either help or hinder your efforts (Chaos is fickle!), potentially ruining what little protection your daemons inherent Invulnerability save offers or ripping the skull of your opponents Psykers open in a gory gateway from which a new herald of Chaos may step through. It's pretty drat random, but the results can be fun and can occasionally be mitigated by Warlord traits.



”Hear my warnings, unbelievers. Carried to your minds by the power of the Prince of Excess himself. We have raised altars in this land so that we may sacrifice you to our gods. Veterans of ten millennia of unholy war wait to grind you beneath the treads of their mighty boots. The chosen of Khorne hunger to add you to their bloody tally. The Blood God himself has marked this land, and will claim your skulls for his throne. There is no hope in opposing the inevitable. Put down your arms, unbelievers, and bow before the forces of Chaos Undivided.”

Ten thousand years ago, the Imperium of Man stood on the edge of a Golden Age. Mankind stretched across the galaxy, entire sectors enjoyed unimagined prosperity, and leading it all was the Emperor, the savior of humanity. But Horus, his second in command and Warmaster, had grown tired of the Emperor. Driven by visions supplied by a Chaos demon of a future in which mankind worshipped the Emperor and had cast aside the warriors which had forged his empire in battle, Horus recruited certain legions of Space Marines to stand by his side as he turned against the others in what is known as the Horus Heresy. The Heresy was the Imperium's first exposure to Chaos, the collection of evil demons and gods that live in the Warp. Horus made it all the way to Terra with his Traitor Legions, before finally being struck down in battle by the Emperor.

With the death of their leader, the broken Traitor Legions retreated into the Warp. It is there to this day that they still live, now known as Chaos Space Marines, occasionally launching themselves into the galaxy in what is known as Black Crusades, striking against the Imperium, crying for the death of the False Emperor. In many ways, Chaos Space Marines can be considered the main villains of the Warhammer 40K universe. While other races may seek to destroy humanity out of instinctual nature, the Chaos Space Marines represent a far more tragic fate for humanity: the capacity for its noblest guardians to become twisted into its most hateful and evil enemies.

The Chaos Space Marine army is a flexible army that leans heavily towards close combat. Even the lowest cultist champion dare not refuse a personal challenge in combat lest he seem craven in this eyes of his cruel god. To that bloody end the army offers a wealth of tough and vicious units to break the backs of your enemies. Khorne Berzerkers, mutated Chaos Spawn, Chaos Bikers, jump-pack Raptors, nigh-unkillable Plague Marines, and agile Noise Marines all provide different methods of delivering pain to your opponent. In lieu of more conventional equipment Chaos Space Marines have access to an esoteric collection of artefacts, mutations, sorcery, and even murderous sentient weapons.

Shooting wise, while Chaos Space Marine maintain many of the tanks and weaponry of their Loyalist foes, where they truly shine are in the towering daemonic war engines they can bring to bear: Obliterators, a hellish melding of man and machine, can warp their bodies to become almost any weapon needed, while Forgefiends and Defilers provide punishing cannon fire. Finally, the Chaos Space Marines command the power of the much feared Heldrake: a jet-engine dragon capable of hunting down and burning to cinders the toughest of troops.

The Chaos Space Marines have two faction supplements, Black Legion and The Crimson Slaughter. Black Legion is generally considered a flop and a mess, not really giving players anything new or interesting aside from some rather dull fluff and relics. The Crimson Slaughter has been received much better and is generally considered a minor upgrade to the original codex. The Crimson Slaughter allows for more daemons and the entire army has the Fear special rule, which isn't all that great but its something and can occasionally come in handy.



"Death is my meat; terror, my wine."

Not all Eldar are desirous of a return to glory. Certain Eldar survived the fall of their Empire, but found that Slaanesh was slowly devouring their souls. Organizing into piratical raiding parties, Dark Eldar prey upon the Imperium and other civilizations, taking slaves and devouring the souls of their prey to stave off Slaanesh, the Prince of Excess. These Dark Eldar are twisted copies of their Eldar brethren, delighting in pain, suffering, and torture.

As an army, Dark Eldar have access to some of the fastest units in the game and the funkiest wargear and guns, giving the army a distinct ‘alpha strike’ feel. In addition, the army gets stronger as it kills through the use of Power Through Pain. For every unit wiped out by a Dark Eldar unit with this rule, they gain a Pain Token, giving them various special rules that make the Dark Eldar more survivable and deadly. The downside to this is that they are very fragile: their main transport can be wrecked by single bolter shot, and aside from the Haemoculii and their creations, no Eldar unit in the book has a Toughness greater than 3, making it easy to wound and cause Instant Death. Dark Eldar are a tricky army to play with an unforgiving playstyle; too many mistakes and you’ll find it difficult to make a comeback.

While its model range is awesome, Dark Eldar are currently considered an underwhelming army, despite access to all their lance weapons and poison.



"The stars themselves once lived and died at our command, and yet you still oppose our will?"

The Eldar are, essentially, Space Elves. Tall, slender, long lived, and more adept at the arts then the crude humans, their history is one of tragedy. Long before the rise of man, the Eldar were the masters of the galaxy. Their technology remains far and above the Imperium, which is struggling to maintain the knowledge that it has. However, the Eldar grew complacent, delving their lives deeper and deeper into the pursuit of pleasure. In a great cataclysmic event, the collected consciousness of the Eldar exploded into the physical world, destroying their homeworld and many light years around it, and giving birth to the Chaos Goddess Slaanesh.

However, some Eldar had seen the direction that their race was headed, and escaped the cataclysm on great spaceships known as Craftworlds. It is on these Craftworlds that the Eldar still fly today. The Eldar desire a resurrection of their empire, and so are at many times at odds with the Imperium of Man. They also recognize the Chaos threat, and sometimes fight with the Space Marines or Imperial Guard. To the average human, the Eldar are mysterious, aloof, and treacherous. Eldar have a number of options available to them. They have some of the best shooting or close combat specialists in the game and their tanks are durable, very fast, and can fly.

They also have some of the most effective psychic powers and psychic defenses in the game. All of this is balanced out by being fragile (with the exception of a couple of units) and fewer in number than other armies. Knowing when and where to strike are the keys to winning with Eldar - fights of attrition should be avoided at all costs.

The Eldar has one faction supplement, Iyanden. This features slight variations on the general craftworld builds and focuses more heavily on Wraith-type models. It's an interesting take on the Eldar, but it's not really all that much of a step up and gives up a lot of relics and character options from the original codex that are worth keeping around.



”The Despoiler comes forth once again, and he cannot be stopped by force of arms alone. It is his will that the stars be stained red with the blood of all who oppose him. An infinite horde of fiends, mutants and cacodaemons obey his command to devour Cadia alive. But he will not stop there. If our faith in the Emperor and our force of arms prove strong, the forces of Chaos can be driven back into hell. If we are found wanting, Humanity will fall.”

The Grey Knights are a specialized chapter of the Space Marines, serving under the Ordo Malleus. It is their job to seek and destroy heretical spawn, specifically the demons of the warp. The Grey Knights are specially trained in demon fighting, and their equipment is covered in sigils and blessings to protect them from Chaos. Their armor, however, is left unpainted, perhaps as a sign of their purity. In all their years of service, not a single Grey Knight has ever fallen to Chaos.

Grey Knights differentiate themselves from other Space Marines on three points: wargear, the Inquisitions, and psychic powers. Stat-wise they are identical to other Marines but come equipped with Storm Bolters and a force weapons even on their basic troops, which include units of Terminators. They also have access to Inquisitors as HQs, who bring not only a wide away of wargear options but also let you take a unit of Henchmen, which can contain nearly a dozen unique models with their own special rules and equipment. Finally, almost every unit is not only a psyker but can use some sort of power, such as increasing a unit’s strength or having their attacks cause Instant Death, and even vehicles can nullify Stunned/Shaken results. As a whole, they are an army with a proficiency for shooting first and mopping up in close combat when they’re sure to win. As ironic as it sounds, giving an entire army power weapons does not make them great in a fight compared to others.



Imperial Knights are an odd duck. They are towering semi-Titan combat monsters that can be either added to any Imperial army as an ally or function as a primary army on their own. Knights are powerful and difficult to destroy, supported by a useful force shield and a healthy amount of Hull Points (the most outside of Lord of War/Apocalypse units). If you feel like you want to have a glorious centerpiece to your force or just want to field a few very powerful models Imperial Knights are for you.



"We are at War with forces too terrible to comprehend. We cannot afford mercy for any of its victims too weak to take the correct course. Mercy destroys us; it weakens us and saps our resolve. Put aside all such thoughts. They are not worthy of Inquisitors in the service of Our Emperor. Praise His name for in our resolve we only reflect his purpose of will."

The Inquisition exists to ensure the purity of the Imperium and that the heretical, alien, and daemonic forces that seek to destroy it are put to the flame. Inquisitors come in all shapes and sizes and vary in their methods greatly. There are some that are strict adherents to Imperial law and creed and others that are more flexible and believe the ends justify the means. All are fearsome and to be dealt with cautiously.

What the Inquisition brings to the table is an ally faction that allows for flexible psykers, Imperial troops, specialty forces, and specialized Warlord traits not otherwise accessible. They are not, generally, meant to be their own army but are meant to supplement a larger force. Codex: Inquisition is only available electronically at this point and is a neat option for those who love tailoring special forces to meet specific threats.



"That we, in our arrogance, believed that Humankind was first among the races of this galaxy will be exposed as folly of the worst kind upon the awakening of these ancient beings. Any hopes, dreams or promises of salvation are naught but dust in the wind."

Have you been wanting to play a mobile shooting-focused army, but hate the Tau aesthetic?

The Necrontyr were a short-lived ancient race that longed for expanded life and got it, monkey's paw-style. They now exist as the Necron, bound in metallic shells that wish to return to some aspect of their old ways and regain their empire that was lost to them while they slept in stasis avoiding a terrible calamity. Allied neither with the Imperium or the Chaos gods, they serve only themselves and their interests. Interestingly the Necron are capable of negotiation, giving enemy forces chances to remove themselves from their property before engaging and making them one of the more honorable factions in that regard.

The Necron are a solid mid-ranged shooting army with some close-combat capable units used for disruption and interception. Unlike a lot of other armies that rely on unit buffs and other mechanics, the Necron are just good at what they do and need no assistance to get by. The do have some neat tricks hidden in their codex that generally relies on special characters, but most of their core units are decent choices on their own. The Necron are capable of returning from death thanks to Resurrection Protocols, making them a resilient and somewhat costly force points-wise.



"Orkses is never defeated in battle. If we win we win, if we die, we die, so it don't count as defeat. If we runs for it we don't die neither, so we can always come back for anuvver go, see!"

Orks. Large, green, with tusks, choppas, and a terrible smell, the Orks are one of the greatest threats to the Imperium. It is only through their in-fighting that they do not overrun humanity. Orks attack en masse, armed with only the most rudimentary of weapons and no more armor than the shirt on their back and whatever scrap metal looks shiny enough to strap on between fistfights. Their technology continues to amaze Imperial scientists, as many of their guns and vehicles are seemingly cobbled together from whatever they can find on the battlefield, and function only when in the hands of an Ork.

Every Goff knows there's only one true way to fight as an Ork, and that's in a punch-up. Ork shooting is laughable for the most part, but almost every unit is geared to get into assault and crack hedz together. With enough boyz on the table, and some well-armed nobz to lead them, the Green Tide will roll over and destroy anything in its' path. Orks also have access to krazy mekboy inventions such as dreadnoughts, killa kanz and various unreliable artillery pieces. The army is unpredictable, but always, always fun. And having fun is what being an ork is all about, stupid hoomie.


”Give me a hundred Space Marines. Or failing that give me a thousand other troops.”

Popular with newer and veteran players alike, Space Marines are a forgiving and reliable army with decent stats (4’s in nearly every slot on nearly every unit), good leadership, and a variety of units and vehicles for every occasion. They can run everything from a mechanized list to a more shooty gunline to a combat-oriented force to everything in-between, but the trade-off is that they are unable to specialize in one aspect as well as other armies: they can’t shoot as well as Imperial Guard, move as quickly as Dark Eldar, fight as well in close combat or hope to boast the same numbers as Orkz, etc., but they can do everything the other armies cannot.

From a hobby perspective, Space Marines are easy to paint and, due to the attention showered upon them by GW - for better or worse - this means there are a lot of Space Marine plastic kits and models, all of which are more or less backwards compatible with even the most basic Tactical Marine box. This allows you to borrow bits and bobs from dozens of different kits to make your own personalized Adeptus Astartes.

Space Marines have two faction supplements, Sentinels of Terra and Clan Raukaan. Sentinels of Terra focuses on the Imperial Fists and offers a few new changes and alternate missions. If you love Imperial Fists this supplement is extra fluff and some neat additions which you'll find interesting, but it's not a game-changer in terms of rules. Clan Raukaan focuses on the Iron Hands and offers some powerful new options and relics. Again, not a significant deviation from the core rulebook but for Iron Hands players its got some nifty perks.

Aside from Grey Knights and Chaos Space Marines, there are four variants of Space Marines that each have their own quirks and different specializations from the main, or ‘vanilla’ Space Marine codex, some with more than others. Those are:



Red ones go faster. This army emphasizes speed a number of ways, from having the Fast special rule on many of its vehicles to having a large number of Jump Infantry units, including Assault Squads as basic troops. They also have widespread access to the Furious Charge and Feel No Pain special rules, as well as unique units like the Death Company. Other than that, though, they essentially have the exact same units as Codex: Space Marines, even down to the veteran units.



Space Marines with a heavy Viking theme. They have a number of tricks and units unique to their book like Thunderwolf Cavalry, the ability to field four (highly-customizable) HQs of any type, as well as one of the best basic troops in the game in Grey Hunters. They can also field a list entirely composed of Terminators if you take Logan Grimnar, their Chapter Master.



Dark Angels are the Space Marine chapter that is more secretive and mysterious than traditional Space Marines. They are obsessed with a quest for redemption for their dark secret; the fall of half of their legion to Chaos. As they are promoted through the ranks Dark Angels learn more and more about their shameful history and become more involved in the tracking down and capture of “The Fallen.” The Fallen are those Dark Angels those turned to Chaos and were sucked in to the warp during the destruction of their home planet Caliban. Special divisions exist in the Dark Angel army. Ravenwing is the fast and mobile scouting force that is tasked with tracking down the Fallen. Deathwing is the most elite branch of the Dark Angels, informed about the true history of the Dark Angels, this all Terminator group is tasked with fighting and destroying the Fallen. Play Dark Angels if you like their secretive nature, their obsession for redemption, and their tiered army structured.

In game play terms Dark Angels have some interesting options. Currently they are the only Space Marine army that can run both Terminators and Bikes as troops, which can allow you to run a very elite force that still has some diversity. Dark Angels have some nice tricks up their sleeves but lack solid anti air and the general consensus is that their own flyers are some of the weakest in the game.Many of their models are brand new, look great, and have been fun to paint. Because they are one of the armies included in the starter set they are one of the least expensive armies in the game to jump into.



”A thousand fibres connect each of us with our fellow Tau and along those fibres our deeds run as causes which come back to us as effects. Everything we must do must be in furtherance of the Greater Good lest we return to the Mont’au, the Terror.”

In game, Tau are equipped with punishing long-ranged firepower and mobile battlesuits. The Tau often employ xenos auxiliaries such as the predator Kroot and the insectoid Vespids. Tau are also the “friendliest” race, and one of the only armies able to ally with every other army in the game making them a perfect army for those who are looking to collect small detachments of other races to help fill in weaknesses or simply because you want to paint some Space Marines and still be able to use them.

The Tau have access to some of the best shooting units in the game, balanced by the cost to field the units and a somewhat lessened accuracy which can be improved by their Markerlight system. While the overpowering gunline and the aggravatingly fast mechanized armies still work the true strengths of the Tau are the ability counter with a diverse suite of equipment and weapons that let the Battlesuits be tailored to react effectively to almost any enemy. Other armies may rely on volume of firepower or overwhelming numbers to win, but the Tau rely upon the cooperation and support of their entire army as one to defeat their enemies, with many units buffing each other’s strengths. To charge even a single Tau is to charge into a withering wall of pulse fire as all their cadre brothers simultaneously turn their guns onto the aggressor.

The Tau have one faction supplement, the Farsight Enclave. If you really, really love Crisis Suits then this book is for you. This allows you to field Crisis Suits as Troop choices and has some neat characters and options available.



"There is a cancer eating at the Imperium. With each decade it advances deeper, leaving drained, dead worlds in its wake. This horror, this abomination, has thought and purpose that functions on an unimaginable, galactic scale and all we can do is try to stop the swarms of bioengineered monsters it unleashes upon us almost by instinct. We have given the horror a name to salve our fears; we call it the Tyranid race, but if is aware of us at all it must know us only as Prey." - Inquisitor Czevak

The Tyranid are an alien species from beyond our galaxy, closely resembling a fusion of reptile and insect. They consume all in their path, turning entire planets into barren rocks and converting all of the biological resources into new creatures. Tyranid are entirely biological. They evolve their limbs into armaments and launch biological ammunition at enemies. All Tyranid life is driven by the powerful will of the Hive Mind, a giant gestalt psychic entity capable of communicating with the massive hive fleets across the vastness of space.

The Tyranid specialize in close quarters combat, though there are a multitude of army options available that can lend potent biological firepower to the army. More than other armies, Tyranid rely on unit interaction to acheive best results. Tyranid creatures function by Synapse, a psychic field surrounding "leader" Tyranid that allow lesser creatures to act as the player desires and benefit from the strength of the Hive Mind. While the entire army almost universally lacks strong armor when compared with other armies, it benefits from having a wide variety of incredibly tough and resilient monstrous creatures and the ability to field an overwhelming horde of expendable chitinous bodies. Properly fielded, your opponent will be hard-pressed to shut down your offensive before the Great Devourer reaches their front lines and the slaughter begins...

PierreTheMime fucked around with this message at 13:01 on Jun 10, 2014

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

PierreTheMime
Dec 9, 2004

Hero of hormagaunts everywhere!
Buglord
So what's new in 7th Edition?
A few major changes and a few minor tweaks to 6th Edition rules. Some/many will say that this is essentially 6.5 Edition, but there are a few major differences.

:science:The Psychic Phase:science:


Instead of having different psychic powers exist to be cast at different times by different units, all manifestation of psychic powers has been consolidated into the Psychic Phase. This is essentially a mini-game each turn where players bid a number of dice to manifest or deny a psychic power in a deadly game of cat and also cat. The Psychic Phase begins with a player rolling a d6 and adding a the total number of Mastery Levels for psykers they control. This is their dice pool for manifesting psychic powers that turn. The opposing (denying) player receiving that same d6 result but adds their ML for psykers instead.

Many of the psychic powers have been improved (some significantly) and new options such Daemonology are available. For those of you who want to know how this impacts things, this change makes Psychic powers more powerful but more difficult to correctly cast.

A breakdown of your chances based on the strength required (Warp Charges) for each power is the following:

MATH posted:

WC1 success chance
1: 50%
2: 75%
3: 87.5%
4: 93.75%
5: 96.88%
6: 98.44%
7: 99.22%
8: 99.61%
9: 99.80%
10: 99.90%

WC2 success chance
2: 25%
3: 50%
4: 68.75%
5: 81.25%
6: 89.06%
7: 93.75%
8: 96.48%
9: 98.05%
10: 98.93%

WC3 success chance
3: 12.50%
4: 31.25%
5: 50.00%
6: 65.63%
7: 77.34%
8: 85.55%
9: 91.02%
10: 94.53%

Chance of perils:
1: 0%
2: 2.78%
3: 7.41%
4: 13.19%
5: 19.62%
6: 26.32%
7: 33.02%
8: 39.53%
9: 45.73%
10: 51.55%

:twisted:Daemonology:twisted:
The Ruinous Powers are just a call away... Now Psykers* are capable of using powerful daemon-magick to bend reality and shift the battle in their favor, consequences be damned (literally).

Sanctic Daemonology involves the "good" half of daemonic magicks and is the domain of the Grey Knights, useful for banishing Chaos and warding against evil. Malefic Daemonology involves the "bad" half and is useful for improving daemons and summoning even more daemons to battle.

*Except Tyranids

:siren:Mission Cards!:siren:
The return of mission cards! A new set of game missions are included that allow for random objectives that players secretly select from a deck of cards, making tactical decisions more important and making the game just flat-out more interesting for both players. No longer can shooting armies just sit on their gun-totin' laurels and hammer the enemy from afar--they may need to leave their cozy nook behind their Aegis Defence Line to secure an area, an objective, kill a specific unit, or perform any number of other tasks. This ensures that players will have way more variety of gameplay and no game, even using the same terrain and army selection, will be the same.

Completely altered Force Allocation Chart and ally rules
7th Edition greatly expands the versatility of each army by allowing them to ally with every other army and use addition FOCs if they so choose. Additionally each FOC now contains the ability to field a Lord of War, previously only allowed using the Escalation expansion. With all these alterations, players have a much greater level of choice with what they can field leaving only a small restriction to guide their choices, unless...

UNBOUND
Players now have the option to just say "gently caress it" and field whatever they want from their collection. There are restrictions to this as well, but if you want to you can ignore organization charts and go to town with whatever insane combination you think will be fun/hilarious/overpowered. Unbound has caused a lot of discussion in the gaming community as it opens the doors for all sorts of rules abuse and horrible power-gamey lists. The arguments about this will continue until the heat death of the universe.

In addition to the multitude of game types and variants already available, there's another topic we should probably touch on...




What is Warhammer 30k?
Have you ever wanted to play an army during the glory days of the Emperor? Fight during the darkest days of the Horus Heresy? Command an actual legion, larger than a dozen chapters? Model your CSM traitors like veterans of a thousand battles? Use Mechanicus robots, Primarchs, and skatiri? Play with crazy lost technology like rayguns, dickbikes, and phosphex bombs? Use so much heavy support that it makes the Imperial Guard blush? 30k has all that, owns, and you should play.

Warhammer 30k is an emerging counterpart to the wildly successful Warhammer 40k setting. Set during the Great Crusade, some 10,000 years before Warhammer 40k, 30k recreates the cataclysmic battles fought to reconquer the Imperium and the destructive civil war that followed. Used in the 40k it can represent non codex compliant chapters, Chaos Legions, long lost armies from the glory days of man, the forces of the Mechanicus, and much more.

Doesn’t it cost even more!?
The core rules run the same price as any new Games Workshop codex. Since many of the units are also based on existing space marine minis, it’s entirely possible to start a 30k army using nothing but old models or GW plastic. Units unique to the setting, however, are only available from Forgeworld and can be rather expensive.

Is it legal to play against 40k armies? Is it balanced?
Yep, playing ‘30k in 40k’ is legal, as stated by the folks at Forgeworld. Generally speaking, Horus Heresy armies are designed and balanced to play primarily against other armies in the setting. Unsurprisingly, when compared to 40k they are better balanced internally. Thrown into the 40k setting they tend to play as a mid-upper tier army with good shooting and lots of customization options.

While legal and with good balance, you do need to keep a few things in mind. First, 30K armies are unfamiliar to most 40K players, so playing games without explaining special rules can make things frustrating for your opponent. Horus Heresy armies also scale quickly with point values- you spend lots of points to buy units up front, but the more you invest into them the more economical they become. That means midsized games (1500-1850 points) are the sweet spot for balance. Smaller games will make you struggle to field a balanced army and larger ones can leave you with overwhelming firepower. Lastly, unless noted otherwise, 30k players should use the 40k force organization chart if playing a 40k army and are limited to only taking Allies from Horus Heresy books.

How would I get started?
Codex: Legiones Astartes and Codex: Isstvan Legions are available for $50 each, but you only need the first to play. This codex contains the core army rules for all space marine legions, but if you want to play as a specific one you’ll need the Isstvan Legions book to go along with it. Armies like the Imperial Army and Adeptus Mechanicus will eventually have their own separate codices, but are currently scattered throughout the larger hardbound books. These have additional artwork, background fluff, and campaign/mission types.

Besides the core rules, you’ll need an HQ character and between 30-50 legionaries (space marines with bolters) as the core of your army.

The Armies

The Space Marine Legions are the most formidable warriors of all humanity. Genetically enhanced beyond the capacity of a mortal man, bearing weapons of devastating power and supported by the numberless regiments of the Imperial Army and the sacred knowledge of the Mechanicum, there is no force that they cannot overcome. Numbering hundreds of thousands of Space Marines, they have forged the Imperium, leading the mighty fleets of the Great Crusade into the stars.

Legion Armies are very different from their 40k counterparts. Instead of being tactically flexible specialists, the Space Marine Legions are battering rams that use overwhelming firepower and resilience to smash enemies away. Playing a Legion is like playing Chaos Space Marines mixed with Craftworld Eldar. Indeed you’ll find many traditional pieces of Chaos Space Marine wargear- chosen, champions, 20 man squads, squad icons – among many pieces of relic technology lost to time. Of the 18 legions, more than half are represented (often with both loyalist + traitor variants) along with unique rules that reflect their strengths and weaknesses. Besides those rules, Legions can take unique ‘rites of war’ which change FOCs and award additional special rules or wargear options.

On the tabletop Legions are much more restrictive than Space Marines- units can only take a single type of special weapon, special weapons can only be in certain squads, and you have to take large sized units in order for them to be points economical. All units lack ATSKNF and there are very few ways of getting fearless, which makes morale issues in an army with leadership 8 and 9 critically important. The tradeoff is worth it though- legion armies have some of the best heavy support, lords of war, elite, and fast attack choices in print- all at very economical point values, usually in squadrons, and almost always with better stats than their 40k versions. Combine this with tons of wargear, FOC, and army wide special rules and you have an army that can be tweaked to play however you want to good effect.


For thousands of years the Red Planet, Mars, has been ruled by the strange and mysterious sect of Tech-Priests known as the Mechanicum, or the Cult Mechanicus. This religious caste rose to dominance on Mars during the early centuries of the Age of Strife, and now lead a strong and ordered culture based around technological mastery and the worship of the Machine God, the Omnissiah. The Mechanicum’s sacred duty is to maintain, venerate and recover the techno-arcana of ages past.

That’s right. After many years of waiting The Mechanicum, Dark Mechanicum, and ROBOTS are finally playable factions. There are currently three army lists in each of the first three books of the Horus Heresy trilogy: The Ordo Reductor (Book 1), The Legio Cybernetica (Book 2), and The Taghmata (Book 3) with plans for the Dark Mechanicum down the road. Ordo Reductor are a Mendicant order of Tech-priests devoted to the art of siege craft, demolition and mass destruction. They are essentially nomadic detachments of Mechanicus HQs and troops with very limited options, making them a decent option for allying. Legio Cybernetica are a Sacred orders of Tech-priests cohorts charged with the construction and use of Battle-automata for the space marine legions. The list has very strong troop choices and its own unique warlord table, but has limited heavy support and fast attack choices. This is a great choice for allying into a legion army, but can also be powerful on its own. Taghmata represents a military formation of the many different Mechanicus subdivisions and is a 30k army in its own right, including strong troops, heavy support, HQs, even more robots, titans, dedicated transports, warlord traits, and even pre-heresy knights.

On the tabletop the Mechanicus are the most unique of all the 30k factions, playing something like a mixture of Grey Knights and Elder (making them, perhaps ironically, affordable to get into)- tons of special rules, tough units with good stat lines, but relatively few bodies. Almost all units have invulnerable saves, IWND, feel no pain, multiple wounds, and 3+ saves. Tanks routinely have AV14 or AV15 armor and the lists have some of the best MCs in the entire game. One of the most unique features of the army is something called ‘Cybertheurgy’- best described as physic powers for machines that can do everything from giving +D3 attacks in close combat to being shooting twice in a turn. Basically, Mechanicus are loving awesome.


The Imperial Army is the largest and most diverse military organization that the galaxy has ever seen. Numbering in the billions and equipped with armored vehicles, artillery and all the other adjuncts of mechanized warfare, the Imperial Army act as auxiliary forces and garrison troops for their accompanying Space Marine Legions. They are the anvil of the Imperium's might.

Much like the Legions, the Imperial Army was a different animal 10,000 years before Warhammer 40k. During the Great Crusade, the front line troops were the Space Marines. The Imperial Army provided support and, if needed, was the cannon fodder. Right now we have no information about the faction except that it can ally with every Space Marine Legion. Expect some basic units with rules sometime in late 2014.

PierreTheMime fucked around with this message at 12:32 on Jun 10, 2014

PierreTheMime
Dec 9, 2004

Hero of hormagaunts everywhere!
Buglord
Hey, it sounds like this thread isn't really big enough for all neckbearded warham discussion if you keep making new ones!

Indeed it isn't. You can find the 40k goon IRC channel at #tinypewtermen on irc.synirc.org. Come visit us and idle for the Emperor.

I want to start playing, but a lot of this looks really expensive!

Unfortunately, this is a money-intensive hobby even at the best of times. However, that doesn’t mean you’re forced to pay full price for everything, either. Here’s a list of websites, goon-tested and approved, from which to purchase your plastic barbies at a lower rate than you normally would (though you should try and support your local store when possible):

-Chaos Orc – Large selection of kits at decent prices with quick and reliable service.
-Ebay.com – Always worth a browse, as you’ll never know when someone has posted $100 worth of Forgeworld stuff at a third of the price. Ebay should often be your first stop when looking to save money.
-Rocket Hobbies - Another UK-based store, recommended by goons. Insert "gently caress Maelstrom Gaming" here.
-The Warstore - 20% off retail, but because of legal issues, Neal can't sell through his website, so you have to actually pick up the phone and call him. Nothing but good reviews from the goons. Neal and his employees give consistently fast and friendly service.
-War Puppy - An :australia: Australian :australia: site that offers a discount on GW retail and free postage to Australians for orders over $90.
-Wayland Games – Another store with lots of discounts that is popular with European players.

Other websites:

-Art Supply Warehouse - Cheap brushes and other art supplies, including that awesome metal mesh stuff (which is great for terrain).
-Frontline Hobbies – An Australian store with a more general hobby selection. They also sell printable decal paper as well as MicroSol and MicroSet, which are used in applying decals.
-Rattlehead Games - A site that sells lots of alternative miniatures and nice, cheap terrain. Dependable and friendly owner with a nice selection.
-Scrapdragon – Another Australian store with a general hobby selection.
-DarkSphere.co.uk - Recommended by Rapey Joe Stalin as another EU store on par with Wayland and Maelstrom.

I’ll be honest, I’m just here for…

…the dwaves and elves.

You’d be looking for the Warhammer Fantasy megathread, then.

…the painting and modeling.

Look no further than PaintVagrant’s aptly titled Miniature Painting/Sculpting/Modeling Megathread. It contains a wealth of information about various techniques, and the posters are eager to help you out with any questions. It’s also a nice place to look at pictures of models that are much better than yours. :gbsmith:

There’s also a number of websites that offer a ton of tutorials and insight into painting:

-Blackmoor
-Brush Thralls
-The Chest of Colors Forum
-The Jenova Project
-Doctor Faust’s Painting Clinic – Great for beginners.
-Paintrix Miniatures
-Studio McVey – KNEEL BEFORE McVEY

As well as websites for making your own terrain:

-The Hirst Arts Fantasy Literature Inc. – They sell resin molds that let you create your own blocks that can be assembled however you like. Make your own castles! :black101:
-The Terrain Genesis Forum
-Iron Hands’ How-To’s

…the fine literature.

40k has a very rich background that, unsurprisingly, has a lot of very lovely novels written about it. How to best decide what to read, then? Essentially, if it’s written by Dan Abnett or Aaron Dembski-Bowden, pick it up. Otherwise, don’t be afraid to ask here for advice.

:siren:There's even a thread on 40k novels in the Book Barn subforum!:siren:

…the other websites.

-The Bolter and Chainsword – Though a bit terrible at times and entirely devoted to Space Marines, B&C does have a lot of great tutorials and some great Work In Progress threads like Dan the Daemon’s Night Lords thread. Gat drat. :fap:
-Dakka Dakka – A pretty good Wargaming forum with a great Tutorial subforum, though it suffers from Warseer-itis a bit and a lot of posters love stuff from 4chan. Unironically.
-MI40k.com – A forum for Michigan players. Find someone to meet up and play with!
-Tabletop Gaming News – Just like it says on the tin.
-The Waaagh Forums – You wanted a forum about orkz? You got one. :orks:
-The Wargamer AU forums – A wargaming forum for Australian players.
-Warseer – Regularly terrible, but it has a lot of people who post there and a lot of reliable rumormongers with information about the next release tend to post there a lot.

…the blogs.

…really? :crossarms: Well, whatever floats your boat, then…

-Bell of Lost Souls: Most of the stuff posted here isn’t that great, but they do post compiled rumors from Warseer/Dakka so you don’t have to, occasionally have some nice articles, and some funky fandexes to try out.
-From the Warp: While Ron, the owner of the blog has some nice painting and modeling articles from time to time, the real strength of this blog is that it provides links to other blogs as they update. Basically it’s nice to check in on every now and then to look for tutorials/news announcements/awesomely painted models.
-3++ is the New Black - A pretty good blog with daily articles ranging from painting/modelling tutorials to army tactics. Recommended by many of the posters here.

...a map to help me find warhams.

Here you go, buddy. Be sure to shower and put on some deodorant before going out to socialize.

…the podcasts.

Great to listen to while bored, painting, or both!

-40k Radio – Was once a fan favorite until it fell apart and was rebooted. May be worth a listen.
-The D6 Generation - A good podcast about wargaming, boardgaming and gaming in general.
-The Independent Characters – Lots of praise for this one, definitely worth trying out. One of the hosts is a goon!
-Life After the Cover Save – Mixed reviews for this one but the consensus seems to be that it’s pretty good; don’t be afraid to give it a shot.

…advice on brushes/magnets/airbrushes.

PaintVagrant posted:

http://www.dickblick.com
Windsor and Newton Series 7 watercolor brushes are the ones to buy.

ImJasonH posted:

http://www.kjmagnetics.com/

I use 1/8" magnets for everything. They fit perfectly on Terminator arms, four or so of them work to keep vehicle parts together, and they're only a little snug on Marine-sized arms. I've never tried magnetizing non-Marine infantry though, maybe 1/16" would be better for smaller models like Guardsmen or Eldar.

Pagan posted:

As far as airbrushes go, Harbor Freight is where it's at, 100%. The quality may not be the best, but at the price, who cares? In a year, I've gone through two of their airbrushes (one was my fault, the other just stopped working right); I'm on the third one now. Not counting the cost of the compressor, I've spent a grand total of $45. That's certainly a fair price to pay for the ease of use of a real airbrush.

And I'm using those brushes several times a week. From what I've seen of the GW airbrush, it looks like a plastic POS that would break after serious use.

To thin paints, I use a mix of soapy water and future floor wax. I thin my paints about to the same level I paint with a regular brush, about the consistency of milk or so.

…the front page articles.

There’s a front page?

-Blue Stripe 40,000 Interview Special
-Warhammer 40,000 Core Rules (5th Edition)
-Wargammer Miniatures

...SPESS MARIENS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeCfod1XT7E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqinPt-vN54
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEzIVvOl5Qw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cr_9fjhnKCk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbZNDfc6jkc

And Sergeant Telion's Christmas Party:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HY_xXCuFaA

Lastly, thanks to all the goons who have helped this thread through its various iterations. Thanks to bhsman for his previous OP which has been shamelessly stolen and edited to serve its new master. Thanks to BULBASAUR for his thorough and awesome 30K write-up.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions, we’re happy to help! :buddy:

PierreTheMime fucked around with this message at 00:52 on Jan 6, 2015

panascope
Mar 26, 2005

So Noctis Horrendae is forbidden from posting here right?

spacegoat
Dec 23, 2003

by Jeffrey of YOSPOS
Nap Ghost
So SUPER NEAT TOY is forbidden from posting here right?

Drake_263
Mar 31, 2010

panascope posted:

So Noctis Horrendae is forbidden from posting here right?

DO NOT SAY HIS NAME, FOOL

Actual content! I finished up some more 'Crons a bit back, was waiting for the shitstorm to abate before posting.












One of the Stalkers ended up a little more pink than I intended, purple is a hard color to get right when you're working with nothing but the two old purple shades and a wash.

Also, yes that is a cutting board, it was the closest thing to a tray I could find on a short notice and worked well color-wise!

PierreTheMime
Dec 9, 2004

Hero of hormagaunts everywhere!
Buglord

Drake_263 posted:

Actual content! I finished up some more 'Crons a bit back, was waiting for the shitstorm to abate before posting.



Nice scheme and good execution. Are you using those scarabs as objective markers or something?

panascope
Mar 26, 2005

Who's got a ballin Titan paint scheme? I'm gonna start painting one here in a week or two and I need something rad. I've never done yellow or orange before so those would be welcome.

Drake_263
Mar 31, 2010

PierreTheMime posted:

Nice scheme and good execution. Are you using those scarabs as objective markers or something?

Wound markers. Multi-wound things like HQ units, spyders and occasionally wraiths are accompanied by individual scarabs. When it takes a wound, I remove a scarab, when there's no scarabs to remove and it takes a hit it's dead. Also, thank you!

Hollismason
Jun 30, 2007

Witchfinder General

I really like that shade of purple on the Necrons, very regal.

Indolent Bastard
Oct 26, 2007

I WON THIS AMAZING AVATAR! I'M A WINNER! WOOOOO!
Ah, that new thread smell.

So...Orks, what are we wildly speculating will be/not be in their new codex and/or model line?

Codex: I have no idea. Their own Psychic powers? (Probably not).

Models: New Buggies, Plastic Meganobz, and Flash Gitz all are likely.

Naramyth
Jan 22, 2009

Australia cares about cunts. Including this one.
Gotta get on the first page brahs.

Talked with some of the changes this morning with my roommate. Overall I doubt my marine list will need much changing. I may give up the pskyer phase but I doubt I need to worry all that much, I mean I can already beat seer and screamer star.

With the smash rules changes I might consider pods. Bringing in ven dreads would be pretty ballin now.

Kaysette
Jan 5, 2009

~*Boston makes me*~
~*feel good*~

:wrongcity:
So how long do I have to wait if I want just the new rules and not the rehashed fluff books? Are we assuming the revised starter kit will come with a mini rulebook?

drgnvale
Apr 30, 2004

A sword is not cutlery!

quote:

How do I get started?
The current starter set for 7th Edition is the Dark Vengeance set. At $99USD it comes with a wealth of awesome Dark Angel and Chaos models, all incredibly-detailed and capable of being assembled without glue. In addition, it comes with nice extras such as a compact 7th Edition rulebook (all you’d be missing from the full version is the extra fluff and hobby sections),

Wait, I thought Dark Vengeance still came with the 6th mini-rule book, and just had a sticker or something warning you about that.

PierreTheMime
Dec 9, 2004

Hero of hormagaunts everywhere!
Buglord

drgnvale posted:

Wait, I thought Dark Vengeance still came with the 6th mini-rule book, and just had a sticker or something warning you about that.

Good point, I'll edit that for now. From what we know they will be changing it but there's no way they're not going to try and sell the old ones first.

Edit: Edited.

PierreTheMime fucked around with this message at 17:30 on May 23, 2014

Soulfucker
Feb 15, 2012

i,m going to kill myself on friday #wow #whoa
Fun Shoe
And as the old thread dies in a cataclysmic fury, a new one shall rise and gaze upon the universe.

I haven't had the chance to talk about the edition changes with my friends yet, I imagine it won't be all that much different seeing as I'm practically the only one using psykers at the local meta.

I've been painting more of my :siren: TYRANIDS :siren: as well, I'll post some pictures when I'm done for the day!

Hollismason
Jun 30, 2007

Witchfinder General

Kaysette posted:

So how long do I have to wait if I want just the new rules and not the rehashed fluff books? Are we assuming the revised starter kit will come with a mini rulebook?

Unfortunately I don't believe their releasing one. The last time they did the many rulebook it really hurt sales on the main book. So I don't foresee this happening at all.

There may be a Digital release though.


New FOC is kind of interesting.

I will say this the Mission Objective change looks kick rear end. I love changing and a more dynamic mission structure. Looks really great.

Ghost Hand
Aug 10, 2004

Rampant 40k Fanboy
I love the new title.

Sulecrist
Apr 5, 2007

Better tear off this bar association logo.
With the sort of new edition, is there any good reason to give (Salamanders) Marine sergeants anything other than combi-weapons? Overkill for challenges is all I've picked up on.

parabolic
Jul 21, 2005

good night, speedfriend

Am I a bad person if I just like tanks and want to run a whole lot of them? Are there even any other games people actually play with ~28mm scifi tanks?

Sulecrist
Apr 5, 2007

Better tear off this bar association logo.

Ghost Hand posted:

I love the new title.

Hey, I LOVE your podcast. It's essentially what brought me back to this game after years away.

Hollismason
Jun 30, 2007

Witchfinder General

parabolic posted:

Am I a bad person if I just like tanks and want to run a whole lot of them? Are there even any other games people actually play with ~28mm scifi tanks?

Not only are you not a bad person, you can now just play an all tank Imperial Guard Armoured Force. I could see a Tank Commander, w/ Leman Russes, HellHounds , and Scout Sentinels being super duper fun. Plus with the new change to the FOC, you don't have to do that unbound at all. I mean you'll want some armoured caravans with Chimeras anyway as that'd make some sense. So just take 2 FOCs.

The new FOC while it can be abused can be used to make some super kick rear end armies that are just fun and really "fluffy". 2 Tank Commanders w/ Leman Russes and some Guards in Chimeras then Scout Sentinels Hellhounds Vendettas , and some ordnance is pretty awesome sounding army.

My Necrons are happy campers. I can now Take two FOCs and do a Spyderstar/Annihilation barge army.

Hollismason fucked around with this message at 17:37 on May 23, 2014

Genghis Cohen
Jun 29, 2013
So, sitting here reading a new book! Couple things struck me in the new psychic phase (mad props to whoever made that breakdown of psychic test chances btw, fancy doing a similar one for deny the witch tests?):

Psykers can only manifest witchfire powers out of a transport, if it has the firepoints. No blessings or any other sort of powers out of transports at all. This is a major change if you had, for example, a psyker buffing units out of a wave serpent or chimera. If a psyker is embarked with a unit he actually intends to get out and fight with, and wants to buff them, it isn't such a big deal, since he would disembark in the movement phase before the psychic phase begins.

It specifically states that gone to ground or falling back doesn't prevent psykers using powers. But for some reason it says nothing either way about being locked in close combat? Maybe I'm just not seeing it, but that seems ambiguous. I think you can manifest while locked in cc, but the only indirect mention is that it says you can't manifest witchfire powers while locked in cc.

If anyone hasn't got their book and would like to know something, ask away.

ijyt
Apr 10, 2012

Sulecrist posted:

Hey, I LOVE your podcast. It's essentially what brought me back to this game after years away.

It's also a nice contrast to the usual doom and gloom you might find here and on /tg/.

Genghis Cohen
Jun 29, 2013

parabolic posted:

Am I a bad person if I just like tanks and want to run a whole lot of them? Are there even any other games people actually play with ~28mm scifi tanks?

Well, you are probably a red trouser wearing inbred cavalry type, and you lack the willpower to mount a suicidal bayonet charge (and spend 40 minutes on a single movement phase) but you're not a bad person per se.

As HollisMason said, there are awesome options for tank-heavy armies in the IG book right now. You can play 'unbound' armies and just take tanks but as this is a brand new option in the game, you might want to ask your opponent first. I'd have a think about how/if you would want to model some mechanised infantry as support as well.

Hollismason
Jun 30, 2007

Witchfinder General

Tyranid Players complaining a lot but seriously you can just take 4 FOC Detachments and rock out with your tendril like cock out.

Digging the hell out of the new FOC, it just opens up a lot of options. I mean sure you can play Unbound or play a Battleforged and get some really cool bonuses.

New Warlord table is boss as well. Finally actual good benefits to strategy and person.

NTRabbit
Aug 15, 2012

i wear this armour to protect myself from the histrionics of hysterical women

bitches




Gonna be a while before I can get the new BRB (haven't even gotten the old one yet, it's still waiting to be sent to me).

Still not sure about this psychic phase business though

Hollismason
Jun 30, 2007

Witchfinder General

Everyone if they get lucky can be a Bloodthirster, there fore Psychic Phase is best.

(Except Tyranids)

Tuxedo Jack
Sep 11, 2001

Hey Ma, who's that band I like? Oh yeah, Hall & Oates.
If the changes from 6th aren't that drastic and can be condensed into a few pages, I think our group might adopt 7th rules using our 6th Ed rulebooks. Save ourselves $85 for the books and just buy the cards.

Post 9-11 User
Apr 14, 2010
Friend of mine has the new rulebook, I asked him if Come The Apocalypse armies get Objective Secured and/or Scoring.

Hollismason
Jun 30, 2007

Witchfinder General

There will probably be a Day 1 Faq for this like 6th had probably. So I don't think people should freak out. It's probably why the lull in the FAQs for 6th pretty much as they're going to have to fix a lot of things because of the new Psychic Phase.

Things like Eldar, pretty much ignoring Perils test and the Tyranid power that really doesn't do anything now.

MasterSlowPoke
Oct 9, 2005

Our courage will pull us through
What power doesn't do anything? Dominion, because it goes after the movement phase now?

DO IT TO IT
Mar 3, 2008

I know "mon" means man, but I don't think "Och" means anything.

Here's hoping Shadow in the Warp gets modified to fit with the new rules. I actually really like current Tyranids and have been doing okay with them with my stupid Regen and Adrenal Glands on every single monster list. Sure, the book isn't very creative/imaginative but I've at least had fun with this list I made.

e: I'm pretty sure Dominion still functions? It'll still be in effect at the start of your next turn when all the synapse checks happen. I think.

PeterWeller
Apr 21, 2003

I told you that story so I could tell you this one.

MasterSlowPoke posted:

What power doesn't do anything? Dominion, because it goes after the movement phase now?

Yeah. It could be fixed easily by making it last until the next friendly psychic phase, but I don't think many would be satisfied with that.

Moola
Aug 16, 2006

Tuxedo Jack posted:

If the changes from 6th aren't that drastic and can be condensed into a few pages, I think our group might adopt 7th rules using our 6th Ed rulebooks. Save ourselves $85 for the books and just buy the cards.

Yeah this is what my group is doing too, minus buying the cards.

I kind of have no choice but to not play 7th at the moment; either that or play by myself.

ChrisAsmadi
Apr 19, 2007
:D
Pierre, the OP is missing the two Space Marine supplements (Clan Raukaan and Sentinels of Terra), and the other two codexes for Imperial Allies (Legion of the Damned and Inquisition) in the armies list. Might be worth including.

On another note, does anyone have any blogs or youtube channels that are worth reading/watching, especially for battle reports? I've been watching the StrikingScorpion82 apocalypse games today and they're reasonably good (overuse of gratuitous camera pans aside).

PierreTheMime
Dec 9, 2004

Hero of hormagaunts everywhere!
Buglord

PeterWeller posted:

Yeah. It could be fixed easily by making it last until the next friendly psychic phase, but I don't think many would be satisfied with that.

It would be nice if they buffed the powers to match the buffs to all BRB powers. They could resell all the Nid cards to players again, thus making more cash-grab money.

Doubt it'll happen, Nid-doomsaying etc.

ChrisAsmadi posted:

Pierre, the OP is missing the two Space Marine supplements (Clan Raukaan and Sentinels of Terra), and the other two codexes for Imperial Allies (Legion of the Damned and Inquisition) in the armies list. Might be worth including.
Thanks, I knew I was forgetting someone. :shobon: I'll get that fixed up.

PierreTheMime fucked around with this message at 18:18 on May 23, 2014

AndyElusive
Jan 7, 2007

ChrisAsmadi posted:

On another note, does anyone have any blogs or youtube channels that are worth reading/watching, especially for battle reports? I've been watching the StrikingScorpion82 apocalypse games today and they're reasonably good (overuse of gratuitous camera pans aside).

Some people enjoy MiniWarGaming Battle reports. They tend to be pretty bad at the game though and show A LOT of dice rolls (if you're into that) also the folks playing the games like to mug for camera time.

They have a channel on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/user/miniwargaming

ijyt
Apr 10, 2012

I like to have the MWG batreps running while painting.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Fuegan
Aug 23, 2008

I could never get on with batreps while painting as I found them too distracting. A decent podcast works wonders though (I'm looking at you, Independent Characters).

  • Locked thread