Imperial Armour Compendium Critical Review: Part 6- Chaos Space Marines, Death Guard, and Chaos Daemons

 A Continuation of our 11 part review of the Imperial Armour Compendium. This time we are diving into Chaos.

Sorry for the long delay. Just more and more life has gotten in the way and I find myself without time lately.

I am really trying to not be salty in this, and I am going to be as factual as possible but maintain a critical eye, the intent of which is to inform you and maybe, just maybe, let GW know we notice and care about this stuff. The details matter in an expensive hobby like this, and if it takes a small time blog to hold them accountable then so be it.

This review will be an in depth 11 part series, and I will update and link each successive article below, so keep checking back for updates.

• Part 1- Book Overview
• Part 2- Space Marines
• Part 3- Astra Militarum
• Part 4- Grey Knights, Inqusition, Adeptus Mechanicus, Adeptus Custodes
• Part 5- Imperial Knights, Titan Legions, Chaos Knights and Chaos Titan Legions
• Part 6- Chaos Space Marines, Death Guard, and Chaos Daemons
• Part 7- Craftworlds and Drukhari
• Part 8- Necrons and Orks
• Part 9- T'au Empire and Tyranids
• Part 10- Death Korps of Krieg Focused Discussion
• Part 11- Forgeworld Warhammer Legends

So first off all, follow the link above to Part 2 and read that, because most of it is identical. Anything that used to be a Hellforged Varian of an SM vehicle is now the same as its SM variant, just with Chaos Keywords. The only difference really to note is that now Chaos follows their space marine equivalents almost directly, where as in the previous edition Imperial Armour index, some weapons were uniquely made "Chaosy" like Ectoplasma cannons instead of plasma cannons and Butcher Cannons instead of Autocannons, and now they all share instead.

This covers the Contemptor, Leviathan, Land Raider Variants, Predator, Scorpius, Sicaran Variants, Deredeo, Rapiers, and Super heavy tanks and any Space Marine Flyer. This also goes for the Terrax Termite drill, even though it is not Hellforged. Of note, the Chaos Vindicator Laser Destroyer was forgotten in the FW compendium and is only in the FAQ on warhammer community.

Many of these vehicles have marital legacy as well, covered extensively in the SM Article linked above. But for this one, lets just same I am not a fan.

Additionally, at the time the books came out, they had removed the ability for 1k Sons and Death Guard to take any of the Heretic Astartes vehicles. Fortunately this has been fixed in the FAQ, and they now operate as Bubonic or Arcana Astartes.

And before I go to the Data Sheets, its sad to see all the Dark Mechanicum, Vraks Characters, Spine beasts, plague toads and Plaguehulk all go to legends

Chaos Space Marines

Decimator- Improved. Went up in W (but now has a degrading profile).  Butcher cannons were nerfed and lost a point of S and no longer modify target LD. The C-Beam Cannon was made into a conversion beamer, which up close doesn't have a good of AP, overall this is a improvement because of the more consistent damage, more shots and blast.  The Hellflamer was boosted with range like all flamers. Slight nerf to the soulburner as it now has to roll to wound to do a mortal wound, but its on a 2+. The storm laser gained range by 12" and gained a shot.  And the decimator claw went from +2S to x2S. And all of this with really no change in points

Greater Blight Drone- Nerfed IMO. Now a single profile instead of a degrading one.  Lost a point of LD but gained a point of WS. Lost 3W and infernal regenaration but gained disgustingly resilient. Gained shots on their bile maw, going from a D3 pistol to a d6 assault, but lost a point of S, AP and went from D3 damage to 1. Blightreaper cannons went from 2D to 1D and Plague Probes went from D3 damage to 1D. The biggest thing IMO is their 4+ explosion went from 7" D3 mortals to 6" 1 Mortal. They also separated this out for a datasheet for Death Guard specifically, 

Dreadclaw Drop Pod- Major Nerfs. Slower,  Lost a wound, lost Toughness, but no longer degrades on S and A... but really how much charging are you doing with a Dreadclaw? Thermal Jets are now an ability instead of a weapon that does mortal wounds to 1 unit instead of automatic hits on all units it passes over. It lost the Mchina Malifica and/or Hateful Assault abilities, meaning it no longer eats its people to heal or add attacks for charging. When it explodes it does only 1 mortal instead of D3 (and D6 against psykers!). Its blade struts did get stronger, and it didn't change points. I don't know why they hit it so hard with nerf bats. BUT it did gain drop pod assault, so its got that going for it. 

Blood Slaughterer- First of all it went to a single profile from a degrading one, so that is a nice boon. But instead of starting at S8 and 6A it now stay at S7 and 5A the whole time and is 9W instead of 10W, but it is BS 3+ and the Impaler Harpoon did gain 6" in range. It no longer has blind fury, but that's probably a good thing. Points went down by 15 points (per the last munitorum field manual). Overall probably a neutral change, but these aren't that common to begin with because they ultimately are just meh. Probably some cool tech in a Daemon Engine list, but nothing to write home about. 

Hell Blade- Minimum speed went barely up and it gained a wound. Helstorms turned into Auto cannons, which is a major improvement, gaining 12", doubling the number of shots and increasing S. They are 1 less AP and 1 less D and no change to do mortals (on a wound of a 6+ on the old profile). But the damage output is going to average higher and be more consistent. In unfotunately lost is Skyborn Predator rule though, which made it deadlier against other fliers. It did go up 5 points for base profile, but if you swap out for Lascannons, its 5 points cheaper.

Hell Talon- Faster as it degrades and gained 2 wounds and basically doubled attacks. Same weapon changes as the hellblade. The bomb was greatly simplified from 3 different affects to choose from to one you can use twice. Less useful against large units, but better against a cluster of small units, potentially decent for sniping characters with. 30 points cheaper too.

Greater Brass Scorpion- Gained 8W, went from 8/6/4 Attacks to flat 6 and 10/8/5 S to flat 8. Degrades with WS/BS now. The Soulshatter bombard is now just a Demolisher Cannon, and lost 2 points of S and no longer does more damage against Vehicles, Buildings and Monsters. The Hell Crusher Claws did gain a profile for mauling through hordes, making 3 attacks for each 1.  Scorpion cannon got weaker and less damage but gained 5 shots. And the hellmaws gained a range boost like other flamers. Explodes now on a 5+ instead a 4+ which is dissapointing. No longer forces perils onto psykers targeting it, but instead can ignore psychic powers on a 4+. Ultimately though, its a model with 28 wounds, and that makes it a 9th ed vulnerability with targeting rules. 

Kytan Ravager- No longer degrades in Attacks, instead in WS and BS. Gained 4W and now stays S8 instead of 10/8/5. Its slash melee attacks went from D3 damage to 2 flat, so it should average out to be the same, bit can no longer whiff. 30 point increase. But this is still a unit at 26W, which is a huge liability in 9th edition. 

Kharybdis Assault Claw- 75 point increase for the same nerfs really as the Dreadclaw above. It did gain 4 wounds and flattens out on S at 8, but it degrades worse with WS and BS now, has fewer attacks, and slows down. The Storm luncher is improved with a krak and frag version instead of 1 middile version. Blade struts are improved as they were on the Deadclaw. but the melta array is unfortunately half the S, down from 16 to 8. It does and the standard 9th ed damage bonus for melta though.

Chaos Daemons-

Uraka the Warfiend- Stat line improvements in M, S, W and A. Big Nerf to his shooting attack, going from D3 to 1 shot and D6 damage to 3. Range did double though and it is stronger. Melee damage improved to 3, but lost its ability to do d6 damage on a wound of a 6, so while more consistent, the big exciting gamble is gone. His tally mechanic was greatly simplified, but isn't as good overall IMO. And instead of a +S and A aura he now has a reroll aura. 5 point reduction. 

Mamon Transfigured- Much like Uraka, he had some stat line boosts, shooting profile impovements and more consistent damage out put for melee, all with a significant 70 point drop.

Cor'Bax Utterblight- some stat line tweeks as well for better more consitent output. Gaping Maw as nerfed extensively though, but it did gain the ability to swallow a model whole instead. Its putrid demise (explode) got smaller as well.  IMO this daemon was nerfed when all the others were boosted.

Scabeiathrax the Bloated- Massive points drop with some minor decreases in stats to bring him into the realm of playable. Horrific Vomit was made both more consistent and gained blast. Blade or decay has a higher average damage output now and rerolls built in.  He does do 1 less psychic power a turn than previously, but IMO he still has "it" and isn't a bad thing to consider, but Im not aware of current GUO stats either.

An'ggrath the Unbound- Much like Scabbie, massive points drop with some minor decreases in stats to bring him into the realm of playable. The axe of khorne picked up a second profile for dealing with hordes, and its higher damage profile wend fromd6 to d3+3. 

Aetaos'rau'keres- Points more than cut in half from 1500 to 700 with only minor stat reductions and a few improvements event (such as max S). It did go from 2d6 to d6 shots on its staff however, with 1 less S, and its warpfire talons are less for doing extra damage to large things through mortals to know being used to fight hordes. The mantle of twisted fate was made more effective and it gained the master of magics rule, making it a buff aura for S. 

Zarakynel- Decent point drop, about 150. but not as significant as above. some minor stat line tweeks, both good and bad. Its slicing claws went from being a strong melee weapon to being a dedicated anti-horde weapon, generating up to 24 A with them. The Soul eater blade also improved in its killing potential with higher S. 

Overall, much like SM, the Chaos SM stuff was nerfed pretty badly IMO. However, daemon players should rejoice. 9th edition is an infantry heavy edition, so with all the weapon profile changes to aid with hordes and the massive points drops. the have some good potential. Time shall tell if they get the love they deserve by players. Really their biggest impediment to use in play is model ownership and cost dollar wise.

Imperial Armour Compendium Critical Review: Part 5- Imperial Knights, Titan Legions, Chaos Knights and Chaos Titan Legions

A Continuation of our 11 part review of the Imperial Armour Compendium. This time we are diving into the Imperial and Chaos Knights and Titans.

Sorry for the long delay. Just more and more life has gotten in the way and I find myself without time lately. I've gotten 1 model painted all of March and find myself falling asleep having gotten no hobbying done for the past several weeks.  Also, several points changes and FAQs occurred since release.

I am really trying to not be salty in this, and I am going to be as factual as possible but maintain a critical eye, the intent of which is to inform you and maybe, just maybe, let GW know we notice and care about this stuff. The details matter in an expensive hobby like this, and if it takes a small time blog to hold them accountable then so be it.

This review will be an in depth 11 part series, and I will update and link each successive article below, so keep checking back for updates.

• Part 1- Book Overview
• Part 2- Space Marines
• Part 3- Astra Militarum
• Part 4- Grey Knights, Inqusition, Adeptus Mechanicus, Adeptus Custodes
• Part 5- Imperial Knights, Titan Legions, Chaos Knights and Chaos Titan Legions
• Part 6- Chaos Space Marines, Death Guard, and Chaos Daemons
• Part 7- Craftworlds and Drukhari
• Part 8- Necrons and Orks
• Part 9- T'au Empire and Tyranids
• Part 10- Death Korps of Krieg Focused Discussion
• Part 11- Forgeworld Warhammer Legends

First of all I want to discuss the Titans. Specifically, the titan legion rules

So now Titan Legions AND Secutarii can take a <TITAN LEGION> Keyword....

But there is nothing else to it. There are no benefits. No Warlord Traits. No Orders or Canticles or anything. I feel a bit deceived seeing as when GW was hyping the compendium on Warhammer Community, they mentioned "Rules for Titan Legions" as one of the new cool features. 

Now it is cool that Secutarii are of the same <TITAN LEGION>, and what is neat is that they can make Heroic interventions up to 6" if it is withing 6" of a friendly <TITAN LEGION> Titanic model.  Now what stinks about it is that there is no HQ unit with a <TITAN LEGION> keyword. Now while Secutarii do not stop Ad Mech units from taking a <FORGE WORLD>,  they cannot take a <FORGE WORLD> themselves, and there are very few buffs for things without a <FORGEWORLD> as far as I can tell. This doubly stinks considering FW actually does make a titan techpriest model that could have easily been give <TITAN LEGION>, and been able to interact more with Secutarii.

Now for the Chaos Titans, they have <HERETIC TITAN LEGION>. What stinks about this for them is there is really no benefit what so ever. They have no Secutarii to interact with and there is no longer a Dark Mechanicum faction (the Hellwrights moved to legends and they lost the keyword).

As for the Titans themselves, I feel they were massively Nerfed.

First of all, void shields.

They used to be an Invulnerable save that degraded with damage, and could also be used against mortal wounds.

They now operate as a temporary wound bank. So each void shield is 3 temporary wounds and a 5+ invuln (that does not work vs mortal wounds either). Each time a invuln is failed, the shield losses a shield point. What is nice is that this is irrespective of damage. The problem is that they can still be taken down relatively fast and then leave you multi-thousand point model completely open to AP. Hot-shot lasguns en-Masse can and will do damage to a titan without voids. The voids do come back each command phase, but seeing as a Warhound only has 2 voids and will be facing a 2000 point army on its own, there will be plenty of shooting to force 6 failed saves each turn. 

Now while each Titan did gain wounds, they all lost Toughness. Warhounds went from T9 to T8. Reavers T10 to T8. Warlords T16 to T9. Why? Wasn't the whole point of the system in 8th and 9th ed that you have stats over 10. With weapons that still go up to S16, S18 and even S20, this is disappointing IMO. The idea a Warlord Titan can be wounded on a 2+ is disheartening. 

Besides that, they all went up in points significantly and lost rules for any weapons not currently made by Forgeworld in 28mm scale. So things like Saturnyne Lascutter and Incinerator Missile Banks are gone entirely, and things like Warhound weapons as a carapace option on the Reaver or Warlord are no longer an option. 

Overall, Titan Legions lost a lot more than they gained.

I could go into specific weapons changes and details on the datasheet, but its largely pointless. These are rarely seen and if you own one, the reason for doing so has more to do with the model and collecting than actual game play. But it is still lamentable to see them reduced in power so much, especially since they were relatively easy to destroy even before. 

Next up, Forge World Knights

Cerastus Knights all lost a wound, but the Lancer did gain an Attack. Also, all but the lancer lost 2" of Movement, and now move as fast a Questoris Knight. They also all lost the Blessed Autosimulcra, meaning they no longer can gain a wound at the start of each turn. This used to be on a 5+, so it wasn't that reliable, but I am not sure why it had to go. Last of all, the Atrapos' Invuln save went from being a 4+ base to a 5+ and it lost its Macro Extinction protocols.

They all have Titanic Feet and the Super Heavy Walker rules... which aren't reprinted in the Compendium and you have to go to Codex Imperial Knights/Chaos Knights to read.

For weapons, the Lancer's lance got a nice boost with a stronger profile on the turn it charges, with moth higher S and Damage. 

The Castigator's bolt cannon gained 2 shots. The Tempest Warblade went to Damage 3 from 5, but it now makes hit rolls for each attack it has, essentially doubling its attacks. It did loose its ability to do an additional D3 mortals for each wound roll of a 6, but this likely all washes out with the increase in attacks, though Mortals were nice to bypass invulns and FNP.

The Acheron Reaper Chainfist got a nice bonus with a second profile that has higher damage (flat 6) at 2x S and AP -4, and the sweep attack now makes 3 hit rolls for each attack and no longer is -1 to hit.

The Atrapos weapons had some rather extensive changes. The Lascutter shooting now no longer generates bonus attacks if it slays its target, but instead rerolls to wound, making it more reliable against larger targets. In Melee it went from 1 profile with S8 AP-3 3D to 2 profiles, S6 AP-2 3D that makes 3 hits for each attack or a S12 AP-4 6D focused attack that has a reroll to wound vs monsters and vehicles. But the rerolls to hit vs monsters and vehicles is gone unfortunately. The Graviton Singularity Cannon also changed, gaining a dual profile. What is nice is there is a mode of fire that no longer risks doing damage to the Knight, and then if gained a boosted profile with an additional D6 shots shooting up to S14 and AP-4. The only thing is now on a roll of 1-3, instead of just a roll of 1, that mode does D3 mortal wounds (instead of 1). More reward, more risk.

So the Cerastus Knights are interesting. I don't think the FW compedium hurt them, in fact most of the multi-profiles were a boon, but really it is 9th edition that has done them the greatest disservice of all. At 26 Wounds, they are always vulnerable to shooting, and with only 3+ saves and 5+ invulns, they are just a tad too vulnerable IMO for their costs, and the Atrapos in particular took a hit. 

Next up, Questoris Knights: The Magaera and Styrix. Neither had stat line changes to speak of but had some nice weapon changes. They did loose the Blessed Auosimulacra just like their Cerastus cousins. And they have the same issue IRT Titanic Feet and the Super Heavy Walker rules. Their Preysight went from just ignoring +1 to cover saves to ignoring benefits of cover, which is nice.

The Hekaton Siege claw for both gained a dual profile, one of which makes 3 hits per attack at user 2 and a crush attack that is the same stat line as in 8th with an added bonus of +2D versus vehicles and monsters. 

The Twin Rad Cleanser also got a big boost with 3" extra range and wounding on a 2+ vice a 3+. 

For the Magaera, the Phased Plasma Fusil is boosted with +1S and the Lightning Cannon gained 2 shots, moved to flat 3 damage, gained a point of AP and additional hits on an unmodified 6 to hits. 

For the Styrix, the Graviton Crusher gained a point of AP and the Volkite Chieoroville does 2 mortal wounds on a wound of 6+, instead of just generating an additional hit.

The clear winner between the two is the Mageara IMO, and is worth looking at if you are taking a Knight or Knight Army... but as with the Cerastus, knights suffer from the rules of 9th more than from any shortfalls in their datasheets.

Next up the Acastus Knights- Porphyrion and Asterius. Now the Asterius was not in the previous Index, but it does have a PDF online for the Chaos one. Not sure when it came out though, so I am just  going to be looking at the Porphyrion stat line from the Index vs the Compendium. If I recall correctly the Asterius only came into 40 in 9th anyways.

First up, like the Titans they took a T hit, going down by 1 point. It also lost a point of WS and BS at each level of damage, which is a big nerf IMO.

The Helios launcher no longer subtracts 1 to hit vs non FLY units, but only gains +1 against Aircraft and that really would just make it equal to the BS of the Index.

 For the Asterius, the Conversion beamer can be stronger, but only very long ranges, which in 9th isn't very useful. Really only can be better than the Porphyrion Magna Cannons in large APOC games. However, the Mortar is nicer than the Helios missile launcher, but at Heavy 3D3, risks having a very low volume.

For the Points of both Acastus, I personally would rather have other knights. And as everything else here, they summer from the same issues in 9th as any Titanic unit. 

Last up is the Knight Armiger Moriax. Previous PDF found here from FW still.

It lost 2" of movement, but no other detrimental stat line changes. Otherwise it had no other changes except picking up Blast on the conversion beamer. 

So In summary, I would say Titans were Nerfed heavily while knights in general got some benefits (except my poor poor Atrapos). BUT this is 9th edition we are talking about, and there is a reason you are not seeing a lot of knights out there.

Imperial Armour Compendium Critical Review: Part 2- Space Marines

 A Continuation of our 11 part review of the Imperial Armour Compendium. This time we are diving into the Adeptus Astartes portion of the book.

I am really trying to not be salty in this, and I am going to be as factual as possible but maintain a critical eye, the intent of which is to inform you and maybe, just maybe, let GW know we notice and care about this stuff. The details matter in an expensive hobby like this, and if it takes a small time blog to hold them accountable then so be it.

This review will be an in depth 11 part series, and I will update and link each successive article below, so keep checking back for updates.

• Part 1- Book Overview
• Part 2- Space Marines
• Part 3- Astra Militarum
• Part 4- Grey Knights, Inqusition, Adeptus Mechanicus, Adeptus Custodes
• Part 5- Imperial Knights, Titan Legions, Chaos Knights and Chaos Titan Legions
• Part 6- Chaos Space Marines, Death Guard, and Chaos Daemons
• Part 7- Craftworlds and Drukhari
• Part 8- Necrons and Orks
• Part 9- T'au Empire and Tyranids
• Part 10- Death Korps of Krieg Focused Discussion
• Part 11- Forgeworld Warhammer Legends

Going to start with the most contentious part of the Space Marines (and CSM): MARTIAL LEGACY

Martial Legacy: If your Army is Battle-forged, then when this unit is included in a Detachment, increase that Detachment's Command Cost by 1CP.

This is a replacement for the old Relic rule and I have very mixed feelings about it. While its okay if you were taking 1 Leviathan or Relic Contemptor, it really adds up and makes taking thematic/fluffy lists much more difficult. It also means where as before you could take a Relic in each battlefeild role (Heavy Support, Fast Attack, Elites, etc) relatively easily, you now have a heavy cost and 3 units with martial legacy starts having the same command cost as a full detachment, without any real reason to. It really gets absurd when you start talking about Outrider/Vanguard/Spearhead detachments, and it becomes entirely too burdensome in Super-Heavy detachments. One Lord of War with martial Legacy costs 4 CP to take! Three of them would cost 6! People already are not using Lords of War in 9th edition, and this really puts the nail in that coffin for Space Marines, even with points reductions. 

Really, units should be costed by points or power level alone. If they units needed to be restricted further, then modify their points, or stick with the old Relic method IMO. Or limit them 1 per detachment, or make a techmarine a list requirement (to watch over the venerable wargear). 

Moving on from that into the next segment: Chapters of Renown.

These Chapters include the Red Scorpions, Minotaurs, Blood Ravens, Astral Claws and Carcharodons. Its dissapointing how greatly reduced this list is from previous incarnations, where FW had rules for Mantis Warriors, Lamenters, Red Hunters, Executioners, Exorcists, Fire Angels, Raptors, Sons of Medusa.

But really it doesn't matter that all those chapters are missing, because all the ones present get is a paragraph of fluff and suggested Chapter Successor Traits. Gone are the days of Red Scorpions with Apothecary Sergeants. 

I think this is an okay way to handle the chapters from a balance perspective, however it feels like a cop out. What really makes it feel like a zero effort decision is the fact that White Dwarf at my time of reading this has given two chapters full rules, with traits, warlord traits, stratagems, and even a character (Silver Templars and Tome Keepers). And these are INDEX ASTARTES chapters, implying they are official as Physic Awakening has things like INDEX INQUISITION and Warhammer Community released an INDEX ASTARTES for Space Wolves, Death Watch, Dark Angels, Blood Angels and Black Templars all to hold them over until their supplements came out.

So it would have been nice to at least see a trait for each of these chapters. A lot of people starting playing these because they played the Badab War. It would have been nice for the veterans, which I always felt FW was more aimed at any ways.

But a real big problem here is these are just "Suggestions" and "Recommendations" meaning you could theoretically use any of the Characters with and of the Codex Tactics. Want Carab Culln to have Iron Hands benefits? You can. Want Tyberos the Red Wake to have Space Wolves or Blood Angels now that they are in the codex? You can. I can see this loophole getting closed in the future though. 

Moving on we have the Characters. One nice thing is all of them do no have prescribed Warlord traits, so you can choose. This is unusual for characters. Overall though, I would say the characters massively improved, so if you use these guys (or want to given the loophole above), they are definitely more worth it than before. 

1. Carab Culln The Risen- Red Scorpions- 135 points cheaper. Leviathan Dreadnought, and the only one without Martial Legacy, so a sneaky way for "Ultramarines" to get a Leviathan. Or really anyone with the noted loop hole above. Missing stats for his heavy bolter, heavy flamers, HK missiles, and twin-assault cannon. Makes you refer to the Contemptor Dreadnought in SM codex for Duty Eternal rule and Captain in the codex for Rites of Battle. He did not have rules in the previous index, but they were in a pdf (Index has his terminator form). Like all Leviathans his Invuln. Save is now a 5+ rather than a 4+. He now only explodes on a 6 rather than a 5 and 6. Death Hold was changed extensively, but still serves a purpose. No longer does mortal wounds, but no longer 1 use only. No longer has a FNP aura. Stats changes- lost 1 wound, 1 point of Toughness and 1 point of LD. Gained 1A. Gained an inch of movement in both of his degraded profiles.  
2. Casab Sabius- Red Scorpions- 40 points cheaper. Another character not in the index, but who had a PDF. Missing stats for his bolt pistol and grenades. Need to go to the SM codex for Rites of Battle. Purity of Aspect, Action of Intent rule now only affects CORE units, but still only 1 unit a turn. Now can be used in an army with Terminator Carab Culln, but Terminator Culln is now only a legends unit.
3. Lugft Huron- Astral Claws- 10 points cheaper. You have to refer to the codex for Rites of Battle , Teleport Strike, his Iron Halo and Chapter Master. His Ghost Razers are now just 2 damage lightning claws, loosing 2 points of AP and becoming flat damage rather than D3. They can reroll to wound, which is good because he is just S4. However, they used to ignore invulnerable saves, which is gone now.  Atificer flamer went up to 12" like all flamers, and went from D3 damage to flat 2. His built in bombardment is now just a one time use of the Orbital Bombardment Stratagem for 0 CP. He lost his bonus 1 CP for the army, but he comes back to life now on a 4+ instead of a 5+ and comes back with D3 wounds instead of 1. However, he can only do it once now, where as before it was each time he was reduced to 0 wounds.
4. Armenneus Valthex- Astral Claws- 15 point increase Missing stats for his bolt pistol and grenades. Now a Master of the Forge. You have to refer to the codex for Blessing of the Omnissiah, Awaken the Machine Spirits and Master of the Forge. His conversion beamer lost a point of S on long range, but gained a point of AP at both short and long range. The Indynabula Array gained a point of S and now works much more straight forward, making 2 additional attacks instead of D3 if there are 3 or more enemies within 1". His aura now only affects bolt weapons of 1 CORE non-primaris unit instead of all boltguns/stormbolters within 6". However, this means you could now put him next to a unit of Devastators with heavy bolters.
5. Gabriel Angelos- Blood Ravens- 45 points cheaper. Another non-index character with a PDF instead. Have to refer to the codex for Teleport Strike, Iron Halo, Rites of Battle and Chapter Master. Gained an inch of movement, 1W and 1A. Also now BS 2+ instead of 3+, but has nothing to shoot and lost his grenades. Sweeping blows on his God-Splitter now makes 3 additional attacks instead of 1 attack for each enemy within 1". He no longer does D3 Mortal wounds to the unit that kills him. Instead he gained a comical "Leap into the Fray" based off his slick moves in Dawn of War 3. When he charges, roll a D6 and on a 4+ the enemy takes D3 mortals. 
6. Aseterion Moloc- Minotaurs- 5 points cheaper. Have to refer to the codex for Teleport Strike, Iron Halo, Rites of Battle, Chapter Master and Priest. His storm shield is now a relic shield, but has the same rules. He gained a wound and an attack. His reroll charge aura now affects CORE and Characters instead of just infantry. His Black Spear shooting profile gained a point of AP and is flat 3 damage instead of D3, but the melee no longer does an extra attack vs characters. 
7. Ivanus Enkomi- Minotaurs- No points change. Have to refer to the codex for Rosarius and Spritual leaders. Missing stats for his Astartes Grenade Launcher and power fist. His crozius gained a point of S and now ignores invuln saves.
8. Severin Loth- Red Scorpions- 15 points cheaper. Have to refer to the Codex for Psychic Hood, Chief Librarian and his Psyker rules, which specify Primaris Libarian. He Lost a point of WS, lost a W and his 2+ save is now a 3+ save. Missing stats for his bolt pistol and grenades. His aura now only affects CORE units. In general, first character I would call "Nerfed".
9. Tyberos the Red Wake- Carcharodons- 15 points cheaper. Have to refer to the codex for Teleport Strike, Rites of Battle and Chapter Master. Gained on point of BS, but he has no shooting attacks. Gained +1A Uses to re-roll all hits for his aura. His +1S str aura is now just CORE and Characters. Hunger and Slake used to have different stats, now they are combined. Compromised on the S by making it +2 and adopted the higher AP of Hunger and lower damage of Slake with rerolls to wound from slake. No -1 to hit from Hunger anymore. 
10.  Bray'arth Ashmantle- Salamanders- 110 point reduction!!! Have to refer to the codex for Duty Eternal, referencing the Dreadnought this time. Lost TWO points of toughness, down from 9 to 7. IMO would have been nice for him to stay 8 at least. Gained 2A though and at least kept a 2+ save. Last place with Dreadfire claws (they aren't even a legends wargear option for some reason). Dreadfire claws now a flat 4 damage instead of D6. Dreadfire heavy flamer dropped a point of damage from 3 to 2 but gained 4" like all flamers. Burning wrath went up from 2" to 3". Explosion radius dropped from 6" to 3".
11. Hecaton Aiakos- Minotaurs- 15 point increase. Have to refer to the codex for Duty Eternal, referencing the Dreadnought this time. Maintained his 4+ invuln. Missing stats for all his weapons (heavy plasma cannon, storm bolter, dreadnought CCW). Heavy plasma cannon is at least improved though, but that's game wide. Lost his 6+ FNP. His mortal wound ability was nerfed from D3 mortal wounds against a unit he charged to only working on a 3+ vs vehicles, and only doing 1 wound at that, though D3 on a 6+. Explosion radius dropped extensively from 8" to 3". Nerfed overall, but maybe not as much as maybe other Dreads in comparison.

And that's it for characters. I didn't cover Power Level changes, but they all improved there too. Except for Severin Loth and Hecaton Aiakos, I would say the characters are some of the biggest wins of the book. That is at least for the characters here. Not including Terminator Culln, there are 16 characters gone. They are in legends, but its sad to see them go.

Now for the vehicles. One thing I miss about the old index is how they broke up the sections into battlefield support, heavy armour, etc. Its a minor detail, but inconsequential really. But the vehicles here are where some nerfs start rolling in and units start loosing some of their flavor. We also lost Deimos predators, despite them being still sold by Forgeworld. LR Helios and Prometheus are gone, as is the Infernum Razorback. 

1. Damocles Command Rhino.  33 points cheaper. Doesn't have stormbolter stats listed, its only base wargear. Lost self-repair. Its special rules changed entirely. It now has a 6" aura for rites of battle and tactical precision if a unit on the field has those. Now also gives you +1 CP a turn on the roll of a 5+ instead of a 2d6 roll below the LD of your warlord. However, your warlord no longer needs to be embarked either. It has a limit of one per detachment now. It lost its orbital strike. Also made sure to spell out it cannot transport wulfen or centurion models, but I don't believe there are any characters of those either, and it can only transport 1 character model... so pointless inclusion but future proof I guess. Though I doubt there will ever be a centurion character.
2. Land Raider Proteus. 35 point reduction. Martial Legacy tank. Missing Twin Lascannon stats, its base wargear, but for some reason lists twin heavy flamer, one of its options, but the only option it lists. Attacks at its lowest bracket went up from 1 to D3. Augury web and heavy armour stayed the same, except heavy armour no longer reduces transport capacity. Like all land raiders, it sadly no longer has PotMS.
3. Land Raider Achilles. 15 Point Reduction. Missing optional weapons stats. Invuln save went down to a 5+. Quad launcher lost a point of Strength, gains blast. Added volkites as base instead of multi-meltas. 
4. Sicarans (all variants)- Arcus and Omega are pdfs. 15 to 35 points reductions depending on variant. All have Martial Legacy. All variants are missing optional weapons stats and hull heavy bolter stats. Attacks went from 4/3/2 to 3/D3/1. Explosions went from D6 mortals to D3. Accelerator Cannon lost 2 shots, became heavy, but gained 1 AP and is D2 instead of D2. However it lost its +1 to hit vs Fly and -3 AP on hits of 6+. So some nerfing and flavor loss there. Venator hit bad flavor wise, as it went from being "gyro stabalized" not having penalties for moving and firing to now having to remain stationary to get a bonus. That bonus though is the gun goes from D6 damage to flat 6. Neutron laser also lost a point of AP. Punisher gained a point of S on the rotary cannon, but the tank lost its ability to reroll 1's to hit for remaining stationary. Arcus launcher gained a point of S, lost a point of AP, gained a point of damage, and no longer does mortal wounds on a wound roll of 6 to infantry. While the other Sicarans were slightly nerfed, Omega was boosted. Plasma gained a point of S and D on standard and 3 shots on supercharge. It also gained 12" of range, and a roll of 1 to hit now does 1 damage vice D3. It did lose extra mortal wounds on the target though.
5. Rapier Carrier- 25 point reduction. Lost a crewman model, but the crew can no longer be targeted separately to kill the carrier.  Gained 1" of movement. Gained the graviton cannon and the quad mortar came back after going missing in 8th. Laser destroyer last 2 points of S, and damage is no longer D3+3, instead it is D6 and you roll and additional D6. On a 3-5, damage is 2D6 and on a 6 damage is 3D6. 
6. Vindicator Laser Destroyer. 25 point reduction. No stats for its storm bolter. Lost its ability to fire twice for remaining stationary and instead gained 1 shot for the laser destroyer. Damage went to D3+3. It lost a point of AP for overcharge, but it no longer takes mortals on a hit roll of 1, unless it moves. And now it takes 1 mortal wound instead of 3. Overall an improvement. 
7. Whirlwind Scorpius. 65 point reduction. Missing stats for weapons options. Lost its ability to fire twice when stationary, major nerf but maybe still worth it at the points. But then there is martial legacy. Just take a normal whirwind.  
8. Terrax-Pattern Termite. 44 point increase. Gained 4 wounds.  Attacks went from 6/D6/D3 to 3/D3/1, which is a big nerf for the Drill. Drill also lost its cascading mortal wounds and instead just went to D3+3 damage and D3+6 vs vehicles. This may be better, but its less flavorful IMO and is majorly offset by losing attacks. For some reason they finally included storm bolters here. Volkites gained 5" and they do mortals on a wound of 6. Heavy Flamer and melta cutter gained the game wide bonuses all flamers and meltas have been getting, but melta also went from heavy D6 to heavy 5 and gained 4" of range. So the drill got better at shooting, but worse at drilling, which seems to be the point.
9. Tarantula Sentry Batteries. 10 points cheaper (HB and Lascannon versions). Went from heavy support to fortifications, which stinks, but fortunately you get CP back if they are the same faction as your Warlord. Lost 3 points of LD which doesn't makes sense IMO. Its a machine. Not sure how relevant it will be, but I am sure it will matter for some psychic powers. No longer can take assault cannons or multi-meltas (except as legends wargear). Still has to shoot the closest unit, but its simplified how you determine that IMO.

Dreadnoughts. Dreadnoughts hurts me. There is some good stuff for the game here, but Siege Dreads, Chaplain Dreads, and Mortis/Contemptor Mortis Dreads are gone (and contemptor mortis and siege aren't even in legends). Beyond that, Martial Legacy really starts to kill you if you take several of these units below. Overall this may be better for the game, but I also feel the biggest problems with Leviathans had already been fixed. Martial legacy really makes me question their usefulness even with their point reductions. 

1. Deredeo Dread- 60 point reduction. Martial Legacy. Have to refer to the codex for Duty Eternal and Atomantic shielding. And it lost its layered atomantic shielding that gave it a 4+ invuln in combat. The datasheet doesn't list stats for its twin heavy bolter. Lost the Atomantic Paviase option. Anvillus lost a point of S and gained an AP. Plasma carronade gained a lower non super charged mode and 1 shot. Lascannon battery lost a point of S and AP to change damage to D3+3 from D6. Ailos missile launcher gained D3 shots. The Boreas Air Defence Battery and Volkite Falconet battery are new additions. However, the Boreas is now the only thing that is better are shooting aircraft, as the helical targeting array is gone. Now only explodes on a 6 instead of a 5 or 6.
2. Relic Contemptor Dread-  Base wargear changed, but for the same load out it would be a 5 point reduction. Has Martial Legacy. Basically replaces the Mortis Dread as well, but was always able to be in a "Mortis" configuration. Some big nerfs here. Lost 3 wounds, WS and BS are now 3+ all the time, but no longer degrades down to 4+ with 1-2 wounds left. Always base 4 attacks, no degrading. 2+ save degraded to a 3+ save. 4+ invuln degraded to a 5+. Missing a bunch of the weapon options, including base wargear on its sheet. C-beam cannon is now a conversion beamer and is weaker and does less damage, but is now a Heavy D3 with blast.  Gained the twin volkite culvern. Lost its reroll to hit for having 2 Dreadnought CCW and its 6+ FNP. Explosion radius is now 3" vice 6".
3. Leviathan Dreadnought- Base wargear changed, but for the same load out it would be a 130 point reduction. Lost a point of S, T, WS and BS. Invuln save went from 4+ to 5+. Cyclonic melta lance wend from heavy 2d3 to heavy d6, its blast now, but thats worse. Also didn't get the melta damage bonus most things are getting. Siege claws now only make 1 additional attack and lost their reroll to wound vs infantry. Siege drills went from flat 4 damage to 2D3 and 6 vs vehicles. Storm Cannons lost 2 shots and 1 ap, but went to 36" range from 24". Still not worth it IMO. Explosion is now just on a 6 and shrank to 6" from 9".  Ultimately, this doesn't feel like the venerable warrior it should be. Really to me, its the loss of the WS and BS that makes it feel wrong the most.

Not much on the drop pods. The Dreadnought Pod lost a point of T and can no longer drop in a Leviathan (or Deredeo but no one did that before), so nerfed a bit. It now explodes as well. The Deathstorm Drop Pod got a slight boost in overwatch and the missile is now D6 instead of D3 damage, which is good.

Landspeeders were both nerfed pretty bad IMO.

1. Land Speeder Tempest. 35 point increase. Doesn't list the stats for its assault cannon, the tempest launcher is now just a Typhoon Launcher, which is lame IMO. And the tempest lost its super boost and in exchange just gained 1" of movement, which is laughable because thats the same as all speeders. Its explosion shrunk from 6" to 3". Really lost all reason to ever use a Tempest and it no longer feels unique anyway.
2. Javelin Attack Speeder. 15 point increase. Martial legacy... 1 CP to take this thing? Oof. Missing stats for its heavy bolter and wargear options. Gained an inch of movement and 1d6 for frag and 1 shot for krak. But still, 1 CP for a boosted missile launcher is a lot to ask. It also lost an attack and a point of LD. 

The Flyers are a mixed bag, but what really stinks is they all gained Martial Legacy for some reason, even though none of them were Relics before. And the Caestus Ram is gone. 

1. Xiphon- 55 point increase. It does not have its lascannon stats listed and has to refer to the codex for Airborne, Hard to Hit, and Supersonic. And it is nerfed for sure. Not only did it pick up Martial Legacy, but it lost +1 hit to FLY on its lascannons, building it into its missile launcher instead. Launcher gained a point of S at least, which is nice considering most flyers are T7 so it will wound on a 4+. But the lascannons were nicer still. It gained 1 W and now instead of flat 2 A, it is 3/D3/1. Gained 10" of movement and is faster as it degrades, but tables are smaller and this really doesn't matter except in massive games. It always moves at least 20" and its weapons have 48" and 60" range, so it should always be able to shoot everything.
2. Storm Eagle- 45 point decrease. ROC pattern is gone. Missing a lot of weapons stats on its datasheet. Have to go to the codex for Airborne, Hard to Hit, Hover Jet, and Supersonic. Gained 2W and Attacks went to 6/D6/D3 from 3/D3/1. Hellstrike Launcher +1 to hit vs aircraft and is D3+3 damage against them, but otherwise unchanged. Vengeance launcher gained a point of S. So an improvement, but incrementally enough to be worth 1CP?
3. Fire Raptor- 160 point decrease. Have to go to the codex for Airborne, Hard to Hit, Hover Jet, and Supersonic. Missing its lascannon stats on the page. Hellstrikes got the same bonus as the Storm Eagle. Same stat line changes as well. And martial legacy... again, why?

Now the super heavies. Martial Legacy almost makes these not worth dicussing. Lords of War are already left off the table by most players because of the CP cost of their detachment. And the rules writers decided that all the SM LOW (other than the Astraeus) needed to be an ADDITIONAL CP? Really? So even with the massive points drops, they are likely still never to be seen. Add to it, most of them don't have invulns. Its just rough to take any. Also, the Thunderhawk Transporter is gone (unsurprisingly). 

1. Typhon. 370 point decrease. Missing stats on its datasheet for all its optional weapons. This tank was unplayable in 8th due to is cost, but it got the MASSIVE points decrease it deserved. But the looming cost of CP is going to keep it off the table still unfortunately, and then it was nerfed beyond that as well. Dreadhammer also lost a point of CP and the ability to double its range if stationary. Explosion went from 2D6" to D6+6". Lost a point of T, and if anything should have stayed T9, it should be the Typhon. It also lost 2 wounds and attacks wend from 8/6/D3 to 6/D6/D3 which hurts crushing tracks. Lost Steel Behemoth but picked up titanic. So it can fall back and shoot, but not charge like it used to. Lost its ability to shoot its dreadhammer out of combat. 
2. Cerberus. 280 points decrease. Same missing option stats and statline changes as the Typhon. Nuetron Pulse array gained 1 shot and damage went to 3+D6 up from 2D3, and it goes to D6 if it was a stationary. However, it lost its ability to make its targets -1 BS after taking damage from the gun. And then Martial Legacy casts its specter on the tank as well. Also lost Steel Behemoth but picked up titanic.
3. Spartan. 50 point decrease. Same missing option stats and statline changes as the Typhon. Laser Destroyer has the same changes as the Vindicator Laser Destroyer did. Lost Steel Behemoth but picked up titanic. Overall nerfed. And of course, Martial Legacy to boot.
4. Fellblade. 180 point reduction. Missing the stats of a lot of weapons options and base wargear, like demolisher cannon. Lost a point of S and T. Attacks went from 9/6/3 to 6/D6/D3. HE shells gained a point of D and the Laser Destroyer option has the same changes as the Vindicator and Spartan. Also lost the Steel Behemoth ability for Titanic. And then there is Martial Legacy again. 
5. Falcion. 380 point reduction. Missing the stats of a lot of weapons options and base wargear. Same stat line changes as the Fellblade. Same laser destroyer changes as above. Valcon cannon massively nerfed too, going from 2D6 shots to 2D3, lost 2 points of S, and 2D6 damage went to 6 damage flat. And usually I like flat damage more, but flat 6 will average less than 2D6 on 2D3 shots, though it does have Blast now to counteract that.  Lost Steel Behemoth but picked up titanic. And is has Martial Legacy. 
6. Astraeus. 43 point reduction. Another unit from a PDF and not the Index. No Martial Legacy. Refer to the codex for Hover Tank (meaning its enhanced repulsor field subtracting from opponent charge rolls against it). Missing stats for its storm bolter, ironhail and lascannon options. Void Shields changed massively, but where I think they are worse on Titans, they are better here due to the nature of it being lower to begin with than they are on the Titans. They now act as a wound bank that can't overflow, but once they are gone they are gone and they cannot prevent mortal wounds. Lasrippers lost 12" of range. Plasma Eradicators went to D6 shots, gained blast, gained a point damage but lost a point of S. Macro-accelerator lost its bonus to hit against units with fly just like the sicaran, which stinks considering the fluff behind the accelerator cannons. And also lost Steel Behemoth but picked up titanic. 
7. Mastadon. 230 point reduction. Missing the stats of a lot of weapons options and base wargear.  Attacks went from 8/6/D6 to 6/D6/D3. Siege melta array did get the new melta bonuses, but went from Heavy 4D3 to Heavy 6 and lost a point of S, so nerfed. Skyreaper went from 5 damage to 2 damage but gained a point of AP. It no longer is -1 to hit against ground targets though and now only gets +1 against AIRCRAFT and not just FLY. Same Void shield changes as the Astraeus. And also lost Steel Behemoth but picked up titanic. It too has Martial Legacy.
8. Thunderhawk Gunship.  710 MASSIVE points decrease and no Martial Legacy. Missing stats on the sheet for a bunch of base wargear. Have to refer to the codex for Airborne, Hard to Hit, Hover Jet and Supersonic. Attacks went from 6/4/3/2 to 6/D6/D3. Lost a point of BS at its highest bracket. Has a rule to specify you ALWAYS measure to the hull which is important after Aresgate in competitve 9th edition. Hellstrike battery got the same bonuses as on the Fire Raptor and Storm Eagle. Thunderhawk heavy cannon went from D6 damage to D3+2 and blast. The Turbo-laser Heavy 3 instead of D3 and gained a point of AP, but damage went to flat 6 instead of 2D6, and lost its ability to do D3 mortal wounds on a wound roll of 6. Lost its invulnerable save which is BIG IMO.  Cluster bombs did get alot better, procing on a 4+ instead of 5+ now, and up to 18 dice instead of 12 or 3D6 vs Vehicles/Monsters instead of 2D6.
9. Sokar Stormbird. 1310 MASSIVE POINTS DECREASE. And useable in 2k games now. Missing stats on the sheet for a bunch of base wargear. Have to refer to the codex for Airborne, Hard to Hit, Hover Jet and Supersonic. Attacks went from 6/4/3/2 to 6/D6/D3. Lost a point of T and lost a point of BS at its highest bracket. Same hellstrike battery changes as everything else. Same Void Shield Change as the Astreaus. Not as good here, since they did start at a 4+ on the old stormbird. Also, lost its built in 5+ invuln, so once voids are gone that is gone. Has collosal flyer to measure to the hull just as the Thunderhawk. Also lost its ability to project a shield around units. Comes with Martial Legacy. Obviously, if you own this its not for the rules. But if you are looking to buy a gigantic SM Flyer, I'd personally stick with the Thunderhawk.

Well that is Space Marines. Wall of text, but aside from Astra Mil, this should be the longest.

Space Marine faired variably. All the Characters improved (except Loth) and the standard tanks faired okay. BUT dreads get beat up pretty well, and the Lords of War are just unplayable in standard 40k really, except maybe the Thunderhawk? Problem is with it, because of its size there are several deployment layouts where it will not be allowed to do anything turn 1. And while there are alot of points decreases, that seems to have been a theme of 9th overall so far. Sure some of these tanks dropped in points, but so did Terminators. Really, loosing T and W on a bunch of these while things like melta are getting enhanced damage makes you wonder it there is a current anti-vehicle sentiment in the design studio. Just compare the characters above to the rest of the SM stuff.

Allies of Inconvenience- Episode 22: Codex Space Marines Initial Review

There has been some delay in the release of this episode due to real work circumstances, but back at the start of August 2019, Chris, Jason and Evan sat down to talk about the new Codex Space Marines (before the dark times... before the Iron Hands) and the first two supplements; Ultramarines and White Scars. What follows is their typical buffoonery.

Listen/Subscribe on iTunes 
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00:00 Intro
04:36 Hobby Progress
31:11 Codex Space Marines Review

Songs and Soundclips
Blue Mark- Atlan Urtag
Kaap mere- Bugotak
Clip 1 and 2- Warhammer TV "By the Will of My Father"

Custodes Beta Rules Review: Part 4- LoW, Dedicated Transport and Closing Thoughts

Over the next few days I will be breaking down the Adeptus Custodes Beta Rules for Warhammer 40k that were released last month. You can download them here (for free) if you haven't had the chance to check them out yet.

Part Four below goes into the Lord of War and Dedicated Transport, as well as closing thoughts on the Beta rules.

Part One covered the Elites Choices. Part Two covered Fast Attacks. Part Three discussed the Heavy Support Choices.

Coronus Grav-Carrier

Well for starters, it is better than the Land Raider for what it does (Deliver infantry to the enemy lines), though not as tough. But you don’t need it to be as tough (besides it has that 2” buffer from Gravitic Backwash). You need it to live into turn 2 or 3 and deliver its cargo. And this transport can and will do that.

What makes it better?  Simple the fact it is cheaper and faster. Sure the Land Raider is still by far deadlier. But the point of these vehicles is to transport something even deadlier inside. And seeing how the Coronus can transport that unit faster, and isn’t as large of a points sink, it just strikes me as being the better of the two options for this job.

To me the obvious choices to transport are Pythirite Spears or Wardens. Terminators as well if you couldn’t (or didn’t want to) deep strike the. IMO Allarus actually, seeing as Aquilon with Firepikes are Deep Striking gods of gold now.

The weapon is the same lackluster and non-sensical Twin Arachnus Blaze Cannon found on the Pallas. Really really  falling short of the dual Twin-Las of the Godhammer, and as I said in Part 2, the Burst mode really should be Heavy 12 or more. The lack of firepower causes some hesitation for me to taking one.

However, what really stops me from taking one is I just don’t think it is needed. Custodes work very much like a Hammer and Anvil IMO. Jetbikes, Grav Tanks, Jump Infantry and Deep Striking are all HAMMERS. The rest of the list is an Anvil. All a Coronus does is make your Anvil mobile. And if you really need to do that, you could with deep striking and spend your precious points on something far more lethal.

Orion Assault Dropship

Probably one of the Toughest Flyers in the game. Really a solid choice, but something you very carefully have to consider taking and have a plan how to use it, and importantly, how to use your army when it dies.

Must better than the Land Raider for what it does. For one, it has some okay firepower (though 2 Caladius would still be more for a little less points). The Blaze cannon is strong, but capping at 3 damage really limits it. It really should be 2d3 or d6 IMO.

This is also amazingly fast. The problem there being you will quickly outrun all your support characters, so just be ready to deal with rolling snake eyes on the To Hit of the blaze cannons, as well sacrificing transport space for a few characters to join your embarked assault force.

The ability to transport a Dreadnought is really nice, and makes the standard contemptor much more viable IMO. Other candidates for transport are the same as I mentioned above for the Coronus, plus a shield captain or Trajann and/or Vexilla of some sort. If you aren’t bringing a Dreadnought inside the Orion, I would highly recommend filling three of the spots with a basic troop squad. This allows you to deliver an assault force that can continue to me mobile, while leaving behind a tough as nails troop squad to hold what ever objective you storm.

But just like the Coronus, I’m not convinced on this big boy. I mean, it is super fluff and you should take it if you want to. Not a bad move. BUT It is 448 points. That is nearly ¼ of a 2k army. And in a small model count army, that really REALLY eats into your body count and ability to have board control. It is the reason why the land raider was balked at when the codex dropped. It is just wicked expensive. And on top of that, you are likely putting another 300-500 points inside of it. You are easily end up with over half your army in one drop. So sure, that can help you go first but… if you get seized on, there are armies that can take this down in a turn. And even if you don’t get seized on, don’t be surprised if this big scary monster that cannot hide and everything will have LOS too gets shot by literally every unit in your opponent’s army until it is dead. And that is another downside to its cost. If you lose it early on in your game, that is ¼ of your army gone in one blow. And with its low damage weaponry, it is likely it will not ever earn its points back in lethality. You have to just hope the act of being a taxi was worth it.

Furthermore, just like the Coronus, it is really for transporting around Anvils when you already have plenty of hammers you can swing. It just isn’t NEEDED in the army. There are many more optimal choices, both in and out of the codex.

Closing Thoughts on the Beta

Overall I am quite happy with the second Custodes beta. Only disappointment not mentioned is that there was one close combat dread in the previous beta that did not make this one. Would have been nice to see another new model drop. But such is life.

"Don't listed to her, she gives bad advice."

The biggest winners of this Beta are the Caladius w/ Accelerator Cannon, Aquilon Terminators w/ Firepikes and Solerite Guantlets, Achillus Dreadnought and finally Agamatus Custodes w/ Las-Pulsers. Solid choices all of them, and they all have their place in the Army and do their prescribed job well.

Pretty much everything else is decent (still Custodes afterall) but just not optimal. If you are playing garagehammer or wanting to bring the boys in gold but no jetbikes, this new Beta really does a great job providing new options and some depth to an otherwise limited codex army.


That is it for part four! Tell us what you think in the comments below and make sure to check out all our Custodes content.

Custodes Beta Rules Review: Part 3- The Heavy Support

Over the next few days I will be breaking down the Adeptus Custodes Beta Rules for Warhammer 40k that were released last month. You can download them here (for free) if you haven't had the chance to check them out yet.

Part Three below will discuss the Heavy Support Choices.

Part One covered the Elites Choices. Part Two covered Fast Attacks. Part Four will go into their Lord of War and Dedicated transport, as well as closing thoughts on the Beta rules.

Caladius Grav Tank

This is another great choice in the Beta IMO. Last time I did a lot of comparison of it to the Pallas Grav-Attack, and really it just out shines the Pallas in every way. Yes it is twice the points, but it outshines TWO Pallas at the same points cost. It has one more T,  nearly double the range with the Accelerator Cannon, more firepower at a higher quality, and degrades at essentially the same point you would lose one complete Pallas (7 T7 wounds vice 8 T6 wounds).

To me the no brainer load out is the Twin Iliastus Accelerator Cannon. Its like a better battle cannon. Add to this its suped up Twin Heavy Bolter (Twin Lastrum Bolt Cannon), and you have a solid support platform. Power of the Machine Spirit means this can stay mobile and be useful, running it in support of jetbikes. Alternatively, with its range it can sit back near an objective with a foot captain nearby and maybe some Sagittarum or a Telemon and just pour on some fire.

But there is another load out... and I would never ever use it. The Twin Arachnus Heavy Blaze Cannon is MORE POINTS than the Accelerator and just A LOT WORSE. What I really don't get is why the TWIN HEAVY version has as many beam shots and LESS RANGE than the Telemon's Arachnus Storm Cannon. I guess it still has double the burst, but just no range. But even double the burst doesn't matter because for 80 points I get TWO Telemon Storm cannons, vice 100 points for one on the Caladius. So for less points, you get more beam shots, same amount of burst, and less range. It just doesn't make sense. To further complicate it, the Twin Arachnus Blaze Cannon on the Pallas has the same number of Beam shots, but half the burst shots? Why? At least their ranges agree.

There is just no world in where you should take the Heavy Blaze over the Accelerator Cannon, especially when compared to the Telemon.

One thing I've liked to do with this is the Overwatch stratagem, blast people away, and then watch them fail the charge because they had to subtract 2 inches from their roll. It is just brutal to see. And then you zoom away next turn and make them wonder why they even tried.

The one thing I wish this had was T8, but it is still good without it, and not a bad anti-armour option at its price point.

I really REALLY wish FW sold the turrets to these tanks as upgrades. I wouldn't mind having both turrets for three of these tanks, but I really don't want 6 hulls to do it.

Telemon Heavy Dreadnought

A true Star of the Custodes Army. While this did get worse from the last Beta, it went down in points and lost the one per army limit, so overall win for the unit on its own. In context of the Army though, he definitely lost ground to the Caladius. A solid all-rounder, but expensive to say the least.

I am note sure what load out I'd take on the Telemon TBH. Magnets for the win there I guess. As discussed above, its Arachnus Storm Cannon is just superior to what you get on the Caladius or the Pallas, so if you want that weapon role in your army, this is the platform for it. If you double down on them, for only 62 more points than a Accelerator Caladius, you get more range, more shots, T8 and a 2+/4+ with a 6+ FNP. You loose speed and PotMS, but you have the range, so not entirely needed.

The Accelerator is decent. Better on the Caladius (a flip there), but much more affordable as a weapon. I wouldn't double up on these, but if you want an all rounder Telemon, one with a Casestus isn't terrible. The Caestus is nice, because it really puts this into the range of killing Knights in combat, especially if you take two and deep strike. I just wish to save points I could take Lastrum Storm Bolters in lieu of the Plasma Projectors. Not that the Projectors are bad, but 30 points for two 8" range weapons isn't that impressive to me. At least they are 2d3 instead of d6 shots. Really, every flamer weapon in the game should move towards that shaped distribution.

What is really nice about it, unlike its Leviathan cousins, is it is ALWAYS base 4 attacks. Makes even a dual shooty version able to handle being assaulted. The fact that Caestus add attacks is just gravy.

Sagittarum Custodes

I want to like these guys more. But they suffer in the same way the Pyrithite and Adrasite Spears do. They are more foot custodes when I've already had to spend 500 points on other foot custodes. If you are open to allies, you may be better served taking some primaris marines instead.

But the unit isn't bad per se. A tad expensive, but the fact they are assault weapons is nice, as it allows the squad to remain mobile. Add to that the dual profile and ability to shoot both (albeit at minus one to hit) and you have a decent little fire support squad good at taking out all forms of infantry. That objective just outside your deployment zone? They are perfect to go grab it turn one or two and defend it the rest of the game.

This is probably the one squad of Custodes I'd forgo misericordia on. Maybe take one just so they have some AP when they get charged, but ideally there is some things nearby that can come support, like a shield captain or dreadnought. Or Jetbikes than can race back.

I think this squad would have been more interesting and useful as a troop choice with some sort of restriction. Maybe 1 per custodian guard squad or min squad size of 5 instead of 3 (making it a tough choice from a points perspective) or both? But honestly, at 165 for 3 of them in the HS spot, I am more likely to spring for other units. They'd aren't terrible, but like everything in Custodes you are faced with the question- why take them when you can take more Jetbikes?

The real lamentable thing- in 30k this squad has ANOTHER heavy weapon option. And FW still hasn't made that part... I'm afraid we will get finalized 40k rules for this AND THEN that weapon will come out.

That is it for part three! Tell us what you think in the comments below and come back for tomorrow where we discuss the Lord of War and Dedicated Transport, as well as some closing thoughts in Part Four!

Custodes Beta Rules Review: Part 2- The Fast Attacks

Over the next few days I will be breaking down the Adeptus Custodes Beta Rules for Warhammer 40k that were released last month. You can download them here (for free) if you haven't had the chance to check them out yet.

Part Two below will discuss the Fast Attack Choices.

Part One covered the Elites Choices. Part Three will cover Heavy Support. Part Four will go into their Lord of War and Dedicated transport, as well as closing thoughts on the Beta rules.

Agamatus Custodes

I love what these guys bring to the table. If you liked playing Jetbikes, they are an auto-include IMO. Replace 3 of your Dawneagles with these Gyrfalcons (the actual name of the bikes them selves. The unit is Agamatus where the ones in the Codex are Vertus Praetors) and you are set.

These guys bring some potent anti-vehicle potential to the list with their Twin-Las Pulsars. This is the standout weapon, though it pushes each bike up to the 120 point range. But that is fine IMO for what you are getting. The S8 is a key feature here, as it means your aren't having to roll 5 ups to damage most vehicles like you did with the lances on your Dawneagles. It is also tremendously more firepower than the Melta missile with 2d3 shots, so not having the reroll to wound melta rule comes out in the wash. And it is way more points efficient than the melta missile. Really, if you mixed those into your bike force before, just run Agamatus with Las-pulsars now.

As for the other options, I at first thought the Lastrum Bolt Cannon was pretty meh... but then I realized it is 36". That is an incredible threat range for suped up heavy bolters. If you don't have the points for Las-Pulsars on all your bikes, this is the choice I'd take. It puts the bike on cost parity with your Dawneagles, and can just be used for targets of oppotunity around the board. Sure, the Hurricane Bolters of the Dawneagles are far more devastating up close, but when you have to sprint for a far objective turn 5, this guy will still have range on enemy units your Vertus Praetors just won't have.

As for the Adrathic Devastator... I just don't get why you would settle for this when you have twin-las pulsar as an option. Sure it is a lot cheaper... but it is short range and does mortal wounds to yourself. Just like I talked about how the Adrasite Spears in Part One were essentially worse Plasma Guns, this is a worse Plasma Cannon. Why didn't they just give Custodes a Plasma Cannon instead (from a fluff perspective). To make it even worse here, it is a Heavy Weapon on something ALWAYS MOVING, meaning you get -1 to hit. That means for the purposes of dealing mortal wounds to yourself, 2's count as 1's, and not even a Shield Captain Reroll will protect you from that like it would on other units. It just makes this weapon a hard pass for me.

To top this unit off though, THEY STILL HAVE LANCES!  In combat they are just as good as Vertus Praetors! Just a great threat all around.

The most comparable unit to these guys is the Pallas Grav-Attack, but we will get to that below.

Ventatari Custodians

I'm trying to figure out what the point of these guys are. In an Army with Jetbikes and 2+ save, 3+ save jump infantry just seems weird. Sure they come natural with Deep Strike, but there are better deep strike options in the army *cough cough AQUILON cough*. They just strike me as a unit made for people who just don't want to take bikes after one too many times of someone complaining about Custodes bikes.

FLY MY PRETTIES!

If you are going to take Venatari, start with the Kinetic Destroyer and Tarsus Buckler. This is possibly the most impressive pistol in all of 40k. Not only does the Combo look cool, but it can do some nice damage... more than heavy bolters actually. The buckler itself is pretty neat with the "ignore -1 AP" mechanic. It makes them as tough as any other Custodes unit against all -1 AP weaponry.

But if I was your opponent and knew that, all than means is I would shoot them with AP 0 or AP -2 Weapons.

Now I wouldn't use the Lance unless I had a Squad over 6. Once I had 6 pistols and bucklers, all the rest would have lances. Sure it is less shooting, and can't shoot in combat, but it is much better in combat than the buckler. And as a Custodes Jump unit, you really don't want these guys bogged down in successive rounds of combat, which is what you would need for the pistol to really be of use there. There are much better choices for tying up hordes in combat than these guys. Like all Jump Troops, they are for lightning strikes... which Jetbikes still do so much better. At 62 to 66 points a pop, I just don't see why you would take them over bikes or something like Sagittarum.

Pallas Grav Attack

A whole lot of people are ranting a raving about the Pallas. It does seem attractive at first I will admit. Only 100 points for what seems like a nice anti-tank weapon and a vehicle profile that doesn't degrade, all with Power of the Machine Spirit to boot.

But really, the only reason I see to take one (other than they do look neat) is if you are at 1900 points and saying "I don't know what else I can fit in".

First of all, lets compare to the Agamatus above. With no rerolls other than what the Pallas Arachnus Blaze cannon naturally has, a Agamatus will wound a T8 vehicle an average of 1.3 times compared to the Pallas' .9.  Really the S7 just does this weapon no favours. And that's without rerolls. Keeping in mind the bikes likely have a shield captain nearby, their performance only goes up. And their potential MAXIMUM is far greater.

On top of that, the Pallas has no presence in the assault phase, where as the Agamatus is brining 4 Lance attacks. And that is really going to be just about as effective as the Pallas's shooting attack against a T8 vehicle.

I could maybe see more use out of this if the Burst mode was heavy 12 (like it is on the Caladius, I'll talk more on this disparity in my next post, because we need to tie the Telemon in for that as well) or something, but at heavy 6, I just would rather really on other weapons and units for horde thinning.

"But this is a vehicle with 8 wounds. The Agamatus only have 4!" True. But this only will ever have a 3+/5+. The Agamatus have a 2+/4+. And they are the same toughness. It really makes them just about as hard to kill.

The other unit to compare the Pallas to is the Caladius. I know we haven't covered that here yet, but it is necessary to discuss. Too many people are thinking about taking 2 or more Pallas IMO. Take a Caladius with the Accelerator Cannon instead. For basically the same points (200 for two Pallas, 210 for one Caladius) you get more and better firepower at greater range and one more toughness, which make up for being 2 net wounds less.

"But the Caladius Degrades" you say. Yes. After 7 wounds. Where as with two T6 Pallas, I'd loose HALF my firepower after taking 8 wounds. I'd rather take the degradation. The only advantage I see two Pallas having over a Caladius is they can split their fire and/or be in two different locations.

Really these other choices are just no-brainers to me over the Pallas. Like I said, if you only have 100 to like 125 points left, sure, take a Pallas. It isn't terrible and it will do some work for you. Send it off to support half your Dawneagles. But that is really all it is good for IMO.


That is it for part two! Tell us what you think in the comments below and come back for tomorrow where we discuss Heavy Support in Part Three!

Custodes Beta Rules Review: Part 1- The Elites

Over the next few days I will be breaking down the Adeptus Custodes Beta Rules for Warhammer 40k that were released last month. You can download them here (for free) if you haven't had the chance to check them out yet.

Part One below will discuss the Elites Choices.

Part Two will be about the Fast Attack. Part Three will cover Heavy Support. Part Four will go into their Lord of War and Dedicated transport, as well as closing thoughts on the Beta rules.

Contemptor-Achillus Dreadnought

Other than the fact I think this is the cooler looking for the two Custodes Contemptors, I prefer the Achillus on paper to the Galatus (we will get to him next). The Dreadspear is just a beast of a weapon, and at the cost of 1CP, you can get this guy  DS in imminent threat range. Have him deep strike with some terminators or land near some bikes, and your opponent will have a hard time what to prioritize if you fail to make the charge out of DS. But burning a CP on rerolls to ensure that charge is worth it, because the dreadspear really will wreck things. Hunt LoW or other vehicles with this guy. BIG threat to Armigers, and a threat still to other Knights.

For his other wargear I would pass on the Incinerators. They are great anti-horde, but really they just serve as overwatch protection on this dread, and hopefully you are not often putting it in a place where you are faced with this guy being bogged down. As I said above, set up to target big scary things. If you have the points though, the Adrathic Destructors are promising and can really ramp up the damage output the dread has. The risk of mortal wounds does stink, but if you can have a Shield captain nearby (remember those bikes and terminators that should be on hand in support) then if becomes a minute worry. And even if you take 1 wound from your own shooting, it is tough enough that it should survive another turn with 9 wounds left.

Contemptor-Galatus Dreadnought

This unit is just does not have enough offensive power to see much use IMO. It is really really defensive. In an army were almost everything is a 2+/3+, 2+/4+ or 2+/5+… why do you need something this defensive?

The first real unfortunate thing is the 8’ range of its weapon. It makes the DS less viable. Now if you are running an Orion Dropship, it would probably be worth having this be the dread that rides on it. The other thing is it is S7 on its sword. Really? Couldn’t have at least been +1 S to make it S8? S7 means Space Marines are wounded on 3+ and most vehicles on a 5+. For a CC dread that’s just not impressive. A normal Astartes dread does more at that price point.

Essentially it suffers from being an armoured tortoise in an army of snapping turtles. While a Galatus would be a tough nut to crack, it has none of the bite of other Custodes units, all of which are touch as nails themselves.

Maybe if you regularly play against horde/swarm armies it would be useful, but in general, I’d give it a pass.

Aquilon Custodians

These guys are one of the stars of the new Beta rules, almost eclipsing Allarus all together. Allarus still have their uses, but you have to really plan your army and game plan around them and the strategems they have to make them work over their Aquilon brothers.

These guys are a great addition to any Custodes army. The first and most obvious configuration is Infernus Firepike + Solerite power gauntlet (and add a misericordia). 3d6 12” auto-hitting superheavy flamers! Yes please! And getting that in only 3 guys, you have a small footprint you can DS into a lot of places if you opponent is not careful. I foresee a lot of Warlords being toasted off the table in the future. The Guantlets are great too. S10 attacks, AP-4, d3 Damage each. Just sheer brutality.  Obviously the hope is to make the charge on the DS, but these guys are all so tough that they should weather any shooting the next turn (2+/4+, T5, 4 wounds each!) and really will make your opponent think about charging them or not with their firepikes.

Their other weapons just don’t stand out as much. First of all I’d probably always leave the Adrathic Destructors at home unless I was always DS them with a SC. The risk of Mortal wounds to them is too much IMO at the 20 point price point, especially when the flame is already cheaper. Their Storm Bolters are just economical enough to be worth it possibly. Its really a hard sell over the firepike, but when strapped for points, swapping 1 out of 3 pikes out wouldn’t be that bad. Take all your wounds on this guy first. As for the talons, I really don’t see why you would ever take them over the gauntlets. Rule of Cool only really, the reroll to wound just doesn’t balance out with the sheer ability to wound + damage output of the Solerite Guantlet.

Speaking of reroll to wound, I would really consider supporting these guys with Trajann Deep Striking. Auto-hitting Flamers + RR 1’s to wound, plus RR hits and wounds of 1 in combat. You just make this unit brutally efficient.

The only drawback of the Aquilon is the fact they are sold with their weapons. HH Terminators have always been sold torso and weapons separate. It really stinks for these guys, because the idea configuration of Gauntlet + Pike mean you are either buying 2 sets of terminators (one for the pike and one for the gauntlet) or shaving claws off of fists in the Pike set. And having paid FW money, and the fact these are still beta rules, I would be really hesitant to do that.

Custodian Guard with Adrasite and Pyrithite Spears

First I’ll talk about the squad… and then about how the spears really should have just been wargear.

So it is basically normal foot custodes with either a gets hot plasma gun or a melta gun. The Pyrithite is the better option FOR THIS SQUAD IMO. Most of the time your shield captains will be too busy baby sitting other units. Having them sit neat a foot squad with only 3 x 18” shots to protect them against mortal wounds is a waste. But without him, those mortal wounds just stink.

For all their superior tech, why do they essentially just have worse plasma guns on their spears. They’d be better mounting a Plasma Pistol to the end of them IMO. At least then they wouldn’t risk death every time they shoot, only when the REALLY needed too.

The Pyrithite is good if used right. If you are bound and determined to field an Orion Drop ship, these are prime candidates to go inside. You can also spend 1CP to DS them, but I’d only do that if you were taking a larger squad or had a lot of CP.

There are a few things hold this squad back IMO. One they are elites. I get why in the way they structured the beta list, but there are other choices I’d rather take. Two, it would have been nice if they had the option to include a Sentinel Blade and Storm Shield. They are Custodian Guard after all. I’d be fine with the unit and their place in elites if they had this one option added.

But honestly I had hoped these weapons would be wargear. I think Wardens could greatly benefit from them and Foot Shield Captains would be a lot more useful and interesting. Obviously it would be great to have them in Troop Custodian Guard Squads, and I really don’t think it would be game breaking either, as we are talking assault 1 weapons with only up to an 18” range. And pricey ones at that.

With a pure Custodes list already having to invest around 500 points for min foot troops, buying more of them with a low volume of fire just isn’t really appealing to me personally.

That is it for part one! Tell us what you think in the comments below and come back for tomorrow where we discuss Fast Attack in Part Two!