My advance order from GW arrived this morning, including the Codex.
It is very different from the old army list. It has a greater number of characters, for a start, but I won't consider these further.
It is much easier to use than the old codex as weapon and wargear choices are given for each troop choice. Frag grenades are included in trooper stats.
Your choices are as follows:
HQ: Command Squad, which may include additional advisors (Astropath, Master of Ordnance, 2 Bodyguards)
HQ Independent Characters: Lord Commissar, Primaris Psycher, 0-5 Priests, 0-2 Techpriests.
Elites: Ogryn, Stormtrooper, Ratling and Psycher Battle squads
Troops: Platoon Command, Platoon Squads (Infantry, Heavy Weapon, Conscript) Veteran and Penal
Snipers are available to infantry squads. Penal troops seem a bad deal, except that you can take them without a platoon. Any infantry, command, storm trooper and veteran squads can use Chimeras - but nothing seems to be allowed to use a Valkyrie???????
Fast Attack: Sentinel, Rough Rider, Hellhound/Devildog/Banewolf and Valkyrie/Vendetta squadrons (1-3 in the case of vehicles).
Heavy Support: Leman Russ/Exterminator(autocannon)/Vanquisher/Eradicator(nova cannon)/Demolisher/Punisher(gatling) and Executioner(plasma cannon) squadrons (any mix 1-3 tanks)
Hydra Flak Tank Battery and Ordnance Battery (Basilisk, Medusa, Colossus, Griffon), Manticore Launcher and deathstrike Launcher (Battery = 1-3 vehicles in any combination).
This is now a very dangerous, very vehicle heavy army.
John
PS The dalek is just there because I like it.
Hmm, Valkyries are not transport vehicles even though they can carry 12 models.
ReplyDeleteJohn
The reason Valks and Vendettas aren't listed as transport vehicles is because they must be taken as a fast attack choice, probably because they are so freaking awesome. The consensus seems to be that you can place troops in them, you just can't choose to take them as a dedicated transport. Otherwise some abilities (like the stormtroopers' specifically referencing the deep strike out of a Valkyrie) make little sense.
ReplyDeleteIn 5th ed any transport vehicle can mount up any squad it can legally carry. The only advantage of buying something as a transport is that it doesn't take up a force organization slot.
ReplyDeleteSo John, how does the new codex change your ideas of a Guard army and how do the Blood Pact fit in?
You have the codex already!?! You lucky fellow. The dalek definitely had me confused. Which is your favorite doctor? Most of my friends only like Tom Baker, but I'm quite the John Pertwee fan too.
ReplyDeleteDear Geek,
ReplyDeleteI rather liked Sylvester McCoy but the new series is excellent with fine actors.
John
Dear Rabidchild
ReplyDeleteI am a thematic rather than a power player but it looks to me that the Guard can now be used like a '44 Russian army - grind the enemy under your tank tracks. Tank squadrons, rather than individual vehicles, mean that you can field more armour than any other 'race'. Six leman russ and 3 basilisks are codex legal.
You don't have to take an infantry platoon any more at all, just a couple of penal or veteran squads. Add in nine hellhounds or nine valkyrie and you have one nasty, nasty, assault army.
Dear Max,
ReplyDeleteThat makes sense,
John
Speaking of a '44 Russian army - have you played the math hammer to figure out the max number of models in one Troop choice yet? It's fun - you should try it. (From memory it's something like 153 men at just shy of 1100 points...) :)
ReplyDeleteWithout the conscripts, I think it's 97, which is just cracking. Can't wait to get my copy.
ReplyDelete153 men? Yoiks.
ReplyDeleteI hate painting infantry :)
John
By my calculations, given infinite cash, a single, legal Force Organization Chart filled to capacity with as much infantry as possible would contain 952 men, Chimeras for all squads allowed (somewhere in the order of ~40 Chimeras), and 9 Russes. If my calculations are correct.
ReplyDeleteNow THAT'S an army.
Oh dear God, that's the entire military budget at Chez Lambshead for an entire year. That's as much cash as a British MP embezzles off his expenses in a whole day!
ReplyDeleteYou put up a pic of a Dalek when you could've shown us one of the awesome colour pages in the Codex that we haven't seen yet? What the?
ReplyDeleteThe Dalek must be a titan for the Blood Pact, it's painted the correct colors..
ReplyDeleteDear Child
ReplyDelete"Seek, locate, exterminate": You are right! They are Blood Pact.
John