Katharon
04-21-2014, 06:02 AM
OK folks, so here is an opening disclaimer, statement, or what-have-you regarding this article. It's as comprehensive and objective as I can make it in reviewing a codex that I've been looking forward to for about two years now. I will say in advance that I am heavily disappointed in Games Workshop for discontinuing the practice of telling us who wrote the rules. If, as some have speculated, they've moved towards crowd-sourcing to brainstorm their codices, then I can only fear for some and be happy for others. The format and style of this review will be in accordance to the unit description pages that give you the background details and special rules for models, if any are given. After that will come the review of the Orders that officers can give, the Relics, and summed up by a general feel for the codex as a whole.
Astra Militarum (but let's not kid ourselves, they're really the) Imperial Guard
A Codex Review – PART ONE
Units
Company Command Squads
Not very much has changed the core of the Company Command Squad. The Captain-grade senior officer and his four cronies do their usual thing. The upgrades that they formally had access to remain, and in some places received improvements – such as with the Wargear Relics. Where things get really interesting is the Regimental Supervisors.
The Regimental Supervisors got cheaper across the board and a few of their rules changed, making them even more versatile and interesting to take. The Master of Ordnance remains the awesomeness that he is, basically now being the cheapest way to take a Strength 9 AP3 Ordnance, Barrage large blast in your army. The Astropath got a huge buff in the fact that he is now a Level 1 psyker and can take his powers from the Telepathy table of powers – a huge thing for those that love “Puppet Master.” The Officer of the fleet got more versatile in that he no longer simply gives a -1 modifier to your opponent's reserve rolls; true he now has to do a leadership check to activate his abilities, but he has two of them to choose – either boosting your own reserve rolls or reducing your opponent's. That's a lot of nice buffs.
Only sad thing of note is that you can now no longer take normal bodyguards with your Company Command Squads. Instead, if you want some extra meat shield going on you've got to pay those points to get Nork Deddog.
Tank Commanders
Possibly the greatest thing that has appeared with this new codex and something that has tread-heads the world over making a mess of themselves, is the Tank Commander. You are now able to field a bonafide tank army....well, sort of anyway. For a relatively cheap cost you can take a tank heavy army. Boy oh boy does it deliver too. While you no longer have access to the normal Senior Officer orders that the ground-pounders are forced to use, the Tank Commander himself has his own set of special orders that can be given to his own tank and the squadron he is with.
The only thing really missing from all of this is that GW didn't take it that extra step further, like Forgeworld did, and allow the Tank Commander to do his real job and actually give orders to other tanks outside of his immediate unit. It's a rather large gap in their efforts here, but at least we finally have a tread-commander to field.
Commissars
The boys in black & red are back and boy oh boy...they're pretty much the same. In the new organizational method that GW has developed for the IG, Commissars are now able to be taken – one for each Company Command Squad and Platoon Command Squad in your army. Now, they did get a bit cheaper – five points to be exact – which is nice, but we are also now limited on how many we can take. I once fielded twelve commissars in a single game with ten infantry squads from two separate platoons and two lord commissars, with the old fifth edition codex. That list is now impossible. But at the same time, the new organization means that I can put a regular commissar in with a whole host of new units that they previously could only be part of if they had a “lord” hanging with their title of commissar. So...taking with the right and giving with the left is the general feeling here.
Summary Execution, that exciting method of keeping a unit from breaking or failing a morale, pinning, or fear test has gotten a lot more interesting. Formerly it meant that your unit's leader, whoever happened to have the highest leadership (that meant ICs as well), would take a bolt round to the brain pan. Now, ANYONE can be the bolt-magnate and the level of randomness enters with the rolling of a D6 to determine whether you or your opponent get to choose who dies and who doesn't. This is much more interesting, as it means that your normal grunts can take up the slack and protect your leadership models – but it also means that if your opponent doesn't like your squad sniper, then he will most likely be taking the fall.
Ministorum Priests
These guys got a lot of cool new stuff and lost a bit of their old bling. First up, they did lose their ability to take the Eviscerator, that nice chainblade style sword that could cut through just about anything. In exchange they can now tote around with a plasma gun. You decide whether or not that is a bonus. They are now much cheaper than before, but are also limited 0-3 per army whereas before they were 0-5.
They did receive Zealot – which helps *a lot* with people that like to be a bit nutty and have an entire 50-man blob squad go charging at something with bayonets.
What can make these Priests really shine, and what may cause you to start seeing a lot more of them on the game board, is their special ability called “War Hymns.” Re-rolling failed armor and invul saves; giving his close-combat attacks Smash; or re-rolling failed to wound – this guy helps to pack a real punch.
Primaris Psykers
Likely the cheapest way to get a Level 2 psyker in the game and having access to all the best ability tables for psykic powers, it's hard not to like these guys. They became baseline cheaper, and only five points more expensive for that upgrade to Level 2. Having the ability to take 0-3, instead of the old 1-2 is a nice addition as well.
Expect to see a lot of these guys on the field as well.
Enginseers
An independent character that is already creating waves amongst the community, the Enginseers are probably going to be seen on the field now far more than they ever have before in the history of the Imperial Guard. Not only are they cheaper (including cheaper servitors), but they are also able to bestow 'Power of the Machine Spirit' onto a friendly vehicle. What is even cooler, in some respects, is that the Enginseer can perform that little magic trick from inside of a transport, since it replaces his normal shooting attack.
Highly advisable to take these guys.
Infantry Platoons
The Bread & Butter of any standard Imperial Guard army, the infantry platoons are a classic. Far from receiving any downgrades, this particular choice of Troop seems to have received several buffs. The standard platoon command squad and infantry squad remain largely unchanged (minus the ability to take a commissar as an upgrade...yeah, it's a sore note for me), while the Heavy Weapon Squads got cheaper. Even though autocannons are five points more expensive, a heavy weapon squad can still take three autocannons for the same price as they did back in 5th edition. Have no fear for those that love to spam them. Another added benefit is that, like all subsequent codices after the CSM codex, the IG now have access to flakk missiles. Not a big surprise, but an added bonus for those ground pounders that don't take a lot of flyers.
Biggest thing of note is that Conscript squads now became much cheaper. You're now able to field an entire blob of fifty conscripts for fifty points cheaper than before. So that's good news for anyone with a fetish for throwing cannon fodder across the board.
Veterans
The even better Bread & Butter for IG players that like to be versatile and hit more often with their weapons at range, Veteran Squads are back and with a new set of blue suede shoes. Cheaper on the base cost (due to no longer having stock krak grenades), they are now able to take their precious Doctrines for an even cheaper price and can still take multiple doctrines at the same time. Wargear options remain pretty much the same except as noted above.
Sergeant Harker is making a comeback this edition as well, wielding his beloved 'Payback' heavy bolter just as he always did. The only drawback would be the loss of Feel No Pain, Stealth, and Move Through Cover USRs. Makes quite a bit of difference in how you play his specific unit, but he does come with Relentless this edition and his own particular heavy bolter has the Rending USR. Point wise, he remains the same. Going to have to say that, due to the loss of FnP and Stealth, Harker lost a lot of the shine that made him useful to camo-cloaked Veteran Squads.
Chimeras Transports
The workhorse transport of the IG. It got more expensive and fewer models can fire out of the top – those are its downsides. The upside, it has “lasgun arrays” that can be used by models inside the transport to fire (like the Necron transports), except that these are a bit more special.
According to the rules as written, you're able to fire at up to four different targets with a Chimera. You can first fire with the Chimera's main weapons, the multi-laser and hull weapon at one target. The unit inside can fire at one target from the top hatch. The two laser arrays, one to each side, can each fire at a separate target from the rest.
Whether or not this multi-tasking makes up for the points increase and losing the ability to fire three Veteran plasma guns & a heavy weapon out the top hatch is up to you to decide.
Taurox
The new transport that everyone loves to bash on – and well deservedly I believe. The best way to look at the Taurox is as a more expensive and less well armored Rhino. The only pluses it has is that it comes tock with a twin-linked autocannon (main reason to take it) and it's 15 points cheaper than the Chimera. It also has a cool feature of being 'all-terrain' and can re-roll failed Dangerous Terrain checks.
Based on the fact that its cheaper than the old Chimera and a lot cheaper than the new Chimera, you might see a lot of the old Mech-IG players spamming these things to take advantage of a 50-point twin-linked autocannon.
Taurox Prime
The one shining jewel of the new transports, the Taurox Prime comes in at a hefty thirty points greater than the normal Taurox. But it also carries a lot more weaponry and is manned by Veterans – as it has a nice Ballistic Skill 4. It's stock weaponry, the Taurox Battle Cannon and twin-linked hot-shot volley gun, are rather nice. It can be further upgraded to more interesting weapon choices, of which the Taurox Missile Launcher is superb.
Downside is that you can only take these models if you take the new Tempestus Scions, which ups the point requirements to field them. I kind of feel that GW's aim for this transport was to make it good enough and just cheap enough (point wise) to make you want to take Tempestus Scions as an army or as the majority of your regular IG force – just so you can take these bad boys.
If you have someone near your area that has fallen in love with the Scions and their supplemental codex, then expect to see a lot of these – and be prepared to weep.
Wyrdvane Psykers
The new Combat Psyker Squad with a name to match their shiny new rules. They're fairly much the same as before except can now take a different psykic power from Biomancy, Divination, Pyromancy, and Telekinesis.
That plethora alone makes them powerful. If you have players that love to use as much psykic power as possible, then expect to see these on the battlefield much more often.
Ratlings
An old favorite and constantly underrated by players (including IG players), the Ratling snipers are back and better. They remain the same point cost and retain their special rules, but they received a new rule that makes them absolutely excellent: “Shoot Sharp and Scarper.” This lets the Ratlings make a normal shooting attack and then run immediately after in the same phase. Eat your hearts our Eldar Rangers.
Ogryns
We finally have a plastic model for Ogryns! Hip-hip-horray!
Ok, now back to a reality check. While it was nice to see these guys finally get their own plastic kit, they suffered a bit on the rule side of the scales. They remain expensive point wise, retaining the same cost as a 2+/3++ power-fist totting Terminator; they lost their Furious Charge USR and instead gained Hammer of Wrath (not that good a trade in this writer's opinion); and every ogryn apparently went to the gym to work out because they changed from 'Bulky' to 'Very Bulky,' which means that fewer can fit into a single transport.
The one bright point in this rather dark tale is that Ogryns can now ride in the back of a Valkyrie – which they were forbidden from doing in 5th edition. So your merry band of Shrek-look-alikes can go parachuting into combat – which is admittedly a rather interesting tactical choice, but expensive as explained above.
Bullgryns
For those times when regular Ogryns just aren't enough smash-bang in close-combat, GW was nice enough to give us some purely close-combat oriented ogryns.
Coming in at fifteen points *more* expensive than normal Ogryns, these guys can become a bit of a point sink. But boy oh boy do they hit like a slab of metal (aren't I punny?). Their standard wargear is a bit better than normal Ogryns, being equipped with carapace armor instead of flak. They also have a 'slabshield' which when base-to-base with another Bullgryn-model gives them all a +1 to their armor save. So, as long as you have two bullgryn with slabshields alive and touching each other's bases, then they've got power armor.
What's even more, you can change out their base weaponry, the slabshield and some grenade gauntlet (I dunno, they might have been running dry on creative names), for a 'brute shield' and a power maul. Now, that's pretty cool because the brute shield gives the wielder a 5++ invulnerable save.
The one mistake (and I believe it is a mistake) that GW made with this particular unit, is that you are not able to take a slabshield with a power maul. If you want the power maul then you've got to take the brute shield with it. Because Bullgryn's are apparently just picky like that.
Rough Riders
The last gasp of the old chivalric ways within the grim dark of the 40th millennium battlefield...and GW decided to kick them in the nuts, but we'll get to that in a moment. As it stands, these guys are identical to what they were last edition. Which is a shame really.
The nut-kick that came in for the Rough Riders, is that their glorious and barbaric leader Mogul Kamir is no longer in the codex as an available upgrade. Now maybe we will see him again in a dataslate – who knows – but I can tell you that without his presence Rough Riders are just not as useful or strong as they could be. A nice compromise would have been to increase the weapon skill of the Rough Riders in exchange for Mogul Kamir's absence – but alas, we're stuck out in the cold clutching the family jewels in pain.
Anyone who was a fan of this unit and fielded it often will be sad to see Kamir gone but at least satisfied in knowing that the base unit is not devastatingly changed in any way.
Scout & Armored Sentinels
One of the more underrated units in the Fast Attack Choice section of the army book, the Sentinels are back with a few nice buffs. The points are now cheaper for the Armored Sentinel (the one worth really taking). The only real problem is that several Vehicle Upgrades became more expensive, such as the camo-nets. So price-wise, if that is a standard upgrade for you, it can be about the same in price as before.
A good solid Fast Attack choice however.
Leman Russ Tanks
The favorite part of any tread-headed IG player, the Leman Russ Battle Tanks. Things for this section are a bit of a mixed bag. There were a lot of point decreases and some increases, as was to be expected.
The cheapest tank is, as always, the one that no one ever likes because of its rather weak gun: the Eradicator. Good if you're going to fight in a city, but weak on pretty much all other fronts.
The Demolisher is now the most expensive tank – surprisingly to a certain degree.
The most sad part about the entire section however is the Executioner. Due undoubtedly to the codex writer's constant death in the face of plasma pie plates from the Executioner, it's main gun is now susceptible to the Gets Hot! rule. This is such a blow to anyone that was a fan of this tank. Not only do the plasma cannon side sponsons get hot, but no so too does the main gun – you know, that thing that's suppose to have a giant heat sink attached to it. Apparently the Adeptus Mechanicus is too busy making shiny new Grav-weaponry to maintain a few relatively simple heat sinks in a friggen' tank.
Overall, a good improvement on certain point costs. No real problems except as noted above.
Vendettas & Valkyries
Still one of the most powerful flyers in the game, the Vendetta naturally took a few hits from the nerf bat to the chin. The expected points increase came, but so too did some other nerfs. Biggest example is the transport capacity which has been reduced from 12 to 6. No more putting Veterans in a Vendetta folks – you're reduced to Special Weapon Squads, Tempestus Scions, and maybe a command squad.
Even Valkyries got a point increase – but at least they're still cheaper than the new Vendetta; a whole fifty points cheaper in fact!
Both the Valkyries and Vendettas took a hit by the loss of Scout and Deep Strike USRs.
You'll still see these things flying in the air, but you're not as likely to see as many of them.
Hydras
The plastic kit that people have been waiting for since the original release of the Leman Russ and Chimera and Basilisk: the Hydra. Now, as shiny and new and nice as this kit is, don't be fooled!
Five points cheaper than the older 5th edition Hydra...that's about the only real improvement. In fact there is a greater loss for Hydra lovers than before. This is due to the fact that Hydra's have lost their auto-targeting system.
When 6th edition first came out and GW released its FAQs to update older codex units (until they received their own update), Hydras were simply given the Skyfire rule in addition to their older rules. That was great because the 'auto-targeting system' meant that Hydra's – due to being the best anti-air tank in the game – could ignore cover; which meant that all those nasty Helldrakes and Stormravens don't get any Jink saves against a Hydras firepower – well, didn't. Past tense.
Now we've got Skyfire written into the codex but auto-targeting systems have been removed. Interceptor USR would have been nice as a replacement, but then people would start spamming Hydras – and we can't have that. So the hydras took a bit of a nerf, but hey, at least we got a plastic kit.
Basilisk Battery
Old Reliable in the artillery department, the Basilisk has remained entirely unchanged. Which is sad really when you consider what else is no longer present within the new codex...
Wyverns
The new kit to fill in the shoes of the Medusa, Colossus, and Griffons...*headdesk*
Seriously, though, the Wyvern is a decent light artillery piece for use against hordes. I think whoever wrote the codex designed the Wyvern to be used specifically against ork boyz, 'nid gaunts, and traitor IG blobs. People that are a fan of the old Quad Gun/Thudd Guns will see a lot of similarities, but will not likely be swayed from continuing to use their Thudd Guns.
On a purely kit-based scrutiny objection – I must say that it was incredibly lazy for them to simply take the Hydra, cut off it's autocannon barrrels, and then go “yup, this is a totally different tank.” I'm sure it's saving GW money in producing them, but boy would I have a few words to say with whoever made that design decision.
Manticore
One of the more feared pieces of artillery in the IG codex, and sadly not available in squadrons, is the Manticore. It is entirely unchanged in its design or stats with only a small ten points bump in point cost.
Deathstrike Missile Launcher
The real winner in the artillery department this time around is the Deathstrike. The exact same point cost and stat line, it functions pretty much the same as it did in 5th edition but with one minor detail...
...it's main weapon, the Deathstrike missile, is now an Apocolyse blast. No more piddling D3+3” for its blast radius – this baby is a full ten inches. It is also slightly easier to fire than before, on a 4+ instead of a 6+.
It remains S10 AP1, Ordnance 1, apoc blast, barrage, and ignores cover. This baby is going to hurt and hurt big time wherever it hits. Worth the points.
Hellhounds, Devil Dogs, & Banewolves
These three standard forms of the flame-thrower tank are all pretty much the same with only a few minor changes in the point costs. They can still be taken in squadrons, which is nice. The hellhound went down in points and the Devil Dog went up in points. The Banewolf stayed the same.
Commissar Yarrick
If the galaxy ever explodes and wipes out all life as the Emperor knows it, there'll still be Commissar Yarrick left alive in the aftermath. The old cantankerous hero of Armageddon is still a strong and powerful character to take.
He is pretty much unchanged from the last edition. Only a few differences with the change of wording in how a commissar executes people. His Bale Eye is a bit changed, but not overly so. He also took a significant reduction in points, which makes him more viable as a primary HQ and Warlord choice. He is also the only commissar character that has the “Senior Officer” special rule – which means he can give orders just like a Company Commander can. Worth it if you like your Warlord to be an Eternal Warrior.
Lord Castellan Creed
”Creeeeeed!”
The man who use to be able to bestow the Scout USR upon any given unit in your army (but no longer) is still awesome. Apparently the writer(s) of the codex felt that the IG orders were pretty strong, because they reduced his old ability of giving out 4 orders a turn to only 3 now. But you can re-roll any failed order given by Creed, so that's nice.
He can now take two Warlord Traits instead of bestowing Scout upon any unit. But he did lose his special order “For the Honor of Cadia.” His point cost was reduced by ten points. Thanks to the new gunslinger rules in the Big Rule Book, Creed can fire both of his hot-shot laspistols together – but they are not twin-linked as they were before.
Color Sergeant Kell is still the same by and large, with his own point reduction.
Colonel “Iron Hand” Straken
Speaking of guys that don't die, Straken is back and looking for business. The man who use to be able to punch Land Raiders to death still can.
He's been given a few updates and USRs, such as Smash (which is like how he use to ignore armor saves regardless) and he has Monster Hunter, which makes him an interesting choice against any big bug.
His one downside is a giant increase of 50 points in cost as opposed to his old cost.
Nork Deddog
The only bodyguard available for anyone apparently, but he does the job well. Deddog is pretty much identical to his old profile, except that he is 25 points cheaper, got Very Bulky, and his 'Loyal to the End' special rule changed to allow him to intercede and replace a character in a challenge. He also received a new attack that is pretty hilarious: Thunderous Headbutt. Gives him a single +3 Strength AP3 close-combat attack in exchange for his normal attacks.
Not a bad investment if you're depending on keeping your commander alive.
Knight Commander Pask
Every tread-head's favorite upgrade from the old days, if we could fit him in, was Pask. Now? He's even better. Not only can you take Pask as your warlord, upgrading your Tank Commander with him, but his stock warlord trait gives you Preferred enemy against your codex of choice and his Crack Shot special rule has changed to fit with all the different variants of the Leman Russ. Basically the idea was that if Pask decides to shoot something at something, that something is going to be red bloody paste by the time its over.
Well worth the investment in points.
Orders
Whether it be the bellowing of a newly minted Lieutenant who posses more gumption than forethought or a seasoned company commander who listens to his non-coms before giving a few pecise instructions – orders are orders.
First, let's go over the old 5th Edition IG orders. This will not include any orders that were specific to special characters – just the main orders that were part of the Senior Officer and Junior Officer orders.
Fifth Edition Imperial Guard Codex Orders:
Number of Orders & Range of Command
The Company Commander can issue up to two orders each turn. He has a command radius of 12”.
Bring it Down!
One of my favorite orders from the old codex, BiD allowed you to order a unit to fire upon either a vehicle (or squadron of vehicles) or a monsterous creature, counting all their weapons as twin-linked. This worked great when you could have Creed issue this order to four waiting heavy weapon squads that were desperately trying to shoot down flyers – or hoping to stop that mean looking Mawloc from ripping your conscripts a new one.
Fire on my Target!
This order had its uses against armies that made a great deal of cover saves. Once given to a unit, all its shooting attacks would ignore cover saves. Handy for use against Eldar Rangers and Tau Stealth Suits.
Get Back in the Fight!
A nice emergency-situations order, GbitF allowed you to hold the line even if your entire blob squad of running-cowardly Guardsmen failed their morale the previous turn. This order was retained in the new codex, but with a small change that will be covered below....
First Rank, Fire! Second Rank, Fire!
The favorite order of any IG player fond of fielding large blobs of flashlight wielding maniacs. Seriously, this order has so much potential that it's hard to describe without context. One good example from this writer's experience: ordering 50 Guardsmen to fire a fusillade into a Mawloc that popped up six inches away and firing one-hundred-fifty shots; needless to say, it died. As the old adage goes: “Quantity has a quality all its own.” The only sad part about this order was that it did not apply to the hot-shot lasguns totted by the stormtroopers.
Incoming!
A Guardsman's best friend is the earth beneath his booted feet. This order was useful at times when you needed a squad to survive a turn or two whilst sitting on an important (and possibly game winning) objective. It seems that, in retrospect, the Aegis Defense Line got it's shine from this particular order.
Move! Move! Move!
Likely to be one of the most unused order within the repertoire of the 5th Edition IG codex, MMM was about rolling three dice for your run roll – when you just really, really, really had to get a squad to move its butt double-quick.
Sixth Edition Imperial Guard Orders:
Number of Orders & Range of Command
A model with the Senior Officer rule can give two orders each turn. He has a command radius of 12”. Nothing changed here.
Take Aim! (New)
A new and interesting order, “Take Aim!” gives the 'Precision Shot' special rule to all the shooting attacks of the unit so ordered. This could be quite useful for Veteran Squads toting around with plasma guns and lascannon, able to pick off ICs and those pesky 'Nid bugs that give synapse.
Smite at Will! (New)
This order gives a unit the Split Fire special rule. This would be much more interesting if Split Fire worked the way it did (does?) for the Space Wolves' long fang squads. Unfortunately only a single model in a unit may fire at a different target from the parent unit – meaning you might be able to fire a heavy weapon team at a different target from its main squad. How useful that will be will depend on a case-by-case basis.
First Rank, Fire! Second Rank, Fire!
Pretty much the same as before – except for one awesome thing: this order can now apply to hotshot lasguns! That makes it so much more fun to gun-line those pretty new Scion boys who think they can live up to the name of 'stormtrooper.'
Forward, for the Emperor! (New)
A very interesting and highly useful order, FftE allows a unit to immediately run after making a shooting attack – much like the Eldar battle meditation-thing. I can see this being used, though perhaps not in the same way that any of the testers at GW intended. 50-man blob squad fires double-tap at a scary enemy close-combat unit and then immediately runs backwards to gain that little bit of extra distance.
Move! Move! Move!
Nothing new here. Same as before. If you need to scoot then use this order.
Suppressive Fire! (New)
Another awesome new order that gives a unit's shooting attacks the Pinning special rule. Useful to use against any unit that isn't Fearless...which seems to be a dwindling number of targets considering how many ICs can give Fearless to a unit, one way or another....senior officer only.
Bring it Down! (New)
It might have the same name but this is definitely a new order. No longer giving a unit twin-linked against vehicles and monsterous creatures – this order now bestows the Tank Hunter and Monster Hunter USRs. Not to be a nay-sayer, but I personally would prefer the older version. With the IG and their usual arsenal of hard hitting heavy weapons, it's more often a case of not hitting than not wounding. But time will tell...senior officer only.
Get Back in the Fight! (New-ish)
Pretty much the same order as before except for a single nerf: the unit that successfully follows this order and regroups is not eligible to get the extra 3” that other units get for regrouping naturally. As usual, Space Marines are just cooler about regrouping than the IG. Senior officer only.
Order Impressions:
Overall we've received a nice, hefty amount of new orders and the rules for their operation are practically unchanged. There is only one small change, that done to “Inspired Tactics.” If when an officer gives an order and you roll double-ones, then the 6th edition codex allows you to make all further orders without rolling – for they were given so clearly that you didn't need to even roll. This is a big change, of sorts, from the older 5th edition “Inspired Tactics,” which allowed you to give an extra order (even if it was more than your usual allotment of orders per turn to give). I'm not sure about you guys, but we might miss that possible third order for the remainder of 6th edition...
Astra Militarum (but let's not kid ourselves, they're really the) Imperial Guard
A Codex Review – PART ONE
Units
Company Command Squads
Not very much has changed the core of the Company Command Squad. The Captain-grade senior officer and his four cronies do their usual thing. The upgrades that they formally had access to remain, and in some places received improvements – such as with the Wargear Relics. Where things get really interesting is the Regimental Supervisors.
The Regimental Supervisors got cheaper across the board and a few of their rules changed, making them even more versatile and interesting to take. The Master of Ordnance remains the awesomeness that he is, basically now being the cheapest way to take a Strength 9 AP3 Ordnance, Barrage large blast in your army. The Astropath got a huge buff in the fact that he is now a Level 1 psyker and can take his powers from the Telepathy table of powers – a huge thing for those that love “Puppet Master.” The Officer of the fleet got more versatile in that he no longer simply gives a -1 modifier to your opponent's reserve rolls; true he now has to do a leadership check to activate his abilities, but he has two of them to choose – either boosting your own reserve rolls or reducing your opponent's. That's a lot of nice buffs.
Only sad thing of note is that you can now no longer take normal bodyguards with your Company Command Squads. Instead, if you want some extra meat shield going on you've got to pay those points to get Nork Deddog.
Tank Commanders
Possibly the greatest thing that has appeared with this new codex and something that has tread-heads the world over making a mess of themselves, is the Tank Commander. You are now able to field a bonafide tank army....well, sort of anyway. For a relatively cheap cost you can take a tank heavy army. Boy oh boy does it deliver too. While you no longer have access to the normal Senior Officer orders that the ground-pounders are forced to use, the Tank Commander himself has his own set of special orders that can be given to his own tank and the squadron he is with.
The only thing really missing from all of this is that GW didn't take it that extra step further, like Forgeworld did, and allow the Tank Commander to do his real job and actually give orders to other tanks outside of his immediate unit. It's a rather large gap in their efforts here, but at least we finally have a tread-commander to field.
Commissars
The boys in black & red are back and boy oh boy...they're pretty much the same. In the new organizational method that GW has developed for the IG, Commissars are now able to be taken – one for each Company Command Squad and Platoon Command Squad in your army. Now, they did get a bit cheaper – five points to be exact – which is nice, but we are also now limited on how many we can take. I once fielded twelve commissars in a single game with ten infantry squads from two separate platoons and two lord commissars, with the old fifth edition codex. That list is now impossible. But at the same time, the new organization means that I can put a regular commissar in with a whole host of new units that they previously could only be part of if they had a “lord” hanging with their title of commissar. So...taking with the right and giving with the left is the general feeling here.
Summary Execution, that exciting method of keeping a unit from breaking or failing a morale, pinning, or fear test has gotten a lot more interesting. Formerly it meant that your unit's leader, whoever happened to have the highest leadership (that meant ICs as well), would take a bolt round to the brain pan. Now, ANYONE can be the bolt-magnate and the level of randomness enters with the rolling of a D6 to determine whether you or your opponent get to choose who dies and who doesn't. This is much more interesting, as it means that your normal grunts can take up the slack and protect your leadership models – but it also means that if your opponent doesn't like your squad sniper, then he will most likely be taking the fall.
Ministorum Priests
These guys got a lot of cool new stuff and lost a bit of their old bling. First up, they did lose their ability to take the Eviscerator, that nice chainblade style sword that could cut through just about anything. In exchange they can now tote around with a plasma gun. You decide whether or not that is a bonus. They are now much cheaper than before, but are also limited 0-3 per army whereas before they were 0-5.
They did receive Zealot – which helps *a lot* with people that like to be a bit nutty and have an entire 50-man blob squad go charging at something with bayonets.
What can make these Priests really shine, and what may cause you to start seeing a lot more of them on the game board, is their special ability called “War Hymns.” Re-rolling failed armor and invul saves; giving his close-combat attacks Smash; or re-rolling failed to wound – this guy helps to pack a real punch.
Primaris Psykers
Likely the cheapest way to get a Level 2 psyker in the game and having access to all the best ability tables for psykic powers, it's hard not to like these guys. They became baseline cheaper, and only five points more expensive for that upgrade to Level 2. Having the ability to take 0-3, instead of the old 1-2 is a nice addition as well.
Expect to see a lot of these guys on the field as well.
Enginseers
An independent character that is already creating waves amongst the community, the Enginseers are probably going to be seen on the field now far more than they ever have before in the history of the Imperial Guard. Not only are they cheaper (including cheaper servitors), but they are also able to bestow 'Power of the Machine Spirit' onto a friendly vehicle. What is even cooler, in some respects, is that the Enginseer can perform that little magic trick from inside of a transport, since it replaces his normal shooting attack.
Highly advisable to take these guys.
Infantry Platoons
The Bread & Butter of any standard Imperial Guard army, the infantry platoons are a classic. Far from receiving any downgrades, this particular choice of Troop seems to have received several buffs. The standard platoon command squad and infantry squad remain largely unchanged (minus the ability to take a commissar as an upgrade...yeah, it's a sore note for me), while the Heavy Weapon Squads got cheaper. Even though autocannons are five points more expensive, a heavy weapon squad can still take three autocannons for the same price as they did back in 5th edition. Have no fear for those that love to spam them. Another added benefit is that, like all subsequent codices after the CSM codex, the IG now have access to flakk missiles. Not a big surprise, but an added bonus for those ground pounders that don't take a lot of flyers.
Biggest thing of note is that Conscript squads now became much cheaper. You're now able to field an entire blob of fifty conscripts for fifty points cheaper than before. So that's good news for anyone with a fetish for throwing cannon fodder across the board.
Veterans
The even better Bread & Butter for IG players that like to be versatile and hit more often with their weapons at range, Veteran Squads are back and with a new set of blue suede shoes. Cheaper on the base cost (due to no longer having stock krak grenades), they are now able to take their precious Doctrines for an even cheaper price and can still take multiple doctrines at the same time. Wargear options remain pretty much the same except as noted above.
Sergeant Harker is making a comeback this edition as well, wielding his beloved 'Payback' heavy bolter just as he always did. The only drawback would be the loss of Feel No Pain, Stealth, and Move Through Cover USRs. Makes quite a bit of difference in how you play his specific unit, but he does come with Relentless this edition and his own particular heavy bolter has the Rending USR. Point wise, he remains the same. Going to have to say that, due to the loss of FnP and Stealth, Harker lost a lot of the shine that made him useful to camo-cloaked Veteran Squads.
Chimeras Transports
The workhorse transport of the IG. It got more expensive and fewer models can fire out of the top – those are its downsides. The upside, it has “lasgun arrays” that can be used by models inside the transport to fire (like the Necron transports), except that these are a bit more special.
According to the rules as written, you're able to fire at up to four different targets with a Chimera. You can first fire with the Chimera's main weapons, the multi-laser and hull weapon at one target. The unit inside can fire at one target from the top hatch. The two laser arrays, one to each side, can each fire at a separate target from the rest.
Whether or not this multi-tasking makes up for the points increase and losing the ability to fire three Veteran plasma guns & a heavy weapon out the top hatch is up to you to decide.
Taurox
The new transport that everyone loves to bash on – and well deservedly I believe. The best way to look at the Taurox is as a more expensive and less well armored Rhino. The only pluses it has is that it comes tock with a twin-linked autocannon (main reason to take it) and it's 15 points cheaper than the Chimera. It also has a cool feature of being 'all-terrain' and can re-roll failed Dangerous Terrain checks.
Based on the fact that its cheaper than the old Chimera and a lot cheaper than the new Chimera, you might see a lot of the old Mech-IG players spamming these things to take advantage of a 50-point twin-linked autocannon.
Taurox Prime
The one shining jewel of the new transports, the Taurox Prime comes in at a hefty thirty points greater than the normal Taurox. But it also carries a lot more weaponry and is manned by Veterans – as it has a nice Ballistic Skill 4. It's stock weaponry, the Taurox Battle Cannon and twin-linked hot-shot volley gun, are rather nice. It can be further upgraded to more interesting weapon choices, of which the Taurox Missile Launcher is superb.
Downside is that you can only take these models if you take the new Tempestus Scions, which ups the point requirements to field them. I kind of feel that GW's aim for this transport was to make it good enough and just cheap enough (point wise) to make you want to take Tempestus Scions as an army or as the majority of your regular IG force – just so you can take these bad boys.
If you have someone near your area that has fallen in love with the Scions and their supplemental codex, then expect to see a lot of these – and be prepared to weep.
Wyrdvane Psykers
The new Combat Psyker Squad with a name to match their shiny new rules. They're fairly much the same as before except can now take a different psykic power from Biomancy, Divination, Pyromancy, and Telekinesis.
That plethora alone makes them powerful. If you have players that love to use as much psykic power as possible, then expect to see these on the battlefield much more often.
Ratlings
An old favorite and constantly underrated by players (including IG players), the Ratling snipers are back and better. They remain the same point cost and retain their special rules, but they received a new rule that makes them absolutely excellent: “Shoot Sharp and Scarper.” This lets the Ratlings make a normal shooting attack and then run immediately after in the same phase. Eat your hearts our Eldar Rangers.
Ogryns
We finally have a plastic model for Ogryns! Hip-hip-horray!
Ok, now back to a reality check. While it was nice to see these guys finally get their own plastic kit, they suffered a bit on the rule side of the scales. They remain expensive point wise, retaining the same cost as a 2+/3++ power-fist totting Terminator; they lost their Furious Charge USR and instead gained Hammer of Wrath (not that good a trade in this writer's opinion); and every ogryn apparently went to the gym to work out because they changed from 'Bulky' to 'Very Bulky,' which means that fewer can fit into a single transport.
The one bright point in this rather dark tale is that Ogryns can now ride in the back of a Valkyrie – which they were forbidden from doing in 5th edition. So your merry band of Shrek-look-alikes can go parachuting into combat – which is admittedly a rather interesting tactical choice, but expensive as explained above.
Bullgryns
For those times when regular Ogryns just aren't enough smash-bang in close-combat, GW was nice enough to give us some purely close-combat oriented ogryns.
Coming in at fifteen points *more* expensive than normal Ogryns, these guys can become a bit of a point sink. But boy oh boy do they hit like a slab of metal (aren't I punny?). Their standard wargear is a bit better than normal Ogryns, being equipped with carapace armor instead of flak. They also have a 'slabshield' which when base-to-base with another Bullgryn-model gives them all a +1 to their armor save. So, as long as you have two bullgryn with slabshields alive and touching each other's bases, then they've got power armor.
What's even more, you can change out their base weaponry, the slabshield and some grenade gauntlet (I dunno, they might have been running dry on creative names), for a 'brute shield' and a power maul. Now, that's pretty cool because the brute shield gives the wielder a 5++ invulnerable save.
The one mistake (and I believe it is a mistake) that GW made with this particular unit, is that you are not able to take a slabshield with a power maul. If you want the power maul then you've got to take the brute shield with it. Because Bullgryn's are apparently just picky like that.
Rough Riders
The last gasp of the old chivalric ways within the grim dark of the 40th millennium battlefield...and GW decided to kick them in the nuts, but we'll get to that in a moment. As it stands, these guys are identical to what they were last edition. Which is a shame really.
The nut-kick that came in for the Rough Riders, is that their glorious and barbaric leader Mogul Kamir is no longer in the codex as an available upgrade. Now maybe we will see him again in a dataslate – who knows – but I can tell you that without his presence Rough Riders are just not as useful or strong as they could be. A nice compromise would have been to increase the weapon skill of the Rough Riders in exchange for Mogul Kamir's absence – but alas, we're stuck out in the cold clutching the family jewels in pain.
Anyone who was a fan of this unit and fielded it often will be sad to see Kamir gone but at least satisfied in knowing that the base unit is not devastatingly changed in any way.
Scout & Armored Sentinels
One of the more underrated units in the Fast Attack Choice section of the army book, the Sentinels are back with a few nice buffs. The points are now cheaper for the Armored Sentinel (the one worth really taking). The only real problem is that several Vehicle Upgrades became more expensive, such as the camo-nets. So price-wise, if that is a standard upgrade for you, it can be about the same in price as before.
A good solid Fast Attack choice however.
Leman Russ Tanks
The favorite part of any tread-headed IG player, the Leman Russ Battle Tanks. Things for this section are a bit of a mixed bag. There were a lot of point decreases and some increases, as was to be expected.
The cheapest tank is, as always, the one that no one ever likes because of its rather weak gun: the Eradicator. Good if you're going to fight in a city, but weak on pretty much all other fronts.
The Demolisher is now the most expensive tank – surprisingly to a certain degree.
The most sad part about the entire section however is the Executioner. Due undoubtedly to the codex writer's constant death in the face of plasma pie plates from the Executioner, it's main gun is now susceptible to the Gets Hot! rule. This is such a blow to anyone that was a fan of this tank. Not only do the plasma cannon side sponsons get hot, but no so too does the main gun – you know, that thing that's suppose to have a giant heat sink attached to it. Apparently the Adeptus Mechanicus is too busy making shiny new Grav-weaponry to maintain a few relatively simple heat sinks in a friggen' tank.
Overall, a good improvement on certain point costs. No real problems except as noted above.
Vendettas & Valkyries
Still one of the most powerful flyers in the game, the Vendetta naturally took a few hits from the nerf bat to the chin. The expected points increase came, but so too did some other nerfs. Biggest example is the transport capacity which has been reduced from 12 to 6. No more putting Veterans in a Vendetta folks – you're reduced to Special Weapon Squads, Tempestus Scions, and maybe a command squad.
Even Valkyries got a point increase – but at least they're still cheaper than the new Vendetta; a whole fifty points cheaper in fact!
Both the Valkyries and Vendettas took a hit by the loss of Scout and Deep Strike USRs.
You'll still see these things flying in the air, but you're not as likely to see as many of them.
Hydras
The plastic kit that people have been waiting for since the original release of the Leman Russ and Chimera and Basilisk: the Hydra. Now, as shiny and new and nice as this kit is, don't be fooled!
Five points cheaper than the older 5th edition Hydra...that's about the only real improvement. In fact there is a greater loss for Hydra lovers than before. This is due to the fact that Hydra's have lost their auto-targeting system.
When 6th edition first came out and GW released its FAQs to update older codex units (until they received their own update), Hydras were simply given the Skyfire rule in addition to their older rules. That was great because the 'auto-targeting system' meant that Hydra's – due to being the best anti-air tank in the game – could ignore cover; which meant that all those nasty Helldrakes and Stormravens don't get any Jink saves against a Hydras firepower – well, didn't. Past tense.
Now we've got Skyfire written into the codex but auto-targeting systems have been removed. Interceptor USR would have been nice as a replacement, but then people would start spamming Hydras – and we can't have that. So the hydras took a bit of a nerf, but hey, at least we got a plastic kit.
Basilisk Battery
Old Reliable in the artillery department, the Basilisk has remained entirely unchanged. Which is sad really when you consider what else is no longer present within the new codex...
Wyverns
The new kit to fill in the shoes of the Medusa, Colossus, and Griffons...*headdesk*
Seriously, though, the Wyvern is a decent light artillery piece for use against hordes. I think whoever wrote the codex designed the Wyvern to be used specifically against ork boyz, 'nid gaunts, and traitor IG blobs. People that are a fan of the old Quad Gun/Thudd Guns will see a lot of similarities, but will not likely be swayed from continuing to use their Thudd Guns.
On a purely kit-based scrutiny objection – I must say that it was incredibly lazy for them to simply take the Hydra, cut off it's autocannon barrrels, and then go “yup, this is a totally different tank.” I'm sure it's saving GW money in producing them, but boy would I have a few words to say with whoever made that design decision.
Manticore
One of the more feared pieces of artillery in the IG codex, and sadly not available in squadrons, is the Manticore. It is entirely unchanged in its design or stats with only a small ten points bump in point cost.
Deathstrike Missile Launcher
The real winner in the artillery department this time around is the Deathstrike. The exact same point cost and stat line, it functions pretty much the same as it did in 5th edition but with one minor detail...
...it's main weapon, the Deathstrike missile, is now an Apocolyse blast. No more piddling D3+3” for its blast radius – this baby is a full ten inches. It is also slightly easier to fire than before, on a 4+ instead of a 6+.
It remains S10 AP1, Ordnance 1, apoc blast, barrage, and ignores cover. This baby is going to hurt and hurt big time wherever it hits. Worth the points.
Hellhounds, Devil Dogs, & Banewolves
These three standard forms of the flame-thrower tank are all pretty much the same with only a few minor changes in the point costs. They can still be taken in squadrons, which is nice. The hellhound went down in points and the Devil Dog went up in points. The Banewolf stayed the same.
Commissar Yarrick
If the galaxy ever explodes and wipes out all life as the Emperor knows it, there'll still be Commissar Yarrick left alive in the aftermath. The old cantankerous hero of Armageddon is still a strong and powerful character to take.
He is pretty much unchanged from the last edition. Only a few differences with the change of wording in how a commissar executes people. His Bale Eye is a bit changed, but not overly so. He also took a significant reduction in points, which makes him more viable as a primary HQ and Warlord choice. He is also the only commissar character that has the “Senior Officer” special rule – which means he can give orders just like a Company Commander can. Worth it if you like your Warlord to be an Eternal Warrior.
Lord Castellan Creed
”Creeeeeed!”
The man who use to be able to bestow the Scout USR upon any given unit in your army (but no longer) is still awesome. Apparently the writer(s) of the codex felt that the IG orders were pretty strong, because they reduced his old ability of giving out 4 orders a turn to only 3 now. But you can re-roll any failed order given by Creed, so that's nice.
He can now take two Warlord Traits instead of bestowing Scout upon any unit. But he did lose his special order “For the Honor of Cadia.” His point cost was reduced by ten points. Thanks to the new gunslinger rules in the Big Rule Book, Creed can fire both of his hot-shot laspistols together – but they are not twin-linked as they were before.
Color Sergeant Kell is still the same by and large, with his own point reduction.
Colonel “Iron Hand” Straken
Speaking of guys that don't die, Straken is back and looking for business. The man who use to be able to punch Land Raiders to death still can.
He's been given a few updates and USRs, such as Smash (which is like how he use to ignore armor saves regardless) and he has Monster Hunter, which makes him an interesting choice against any big bug.
His one downside is a giant increase of 50 points in cost as opposed to his old cost.
Nork Deddog
The only bodyguard available for anyone apparently, but he does the job well. Deddog is pretty much identical to his old profile, except that he is 25 points cheaper, got Very Bulky, and his 'Loyal to the End' special rule changed to allow him to intercede and replace a character in a challenge. He also received a new attack that is pretty hilarious: Thunderous Headbutt. Gives him a single +3 Strength AP3 close-combat attack in exchange for his normal attacks.
Not a bad investment if you're depending on keeping your commander alive.
Knight Commander Pask
Every tread-head's favorite upgrade from the old days, if we could fit him in, was Pask. Now? He's even better. Not only can you take Pask as your warlord, upgrading your Tank Commander with him, but his stock warlord trait gives you Preferred enemy against your codex of choice and his Crack Shot special rule has changed to fit with all the different variants of the Leman Russ. Basically the idea was that if Pask decides to shoot something at something, that something is going to be red bloody paste by the time its over.
Well worth the investment in points.
Orders
Whether it be the bellowing of a newly minted Lieutenant who posses more gumption than forethought or a seasoned company commander who listens to his non-coms before giving a few pecise instructions – orders are orders.
First, let's go over the old 5th Edition IG orders. This will not include any orders that were specific to special characters – just the main orders that were part of the Senior Officer and Junior Officer orders.
Fifth Edition Imperial Guard Codex Orders:
Number of Orders & Range of Command
The Company Commander can issue up to two orders each turn. He has a command radius of 12”.
Bring it Down!
One of my favorite orders from the old codex, BiD allowed you to order a unit to fire upon either a vehicle (or squadron of vehicles) or a monsterous creature, counting all their weapons as twin-linked. This worked great when you could have Creed issue this order to four waiting heavy weapon squads that were desperately trying to shoot down flyers – or hoping to stop that mean looking Mawloc from ripping your conscripts a new one.
Fire on my Target!
This order had its uses against armies that made a great deal of cover saves. Once given to a unit, all its shooting attacks would ignore cover saves. Handy for use against Eldar Rangers and Tau Stealth Suits.
Get Back in the Fight!
A nice emergency-situations order, GbitF allowed you to hold the line even if your entire blob squad of running-cowardly Guardsmen failed their morale the previous turn. This order was retained in the new codex, but with a small change that will be covered below....
First Rank, Fire! Second Rank, Fire!
The favorite order of any IG player fond of fielding large blobs of flashlight wielding maniacs. Seriously, this order has so much potential that it's hard to describe without context. One good example from this writer's experience: ordering 50 Guardsmen to fire a fusillade into a Mawloc that popped up six inches away and firing one-hundred-fifty shots; needless to say, it died. As the old adage goes: “Quantity has a quality all its own.” The only sad part about this order was that it did not apply to the hot-shot lasguns totted by the stormtroopers.
Incoming!
A Guardsman's best friend is the earth beneath his booted feet. This order was useful at times when you needed a squad to survive a turn or two whilst sitting on an important (and possibly game winning) objective. It seems that, in retrospect, the Aegis Defense Line got it's shine from this particular order.
Move! Move! Move!
Likely to be one of the most unused order within the repertoire of the 5th Edition IG codex, MMM was about rolling three dice for your run roll – when you just really, really, really had to get a squad to move its butt double-quick.
Sixth Edition Imperial Guard Orders:
Number of Orders & Range of Command
A model with the Senior Officer rule can give two orders each turn. He has a command radius of 12”. Nothing changed here.
Take Aim! (New)
A new and interesting order, “Take Aim!” gives the 'Precision Shot' special rule to all the shooting attacks of the unit so ordered. This could be quite useful for Veteran Squads toting around with plasma guns and lascannon, able to pick off ICs and those pesky 'Nid bugs that give synapse.
Smite at Will! (New)
This order gives a unit the Split Fire special rule. This would be much more interesting if Split Fire worked the way it did (does?) for the Space Wolves' long fang squads. Unfortunately only a single model in a unit may fire at a different target from the parent unit – meaning you might be able to fire a heavy weapon team at a different target from its main squad. How useful that will be will depend on a case-by-case basis.
First Rank, Fire! Second Rank, Fire!
Pretty much the same as before – except for one awesome thing: this order can now apply to hotshot lasguns! That makes it so much more fun to gun-line those pretty new Scion boys who think they can live up to the name of 'stormtrooper.'
Forward, for the Emperor! (New)
A very interesting and highly useful order, FftE allows a unit to immediately run after making a shooting attack – much like the Eldar battle meditation-thing. I can see this being used, though perhaps not in the same way that any of the testers at GW intended. 50-man blob squad fires double-tap at a scary enemy close-combat unit and then immediately runs backwards to gain that little bit of extra distance.
Move! Move! Move!
Nothing new here. Same as before. If you need to scoot then use this order.
Suppressive Fire! (New)
Another awesome new order that gives a unit's shooting attacks the Pinning special rule. Useful to use against any unit that isn't Fearless...which seems to be a dwindling number of targets considering how many ICs can give Fearless to a unit, one way or another....senior officer only.
Bring it Down! (New)
It might have the same name but this is definitely a new order. No longer giving a unit twin-linked against vehicles and monsterous creatures – this order now bestows the Tank Hunter and Monster Hunter USRs. Not to be a nay-sayer, but I personally would prefer the older version. With the IG and their usual arsenal of hard hitting heavy weapons, it's more often a case of not hitting than not wounding. But time will tell...senior officer only.
Get Back in the Fight! (New-ish)
Pretty much the same order as before except for a single nerf: the unit that successfully follows this order and regroups is not eligible to get the extra 3” that other units get for regrouping naturally. As usual, Space Marines are just cooler about regrouping than the IG. Senior officer only.
Order Impressions:
Overall we've received a nice, hefty amount of new orders and the rules for their operation are practically unchanged. There is only one small change, that done to “Inspired Tactics.” If when an officer gives an order and you roll double-ones, then the 6th edition codex allows you to make all further orders without rolling – for they were given so clearly that you didn't need to even roll. This is a big change, of sorts, from the older 5th edition “Inspired Tactics,” which allowed you to give an extra order (even if it was more than your usual allotment of orders per turn to give). I'm not sure about you guys, but we might miss that possible third order for the remainder of 6th edition...