See here for part 3.
Well,
between waiting for stuff to arrive, the codex arriving, and waiting
for stuff to go on pre-order, I didn’t get that much finished.
Mainly I did busy work, and read the new rules. So there’s gonna be
less actual models today and more commentary.
My
initial impressions of the codex are broadly positive, with some
rough bits around the edges. Things feel a bit slipshod; I don't
think the folder it comes in is any good, with the day one patches
and removed units being well-documented at this point. With the game
being so reliant on digital updates currently, which is a net
positive don't get me wrong, I find myself questioning the point of
hardback rules tomes like this, but it is what it is. The tome does
justify existence by having meaningful and worthwhile differences
from the index. Krieg got some nice additions, but the Cadians and
surprisingly the Catachans got needed work done. The assorted
detachments are a nice selection too, although as the tournament
scene has yet to break any of them, I reserve final judgement. Recon
Element for example has been quickly adopted as the three million
infantry one, even if that feels contrary to its theme. I suspect a
nerf. Mechanised Infantry looks OK at first glance, but its
detachment rule only triggers if your boys dismount, so that’s
either a bit underwhelming or there’s something about the wider
detachment that’s so niche I'm just not getting it. The tankie one
looks alright, favouring speed and utility over brute force, while
Siege favours infantry and a fun artillery mechanic. Meanwhile, the
revised Combined Arms detachment just stands there with a sign which
reads "would that work better with Lethal Hits?". Overall,
a pleasant selection on first impression.
The main
difference, and one that gave me some pause for thought, is how we
effectively have three armys in one due to Krieg, Cadia, and Catachan
regiments each having their own squad variants, but no generic one.
There is a lot of overlap, and on inspection I doubt you'll have
issue a finding a suitable proxy for your preferred regiment, but the
differences are as strong as they are subtle. Catachan, even as it
looses its character selection, is at worst a sleeper hit. Its heavy
weapon teams are arguably the best available, and everything has
Scout, including it's command, so these musclemen have some
flexibility they've sorely lacked. Cadian options end up as the
generalist/defensive choice, with lots tying to objectives, and
having the best character selection for Orders. Krieg obviously get a
lot of new toys, although not everything is a slamdunk. Their command
squads are the least flexible, obviously favouring the meatgrinder,
and I'm not super enamoured with their horses, but the Combat
Engineers and heavy weapons look good. As all three regiments are
compelling, I found myself questioning my stated plans, at least
until I remembered that if I got the kitbashing right, I wouldn't be
forced to choose. I'll build them as Krieg for now, and my
pre-existing Platoon Command Squads have an easy way to go. I just
need to settle on a look for the Krieg Command.…
Meanwhile,
with the release still unknown some weeks away for
the new Krieg units, I decided to work on the bread & butter
stuff: the Krieg battleline option. As I mentioned back in part 1, I
feel the need for additional infantry, and my existing examples need
some modernization. Confusing this matter is the very obtuse wording
of their data sheet. A casual glance would lead you to think that
you'd be able to field a squad with 4 special weapons per 10, but
then you see the mess of footnotes. While I would greatly appreciate
some clarification from GW on this, Ive decided to follow a
conservative interpretation of 2 per 10, with the Vox Unit option
counting towards that ratio. I assume that is is a reflection of a
(new?) sprue layout, and I have a dark suspicion that you aren’t
intended to have both melta and plasma in some cases,
but its not totally clear. So that's 20 models for the new squad,
plus 4 additional models for the existing ones, medpacks &
lasguns. I am however taking this a bit slow, if only because I’m
awaiting some meltaguns in the post. The ones pictured are intended
as replacements/add-ons for existing squads, and will be batch
painted with the rest… whom currently exist as imcomplete bodies
glued to bases. I’ll spare you a picture of that.
On
Saturday, GW finally stopped playing
coy
about its new Guard releases, and
stated the base sizes for two units, the afore mentioned Krieg
Command, and the Krieg Heavy Weapon Teams. I had a lot of what I
needed, but not all, so I worked some of the HWTs on the Sunday and
Monday. I will however talk
more about that next time,
No comments:
Post a Comment