Chaos Space Marines! Codex 2022

 Chaos Space Marines! Codex 2022

This is a follow up to my posts and thoughts on Chaos Space Marines now that the Codex: 2022 has landed. At the time of writing the Codex has been out a few weeks but I have not yet had a game using it.

I have been playing about on Battle Scribe with list building and trying to put each of my Companies or Warbands into viable 2,000 point strike force armies. But not yet fielded them in battle.

For a bit of fun I will firstly use the Hounds of Abaddon using the Codex and the White Dwarf rules.

Overall I do like the new Codex. The way it is set out is good, devoting a separate section to each Legion (or pseudo legion in the case of the Red Corsairs). Again it was disappointing not to see the Table of Twenty Legions like the Space Marine Codex always includes. Doing this would be really useful for new players especially to see how the Horus Heresy divided the Legions as it did. Maybe Chaos Codex: 2025 will be the time we see it.....

It is perhaps best that GW has gone down the route of sub-factions in the main book, as opposed to a main book and supplements. The downside for some players will be that if they only play Black Legion, several pages are going to be irrelevant to their Army.

I think most Factions now have a similar Codex layout though. Certainly in 9th Edition several of my Armies have Codexes with pages that I may never use.

Anyhow, I'll try to do a post after I've played a few games with Chaos Space Marines, see how they perform.

Nick's News! Hobby Update

 Nick's News! Hobby Update

Greetings. It has been a while.......

Hobby Time

I have been constantly active in the hobby since my last update. Mainly in the world of Warhammer 40K. I have enjoyed two or three games a week. Mostly 'friendly' MatchPlay but some OpenWar too.

Since my last hobby update when I wrote about my Eagle Marines getting table top time, I switched soon after to give other armies a try.

My Black Legion project is ongoing (see my YouTube Channel) with the Six Companies each progressing since the last video record of the whole. As it was (still is) some time before 9th Edition Codex: Chaos Space Marines is released I decided to field the Bringers of Decay Warband using Codex: Death Guard. This was good because I got marines with two wounds, and a 9th Edition Codex to employ strategems etc. It was not perfect as my Warband does not include Codex: Death Guard specific units (e.g. Plague Burst Crawlers or Deathshroud Terminators) but I used the force in several games, won a couple, and enjoyed seeing them on the tabletop.

Following on from there I did a similar thing using Codex: Thousand Sons. My Sons of the Cyclops Warband had a few battles. Not having Exulted Sorcereres or Scarab Occult Terminators was a handicap but my 'magic marines' did ok and gave my regular opponents some things to think about.

(see below for my thoughts on Bolters!)

After the Marines of Nurgle and Marines of Tzeentch got their outings it was time for something very different. Genestealer Cult. 

I had been working on my GSC Army for a good while (since Deathwatch Overkill was released in February 2016). I had added units and built and painted them slowly over time. I did not have a battle ready force to use in 8th Edition but when 9th Edition Codex dropped in early 2022 it was time to see how they faired. Luckily my random purchases when put into BattleScribe created a fairly neat 2,000 points list. It was very character skewed and there was no room for any a purestrain unit (or two) but it fitted nicely into two detachments - one mostly Neophytes, the other Acolytes.

The GSC had several battles. Remembering all the rules for them was the hardest part. My inability to make crucial (re-rollable) charge rolls let them down terribly!! 

I had a couple of games using half the force each time against my Dark Angels opponent. Each element did ok considering they did not have the combined benefits of shooting/melee in the full list.

Next out of storage are the Adeptus Custodes. The 9th Edition Codex sees me with circa 3,000 points worth including a 500 point Sisters of Silence. 

I cut down the list to 2,000 points (no Sisters) and had my first match play game with them yesterday. It was a close game but I lost to a hard hitting Guard army that Missiled my bikes off the board in turn one!

Chaos Marines

At the time of writing the release of Codex: Chaos Space Marines has just been announced. I am looking forward to fielding the Black Legion and it's allied warbands soon......

Bolters!

The datasheet for Legionaries was released/leaked a few days ago. It included the standards stats for the Boltgun. This is a huge opportunity missed by GW. Playing with the Magic Marines and their Inferno Boltguns with -2 AP was very nice.

I recently watched a YouTube vid bemoaning the fact that a Tactical Marine with standard Bolter was now overshadowed by several Troops choices in the game. The presenter was suggesting one or more of increased Strength, Range or AP without coming to a conclusion. And saying that it would be tricky to introduce with so many Codexes including Bolters.

The solution is obvious and simple. xRef Astartes Chainswords

Imperial Bolters: Rapid Fire 1; S4; AP 0; D1

Astartes Bolters: Raid Fire 1; S4; AP -1; D1

Heretic Bolters: Rapid Fire 1; S4; AP -1; D1

Inferno Bolters: Rapid Fire 1; S4; AP -2; D1

[Inquisition Bolters: Rapid Fire 2; S5; AP -2; D2]

The last one is tongue in cheek as my next project is Sisters of Battle.......

They should all be 24" range as Bolt Rifles can be 30" Range and not upset things.

As Codex updates get released, just run out new versions.

I'd like to have had:

Bubonic Bolters: Rapid Fire 1; S5, AP 0; D1 (Plague Rounds, so re-roll wounds)

It always puzzled me that a lowly Guard Sergeant could carry a rare and revered weapon like a Bolter. Giving them lesser versions fixes the anomaly.  

Anyhow. These are my thoughts. It will be interesting to see what occurs over the next 12 months and into 10th Edition.

 

Nick's News: Eagle Marines Back Story

 Eagle Marines – Background Update 2021 

Previously...... 

The original back story for my Eagle Marines was that the Primaris marine units joined the Chapter and rather than them be integrated into existing companies, the Chapter Master decreed that the reinforcements should form ten new companies numbered 11 to 20 to replicate the First Born companies of the Chapter. 

One good reason for not integrating Primaris with First Born was that the new units had incompatable tech. This is why Primaris cannot ride in Rhino transports. The connections and interfacesw are not compatible. It is like trying to plug into a VHS recorder using a USB cable when you require a Scart Lead. 

Presently....... 

As more and more units of Primaris reinforcements were released and added to the collection it became less satisfying that they were the 12th Battle Company with supporting elements of the 18th, 19th 20th etc 

I took the decision to re-write the back story. 

The updated version of events is that the Primaris reinforcements were dispatched from Mars to go and meet up with the Chapter fleet. However, shortly after departing they received word from the Tech Priests that the entire Chapter had been out of contact for several months. Their last report had been to declare that they were about to tackle a massive Tyranid Hive Fleet invasion force in the far Eastern sector of the quadrant. The silence from the Chapter led to the conclusion that they had failed in their attempt to stop the Aliens in their tracks and it is assumed that there are no survivors to be contacted. 

The Primaris Eagle Marines were told that they must organize themselves into companies under a new Command Headquarters. They would carry on the traditions of the Eagle Marines as a chapter reborn. 

10th Edition Update..........

The Laviathan Edition has re-introduced Terminators and Sternguard Veterans as new sculpts.

Fortunately these are both 'First Company' units and so, my Eagle Marines Back Story only needs a slight update.

The story is that the Pramaris Eagle Marine forces that went to meet up with the First Born Chapter Brothers were able to locate, and meet up with, a few Veteran Battle Brothers that had survived the Hive Fleet Invasion and the Over Run of the planetary systems in the Eastern Sector.

Although these veterans were not all First Company Brothers when they left to fight the Tyranids, the new Chapter Master immediately promoted any First Born Brothers into the Fist Company to fight alongside his Primaris Blade Guard units.

Nick's News: Blog Update

 Nick's News: Blog Update 2021

As a first blog post of the new year I thought that I would do a post that listed the 10 different aspects of the hobby that I have identified, and then write a little bit about which aspect I enjoy the most or least, which aspect I currently spend the most time on, and which aspect I want to spend more time on.

The 10 aspects of the hobby are:

1. Collecting

2. Building

3, Painting

4. Gaming

5. Reading Rules

6. Reading Lore

7. List Building

8. Planning 

9. Learning

10. Video Gaming

_____________________________________________________________________________

1. Collecting

Collecting the models and miniatures has always been a major aspect of the hobby for me. Buying up the new releases as soon as they hit the shops is always fun. Too much of it though can lead to a backlog of unmade models and unfinished projects so resisting the temptation to buy up all and any new releases is important. Currently I am almost on top of things..... but I am sure that by spring 2021 my stack of newly arrived boxes will have grown.....

2. Building

Building and Assembly of the models is something I enjoy a lot. It was the first aspect of the hobby that I had experience of - building Airfix model tanks and planes in the 1970s. Glue everwhere and badly fitting parts. I cannot say my skills have progressed much since then, but I find the process therapeutic.

3. Painting

My painting skills are very low standard. I still paint with the same goal that I had from the beginning, which was to get the miniatures tabletop battle ready. I have disliked from the beginning using miniatures that were freshly built or only primed. I cannot recall when the three-colours-minimum became a thing but to me it still is the minimum standard that I would use in a battle.

Even in a WW2 game a tank can be base-coated all one colour, but add a wash and paint some of the metal bits silver and it is battle ready.

My main aim is to get the army looking okay from three feet away. Moy models are never 'finished' as I always consider that I will go back to each one at some point and add a little more detail etc.

4. Gaming

Wargaming, Board Gaming, Tabletop Gaming. These are all terms that I use to describe my hobby to others, but in truth I spend only a fraction of my hobby time actually rolling dice.

I enjoy gaming a lot. When I am collecting/building/painting it is always with a view to how the models will look and perform on the tabletop.

My availability for gaming comes and goes. The desire and enthusiasm are always there in the background. I am however more of a casual gamer and one that prefers narrative to competitive gaming. I've only entered a couple of local tournaments and I've not done well, but that matters not to me, so long as my army gets to take to the field and I get to roll some dice.

5. Reading Rules

The amount of time I spend reading the rules of the game forms quite a high percentage of my hobby time. This is because it is easy to do. If I have a spare ten or fifteen minutes its easy to pick up a rule book and flick through and read up on profiles of units, special rules etc.

I say reading the rules, not learning the rules, because I have found that I can read a rule a dozen times but until I have used it in a game I have not learnt it.

6. Reading Lore

I enjoy reading the background and lore of a game. Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Historical - each army has a background and a history to enjoy and my armies always reflect their fluff and background. 

Most of my armies are reflective of a particular aspect of their background. Typically one that I believe that most people will not choose. I am not a big fan of using the generic or typical army the game developer uses to promote the game.

Recently, Warhammer 40,000 has had so much new lore and background that I have been totally unable to keep track. Not only new developments of the storyline but also a huge amount of Horus Heresy material. The vast number of novels to read is overwhelming. I would like to begin to work my way through them but right now I do not have the time.

I find myself picking up older army books and material and dipping into those to read small sections that I may have read years ago or never read at all.

7. List Building

This is something I do quite a lot of. And something I really enjoy doing. I like to use pen and paper initially to record the units I have and how many of each type. Then I will decide if the army needs to be broken down into different detachments. This is usually the case because the collecting and building aspects of the hobby have resulted in a larger collection than originally intended.

Once I have played about with the lists, which are always created to support the background and fluff I have chosen for my army, I will use a digital list building tool to check that my points and my configuration result in a legal and playable force.

As my collection of miniatures for several games systems are quite old and historic, I find a lot of satisfaction in trying to make old armies fit into the latest rules parameters. Its not always possible and when it is necessary to use a 'counts as' for a weapon or a whole model or unit, it does not sit well with me.

8. Planning

Planning the next project is ever present. There is always something in the pipeline. Some projects are only present in my mind and may never go any further. Most projects are part finished projects of old, and the plan is which one to dust off and re-visit next.

As per my painting approach, most projects are never truly finished. There are always new units to add to an army or an update of some sort to do.

I like to set goals each year - projects to start or projects to re-visit. Not too many, and it's fine if a project rolls forward into the following year. But at least having a plan limits the propensity to be a hobby butterfly, just a little.

9. Learning

Whilst for many years the hobby was undertaken in a small vacuum, with very little outside input other than that found in the game itself, or the official publications that the games developer supported, nowadays there are many many ways to learn more from fellow hobbyists.

My own routes into the wider world are through YouTube, Facebook & Twitter. I know Instagram is another great place to learn more but I am not yet a big user of the platform, and there is only so much time in the day.

10. Video Gaming

I would love to have more time to spend on Video Games that are set in the worlds of the Table Top Games. But it has been a long long time since I had spare time to sit at a console or a PC and play.

Maybe, if I make it a priority then I could find the time, but something would have to be sacrificed and at this moment in time I am not going to be able to do that.

Conclusion

It has been a good experience to put down in words where my enjoyment of the hobby lies. There were no surprises because I already knew what aspects I enjoy. The only thing I can do with the information is to use it to focus my time better. A new year means new goals and new armies to create and enjoy.

Nick's News! Hobby Update

 Nick's News! Hobby Update

Since my last blog update I have been quite busy with the hobby. Mainly with Warhammer 40K and mainly with my Eagle Marines.

The 12th Company had a couple of trial 2,000 point games and did okay against both Space Marines and Tyranid armies. This was despite me having only a loose grasp on the changes from 8th Edition to 9th Edition, and despite me not having a good working knowledge of the Stratagems available to my army and how they might synergise with my army traits and special rules. These are essential elements to being successful in Warhammer 40K right now.

As I was saying to a friend recently, one who has not really been a gamer over the years as he is more of a painter of miniatures, the old basics are still there - its a three roll system - I roll to hit, then roll to wound, and then you roll to save. However, the additional rolls for ignoring wounds and the many re-rolls and modifiers do take a lot of remembering.

In addition to the matched play games my 12th Company began a crusade. Captain Tiberius Calgar and his away team of a couple of squads went down to a planet to investigate some xenos activity...... they did not fair too well against them, also a force of Traitor Legion marines was there causing trouble too and the PDF was in open rebellion. Calgar has requisitioned additional units from his company and the support companies in-system. Hopefully, their added skills and weight of numbers will be up to task of handling the threats they face........

Nick's News! Blog Update

 Nick's News! Blog Update

This is a quick update regarding my Warhammer 40K Ninth Edition Journey.

The Codex: Space Marines (2020) will arrive tomorrow, together with a whole bunch of new models to add to my growing Primaris collection. I am not certain but I think that the 12th (Battle) Company, plus support from the 11th (Veteran) Company, the 14th (Infiltrator) Company, 15th (Incursor) Company, 18th (Reserve) Company, 19th (Reserve) Company & 20th (Scout) Company, will now be larger in terms of model count than the Mighty 5th Company with its supporting units.

I will at some point do an 'Army Showcase' video for here and on my YouTube Channel that includes all my Space Marines, past and present. It will take me a while to set them all up......

Chaos Space Marines: The Traitor Legions

Chaos Space Marines: The Traitor Legions

Thinking about my future plans for my own Chaos Space Marine Army got me thinking about the faction and one or two things that have puzzled me over the years.

The Horus Heresy was the single most important event in the lore. It divided the Space Marine Legions into two. Two equal halves. Nine loyal and nine traitor legions. There were twenty legions and two are totally absent from the lore. They are unlikely to have been written out of history because they were 'too loyal to mention' so, we could guess they were guilty of crimes even worse than those of the Sons of Horus. That means that more than half of the legions belong on the dark side.

Yet, the traitor legions have always been treated less equally by Games Workshop when it comes to supporting the faction.

I understand that in very simple terms, GW might consider the 40K universe to be: The Imperium versus The Others. And in 'the others' there is Chaos plus the Xenos factions. And as a company they need to try to support all factions as best they can. But I still believe that they should have played the Good versus Evil card better by giving the Chaos Legions and the Renegade Chapters an almost equal amount of support.

Now is the perfect opportunity. The Space Marines have been boosted with the concept of a main Codex plus Codex Supplements for the Loyal Legions, now chapters. And no doubt there will be new books for the non-codex Loyal Legions: I Dark Angels; VI Space Wolves; IX Blood Angels.

This is a good point in my ramblings to say that I have since Second Edition been totally puzzled and more recently annoyed that in every single Space Marine Codex the table of the twenty legions appears. Usually quite early on in the background and the story of the first founding. Yet, never once has this table appeared in a Codex Chaos. This makes zero sense. It's inclusion would have put the traitor legions into context straight away. I must caveat by saying I have every Chaos Codex up to the 2017 edition. I did not purchase the later tweaked version but I very much doubt the table is in there.

So, if Chaos were to be treated to the same amount of attention I would hope to see a main Codex: Chaos Space Marines, followed by four supplements for: IV Iron Warriors; VIII Night Lords; XVII Word Bearers; XX Alpha Legion. The five Codex to cover the four god-specific Legions: III Emperors Children (Slaanesh); XII World Eaters (Khorne); XIV Death Guard (Nurgle); XV Thousand Sons (Tzeentch); plus XVI Black Legion.

This approach would enable the main Codex Chaos to expend on options for Renegade Chapters. There are many mentioned but they only get a mention in passing. For example: The Crimson Slaughter; The Cleaved; The Company of Misery. The Red Corsairs do get more attention than others.

The god-specific Renegade Chapters could either get some attention in the main Codex Chaos Pace Marines, or be included in the Codex books for the appropriate god. The Flawless Host (Slaanesh); The Blood Disciples (Khorne); The Purge (Nurgle); The Scourged (Tzeentch)

This brings me on to Codex: Chaos Daemons. Whilst I think there might be a small demand for a dedicated |Daemon Codex, I would hazzard a guess that most Deamons are taken as allies in detachments as a part of a main Chaos Space Marine force.

The opportunity is there to treat Daemons like Genestealers. By that I mean they can appear in more than one Codex but with perhaps slightly different rules?

So, for example, let us consider Khorne. It could be that a Bloodthirster and other HQ choices are kept solely in Codex: Chaos Daemons but Bloodletters, Flesh Hounds, maybe Bloodcruhers could appear in Codex: Worldeaters. Perhaps with an ability or two less or a points change? This would be both fluffy and give greater flavour to god-specific Chaos Space Marine army.

Anyhow. As always, it will be interesting to see what the next twelve months brings.........