N1SB

New intel, but it's brief at the start of the video, I'll summarise below: - you start at the Horus Heresy itself...not news - you start as a CONSUL, that's new. You have a war fleet at the start! - it's a confusing time, you don't know what's up, whom to trust - you're trying to survive and regroup with Loyalists - he mentions Guilliman's Imperium Secundus a.k.a. The Unremembered Empire Well, that certainly changes the scale of this RPG. We already know you have this non-Marine sidekick as a secondary character, but in fact your primary Marine is a Consul leading basically an entire army already. This is a whole different dynamic than if you were roleplaying as an individual character. The Imperium Secundus part is particularly interesting, because Dan Abnett set it up in The Unremembered Empire, but didn't do much with it. Now we get this chance to really explore what happened in this mini-Imperium. It was supposed to be mostly Ultramarines, Dark Angels and Blood Angels, but we know there were other forces that regrouped with them, like Alexis Pollux from the Imperial Fists...and now, YOU. This is a bit of a game changer, this. This went from a curiosity to, I'm definitely going to read through and maybe even run the sample PDF that Cubicle 7 typically releases.

My dyslexic brain conflated the words "reciprocal" and "YOLO" into "reciprocYOLO" tariffs. Which is kinda appropriate. The UK government is already talking to the US government. You'll probably see these exemptions, these carve-outs, in action soon. Probably something like UK mechanical components that go into cars, for US car manufacturers...because those are 2 very influential industries in their respective countries, I dunno. I'm not talking politics, I'm just talking operationally, how these things shake out. It's something to look out for confirmation. There is a thing where the U.S. judicial system can do something to delay or prevent the tariffs, but that's a borderline topic I'll avoid going into, if only because I only have this Junior High Social Studies' level of understanding of it. We're just talking Warhammer, I'm good with that! But there are way broader issues.

Thank you all for asking. I'll keep this as short & (bitter)sweet as I can. As always, non-political. Summary - yeah...I agree it'll be 10% tax just passed on to Hobbyists in the US, but it'll also be all the knock-on effects. +++ Why 10% tariff across the world? +++ Why even target UK exports like Warhammer? What has Warhammer ever done except bring both joy (& misery every price hike)? It's because if one country was to raise tariffs at another country...you can always circumvent by going thru a 3rd. For example, as you know I'm like a dodgy Hong Kong hustler. Former British colony. If it was only China getting hit by a tariff, I'd help a Chinese company set up some sort of dummy trading company in a Commonwealth nation to appear British, go around those rules, and I'd have a small take. Happens all the time. This would make such a loophole even costlier, like it wouldn't even be worth me doing it anymore (if I had wanted to, I admit nothing). So it's NOT targeted at Warhammer, nor even the UK. It's just this general baseline thing to make a tariff policy work. In Warhammer terms, it's if we had to use a Force Organisation Chart, there'd be, some HQ + Troops Tax, otherwise there's no point. So even if we get the US and UK governments negotiating...this 10% that affects them will stay, because it's NOT about the UK at all. What it's going to mean in practice is that it'll be very, extra hard to get this particular price hike lifted. There MIGHT be one solution... +++ There ARE "carve-outs" for select things +++ In situations like this, there ARE exemptions on a case-by-case basis...and you want to get your name on that list. It's going to take someone close to the policy makers with, how do I put this, a DOG in the fight who just so happens to really like games and tabletop and stuff to say, "Um, I actually play this game from a British company called WARHAMMER and so do my 14 kids, so could you please do a carve out for Games Workshop?" Alternatively, it'll be a very influential American company who sits squarely behind policy makers with, y'know, AMAZONIAN strength to lobby against the policy like, "You keep the tariffs...unless the sales go through US. We get an exception, because we'll help you enforce the policy via other means we have at our disposal." (You will see stuff like a Taiwanese chipmaker getting an exemption for their chips IF it's inside a US-made PC, etc.) +++ How will GW react? +++ It's not so much how it will affect GW (unless you're one of our Frateri GW shareholders, you care and rightly so). It's more about how GW, being a publicly listed company responsible to shareholders, react? That affects us all. You know how I used to harp on about maybe GW's Factory 4 could be built in the US? It would actually only help with trying to get on that list of carve-outs exempt from tariffs. Because even in a scenario where GW did build a factory in the U.S., I had imagined GW'd only make the most common model kits there, like the starter sets. Everything else made in the UK would technically be subject to tariffs, UNLESS they use another loophole and did something like having the sprues produced in Nottingham, shipped over to the U.S., and packaged in the U.S., just put in the cardboard boxes there. This used to happen in Hong Kong, things were made in China, shipped to Hong Kong then we'd package them to ship out, now it's Made In Hong Kong. But my main argument was lower energy costs. (The automotive industry is like this. Components made worldwide, final assembly in the U.S., now Made in the U.S.A.) I'm really gaming out how GW is reacting. Here's what comes to mind. +++ Will GW delay or even rethink its pricing update? +++ I anticipated GW was going to do a pricing update like around May. This has to give them pause, at least. North America, which of course includes the U.S., has long been its fastest growing region, to the point that... North America, probably the U.S. in particular, is actually GW's single biggest market now. GW DOES care. (I'll look up how much North America makes up GW's overall business, like compared to its home in the UK, later.) On the other hand, this gives GW a built-in excuse. GW can blame their performance on tariffs in their biggest market. But they're having trouble keeping supply up demand anyway. [TEMPORARILY NOT AVAILABLE] is synonymous with almost every search I do on their website nowadays, like when I'm just brainstorming new projects. Again, it's the same 3 factories producing while GW's revenue is 5 times what it was 10 years ago. However, GW IS looking ahead, that's why they talk about Factory 4 (as well they should imho). GW might say, let's not burn this bridge before we even cross it. Maybe they'll hold off on a price hike until things shake out a bit, or do some weird thing where price increases for the rest of the world EXCEPT for the U.S. There are unsung heroes who will push back on GW with this. They'll be the central figures in this saga: the U.S.-based FLGSes. +++ How will U.S. FLGSes react? +++ Your Friendly Local Gaming Stores in the U.S. will be the ones central to this fight. We can game things out by how they react. (Reminder: GW uses their own jargon for FLGSes, they're their "Trade" channel.) I've been listening to FLGSes, whom I greatly respect. They're unhappy with their GW representatives NOT because the Hobby sucks, in fact the Hobby's selling well, TOO well, the FLGSes are mad at GW because they can't stock what they want, driving their customers to online retailers. You're going to have U.S. Hobbyists drive to Canada to buy minis, throw away the cardboard boxes so it's just the sprues so it's not like a whole product, bring them back home. They're going to organise which friend will be the one to drive north after every balance update for a new batch of orders. (I used to live in New Jersey. We'd drive to Toronto because a lot of our Hong Kong friends were there. Then in Wisconsin when I was in uni. We'd drive just north of the border to buy alcohol then bring it back. I now realise that my so-called "friends" took me because I was going to be the fall guy.) FLGSes will have to look for alternatives. Within the miniatures space, it'll be Atomic Mass Games, who make Marvel Crisis Protocol (my friend Timperial Guard used to play this before Legiones Imperialis brought him home) and now Star Wars Legions (I know there's a fiddly thing with that, I'm not getting into it). (Modiphius, which makes the Fallout miniatures games is also a U.K. company, actually i.e. same boat.) Beyond miniatures, in the U.S. tabletop space, there's also Dungeons & Dragons, which traditionally did around £100 million/year. To compare, GW was around that 10 years ago, now it's £500 million/year. It's still dwarfed by D&D's younger sibling, Magic the Gathering, which is £1 BILLION/year. FLGSes can flock to Wizards of the Coast, owners of both D&D and MtG. I know what's happening with D&D, I won't talk about it here. I'll put it back into Warhammer terms. You know how we react to a balance update? Like GW will always increase the unit I really like, like my C'tans. And even though Necrons have been top tier throughout 10th ed, I completely overreact, like a small points increase to C'tan makes me give up and burn my army. This sort of thing happens irl. In supply chains, it's called a Bullwhip Effect, a tiny flick leads to a huge slash down the line. +++ Conclusions +++ GW is going to take a time-out to a.) re-evaluate things, b.) SHOW they're re-evaluating things and c.) talk to people like FLGSes. It'll be "in light of recent events" and/or "due to circumstances out of our control" by their next annual report, year ends in May, report in July. (They may or may not issue a statement to investors beforehand. They probably won't, the CEO isn't one of those headline seekers.) They're going to say they're either delaying their "pricing update" or do some weird carve out for the U.S. Don't turn your envy against our U.S. Frateri, they'll be hit with 10%, while we are usually hit like around 5%, they'll still be worse off, and they might be helping us all hold off on a pricing update altogether. They've already committed to Factory 4. They might say they're evaluating Factory 5, 6 or 7 in the U.S., something like that. There has been a case for that in lieu of energy prices in the UK, particularly in the case of Nottingham, which I found out recently. So it's not just some political lobbying thing tbh. They'll have to have some sort of special thing dealing with FLGSes (a.k.a. "Trade"), as well they should. In conclusion, having played this out as a result of writing this post, there will be a calm before the storm. +++ Now, a practical, personal note +++ Remember, the Hobby is only part of your life. The most important part, sure! But everything else, things you take for granted, things you never really think of, will go up way more than Warhammer. As a barometer, just keep an eye out for even gas prices, which should NOT be affected much, but will be. Canary in the coal mine. I did not work in Equities (I was Mergers & Acquisitions, yes, I know I'm a total bastard), so even now I was trained never to comment on buying or selling stocks. If you hold GW stock, remember you're STILL getting good dividends. But if you ever thought of being a GW part-owner, a GW shareholder, wait and see. I hold no GW stock, have no financial relationship with GW aside from being a Warhammer player. But things drop, then drop again, then rebound. Edit - I just thought of something, it's a zero-cost thing you can do: U.S. Frateri, maybe ask your American FLGS, "How can we support you?" You probably have to do NOTHING extra. You're just asking, not committing to anything, if they give reply. They'll just think, "Huh, Warhammer CUSTOMERS have always supported us." They might ask their GW reps, how are they supporting their customers in this time. My closest Warhammer/D&D friends and I kept a bar open by just going there once a week during the pandemic era. It wasn't simply that we drank like a fish (even though we did). It's that by being regulars at that time, we gave the bar's manager an excuse to tell his boss to keep it open. For a FLGS owner, it's not just a tax or more expensive minis, it's their business, it's livelihood. Just 1 question, "Are you okay?"

Iirc they were 30 points each in 1st ed 30k, + weapons. Like 30 + 10 for Twin Linked Lascannons. Was a good deal.

Nono, you know 1 more so this is but a humble reminder, there were lead Tarantulas in 1st ed 40k, after Space Crusade. They were much more industrial-looking with that front armour plate. I had trouble assembling it, it kept collapsing under its own weight.

Brother, I've been watching our local Warhammer Store WhatsApp group, just to feed you a bit of intel. As predicted, the convo is centered around this Waves/Reinforcements/Deep Strike/Jump Pack mechanic, where you have to stagger Deploy. Lots of army reorganising around that. The conversation for other Chapters leads to things like Terminators, particularly Deathwing Knights, is what I'm noticing. Gut instinct, BA is one of those factions that should do well. Our resident Nightlords player I'm sure is thinking of Warp Talons, etc. That's what comes to mind for most people, letting you know so you are ready for it.

Ok this is WAY better...because it's a way to see the setting of Warhammer from a different set of eyes. Like starting from the Great Crusade: "Flee, you fools, from this Slaanesh we've created...wait, did Monkeighs breed Super Monkeighs!?" To the Horus Heresy: "The Super Monkeighs are slaying each other, excellent...but are under the sway of Chaos. We must intervene." To the Age of Apostasy: "Now they're making All-Girl Super Monkeighs and are slaying each other again...we must intervene." To the current Dark Imperium: "Aw no...what have you Super Monkeighs done? Again? We must intervene...again." And you know how the Craftworld Eldar and the Dark Eldar aren't so opposed to each other, they used to be able to Ally, and they work with Xenos like those Snakey Dudes in Drukhari armies. This is way more suitable for a tabletop RPG. Because you know how every RPG is unique...except they're not? This hits all the marks. So in between adventures, the player characters are just living their lives on their Craftworlds or Commorragh or some Exodite planet, minding their own business, until the stupid Monkeighs do something really stupid again...at which point the must intervene. It's the most natural RPG campaign there is. The Infinite & the Divine follows this timeskip framework, so that definitely works, and is much fun. Well done, Brother Penny One.

LONG HAVE I PONDERED THIS, just as a brain exercise to make sure mine was running proper-like (it wasn't). There are actually four (4!) precedents, not merely in game terms, but like scenarios, that could be reproduced. I'm going to go through it because there are common elements throughout that suggest, this is what works. +++ 1st, the Rogue Trader scenario +++ Fantasy Flight Games did the 40k RPGs. The 1st was Dark Heresy which was Inquisition-based, the 2nd was Rogue Trader. They gave the option to be some Eldar (I think Exodite), Kroot or even an Ork Freebooter aligned with Rogue Traders. Timperial Guard and our D&D Dungeon Master have been actually playing the Rogue Trader computer game, that has this. But this predates even those games. In 1st ed 40k, even Blood Axe Orks had something similar to the Brood Brothers rules that Genestealer Cult has today, like you can use some Imperial Guard models in your army to show Blood Axes have some agreement with them. This was pre-Sebastian Yarrick. And on that note of some Ork-'Oomie collaboration... +++ GORKAMORKA +++ Gorkamorka was that Ork-themed game. I remember it was just a side project by some GW studio guy, before it became so. Orks and humans crashed on some fringe planet awhile back...iirc they were fighting each other in space, that's why they crashed. Centuries later of just surviving, they forgot how they got there, ended up trading and became part of the same setting. The humans lived underground and would paint their faces green, adopt Orky characteristics. It was a strange time. +++ Blackstone Fortress +++ There was that 40k Warhammer Quest around some ancient Necron Blackstone Fortress. That's probably the most recent and best example. All these small groups cooperated to loot the Blackstone Fortress. They even formed their own city, practically a Space Hulk, on its edge, appropriately named "Precipice" iirc. (As a D&D player, it reminded me of the campaign setting Planescape, specifically the city of Sigil.) There was this post-game thing where your ship to travel there was your base, you could trade stuff there. This example is the one I think Brother Strato Khan had in mind especially, this was a node. +++ Dawn of War II: the Last Stand +++ You know how Dawn of War II was really a RPG? It's basically Crusade campaigns, I loved it. There was this horde mode where each player controls 1 player...but from different races: It was a Come the Apocalypse situation, as the above video illustrates, united against/by an overwhelming enemy. So in case you were wondering, I always played the Ork Mek with a Teleporter. I once rezzed my party against a Carnifex by luring it away, teleporting around the map back to each of them, rezzing one then the other. One introduced the other to the tabletop while waiting for me to rez them, it was awesome. +++++ I listed these out for a reason, and it's because there's always these repeated elements: - SMALL group of humans, Rogue Traders or surviving Guardsmen, not full Imperium - STRANDED somewhere, like they crash landed are are removed from the Imperium - Far greater COMMON THREAT or CAUSE, to work together at least temporarily, and... - ...this is the weird one...the ORK is usually the one that kinda initiates cooperation The last one about Orks being the least obvious yet most likely to bring different groups together gets me, and is uniquely 40k. Think of D&D, it's usually some elf wizard or half-elf bard, like a Galadriel figure. In 40k, we just intuit some Ork Blood Axe or Freebooter initiating 1st contact. I really pondered that and it's like Orks have such a casual relationship to war that they're totally ok with working with an enemy, like a friend is just an enemy I'm not currently hitting. Like an Ork thinks, I can hit him before, after, but not right now, because we're working together...so we can have a proper fight later. So putting these together...it's easier to show than tell... +++ Explanation By Example +++ A bunch of different factions that could be forced to work together are stranded on a planet. They could even have been doing some space battle up until that time. I think I could even make a case for human Chaos cultists that have turned their back on the Imperium, but haven't fully gone daemonic. (Being stranded on a planet is the equivalent of adventurers meeting at a tavern in a 40k RPG, I guess.) If there's no clear peacemaker, like some Tau Ethereal who manipulates the others or some Eldar Psyker that mentally compels people to not fire on sight, it'd be an Ork bellowing, "Oi, you 'Oomie/Stunty/Pansy/Bluey/Krooty dere, you needz me help, we talk now, fight later, but just talk now!" They find they have a shared enemy on this mystery planet not on their star maps. It might be some Ymargl Genestealer-infested or Chaos-tainted world that has been purged from records for that exact reason, they don't want people even going there. They're trying to salvage resources to contact their forces or even escape. Turns out, it was some Necron Tomb World. Necron NPCs pop up, half-awake caretakers who kinda want to just get these unwanted guests to go away or even use them to rid them of whatever Genestealer/Chaos infestation, would kinda work with them, likely even be de facto quest givers. Some quests happen. They achieve their goal, they signal for help or a means to leave. Then they're confronted by the REAL enemy... ...it was one of THEIR own, like some Radical Inquisitor, a desperate Eldar Farseer, a manipulative Ork Warboss, who had orchestrated their crash on the planet in the 1st place as sacrificial pawns in some weird scheme. Like the Radical Inquisitor wants to turn to Chaos, they were meant as some sacrifice to a Greater Daemon there. Such a Radical Inquisitor might in fact confess, not by way of admitting wrongdoing, but order the Human to betray/sabotage/kill his newfound allies as part of this scheme, thinking him so loyal to the Imperium against the obviously evil Xenos as part of his obviously necessary plot. (It'd be funny if the Xenos were standing right there listening in, and the Radical Inquisitor is surprised by the sheer fact they can understand Gothic, like he's so xenophobic it never even occurred to him the Ork would reply, "Oi, Mister Big Hat, I'z standing right 'ere, I can 'ear every wurd ye'r sayin'.") And now you have a campaign with an ongoing villain the other characters can unite against for more adventures. +++++ Not so serious, but shows just 1 way it can be done based on common elements I've seen. If there was 1 obvious risk/danger/pitfall, it's not that it's not a purist 40k...40k is very impure, that's fine...is that it just becomes D&D with a 40k skin. Humans are Humans, Eldars are just Elves, Squats are just Dwarves, Orks are Orcs and Tau are just those exotic races you need to buy an extra splatbook for. Because at that point it just stops being its own thing and you might as well play a normal campaign setting of D&D, like you might as well play Planescape. (Not a hypothetical. I DM'd this Spelljammer campaign that was a literal reskin of Star Trek, it even had a holodeck.) So don't worry, I know the spirit of this thread, it's not some debate of pros/cons of a 40k Xenos/Human campaign, it's just, how would it work? Imho this would be a very, very typical way based on cues, you're all stranded on a planet, "y halo thar," some extreme backstabbing git of one of YOUR factions.

This is an important note: WHITE DWARF IS AMAZING NOWADAYS I bought Issue 509 for the Imperial and Chaos Armiger Combat Patrol rules. Then I saw all these Vehicle conversions, and I was like "oh this is some weird hot rod car conversion thing," then I realised there was a 2-page spread of rules for a car racing game...that's what the conversions were for. Then this whole section for Krieg. White Dwarf has not been this good since like, the '90s, back when they'd print actual rules and had cardboard terrain for Necromunda and stuff. I mean mixing Daemons and Space Marines...in Combat Patrol. Lots of new players, they're all starting with Combat Patrol. It might be time.

Aaaaah, Brother Grotsmasha, you beat me to it. And I wouldn't have done it anywhere as good as this. I'll give you the name I was going to give it, in case you could use it: the dOrk Knight

Oh that is so good, I know that art, it was a cover of a white dwarf i ruined. That's beautiful, what a wonderful family you have. Like they were just buying you a thing, but they actually spent time on the tour, and even got a card. Brother Grailkeeper, your friends might not be able to get the tour inside anymore, because they need to focus on producing more. [Temporarily Not Available] is real. But just seeing the size of it, these 3 Factories make basically the entirety of GW's Core business. This is a FTSE 100 company now. Those Techpriests inside those 3 Factories do NOT get enough credit for keeping them running day and night to supply the whole world.

My friend Timperial Guard went and he bought this me: A Bugman's whiskey flask, because true friends know his friend's drinking habits...unfortunately. So things to do: - LOTS of Warhammer World exclusive souvenirs - Beyond the exclusive, lots of limited time items, like those reprints of 1st ed 40k: Rogue Trader - Quite a few Forgeworld things you might've forgotten about And this one Timperial Guard did at my request, and I share it with your friends as a suggestion: - Walk around the 3 Factories. They're very small, but create more than half a billion £ in Revenue You've heard me go on about the 3 Factories, production capacities/costs for a long time. Your friends can see it for themselves. You can see their reaction when the come back and tell you all about their pilgrimage. I'll see Timperial Guard later today, will ask him if there's anything else, but the above was what he mentioned when he went last time. Update, Timperial Guard did suggest another thing: - there's a "Warhammer Museum", basically all the Heavy Metal miniatures, and these huge diorama projects

Brother Stev, 1st of all, great job being a dad, and thanks for breaking down the details. I think this army's greatest threat would indeed be the Redemptor Dreadnought and Firestrike Servo Turret. 10th edition has seen the rise of Vehicles (and Monsters), so I already had a suggestion in mind for what's been popular with CSM in my meta...then I also saw you mention this: How about 2 old-style, Great Crusade-era Vindicators? They're in plastic now, thanks to the new edition of Horus Heresy! They're actually slightly cheaper than the 40k versions, and it would represent your son's idea of staying away from daemonic influence. The idea is your Loyalist son has a top tier Dreadnought, so CSM's best counter I think is other Vehicles, specifically this. Your son can also take Predators, but there's also a Firestrike Servo Turret, and the Vindicator is a little bit tougher. Whenever I take something like this, I take at least 2, because 1 will just get blown up before it can do anything. But this is the part that really excited me: Your son's interpretation, imho, is spot on, based on what I've been reading in recent novels. In the Primarchs series novel, Angron: Slave of Nuceria, we see why Angron resented the Emperor. Whereas Mortarion hated the Emperor for like stealing his victory, and people thought Angron was the same, it's implied that's not the case. Angron was found on Nuceria, was told he had to fight as a gladiator, thus learned what slavery was, because he was a slave. When the Emperor found Angron on Nuceria, then told him he had to fight as a Primarch, Angron already knew what slavery was, and realised he was STILL a slave...but to the Emperor now. Angron sees the Emperor was just as bad as the slavemaster he rescued him from was. Your son's Berserkers sees Khorne just as bad as the Emperor he rescued them from was. In the Siege of Terra series novel, Saturnine, it was the defenders of Saturnine Wall with the Blood Angels and their Primarch that saw the true side of Angron...and they were in disbelief. They expected a barbarian, but Angron stepped forward, alone, to offer them a chance to surrender. They actually didn't understand what they were seeing and hearing, but when they finally snapped out of it, they rained down Lascannon fire and killed him...only to be resurrected in his daemonic form. It was Sanguinius, the great psyker and his "brother", that understood. He saw into Angron's mind and that split-second where he died before he was reborn was the only peace, the only freedom he had ever known. The closest Angron ever felt like that was on Nuceria, before its lords were about to quash the slave rebellion he lead...which the Emperor denied him. It blows my mind that your youngest saw, in the same way that Angron, the least academic of the Primarchs was also the only one that saw the obvious, that he and the rest of the Imperium were all slaves to the "Master of Mankind". Now, the Loyalists see the Emperor as a good master, but nonetheless. Perhaps it really does take a child to see that the Emperor has no clothes. So a Heresy-era Vindicator or 2, like I suggest, isn't just a good game unit, it's like a piece to this story your son's crafting as well.

Today in the Hobby I was playing DC Universe Online, then realised I was still playing Warhammer: Brother Henry Caville was the Man of Steel, so I can talk about playing a DC-related game. In this DC game, you create your own hideout, one of mine is the bridge of some spaceship. I was trying to create this war room with this battle display table, it's supposed to be holographic, but I just clip together different things like this sculpture of floating spheres with the table to make like some sort of planetary map. It's a MMORPG, I'm roleplaying. I just found this floating Thanagar ship (that's the planet Hawkwoman's from), so I added it over the table. Then I realised I got a table, I got terrain, I got a giant Flyer miniature...wait, I'm just playing Warhammer again.

Brother Jolemai, sorry for late reply, was swept up with Warhammer Preview Fever. Deliberately keeping this short & sweet, because I think the more I say, the more confusing it can be. Summary: every Crusade campaign is its own meta, and the Nachmund Gauntlet's meta is Deep Strike/Jump Pack units...so BA is pretty good! +++++ We'll get to very practical tips & tricks, but 1st, a summary of Crusade in 10th ed. It sounds like you already twigged Crusade even without playing it, yes, it is like a RPG mode, your units "level up" with Battle Traits like Anti-Monster, your characters can get Relics. You might already be thinking in terms of RPG character creation, like min-maxing certain stats, etc. Turns out, every campaign's different now. I was in our store's Leviathan and then Pariah Nexus campaigns. VERY different. I remember Leviathan was very easy to get Anti-Monster Battle Traits (everyone did because Nidzillas), then it was a COMPLETELY different set of stuff for Pariah Nexus. It's not like 1 D&D setting to another, it's like D&D vs. Pathfinder. So it's a very nuanced issue, BUT! But Nachmund Gauntlet is pretty obviously quite skewed about Deep Strike and/or Jump Pack units. +++++ So now, an overview of Nachmund Gauntlet. There's a tricky bit, but it happens BA is probably one of the best at it. Nachmund Gauntlet requires you to split your army, to deploy in Waves. It's like 1000 pts are deployed, then an additional 500 pts, then the final 500 pts. Yes, it's kinda like any number of Necromunda missions where you gotta split up your gangers to come in from different parts of the map, etc. Welp...this condition basically creates a meta that favours Deep Strike and/or Jump Pack units, doesn't it. Remember how I mentioned the Leviathan campaign made it easy to get Anti-Monster Battle Traits. Battle Traits are usually arranged in tables, like there's a set of them for Infantry, a different set for Vehicles, another for Characters, sometimes yet another for Psykers...who are also usually characters, so they can pick. Nachmund Gauntlet has a table for Deep Strikers AND another table for Jump Pack units. Brother Jolemai...you are so set. +++++ With that, here's the practical tips & tricks, because now you see they're tools to work this meta. So with Nachmund Gauntlet in general, I'm thinking 1 big blob of Deep Strike/Jump Pack unit, MAX SIZE. Max size because usually 1 unit levels up a Battle Trait at a time, so every model gets it. I haven't been keeping up with the Balance Dataslates for BA, but I'm guessing it's your bajillion Death Company guys. Those guys will be your star unit, your signature unit, that's what you'll be known for, that takes advantage of Nachmund Gauntlet rules. You pretty much decide who gets experience points each battle, and you basically get your 1st Battle Trait after your 1st battle, it'll be on whomever you choose. (I've been playing Necrons, my obvious unit to level up was a Transcendant C'tan, very tough, lots of Attacks, great to buff.) Then you do like a normal 40k army for standard 10th ed Matched Play. I think I'd spam Scouts just as Action Troops and because 10th ed is Monster/Vehicle-heavy, you bring your Dreadnoughts. I compared Crusade campaigns to D&D vs. Pathfinder, and it's still apt here, because you still kinda play the same way. By this time you got your Deep Strike/Jump Pack unit, then your standard 10th ed type of list, now ADD MOAR DEEP STRIKE/JUMP PACK! We were just covering bases, everything we got left we dedicate for this Deep Strike/Jump Pack-friendly meta. More Death Company? Maybe Land Speeders? I dunno. You know better than I do as a BA player, but you see why I spent time laying out the meta? That's what you're playing AGAINST, therefore. +++++ The above is basically the meat of it, this bit is just dessert, little tidbits, not important, not a conclusion. Special shout-out: Librarian Dreadnought, maybe. I didn't notice anything for Nachmund Gauntlet, and are Libby Dreads Legends now? But a good/smart/funny friend was playing Lamenters and used one. The Libby Dread, unique among you guys, could draw from both Psyker and Vehicle or Walker, etc. He did some crazy Battle Traits combo...so maybe remember your Libby Dread. Very special shout-out: your Epic characters, probably Mephiston? It used to be you can't "level up" Epic, named famous characters. That's why I used a Transcendent C'tan, she's NOT Epic, but still a star god. You're supposed to make your own RPG characters. However, Nachmund Gauntlet has special rules allowing you to rank up Epic characters now. That's new. Dunno if it's good. Final shout-out: ask Brother Penitent One, he doesn't play Crusade competitively as it's not for that, but he knows more than all of us. But this is fun, it's hilarious, Crusade is like...what I wanted ever since 1st ed. It's just a structured RPG.