What are people finding good in the new codex?

[scatmandoo]

So now that the codex has been out for a wgile and hopefully some games would have been carried out, what units are people finding working well and what is lacklustre?

 

I personally think that the armoured sentinel with plamsa cannon works nicely. Also finding the Eradicator a better buy than the Hellhound now too

 

And the Wyvern can be very effective if the first blast is on target.

 

Even had fun with a deathstrike in one game.

[Frater Cornelius]

I'll speak for the classic mech blitz/leafblower. After 8 games and one 4v4 mini apoc scenario I can say that I am pleased overall. I will not draw any comparison with the old codex.

CCS very damn good, be it in a veteran setup or anything else. Their default price is cheap and the orders, oh boy, the orders kick major ass.They have turned several close matches into total annihilation of the enemy. Yeah, that good. I have vox in all squads by default now.

Tank Commander is solid, but I never play him like that. I pay the extra bit and get Pask. I have tried Punisher and a buddy on mine tried Vanquisher. Vanq is nice, the pen is almost guaranteed but he lacks flexibility. Don't get me started about the punisher, I won't stop 'till next week. He is simply kick ass. He shot a Storm Raven from the sky in one shooting phase, enough said.

Yarrik is the last FOC HQ worth a damn. I have not tried him but the model is almost done (needed to convert). I will put him in m blob with 2 priests and march forward. In CQC he will own and the priests prevent blob from running while sarges eat challenges for him.

With the non-FOC HQ, I believe Priest is the best thing ever. He makes all unnamed Commissars obsolete in the Codex and gives SOOOO much versatility and survivability to a blob. Wish the opponent luck if he tries to shoot down a 50man blob from an objective. Techpriests are interesting. Power of the Machine Spirit allows tricks like putting them with a Chimera with hull heavy flamer, drive 12" and make BBQ. I am also considering putting them in my Stormlord with Servitors for repairs and dakka.

I won't talk about the Primaris until I see the reworked psychic disciplines.

Troops are extremely good. They are what makes guard guard (except the huge tanks, but I'll get to them). Come 7ed, I will still play battleforged lists, so I'll get a potential bonus without handicapping my list. I play up to 3 veteran squads with 3 plasma/meltas in Chimeras with Carapace, Demo charge and Sentries if I feel I will camp cover a lot. Doctrines are cheaper so you can afford most without breaking the bank. They are made so much better with the orders from CCS, bringing on a performance that tops the SW I used to play.

Platoons are sick. I didn't want to play them but then I realized how much of a game changer 1 30man blob was for me. Fearless with Priest and AC camping home objectives is gold. All veterans can go forward and earn their keep. They can also bring Sabre Defesen Platforms and oh boy are they worth it. They are not technically part of the codex but hell, get some.

HWT and Special weapon squads don't seem all that great. Haven't tried conscripts because I mainly play mech.

The Chimera got more expensive and got the firing points reduced to 2 models. The increased cost in balanced out by cheaper Vets. Now you use it as a transport though, not a firing platform. You go forward, disembark and block LoS. I got used to this transport mentality with playing my Rhino heavy SW army and I am now happy to see that my current transports are far superior. The las-arrays are useful an can take out the odd model as well as force grounding checks. Being able to fire independent of movement and at different targets, I think the Chimera is still one of the top ground transport (I am looking at you, Wave Serpent).

Elite and FA slots are OK but nothing really high end competitive there. Considering the changes to flyers and snap shot in 7ed (most likely), Vendetta won't be the top dog anymore. Hellhounds are nice but Eradicator and Wyvern do it better. Armoured Sentinels with AC is the only thing I would consider in my army. Scions are interesting but Veterans do it better for cheaper unless you want to deep strike suicide them. I will not because it is not predictable or reliable.

Heavy support is where the action is. All LR variant do a decent job. I do not like the Punisher outside of Pask and the Vanquisher because of BS3. The Exterminator and Eradicator offer very nice fire support and they can at least fire all weapons for darn cheap. The Executioner... oh hell, TAAAAAAAAAAKKEEEEEE EEEEEEEEET!!! Erm.. sorry, but man, Cheaper main tank and cheaper plasma sponsons? Well ok, he overheats but here is the thing. Put him with Pask in the HQ squad. He can split fire most of the time due to order and gains preferred enemy and thus reroll the Gets Hot. He was a massive terror in any game he was in with Pask. Those 2 tanks, although in my setup they costed 435, ANNIHILATED the enemy.

LRBT are Demolisher are very expensive in comparison now, so unless they change the Ordnance rule in 7ed, they are not worth it. Well, LRBT naked might be, but still..

Basilisk is alright but I do not use him, as is the manticore. I have other tanks that do their job, but in a blob army with artillery support I see them kicking ass. Deathstrike is gimmicky and I do not see it being used in competitive play, but it is fun as I have seen in the apoc game. My team m8 used it.

And now the Wyvern, holy crap. 15 wounds on a 5man scout squad in 2+ cover in one shooting phase from 1 tank. Do I need to say more? For it's price that thing is amazing.

I do not think much of the Hydra seeing as I have other tools to deal with flyer and come 7ed, I think I can ignore most altogether.

Finally, although technically not part of the codex, I want to mention the Imperial Knight. The Paladin repalces 2 LRBT and gives soo much utility for the IG army. He can fit in very nicely given how cheap everything else is. Massive fire magnet and fierce melee force, he dominated in every game and I consider him as part of my army as much as the IG codex.

That is all for me. Things I have not talked about are either not used by me or simply not worth talking about

[WarriorFish]

I think we can mostly stick to discussing the new units. Everything else has pretty much changed in obvious enough or minor ways, for example it's easy to note improvements or downgrades in point costs and basic rules such as the Russ cost adjustments and Hydra rules scale back. It's not exciting but as our previous codex was a solid book the fact that little has changed in overall workings is a good thing for us. That and Immer's tome covers most of it! :P

 

The Wyvern of course deserves a mention, if anything I think it has proven to be even better than we thought! Expect GW to knee-jerk nerf it in the next codex, so make the most of it while you can ;) Pask is also an obvious improvement, along with the Wyvern he's almost a case of having to justify not using him. Best bit is the tank commander parts too, giving us tread heads some love (though unbound may well make that moot).

 

I'd like to hear more bout the Ogryns. I think the Bullgryns are the better choice and what I have heard has them battering things with aplomb so I'm keen to get my own to use in battle. Otherwise I think it's most a case of carry on as normal, even the Scions with all their fancy newness aren't that different to the Stormie entry they replaced.

[Frater Cornelius]

I think we can mostly stick to discussing the new units. Everything else has pretty much changed in obvious enough or minor ways, for example it's easy to note improvements or downgrades in point costs and basic rules such as the Russ cost adjustments and Hydra rules scale back. It's not exciting but as our previous codex was a solid book the fact that little has changed in overall workings is a good thing for us. That and Immer's tome covers most of it!

Well, my fingers can't sit still when I have so much inspiration shooting through me while building the most gothic knight since the Batman vs. Dracula crossover movie never made :D

I'd like to hear more bout the Ogryns. I think the Bullgryns are the better choice and what I have heard has them battering things with aplomb so I'm keen to get my own to use in battle. Otherwise I think it's most a case of carry on as normal, even the Scions with all their fancy newness aren't that different to the Stormie entry they replaced.

Bullgryns, on paper, are pretty damn nice with the cover save. But the cost, they simply cost too much to make it in anything but fun/themed lists and maybe apoc. The melee version ain't useful at all in a ranged army. blobs are superior in melee because they can shoot very well in addition to priest melee action. Ogryns are inferior to bullgryns. But, having said that. If you tailor your list to it, I can see it work in Straken lists, are cheap blob mobile cover or putting them into a Stormlord or an assault transport to get them forward. It can certainly be interesting.

Scions... they look amazing but the rules.. veteras bring more special weapons and more versatility. The hot-shots are not necessary given the ap3 goodness IG bring. Their only draw is the Taurox Prime, who is a nice fire support but too expensive, and that salvo gun, but that is not worth the tax.

Both units are very flavour-y units which will give a lot of fun. And that is not something to be underestimated. The majority of players do not play in a high end competitive environment. It is a game and a game is supposed to be FUN. Thus Bullgryns are Scions are very good addition, not because of rules, but because they are FUN ;)

[scatmandoo]

Wow that is a comprehensive review there from Immersturm. As said you have pretty much covered all the bases.

 

In your advancing blob, how do you equip them? And normally how many?

[Frater Cornelius]

Wow that is a comprehensive review there from Immersturm. As said you have pretty much covered all the bases.

 

In your advancing blob, how do you equip them? And normally how many?

 

Depends on your army. I play mech blitz, so the blob isn't as much the centre of the army, as much as a way to bring sabre platforms and hold home objectives with some decent long ranged fire support.. and sometimes a decent bullet sponge. Advancing with them in the front lines would be too slow for the rest of my army. They do advance, sure, but only to tarpit some MC or camp an objective in the centre. I usually let them advance by only moving the lasgun guardsmen to fire AC at full BS and then do the Forward For the Emperor order to make them shoot, then run. At the time I run a 30man blob with 1 vox and 3 AC with a priest joining and the PCS with an AC.

 

In a blob army you would be running at least 1 50man blob equipped with flamers or grenade launcher, power axes on sarges if you feel you will attack a lot of 2+ or 3+ targets and 1-2 priests. The trick is to keep them cheap however, so axes are not always a good idea. Then either add a second 50man blob or 50 conscripts.

[WarriorFish]

You will find much talk of 50 man blobs - usually from the hysterical other side of the table. A Guard general would understand that a 50 man blob is probably a lot more scary split in half. Though the output of 50 men is of course high it comes with mobility and deployment issues and is more vulnerable to enemy tricks. A couple of smaller blobs mitigates this and doubles your opponent's problems.

 

For equipment it really depends on what you want the blob to do. Special weapon assault? Heavy weapon barraging? Power weapon pointy stick strategy? Take your pick! :P

[Raulmichile]

i just want to say Wyverns are GROSS.  They absolutely ubermurderize everything with 1 wound and 4+ save or worse with a precision of an Apache shooter. And from behind!

 

I also think this thing will be nerfed in the future.  It is insanely good in its niche

[Boomkapow]

I like a platoon setup like this:

 

PCS - Heavy Flamer and 4 Flamers in a Vendetta

Infantry Platoon - Heavy Weapon of choice and a Vox

Infantry Platoon - Heavy Weapon of choice

Infantry Platoon - Heavy Weapon of choice

 

Priest

Psycher

 

This allows you to have 3 heavy weapons and a vox in your blob. Priest for hatred and fearless and Psycher for Prescience. I like lascannons or Autocannons depending on the opponent. This is what I use for objective holding behind an aegis. Also, I only take the PCS in that setup if I know I will have a CCS nearby. If not, they are on the ground issuing orders.

[David Ravel]

I haven't tried everything I want yet, but right now, some stuff are definitivly positive :

 

- Orders : They rock our socks. In one game vs a Black Templar, I had a CCS and Veterans behind aegis with camocloaks and different artillery on the side of the map, near two objectives. He deepstriked and landed drop pod near, but since he had no flamer, I had perfect cover save, and was able to return fire ignore his own cover the next turn. Lets just say that 3 lascannon and 10 plasma gun can wreck TEQ/MEQ easily. Or I sniped, with a plasma gun, a melta that was going to murder my basilisk. In short, they are clearer and more efficient. I love them ! On the personnal side, since I'm building a Tanith force with snipers, the order to run and shoot is magical since it permits me to not just camp my side of the board while having mostly snipers (same with ratlings)

 

- Tauros : I haven't tried yet a full Tauros (even if I proxyed some in a game for fun), but I think they can be very effective in big numbers. If you take multiple platoon with melta guardsmen and all put them in full gun Tauros, you can have quite a big number of them. They are BS3 yes, and very fragile, but if you have 12 of them, they can dish out very high amount of firepower. If you take Scions Platoon with their Prime, then you have even MORE firepower. 

 

- Scions : Taking only one slot, having better transport, having a command squad. All very positive stuff. That CCW didn't really made the difference anyway, so yeah! for the pts drop too. 

 

- Yarrick : He can issue order and dropped in pts. 

 

I haven't played enough to speak more since I need to try some units (Wyvern). I won't mention the Primaris Psyker since we don't know what will happen to its psychic powers in less than one week. 

 

Overall I am more than pleased. The codex permits us to do the same old thing (Mech or Blob) but with more efficiency (Tauros are better for normal guardsmen than old Chimera (even if they are not for veterans because of firing pts), priest are better in every way to give Zealot to blob). And it opens up new avenue (like doing a Tanith force with sniper that can move - speaking of such, with snapshot now being -2BS, they will be able to move and shoot much more easily !).

 

The downside is mostly the removal of units from the codex. No codex should ever remove unit. That's just not cool for anyone. Plus, I was playing ALL GAMES with Marbo. Now I'm sad. I sincerly hope for supp like Cadian, Catachan, Tallarn, etc. even maybe Tanith ! But I don't have high hopes for Tanith. It's their best selling novels, but they didn't really received all the love they could. At least they had some rules back then, and the model are still out there (loving my Gaunt one). 

[Andhil]

I can totally vouch for Bullgryns. They can take anything short of MC's. (and should Smash be removed/nerfed, even those should be scared!)

They're expensive, but are really durable, especially if you mix the squad to have both Slabshields and Mauls. Add a Priest for Hatred, and the possibility of extra CC-power -or- Toughness, and you've got one nasty CC unit, that's perfectly suited to break anything threatening your lines. Or, say a Drop-podded Sternguard, or even a Dreadnought?

-Also, just checking, but does the Maul & Brute Shield setup count as having 2 CCW's? I'd imagine so.

[Malus Trux]

It does not, if it did the rules would flat out state it. It does help with HoW hits though so it more or less guarantees organic targets will have a bad day.