Cadia Falls...

[Brother Captain Ed]

Behold!  The death of Typhon Primaris.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h67JpMyrOVE

[Marshal Rohr]

Behold! The death of Typhon Primaris.

 

Best cutscene in any 40k game to date.

 

Edit: I'm not normally one to use current pop culture as a good 40k benchmark but the Death Star one reactor blast was a cool parallel I think. Not enough to turn a planet into rubble but enough to kill the environment.

[duz_]

Castellans of the Imperium Detachment

• Units can be drawn from basically any Army of Imperium codex and their supplements. There's literally big lists of units you can take for each slot, which at a quick glance seems to basically include everything besides unique characters (aside from Black Templar, Adepta Sororitas and Inquisition unique characters though, which can be taken. Pask and Yarrick too). Interestingly enough, Codex: Inquisition and Codex: Adepta Sororitas are listed alongside Codex: Imperial Agents as available sources. That should clear that debate right up. You also must also include units from at least two different factions.
• HQ: 2-4, Troops: 4+, Elites: 0-6, Fast Attack: 0-6, Heavy Support: 0-6, LoW: 0-3
• All units get Hatred. If you have the max number of units, except troops, everyone gets Zealot
• Each time a Troops Choice is destroyed, roll a d6. On a 5+ an identical unit immediately goes into Ongoing Reserve, and counts as a unit from this detachment (so it can potentially be recycled again later)
• Warlord can re-roll Warlord Trait

Looks like we got a viable way to play guard until the new codex

 

Anyone say chimera vet spam?

[KasrkinRyu]

 

Castellans of the Imperium Detachment

• Units can be drawn from basically any Army of Imperium codex and their supplements. There's literally big lists of units you can take for each slot, which at a quick glance seems to basically include everything besides unique characters (aside from Black Templar, Adepta Sororitas and Inquisition unique characters though, which can be taken. Pask and Yarrick too). Interestingly enough, Codex: Inquisition and Codex: Adepta Sororitas are listed alongside Codex: Imperial Agents as available sources. That should clear that debate right up. You also must also include units from at least two different factions.
• HQ: 2-4, Troops: 4+, Elites: 0-6, Fast Attack: 0-6, Heavy Support: 0-6, LoW: 0-3
• All units get Hatred. If you have the max number of units, except troops, everyone gets Zealot
• Each time a Troops Choice is destroyed, roll a d6. On a 5+ an identical unit immediately goes into Ongoing Reserve, and counts as a unit from this detachment (so it can potentially be recycled again later)
• Warlord can re-roll Warlord Trait

Looks like we got a viable way to play guard until the new codex

 

Anyone say chimera vet spam?

 

 

Whaaaaa, is this an actual thing? If it...list re-write time! This could make my air cav list so much more viable...

Ok just googled it, it appears this is a thing, just vague details atm. Its a like a giant hellrain! I just hope the two factions can be Astra Militarum and Militarum Tempestus and that covers the requirements...

[sebs_evo7]

Looks like it could be the cheese we need. Max out vet squads with chimeras. Then several hard marine units in the fast attack and elite slots with some guard tanks and artillery to back it up

[WarriorFish]

Could be interesting, cheaper Troop options would definitely be needed to keep costs down but you could run one Platoon for lots of numbers maybe?

[duz_]

No platoons are a trap because you need the entire Choice to be destroyed to recycle.

Max vets all the way and means no PCS tax!

 

Im considering running a footslogging vet squad with 3 GLs because why not? 1/3 chance it'll come back. You can also run codex AM and MT in the same detachment!

 

Vets + scions + SM bikes that all recycle

And that's before even considering AdMech breachers et al.

It would be somewhat viable to run a full troop list!

 

Its like GSC imperium style!

http://m.imgur.com/a/4ypvF

[WarriorFish]

Ah I see, then that means the Chimera is also required to be destroyed if you take mechanised squads so yeah perhaps a viable foot slogging method? Last Marine game I played was pure infantry and that was a lot of fun...

[duz_]

Yeh I guess so. Fortunately for me chimeras usually die before the squad do!

 

But certainly opens up to foot slogging vet lists and vet squads with hwts

[Indefragable]

 

Castellans of the Imperium Detachment

• Units can be drawn from basically any Army of Imperium codex and their supplements. There's literally big lists of units you can take for each slot, which at a quick glance seems to basically include everything besides unique characters (aside from Black Templar, Adepta Sororitas and Inquisition unique characters though, which can be taken. Pask and Yarrick too). Interestingly enough, Codex: Inquisition and Codex: Adepta Sororitas are listed alongside Codex: Imperial Agents as available sources. That should clear that debate right up. You also must also include units from at least two different factions.
• HQ: 2-4, Troops: 4+, Elites: 0-6, Fast Attack: 0-6, Heavy Support: 0-6, LoW: 0-3
• All units get Hatred. If you have the max number of units, except troops, everyone gets Zealot
• Each time a Troops Choice is destroyed, roll a d6. On a 5+ an identical unit immediately goes into Ongoing Reserve, and counts as a unit from this detachment (so it can potentially be recycled again later)
• Warlord can re-roll Warlord Trait

Looks like we got a viable way to play guard until the new codex

 

Anyone say chimera vet spam?

 

 

 

Yea that was my first thought. Especially if there's a way to get an Outflank WL trait or ability somehow. The threat of Melta vets moving in from all sides throughout the course of the game is actually a serious up for Guard! 

 

Looks like it could be the cheese we need. Max out vet squads with chimeras. Then several hard marine units in the fast attack and elite slots with some guard tanks and artillery to back it up

 

There's some potential here. MM attack bikes for 50pts/ea is an extremely easy and cheap way to to max out 6x Fast Attack slots. Heck, the conversion options are great as well....weren't people passing around WWII-esque motorcyle unit conversions earlier?

 

 

Ah I see, then that means the Chimera is also required to be destroyed if you take mechanised squads so yeah perhaps a viable foot slogging method? Last Marine game I played was pure infantry and that was a lot of fun...

 

....put the Chimeras in reverse and drive them backwards towards the enemy! 

 

Hilariously, that might actually keep them alive longer since the enemy will know exactly what you are trying to do and avoid them! 

 

 

 

++++++

 

What's amazing about this is that units that are psuedo-guard because they synergize so darn well in their usefulness to us can be included so easily. Inquisitor Coteaz for 100pts fills 1/2 your HQ tax + singlehandedly fulfills the "must have units from 2 Factions" restriciton. Boom!

[taikishi]

 

 

Castellans of the Imperium Detachment

• Units can be drawn from basically any Army of Imperium codex and their supplements. There's literally big lists of units you can take for each slot, which at a quick glance seems to basically include everything besides unique characters (aside from Black Templar, Adepta Sororitas and Inquisition unique characters though, which can be taken. Pask and Yarrick too). Interestingly enough, Codex: Inquisition and Codex: Adepta Sororitas are listed alongside Codex: Imperial Agents as available sources. That should clear that debate right up. You also must also include units from at least two different factions.
• HQ: 2-4, Troops: 4+, Elites: 0-6, Fast Attack: 0-6, Heavy Support: 0-6, LoW: 0-3
• All units get Hatred. If you have the max number of units, except troops, everyone gets Zealot
• Each time a Troops Choice is destroyed, roll a d6. On a 5+ an identical unit immediately goes into Ongoing Reserve, and counts as a unit from this detachment (so it can potentially be recycled again later)
• Warlord can re-roll Warlord Trait

Looks like we got a viable way to play guard until the new codex

 

Anyone say chimera vet spam?

 

 

 

Yea that was my first thought. Especially if there's a way to get an Outflank WL trait or ability somehow. The threat of Melta vets moving in from all sides throughout the course of the game is actually a serious up for Guard!

 

 

There are two ways:

1. Take a CAD of Raptors Space Marines with Lias Issodon as your Warlord, give Infiltrate to three non-vehicle units. Infiltrate confers Outflank, which also confers to their DT. Listed the CAD because, currently, nothing FW is permitted in this formation

2. Try for Master of Ambush from the list of Strategic warlord traits. Take extra Inquisitors from separate Inquisitorial detachments if you need to, after all they're only 25 points/model.

[Indefragable]

 

 

There are two ways:

1. Take a CAD of Raptors Space Marines with Lias Issodon as your Warlord, give Infiltrate to three non-vehicle units. Infiltrate confers Outflank, which also confers to their DT. Listed the CAD because, currently, nothing FW is permitted in this formation

2. Try for Master of Ambush from the list of Strategic warlord traits. Take extra Inquisitors from separate Inquisitorial detachments if you need to, after all they're only 25 points/model.

 

 

There ya go! Strategium at work!

 

And a couple of IQ's are always utility: an Ordo Hereticus with Psyocculum, Ordo Malleus/Coteaz to mess up daemons, and an Ordo Xenos for Rad Grenades. All them can each add to your WC pool for relatively low cost as well. Not bad. 

 

Also: servo skulls (detachment specifically says you can take from Codex: Inquisition). 

[sebs_evo7]

Edited because of spoilers

[taikishi]

 

 

 

There are two ways:

1. Take a CAD of Raptors Space Marines with Lias Issodon as your Warlord, give Infiltrate to three non-vehicle units. Infiltrate confers Outflank, which also confers to their DT. Listed the CAD because, currently, nothing FW is permitted in this formation

2. Try for Master of Ambush from the list of Strategic warlord traits. Take extra Inquisitors from separate Inquisitorial detachments if you need to, after all they're only 25 points/model.

 

 

There ya go! Strategium at work!

 

And a couple of IQ's are always utility: an Ordo Hereticus with Psyocculum, Ordo Malleus/Coteaz to mess up daemons, and an Ordo Xenos for Rad Grenades. All them can each add to your WC pool for relatively low cost as well. Not bad. 

 

Also: servo skulls (detachment specifically says you can take from Codex: Inquisition). 

 

 

Just bear in mind if you take from C:Inq, you don't get the extra WTs because only the ones from C:IA have the special rule unless an errata has been issued.

[duz_]

http://m.imgur.com/a/4ypvF

 

So reading the army construction requirements for the imperium happy friends

 

It looks like even though you can take 4+ troops option you can only take 1 of each listed type?

So no spamming guard veterans or space marine tactical squads? You don't have access to admech/skitari troops either?

So really 4+ is actually 4-7? Seeing as it would imply you can't repeat selected options.

Including all the other slots too?

[Beams]

http://m.imgur.com/a/4ypvF

 

So reading the army construction requirements for the imperium happy friends

 

It looks like even though you can take 4+ troops option you can only take 1 of each listed type?

So no spamming guard veterans or space marine tactical squads? You don't have access to admech/skitari troops either?

So really 4+ is actually 4-7? Seeing as it would imply you can't repeat selected options.

Including all the other slots too?

That's in relation to the skull symbol, as in one of the following per HQ slot. Or in this case the troop slot. The main detachment says 4+ with each one of those four being one of.the following

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

 

Castellans of the Imperium Detachment

• Units can be drawn from basically any Army of Imperium codex and their supplements. There's literally big lists of units you can take for each slot, which at a quick glance seems to basically include everything besides unique characters (aside from Black Templar, Adepta Sororitas and Inquisition unique characters though, which can be taken. Pask and Yarrick too). Interestingly enough, Codex: Inquisition and Codex: Adepta Sororitas are listed alongside Codex: Imperial Agents as available sources. That should clear that debate right up. You also must also include units from at least two different factions.
• HQ: 2-4, Troops: 4+, Elites: 0-6, Fast Attack: 0-6, Heavy Support: 0-6, LoW: 0-3
• All units get Hatred. If you have the max number of units, except troops, everyone gets Zealot
• Each time a Troops Choice is destroyed, roll a d6. On a 5+ an identical unit immediately goes into Ongoing Reserve, and counts as a unit from this detachment (so it can potentially be recycled again later)
• Warlord can re-roll Warlord Trait

Looks like we got a viable way to play guard until the new codex

 

Anyone say chimera vet spam?

 

This sounds Awesome. CADIA SHALL NOT FALL!

 

 

http://m.imgur.com/a/4ypvF

 

So reading the army construction requirements for the imperium happy friends

 

It looks like even though you can take 4+ troops option you can only take 1 of each listed type?

So no spamming guard veterans or space marine tactical squads? You don't have access to admech/skitari troops either?

So really 4+ is actually 4-7? Seeing as it would imply you can't repeat selected options.

Including all the other slots too?

That seems to be the current implication. It also seems to be the implication that you can only choose those codecies that are specifically listed. Which means no Space Wolves or other space marine factions. It also seems to be more geared to Templars as the Space Marine contingent, as none of the other Space Marine Factions are listed, and the only Space Marine characters listed are BT unique characters. This detachment also seems to limit the presence of forge world assets, as is common for GW's WH40k supplements. 

 

So there goes my idea to run a SW/MT/AM army. Unless they FAQ it... Hooray GW not thinking ahead and excluding players.

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

 

http://m.imgur.com/a/4ypvF

 

So reading the army construction requirements for the imperium happy friends

 

It looks like even though you can take 4+ troops option you can only take 1 of each listed type?

So no spamming guard veterans or space marine tactical squads? You don't have access to admech/skitari troops either?

So really 4+ is actually 4-7? Seeing as it would imply you can't repeat selected options.

Including all the other slots too?

That's in relation to the skull symbol, as in one of the following per HQ slot. Or in this case the troop slot. The main detachment says 4+ with each one of those four being one of.the following

 

That's goofy. I can see your logic now that I look at it, but that's a weird way to write this book. 

[duz_]

Yeh it seemed like an odd way to clarify to me. But I makes more sense to read it as each one of these count as a single selection as per the requirement for the detachment

[VulkansDynasty]

First off this formation is nutty, and opens up so much fun potential.

 

I see the logic for the troops choice idea, but I read it as we have to take 4+ troop choices of any of the options listed. the "one of the following" portion is meant to limit what we can take from each book as a troops choice, not limit us to 1 of each type of choice. But I can see where you are coming from on this. My gaming group would never rules lawyer that anyhow....so we'll just play it as 4+ of any combination restricted to that list of choices.

 

That said, man...you can really do some cool stuff even in a lower points game. I see a list that looks something like this;

 

HQ:

SM Captain (loaded for combat, burning blade and such, in artificer armor)

Tank Commander (or pask) with 2 tank bodyguards

Inquisitor/librarian (whatever you feel fits...some kind of psyker?)

 

Troops:

IG Vets/chimera - Melta squad

IG Vets/chimera - Melta squad

IG Vets/chimera - Melta Squad

SM Scouts with Snipers/ML

IG Vets on foot with HWT 

Tac Squad (footslog as libby guard)

 

Heavy:

3 Thunderfire cannons

Wyvern

 

Elite:

Dreadnought - DP

Dreadnought - DP

Iron Clad - DP

 

FA:

Armored Sentinel squad with ML

 

I can probably tool that to fit in 1850, that's 13 Tanks (6 walkers) in a list. Most armies will not be able to kill enough to matter, you get into combat with the Dreads if you can, or go kill some tanks. You get lots of terrain buffs from the Tech Marines. You have objective grabbers in the Vet Squads. You have at least some Psyker option, lots of melta/flamer (I play salamanders...gotta have that) and at least one character that can handle combat.

 

Conversely we can do something like a foot army:

 

HQ:

SM Captain (kitted for combat) (with melta Command squad) - DP

SM Libby

IG Command/Enginseer with servitors

 

Troops:

Tac squad

Scout squad

Vets with HWT or melta

Vets with HWT or melta

Vets with HWT or melta

Vets with HWT or melta

Vets with HWT or melta

 

Fast:

Assault Marines in DP with flamers

Assault Marines in DP with flamers

 

Heavy:

Thunderfire cannon

TFC

TFC

(if ponts allowed) Devastator squad with Missiles

 

Elite:

Wyrdvane pskykers

Command squad (see HQ section)

 

reasonably without my books in front of me pointing this out I imagine that's about 100 infantry mixed between Guard and Marines. 65 or so of which can come back on a 5+ if they die (and the vets will probably die).

 

the options go on and on and on and on.......in fact I may try to build the first list for next weekend.

[CoffeeGrunt]

This is one of those head-scratchers about the 40k-verse that never made sense to me.  Why is space-based firepower so incredibly destructive, but ground-to-space defensive weaponry is basically non-existent?

 

I mean, yeah, ok, I get that this is a setting where the existence of fantastic ranged weaponry capable of slagging entire continents doesn’t remove “I want to hit them with my magic-science sword” as a valid school of martial thought.  Ok.  But, even with the certainty that military tactics and doctrine play second fiddle to The Rule of Cool here, it still doesn’t make sense.  A planet is capable of constructing power sources, cogitator banks, and simply utilizing square footage in a way that dwarfs the capability of a starship…even the titanic ones of the Imperial Navy.

 

Fortress worlds like Cadia should be capable of at least delaying space-based weapons platforms from annihilating the world and moving on.  As it stands, Abaddon should have simply drawn the battlefleet out of orbit and then warped in a single ship with a cyclonic torpedo salvo half a dozen crusades ago.

 

Did I miss something, somewhere?

 

To be fair, weapons firing into a gravity well get an assist from gravity, at least kinetic weapons do. Plasma weapons would have trouble with the magnetosphere and laser weapons would be subject to being absorbed by the atmosphere, but in general a weapon firing into a planet is going to have less problems than one firing out.

 

Consider how long it took the Apollo rocket to reach the moon, it can take hours to reach Low Earth Orbit with a current rocket. Even if you slash that transit time, it's still a painfully-obvious defense measure that can be intercepted by point defense fire or fighter craft. Plasma weapons would struggle to maintain cohesion once they exit the magnetosphere and without atmospheric pressure to help contain them would just scatter, and laser weapons have the aforementioned problem of atmospheric absorption.

 

Morbid discussion time. Ye of weak knees or sensibilities carry on. 

 

Exterminatus, unless its the virus bombs on Isstvaan or something, is never actually described in great detail. We don't have a manual on how it's performed or anything. Not to be so glib about the annihilation of every living creature on a world, but it's always portrayed as being quick enough to fit into a 22min cartoon episode. Like there's an Exterminatus button and poof! It's done! 

 

I imagine it's a far more methodical and logistical operation, with the first concern being the number of ships with enough big guns available to actually glass part of a continent. Secondly would be all the secondary ships necessary to completely blockade and seal the airspace to prevent escape from the surface. 3rd would be a coordinated, methodical sweeping of the planet from pole to pole or such grid-by-grid type destruction. I imagine even with a sizeable fleet it takes months ("hey Admiral, you missed a spot!") 

 

I would bring up real world points of reference for comparison of timetables, but that soils the mood and is not a pleasant topic at all. So maybe, for a fantasy setting that's supposed to be enjoyable to explore, the cartoonish big red button is best. 

 

IIRC they only really bother with orbital bombardment of anything that could intercept the Cyclonic Torpedoes, which means you only really have to bother with major batteries on the targeted continent, and minor batteries near the target site. Once the defenses are suppressed or destroyed, they drop the nuke and away they go.

[Median]

Looking at the flock to the front line special rule it says "each time a troops unit is completely destroyed" the important part of that is the word unit not choice. Meaning that you can take a platoon and when any of the squads are killed you could roll on them coming back instead of waiting for them all (including the pcs) to die before rolling.

[Otto von Bludd]

Someone mentioned taking Coteaz as an HQ choice in this formation and that is a very good idea; consider how his new rules in C:IA will interact with this detachment.  Specifically, Lord of Formosa.

[FlamingDeth]

For real, he's pretty cheap for adding OS to this detachment and his other rules and gear are nothing to sneeze at.

[robofish7591]

Adding Coteaz also fulfills the requirement of having to have units from another codex. I have a feeling that most people running that detachment will be taking Coteaz.