Codex: DW next week

[Moostick]

Vel makes a good point I didn't think of at the time. Most nid HQs have over 10 wounds and can be targetted anyways, so it does not matter.

 

It is still good for Malanthropes and Broodlord though, but not nearly as amazing as I originally thought.

[Aothaine]

 

Tyranids: Synaptic Severance - This sounds brutal, but in reality most Tyranid armies utilize Hive Tyrants for Synapse (Flyrants being the flavour of the month, at least until the FAQ goes gold) so it's not really that necessary. 2 CP is also a bit pricey given the comparatively limited target space, though it would be easy to maximize this with Hellblasters.

Why wouldn't it be necessary? A unit in the backfield can target a Hive Tyrant, ignoring the character rule. You can easily snipe out that Tyrant now.

 

 

Pretty sure Vel'Cona is figuring this out now. Keep in mind that everything with 10 wounds or more you could already target. This is for special targets like hitting that damned bug that makes everything within *" count as in cover. 

[PiñaColada]

By the way, isn't it odd that there hasn't been any Youtube previews of the codex yet? Am I misremembering or don't those pop up a few days before the release of the codex? I think that was the case with either Tau or Necrons at least.

[Moostick]

By the way, isn't it odd that there hasn't been any Youtube previews of the codex yet? Am I misremembering or don't those pop up a few days before the release of the codex? I think that was the case with either Tau or Necrons at least.

I believe the disclosure agreement coincides with the preorder date, so we should be seeing them this weekend.

[Qui-Gon]

 

 

Tyranids: Synaptic Severance - This sounds brutal, but in reality most Tyranid armies utilize Hive Tyrants for Synapse (Flyrants being the flavour of the month, at least until the FAQ goes gold) so it's not really that necessary. 2 CP is also a bit pricey given the comparatively limited target space, though it would be easy to maximize this with Hellblasters.

Why wouldn't it be necessary? A unit in the backfield can target a Hive Tyrant, ignoring the character rule. You can easily snipe out that Tyrant now.

 

 

Pretty sure Vel'Cona is figuring this out now. Keep in mind that everything with 10 wounds or more you could already target. This is for special targets like hitting that damned bug that makes everything within *" count as in cover. 

 

 

Venomthropes are not SYNAPSE CREATURES, so it won't work on them.

Broodlords, Tyranid Primes, and Neurothropes are your targets for the Tyranid specific stratagem.

[Jorin Helm-splitter]

I like the stratagems and they are flavorful but I don't know how good most of them are lol. I'm really hoping for a preview that centers on the reasons that I bought the army. I don't mind the Primaris focus but there are some things I would to know more about like a certain flyer, whether more of the unique veteran war gear will be worth taking, how SIA works, and of course how expensive my vets will be point wise. 

 

I will admit that the previews have been frustrating because I bought the army at the end of seventh when you had to deal with detachments that gave hundreds of free points, multiple LoWs, free summoning, and of course invisible deathstars. Then in 8th its one of the last books updated, and the selling points that made me want the army are being ignored.

[Aegir_Einarsson]

are those -1 to hit tyranids creatures also synapse? It is quite sniper rule:)

[Qui-Gon]

Venomthropes are not Synapse.

[Drizzt79]

After a long and hard working day, I come home, check the updates, see the stratagems....

 

....and suddenly an evil smile appears on my face :-D

[Aothaine]

 

 

 

Tyranids: Synaptic Severance - This sounds brutal, but in reality most Tyranid armies utilize Hive Tyrants for Synapse (Flyrants being the flavour of the month, at least until the FAQ goes gold) so it's not really that necessary. 2 CP is also a bit pricey given the comparatively limited target space, though it would be easy to maximize this with Hellblasters.

Why wouldn't it be necessary? A unit in the backfield can target a Hive Tyrant, ignoring the character rule. You can easily snipe out that Tyrant now.

 

 

Pretty sure Vel'Cona is figuring this out now. Keep in mind that everything with 10 wounds or more you could already target. This is for special targets like hitting that damned bug that makes everything within *" count as in cover. 

 

 

Venomthropes are not SYNAPSE CREATURES, so it won't work on them.

Broodlords, Tyranid Primes, and Neurothropes are your targets for the Tyranid specific stratagem.

 

 

Not vemonthropes.. .the Malenthropes man. ^_^

[Moostick]

Venomthropes are not Synapse.

I'm fairly confident on this simply because I play nids the most: you're right they're not synapse, but they're not characters either.

 

Malanthropes (also -1 to hit) are characters, but are synapse.

[Lemondish]

 

 

Tyranids: Synaptic Severance - This sounds brutal, but in reality most Tyranid armies utilize Hive Tyrants for Synapse (Flyrants being the flavour of the month, at least until the FAQ goes gold) so it's not really that necessary. 2 CP is also a bit pricey given the comparatively limited target space, though it would be easy to maximize this with Hellblasters.

Why wouldn't it be necessary? A unit in the backfield can target a Hive Tyrant, ignoring the character rule. You can easily snipe out that Tyrant now.

 

 

Good point!  I think I'm a bit of an odd case in that locally it's 90% Flyrants and Swarmlord, who like to run far enough forward that picking them off is easy.  OFC, my thoughts are entirely conjecture at this point, so take 'em for opinion at best until we get the real deal

 

 

I forgot that they were already something you could target since they have over 10 wounds, oops. However, I think with the rule of 3 you'll start to see more Tyranid players having to rely on other HQ choices for Synapse.  

[Qui-Gon]

That's why...#$%^ing forgeworld indexes. Well, I'll take the egg on my face for that one.

[Aothaine]

That's why...#$%^ing forgeworld indexes. Well, I'll take the egg on my face for that one.

 

All good man. I wasn't exactly clear in my first post :p Sorry about that.

[Irbis]

 

Is that Deathwing guy with DW pad new? I don't recall seeing that mini before in previous publicity shots...

 

Upon closer inspection, it's actually whole TDA squad, 4 minis from 4 different boxes (1 TDA each from BA, DA, SW and regular termies). Man, I wish I could throw several hundred $ on 4 mini unit like GW painters do On upside, they have 3 assault cannons so looks like gun TDA squad is still in...

[MeltaRange]

 

 

Is that Deathwing guy with DW pad new? I don't recall seeing that mini before in previous publicity shots...

 

Upon closer inspection, it's actually whole TDA squad, 4 minis from 4 different boxes (1 TDA each from BA, DA, SW and regular termies). Man, I wish I could throw several hundred $ on 4 mini unit like GW painters do On upside, they have 3 assault cannons so looks like gun TDA squad is still in...

 

 

You can get bits for all this stuff on eBay bits sellers pretty cheap.  I have a 5 man Termie unit with 3x assault cannon with a BA, DA, and SW guy.  Probably cost me about $15 on top of the Terminator box.

[Vel'Cona]

Pretty sure Vel'Cona is figuring this out now. Keep in mind that everything with 10 wounds or more you could already target. This is for special targets like hitting that damned bug that makes everything within *" count as in cover.

 

Ah, good catch!  I'd correct my earlier post but I feel like our thought process overcoming my ignorance of the subject is good for my daily humble pie :D

[MeltaRange]

Out of the gate, these Strategems are EXACTLY what I was hoping for with the new DW codex!  They're not all-powerful, army destroying counters but they each deal with the Xenos armies in unique ways and with direct nods to the background of the DW.  My early thoughts:

 

Necrons: Overkill - Anything that nerfs RP is pretty solid in my book and this one comes in at a bargain cost.  The limited range is prohibitive but DW SIA Boltguns often want to be there anyway (among other units) so it's not unheard of, especially if we are utilizing transports or other deployment shenanigans (12" range is just fine for "Deep Striking").

 

Orks: Stem the Green Tide - This one is a bit iffy.  Orks in general aren't a huge deal to face as it is, but this Strategem could be clutch if they're going for a long charge.  That being said, 2 CP is a tough opportunity cost to swallow unless you're confident in high Overwatch casualties, typically via auto-hit weapons (as the article also confirms).  Keep in mind that most flamers and similar weapons have 8" range, so if the Orks ARE going for a long charge (perhaps out of Deep Strike?) then you won't get to use these weapons anyway.

 

Tyranids: Synaptic Severance - This sounds brutal, but in reality most Tyranid armies utilize Hive Tyrants for Synapse (Flyrants being the flavour of the month, at least until the FAQ goes gold) so it's not really that necessary.  2 CP is also a bit pricey given the comparatively limited target space, though it would be easy to maximize this with Hellblasters.

 

Aeldari: Intercepting Volley - 12" range is the crummy part for this one.  Interrupt shooting is cool and all, but smart Eldar players have plenty of ways to avoid this Strategem with ease.  Dark Eldar and Harlequins will be harder hit since they like to deploy/move/Deep Strike close with their Open Topped transports, though it certainly won't shut them down entirely.

 

Tau: Targeting Scramblers - For the bargain rate of 1 CP, DW can shut down Markerlight shenanigans.  Since you can only do this once per phase, it's possible for a canny Tau player to just distribute his Markerlights around, but this still has the decent effect of preventing intense debuff stacking.  This may be the best anti-Xenos Strategem in the list, IMO.

 

I would agree with most of this, good breakdown.  I actually don't mind Intercepting Volley and think it will be pretty solid against things like Hellions, Reavers, Talos, Shining Spears, and likely Harlies as well that need to fly up to you and within 12" in order to get off a charge.  Pretty much useless against Wave Serpents and other vehicles though, even Venoms really.  Needs more playtesting.  In a worst case scenario, the threat of it might be enough to dictate your opponent's move slightly, which is a good thing.

 

Overkill is just - UNBELIEVABLE against Necrons.  Wow.  So good.  So clutch.  

 

The Tau one is also quite slick.  We're going to need it against Tau though I think.

 

The Green Tide one isn't too awful, I just rarely play against Orcs.  Watchmasters make overwatch a bit more reliable even for weapons that need to roll to hit.

[Irbis]

 

You can get bits for all this stuff on eBay bits sellers pretty cheap.  I have a 5 man Termie unit with 3x assault cannon with a BA, DA, and SW guy.  Probably cost me about $15 on top of the Terminator box.

 

Bits?

 

Look again, that is complete Deathwing termie, with robes/heavy weapon, that alone would be more than 15$ on all bit sites I know, never mind adding complete SW TDA model with their big backpack assault cannon or that Blood Angel with huge, prominent pad that is 3-5$ all on its own. Unless you have some magical bit site on hand that ain't gonna happen...

[Rathaxz]

While the anti-xenos stratagems are hit or miss (the ork and tau (pending on the tau list) are very much hit, the eldar one overall is quite limited and the nid one is only truly useful vs 1 model (the malanthrope). IMO the most overlooked stratagems we have seen is the +1 to wound.

Mortis dreads armed with 4 lascannons with full re-rolls (thanks to watch master) wounding on 2s thanks to the stratagem, re-rolling 1s because your watch master has the book that lets you select two mission tactics.

Frag cannons wounding on 2+ 

Bolt guns wounding on 3s when using ammo other than helfire (vengeance from a unit of bikes or the like)

 

Over all, the army is looking to have a very high amount of killing power for its low number of shots.

The only thing i see being an "issue" is unlike say necrons where their statagems are very strong and only 1 command points, most of ours so far have been strong yes, but are 2 CP. So a 180 point battalion detachment of guard is almost required. That detachment would also give you access to the aquila, so you would also be making CP back off the enemy. Over all i would probably keep the watch master the warlord for the 1cp change on mission tactics over the chance of getting more CP back (i'm bad at rolling 5+s)

[Qui-Gon]

Myself I'm planning (depending how the rest of our stratagems play out) for a detachment of Blood Angels.
2 Techmarines with conversion beamers
3 x 5 Scouts for mid table holding.
Put the relic on one of them to get CP back on a 5+.

With the Warlord trait and the relic, each time I use a stratagem, 2 5+ rolls to get a CP back. Even more baller if I use a 1 CP and get 2 back.

 

Also better theme than guard, since the Watch is supposed to have veteran scouts who do deeper infiltration work, and the techmarines provide small artillery to mix near a squad of stalker armed dudes taking pot shots. 295.

[Prot]

For me, I actually have never had a problem with the introduction of Primaris but they’ve been terrible units overall, and got marginally better with the point reduction.

 

The funny thing is I don’t have a problem with the vets mixing with Primaris..... I think if a Primaris dude spends 23 years fighting off a Tau infested planet or something... I’m just saying I’d sign him up.

 

But more to the point, without this Codex feeling like the ‘one’ the competitive crew is going to dive on, it does a lot of good things for those of us that like infantry period.

 

Unfortunately it will have the age old problem of elite units being not very survivable and very resource starved. The article mentions dual Battalions but I think that’s a different ball game when you cant access throw away troops.

 

Speaking completely from a fluff perspective, the army seems more true to its background. A Watchmaster seems to be potent, and should be. The mixed squad expertise seems to be well done.

 

If the points are in line and the Corvus gets fixed I think I’ll be satisfied. So far I don’t like the cost of resources on the Strategems amd I felt like some that should have very much been treated like AdMechs Caniticle of the Omnissiah.... easy on resources, but potentially random. Again that’s a resource problem. Otherwise I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s reveals,

[Deathwalker]

Prot:

5 hellblasters being guarded by 5 storm shields, don't think GW wants to do that.............

[LordCommanderSamirus]

Anybody notice that first doctrine all the way in the back? Decapitation Doctrine. I'm guessing it has something to do with the enemy warlord specifically because the Purgatus Doctrine is there as well.

[Macabre Slanneshi Prince]

 

 

Tyranids: Synaptic Severance - This sounds brutal, but in reality most Tyranid armies utilize Hive Tyrants for Synapse (Flyrants being the flavour of the month, at least until the FAQ goes gold) so it's not really that necessary. 2 CP is also a bit pricey given the comparatively limited target space, though it would be easy to maximize this with Hellblasters.

Why wouldn't it be necessary? A unit in the backfield can target a Hive Tyrant, ignoring the character rule. You can easily snipe out that Tyrant now.

 

 

Good point!  I think I'm a bit of an odd case in that locally it's 90% Flyrants and Swarmlord, who like to run far enough forward that picking them off is easy.  OFC, my thoughts are entirely conjecture at this point, so take 'em for opinion at best until we get the real deal

 

Don't forget about all the Genestealer Cult HQs, they'll be targetable too.