Index Astartes: Tome Keepers

[Irbis]

So, we're getting rules for yet another Chapter (name of which is totally not just two lazy synonyms of certain HH legion)

 

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2020/11/13/index-astartes-the-tome-keepers/

 

I kind of wish they picked another color for accents, red is nice but they look like Fists who washed their armour a bit too long. Also, I really like how Captain took two relics (granted, these are special issue wargear which should probably be 2 for 1 CP), including power axe. Librarian and Ancient are illegal too. It must be nice to be GW rules writer, you get to ignore inane Primaris restrictions other GW writers did for no reason while writing your own rules

[de Selby]

I kind of wish they had gone a bit crazier if they were going to introduce a special White Dwarf chapter.   They already have those silver guys they introduced in the collectible magazine, and these seem like more of the same.   I would have preferred a Legion-of-the-damned style roster of mysterious Tome Keepers heroes covered in scrolls, quills, paintbrushes, pict-skulls and bacon butties, who turn up mysteriously like Grombrindal and save the day before mysteriously vanishing again.   All painted in old-school sky-earth non-metallic-metal armour of course.

[Irbis]

Yeah. What's the point of doing these if players could just recreate the WD chapters themselves? Something original would be better.

 

And I'd be less salty about captain if it wasn't by far the best combination of wargear ever given to primaris HQ, locked to pet rules  

[Medjugorje]

Is that a official new chapter and new official characters or are they just built from the current codex SM rules and added their story official in the law

[Bryan Blaire]

It's the Chapter developed by the White Dwarf team - they've had a running series on it over the last 4-6 months, maybe a bit shorter.

 

Likely the characters will be for Open Play only or something like that, but the Chapter itself is as official as anything published by GW is - it's officially published by the company.

 

:cuss frustrating is what I call that Captain's load-out, as a SW player, even if he's a named character.

[Charlo]

Yeah. What's the point of doing these if players could just recreate the WD chapters themselves?

 

You just answered your own question pal.

[Dumah]

I was almost excited, when I thought they were Storm Giants... The color scheme is pretty much identical.

[Lord Nord in Gravis Armour]

One difference between the Tome Keepers and the Silver Templars is that the latter are an all-Primaris Ultima Founding chapter whereas the Tome Keepers have been around for a while. In practice, I don't know if that will factor in beyond their lore as they seem set on only presenting Primaris models from the Tome Keepers anyway.

[Halandaar]

I reckon the datasheets will be for Open Play only, but it really is frustrating that even the people at WD know that the wargear restrictions on Primaris characters are un-fun to the point that they just ignored them when creating their own and kitbashed something they felt was cooler. 

[Deadass]

It'll be pretty interesting to look at what the WD team actually came up with in terms of lore, but the main takeaway for me is that my own primaris characters cannot be as fun and unique as theirs, yeah.

[The_Chaplain]

Kinda hoping they have an article about how they converted/kitbashed the characters. Would love to know which bits were used on certain models

[lansalt]

I bet the "tome" is going to be a copy of the Lectitio Divinitatus...

 

...possibly even the one Guilliman finally opens at the end of Plague War.

[Deadass]

Kinda hoping they have an article about how they converted/kitbashed the characters. Would love to know which bits were used on certain models

I know that there's a guide for the Captain in issue #455 from August... as for the rest, we'll have to wait and see.

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

Why is this in the ultramarines forum ?

[Irbis]

Kinda hoping they have an article about how they converted/kitbashed the characters. Would love to know which bits were used on certain models

Captain has plasma pistol/prosthetic hand from hellblaster squad (and it's insane you can't put that on any other primaris unit, even though you usually don't want pistol on hellblasters and there is close to dozen primaris units that would love it). Ancient has IF power fist, IIRC. Chaplain has heavy thunder hammer from DW box topped with mace from DA terminator kit. Anything else?

 

EDIT: no idea, I posted it in the News, where it belonged (and previous IA discussions were). Someone "moderating" while on % ?

Edited November 14, 2020 by Irbis

[Lord Nord in Gravis Armour]

 

Captain has plasma pistol/prosthetic hand from hellblaster squad (and it's insane you can't put that on any other primaris unit, even though you usually don't want pistol on hellblasters and there is close to dozen primaris units that would love it). 

 

 

All flavors of Intercessor sergeants (regular, Assault, Veteran) can take them now.

[BadgersinHills]

Kinda hoping they have an article about how they converted/kitbashed the characters. Would love to know which bits were used on certain models

 

The Librarian head is from Kill Team: Cassius Librarian Jensus Netorian. The staff seems to be from the multipart Librarian with conversion. Chaplain's backpack topper is from young Chaplain Cassius' crozius. The skull shoulder pad and head on the Chaplain is from the Deathwatch Kill Team box. The book on the Ancient's pole could be from the Ravenwing accessory pack with added purity seals and the top is from the Custode Allarus box with conversion. The Ancient's shoulder pad is from the Vanguard Veterans. 

Edited November 14, 2020 by BadgersinHills

[StrangerOrders]

Anyone identify the axe? Only two headed one I can think of is Logan's but the design there is entirely different.

 

Also, I am actively irked that they are more or less rubbing our faces in the Primaris's lack of ability to take options beyond sets with these kitbashed characters. It might even be worse if they did it by accident. What the heck GW?

 

Granted, I might just be salty because lack of customization is ny only remaining qualm with the newbie marines.

[Havokas]

Nice little slap in the face to get more generic as heck primaris right after the death of my death korps.

[BadgersinHills]

Anyone identify the axe? Only two headed one I can think of is Logan's but the design there is entirely different.

 

Also, I am actively irked that they are more or less rubbing our faces in the Primaris's lack of ability to take options beyond sets with these kitbashed characters. It might even be worse if they did it by accident. What the heck GW?

 

Granted, I might just be salty because lack of customization is ny only remaining qualm with the newbie marines.

 

Sanguinary Guard axe. 

[Axineton]

Why is this in the ultramarines forum ?

 

Because they’re an Ultramarines successor. 

[Sword Brother Adelard]

GW has been encouraging more customisation for ages, there was a vox cast about it last year. Just point the model appropriately, check with your opponent first and don't expect to use it in matched play.

Play Crusade or Open instead.

[Closet Skeleton]

All Primaris captain weapons are master crafted now, so he doesn't have two pieces of special issue wargear.

[Sandlemad]

I like the slight Mesopotamian flair to their background, with a capital city basically named not-Ninevah and with marine names like Saargon and Eridu.

[Halandaar]

GW has been encouraging more customisation for ages, there was a vox cast about it last year. Just point the model appropriately, check with your opponent first and don't expect to use it in matched play.

Play Crusade or Open instead.

 

One Voxcast that only a small percentage of the playerbase will have even listened to doesn't undo years of GW rules writing which actively restricts customisation outside of the options provided on the model kit, especially not when that extremely limiting rules writing is still going on up to the very latest Codexes.

 

Just look at the Primaris Captain datasheet if you need an example of how overly restrictive GW is prepared to be for no real reason; Power Fists are okay but only if you take it with a Plasma Pistol, unless you're a Dark Angel in which case you could instead match it with a Special Issue Bolt Carbine, but no other chapter can take one of those at all. It's so needlessly convoluted.

 

Anyway, "just play Crusade or Open" is not only a middle finger to the way the majority of people play 40k (which is Matched), it's also the worst of both worlds; overly restrictive in one format and a free-for-all in another. If the position is effectively "you can ignore the normal restrictions in Open", then what's stopping me equipping a Captain with a Twin Lascannon or something equally silly?