The Codex Project

Now this is an intriguing happening. A respectable group of 40k net-celebs have joined forces in an effort to create a new online community. Their goal (which I share) is to create a respected central body that publishes and certifies fan created Codices and other rules. They have a vision of clubs and even some tournaments allowing the use of alla new online community certified Codices. Check out The Codex Project for the lowdown.

There might be something you can do to contribute! Rules, photos, artwork, layout, playtesting, editing and fluff writing are all required for a TCP codex. They are built by a team with a single leader - but that leader will be changed if progress stalls. They anticipate that it will take a long time for a Codex to reach certification from scratch - perhaps in the realm of 6 months to a year.

After hearing about the site on an episode of The Overlords podcast, I got very excited and went straight to the site. Ended up my introductory post on the forums was their virgin post! I have started posts linking to each of my fan Codicies - the Crimson Fists and the Death Guard. I am happy to contribute these rules to TCP in the hope of seeing some set of rules certified for these forces.

Oh by the way I have another Codex in the works - hopefully I'll have it ready to publish in a couple of weeks. Sadly I don't enough models to give it a proper playtest but hopefully TCP can help with that.

Send in the clowns...

The Battle Bunker Crash

I'm getting excited about a new tournament coming up on February 13th - the Battle Bunker Crash. It's of course being held at my local store The Battle Bunker, and the price is $30. This includes 4 games at 1500 points (it's going to be a long day) and lunch will be provided as we can crank up the BBQ. It's being organized by Josh, who is a regular club member and a great opponent. Expect favoritism to be shown towards Daemons and Dark Eldar ;)

Interestingly the winner is based solely on Battle Point scores - there is no comp! This is relatively rare in Australia and I am looking forward to pushing my list building and tactical skills to their limit. I usually play balanced lists that don't get punished by comp in my experience. It will be interesting to see what others bring. My only concern is that I dont want to be playing games against unpainted armies - I always make sure that my army is fully painted at tournaments.

Another novel twist is that they are going to provide 8 missions on the day, and the final 4 will be determined by vote. Not something I have heard of before - we will have to wait and see how this pans out.

I am thinking of bringing my Tau out of retirement for this. I've been playing my Crimson Fists recently and having fun, but I suspect that I am more competitive as a Shas'el. Tau are best at low points values as they quickly fill the FOC. I am going to take this opportunity to fill in a few gaps in my Tau collection and take the most vicious optimised list possible - the list is made but I'm not going to publish it until after the event :P Anyone got a spare Piranha or a couple of Broadsides lying around?

Starting a 40k Army: Tau

This is the start of hopefully a number of articles on beginning a new army. Basically I want to list off the units that are worth buying for each Codex from a beginner's viewpoint - units that aren't going to be played a couple of times and then left in the cupboard. I'll try to give enough advice to build a 750 point list that forms a strong foundation for a larger army.

Building a competitive Tau army doesn't leave you a large set of choices. But this is still an effective Codex in 5th edition if you take the right units and pay close attention to your tactics.

Breaking News: New FAQs! 3++ Saves for Everyone!

I don't believe that it has happened, but Games Workshop had finally done it! They released a number of FAQs an hour ago on their website, including Dark Angels and Black Templars.

Now all marine 'dexes have the same rules for Storm Shields, Typhoon missile launchers and Cyclone missile launchers. This is awesome news for loyal players, they truly deserve it. And I can play my termis as counts as Deathwing again, yay! I feel like a persistent itch has finally been scratched.

It appears that the following FAQs have been updated:

• Space Marines
  
• Space Wolves
  
• Blood Angels
  
• Dark Angels
  
• Black Templars
  
• Dark Eldar
  
• 40k Rulebook (very minor)
  

Feral Ork List

Recently we had a 750pt league at the Battle Bunker. Ty, one of the regulars at my local club, built an awesomely themed new army for the league - Feral Orks! Ty has a reputation for being highly fluff driven as you will see from the list he took (which was something like this):

Paper IG Tank Company

Whilst searching for new blogs to follow I somehow ran into this site. They have a bunch of Imperial Guard vehicle templates for download, which you then print out onto card stock and build a bunch of tanks from. Some of these templates are pretty damn cool, with some overlaid layers that need to be glued to card of .5 or 1mm thickness to give detail to the model.

As a total cheaparse this kind of thing really gets my imagination going. I always had a soft spot for the 4th edition Armoured Company list, and you can build something pretty similar these days (though inferior) with the Imperial Guard codex. So I started to think about how I would build an Armoured Company - and to make it as difficult for myself as possible I decided to aim for a measly 1500 point army. I'm sure its easy to expand from there.

In order to keep in the theme of not spending any money, I am going to use paper cutouts for the infantry models too! Haha just kidding, but I will save money by picking up a couple of boxes of Wargames Foundry Sci-Fi Greatcoat Troopers. This will supply all the infantry I need.

Chapter Approved: Crimson Fists

Chapter Approved: Crimson Fists
by Plague Marine

• Requires Codex: Space Marines

In the times directly after the Horus Heresy was defeated, the Space Marine legions were forced to split into smaller chapters 1000 marines in size - this was known as the second founding. The Imperial Fists legion was known for their self-discipline, loyalty and siege warfare skills. They split into three chapters: the Black Templars, the Imperial Fists and the Crimson Fists. Those chosen for the latter were the newest recruits to the chapter. Thus they were most strongly guided by the writings of the Codex Astartes and operated as a Codex chapter until recent events.

Unfortunately the Crimson Fists chapter recently suffered a near-fatal tragedy -  whilst fighting an Ork invasion of their home planet Rynn's World a missile misfire resulted in the complete destruction of their entire chapter monastery. Reduced to a shadow of their former strength, the Fists were left with a dangerously small amount of gene-seed to continue the chapter. However they have managed to survive this cataclysm and are now slowly rebuilding their numbers, recruiting heavily. In order to prevent another massacre that they could ill-afford, Chapter Master Pedro Kantor has been forced to avoid most open confrontations, instead focusing the efforts of the chapter in lightning strikes and guerilla warfare.

Even before the cataclysmic loss of their monastery, the Crimson Fists were experienced in fighting the greenskins. They have now dedicated their efforts to the eradication of the Orks and their kin. Because of their effectiveness against Orks and other greenskins, it is common for the Master of Weapons to distribute Hellfire rounds to every marine taking part in an engagement. Also, the Fists use a chemical they call 'Hellfire' promethium to increase the heat output of their flamer weaponry. This dangerously sensitive explosive is used whenever it can be obtained to fuel their flamers and heavy flamers.

Rules

Build a Crimson Fists force using Codex: Space Marines as a basis. Apply the following additional rules:

Kill the Ork

• All Crimson Fists models have the Preferred Enemy: Orks rule.
• Tactical squads may take a heavy flamer as a heavy weapon option for 5 pts.
• Any unit containing models armed with a storm bolter, bolter or heavy bolter may upgrade all those models with Hellfire rounds at a cost of 5 pts per weapon.
• Any unit containing models armed with a flamer or heavy flamer may upgrade all those models with 'Hellfire' promethium at a cost of 5 pts per weapon. The weapon then counts as twin-linked against models with a Toughness score.

Rebuilding the Chapter

• You must take a scout squad for every tactical squad selected.
• Only one 5 man Terminator or Assault Terminator squad may be selected in the army.
• Bikes never count as scoring.
• A maximum of 1 Land Raider (or variant) may be included in an army.
• A maximum of 2 vehicles of each of the following types can be included in an army: Dreadnought, Land Speeder, Vindicator, Predator and Whirlwind.

Other

• Any power fist or lightning claw can be made master-crafted for 5 pts.
• Only the following special characters may be selected: Pedro Kantor, Sergeant Tellion.
• Note: The Stubborness inherent in the Imperial Fists geneseed is tempered by the dire need of the chapter to preserve its members. Crimson Fist models are not Stubborn unless joined by Kantor.

Example Force: 1500 points

The idea with this list is to deploy the drop pod (with Captain) and scouts in the midfield, using the tacticals as a mini-Sternguard squad. The Devastators and Dreadnoughts sit in the deployment zone and lay down a steady stream of covering fire. The Dreads can tie up units trying to assault the Devs. Just a fun list I would like to have a game with! Now time to find an opponent to test it on...

Captain (128)
master-crafted lightning claw, storm bolter, hellfire rounds

10 Tactical Marines (305)
hellfire rounds, hellfire promethium; heavy flamer, melta; sergeant with combi-melta, master-crafted power fist
drop pod

10 Scouts (205)
extra close combat weapon, camo cloak; missile launcher; sergeant with master-crafted power fist

Dreadnought (125)

2 twin-linked auto-cannons

Dreadnought (145)

twin-linked lascannon, heavy flamer, hellfire promethium

2 x 1 Land Speeder (150)
multi-melta, heavy flamer, hellfire promethium

5 Devastators (170)
4 heavy bolters, hellfire rounds; sergeant with chainsword, bolt pistol

2 x 5 Devastators (270)

3 missile launchers

Coming Up: Rules for Crimson Fists

Next up I will be posting some house rules for playing a Crimson Fists force. This will be a set of rules that are applied on top of Codex: Space Marines in order to better reflect the structure and tactics of this chapter.
See here for my previous post on how I approach fan codices.

Unlike my previous Codex: Death Guard, these rules have not been created due to frustration with the current Codex. It is instead an attempt to make a fun army that plays a little differently to the vanilla Space Marines. These are definitely only intended for friendly games. As there are only a few changes to the standard codex I am calling it a Chapter Approved supplement rather than a distinct Codex.

There are two aspects of the Crimson Fists chapter that I am focussing on in the development of this supplement. Firstly they are a chapter dedicated to fighting Orks, even before the Rynn's World disaster that further intensified their greenskin hatred. This leads to a preference for flamers and heavy bolters in their weaponry. Secondly, they are rebuilding the chapter from a massacre that left only a small fraction of the force alive.  Expect to see scouts.

Note: I have not read the apparently heretical Soul Drinkers books by Ben Counter, so don't expect any of the content there to be reflected in my rules.

Predator (Space Marine Codex)

Weighing in at a cool 60 points before upgrades, the Space Marine Predator is by far the cheapest AV 13 tank in the game. But of course the points can start to pile on once you reach for the weapon upgrades. So how can you equip your Predator efficiently, and the use it effectively on the battlefield? Read on...

Rules

The Predator is a Tank with AV 13/11/10 on front/side/rear armour. This means it is a tough nut to crack with a frontal bombardment - auto-cannons require 6s to glance, and krak missiles will need 6s to penetrate. Its the AV 11 side armour that is your biggest weakness, allowing light anti-tank guns to rip you apart if they can deploy or maneuver into the right firing position. You must protect those flanks and force your opponent to face either AV 13 or a 3+ cover save on the side armour.

Rear armour 10, shared by most other vehicles in the game, means that you are vulnerable to assault. Unfortunately for the Predator, it is most effectively utilised when stationary - and this means that units in assault are hitting you automatically! Deciding when to move and reduce your rate of fire is the key to effective Generalship with this tank. Or you can take the easy way out - Blood Angels pay a handful more points to make their Predators Fast, which is an absolute bargain and totally unfair for us vanilla players ;-) But that is for another article...

Make sure that you understand the rules for sponson line of sight before you field them on the battlefield. As far as I can make out from the rule book diagrams, line of sight is calculated from the base of the weapon where it attaches to the sponson, not the tip. Its important to understand the angles that you need in order to bring all your weapons to bear on a target.

Don't forget the option to Tank Shock if  your Predator is shaken, or in the rare circumstance that it has had all it's weapons destroyed without being immobilised. AV 13 and a 9"+ move gives you a Strength 7 attack that could do something useful!

Predators come standard with smoke launchers and a searchlight. Smoke launchers are useful when the Predator can't shoot - either because it is out of position (your bad!) or has been shaken by enemy fire. In these cases don't forget to pop smoke and love that cover save! Searchlights aren't much use, as a Predator can't start on the table in a Dawn of War scenario.

Weapon Options

The Predator comes with a single turret auto-cannon by default; an effective light tank destroyer and monstrous creature wounder. It's hard to pass up adding the optional heavy bolter sponsons - for a good price you gain a strong anti-infantry ability with 8 high Strength shots at AP4. This is enough firepower to force a moral check, or wipe out the dregs of a unit.

Of course the upgrade options do not stop there. All the above guns can be swapped with lascannons - or a twin-linked lascannon in the case of the turret autocannon. But these upgrades come at a price, and so should only be chosen if they cover a weakness in the rest of your list. Because of the vulnerability of the turret twin-linked lascannon to weapon-destroyed results, the usual choice is to upgrade the heavy bolter sponsons. Also the lascannons and auto-cannons are complementary weapons against most targets.

Other Options

Yes there are other options that can be added to the Predator - but the prices are generally not worth the extra value provided. To be honest I have never taken any of these.

You can add a pintle-mounted storm bolter, giving additional anti-infantry fire that complements heavy bolter sponsons. But it does not complement the auto-cannon, so in scenarios when you are moving and firing at tanks those points are wasted. And in any case spending so many points on a couple of Strength 4 shots is generally not worth it.

Extra armour is even less useful - its actually pretty rare for a vehicle to be stunned, and for a shooty tank like the Predator retaining the ability to move is far less important than for a transport. Give it a miss and save valuable points. You might find the occasional use for a dozer blade but once again this is a far more useful upgrade for a transport vehicle, that actually needs to get somewhere to drop off its passengers. Just avoid difficult terrain!

Finally is the hunter-killer missile option. This is a weapon that complements both auto-cannons and lascannons, and can either be used to maximise an opening salvo or saved for an efficient shot at side-armour. Not really an optimal selection, but I can see the potential in the right list. Probably something I should investigate further on the battlefield.

Example Units

Dakka (85)

Predator with auto-cannon, 2 heavy bolter sponsons

The most commonly fielded Predator configuration. Cheap and effective against a variety of targets - and three of these are cheaper than a single Land Raider! Suffers from an inability to threaten AV 13-14, but is cheap enough that this rarely becomes an issue.

Hybrid (120)

Predator with auto-cannon, 2 lascannon sponsons

The perfect compromise between the price of the Dakka and the anti-tank power of the Annihilator - but sacrifices the anti-infantry ability of the Dakka configuration. Able to move and fire a lascannon, or sit still and blast vehicles off the table, its a good choice when you need to up your armies anti-tank firepower.

Annihilator (165)

Predator with twin-linked lascannon, 2 lascannon sponsons
This is the most vicious long-ranged anti-tank configuration in the Space Marine arsenal. If it gets a chance to fire it should be able to comfortably cripple an opposing vehicle each turn. However it has giant SHOOT ME signs painted on the armour, especially that AV 11 side armour. And all it takes is one shaken result in order to stop all that shooting for a turn. Field it at your own risk!

iPhone + Toilet = Bad

Sorry about the lack of posting in the last week. Sadly I managed to throw my iPhone into the toilet, which to be honest was not the best idea. I actually write most of my posts on the phone on the train or at lunch sitting in the park, so this has put a bit of a cramp on my style until i find a replacement.

I did manage to get some software to access my backups, so I have now retrieved the articles I was working on and can get something posted soon.

All the best wishes for the holiday season!