Plastic Heresy-era Armor On Its Way

It's been much too long since I've posted on this blog. Fortunately, I've been inactive because I've been getting a lot of modeling done.

It's been eight months since we first started hearing rumors that plastic Horus Heresy models were going to be released. A few months ago, leaked images showed a sprue of Mk IV Maximus armor and a sprue with two HQs: one in Mk IV armor and another in Cataphractii Terminator armor.

Additional photos have since confirmed that GW will be releasing Betrayal at Calth, a board game set during the Horus Heresy. Pictures of the back of the box show that the game includes multiple infantry models and a Dreadnought:

Although these models are supposed to be part of a board game, it's apparent that GW has much bigger plans than a single game. Space Hulk, which was obviously meant to be a one-off board game, had beautiful models but a minimal piece count and fixed weapons options

By contrast, the Mk IV Marine sprues are part of a full-blown multi-piece model kit with multiple wargear options (in one of the photos you can make out a plasma gun, a meltagun, a missile launcher, and several combi-weapon bits). From the look of them, the Mk IV parts are almost certainly compatible with other plastic power armor kits.

The Cataphractii Terminators are also from a multi-piece kit with a lot of options. It looks like there five pairs of lightning claws (I love the long-fingered Heresy-era lightning claws), five power fists, five chainfists, five combi-bolters, a heavy flamer, and a power sword.

The models on the HQ sprue have the least poseability (i.e., none) or wargear options (a plasma pistol and a power maul on the Mk IV model and a combi-melta and a chainfist on the Cataphractii model). I think most of us have gotten used to having limited options in our plastic HQs by now, and you could do worse than a Terminator Captain with a combi-melta and a chainfist.

Finally, the Contemptor Dreadnought is a little disappointing compared to the infantry sprues, although it's a step up from the usual starter kit Dreadnoughts. The pose is pretty static, but at least it gives you the option of arming it with a multi-melta or an assault cannon (Kheres pattern?).

(Most of these images come from War of Sigmar.)

It seems obvious that GW is trying to get more players into Horus Heresy. Personally, I'm still not interested in playing 30K, especially since the vehicles are likely to remain in resin (but give me a plastic Sicaran Battle Tank and I'll think about it).

Unless some of my fellow Cabal members decide to split the cost, I probably won't be buying Betrayal at Calth. I really want some Mk IV armor for my Tactical and Sternguard Squads, but I don't need nearly as many models as are included in this kit. If and when a 10 man kit of Mk IV Marines is released, I'll be the first in line.

As for the Cataphractii, I was on the fence until I saw the sprue. Now I'm willing to overlook the fact that I already have more Terminators than I can practically field in a standard game. I'm sure I could find a way to fit five Cataphractii Terminators into my army.

The New Knights: Not Quite What We Were Expecting

Just yesterday I speculated on the weapons that the Knights shown in silhouette were carrying. Much of my speculation was based on rumors that had been floating around for about a week. Now that images from the upcoming White Dwarf have leaked, it turns out that many of the rumors were in error. First, the new Knights do not have any ranged D-weapons. Second, their armor, Ion Shield, and Hull Point count are the same as the Paladin and the Errant. Without upgrades, the Knight Warden even costs exactly the same as a Knight Paladin.

To be honest, I was kind of disappointed to see that the most jaw-dropping (and thus the most suspect) rumors were false. Once I got over that fact, I found that I'm still really excited for the new Knights. They might not be Shadowswords on legs, but they still add a lot of versatility to the army.

Wargear
The Knight Crusader is built for ranged combat. Its base weapons are the Thermal cannon or rapid-fire battle cannon, a heavy stubber, and the Avenger gatling cannon with built-in heavy flamer. The Avenger gatling cannon is a 36" range, S6, AP3, Heavy 12, Rending weapon. This turned out to be the gun I misidentified as a possible Volcano canon.

The Knight Warden is armed with the Avenger gatling cannon, a heavy stubber, and a Reaper chainsword. For 10 points the chainsword can be replaced with the Thunderstrike gauntlet. This giant power fist is Strength D, AP2, and has the Colossal rule which causes the model fighting with it to strike at Initiative 1. The gauntlet also has the Hurl rule, which allows the model to throw a defeated Monstrous Creature or non-super heavy vehicle at an enemy unit within 12". The result is an AP- Large Blast with a Strength equal to the Creature's Toughness or half the vehicle's front Armor Value, respectively.

Finally there's what I assume to be the Knight Gallant (none of the leaked photos seem to specifically identify it by that name). The Gallant has a Reaper chainsword and a Thunderstrike gauntlet.

Now we get to the upgrades. From what I gather from the German images, the cheapest is the 5 point cost to swap the heavy stubber for a meltagun. Then there are the three carapace weapon options. One is the Twin Icarus autocannon; a twin-linked, 48" range, S7, AP4, Heavy 2, Interceptor, and Skyfire gun for 35 points. For 40 points you can get the Stormspear rocket pod; a 48", S8, AP3, Heavy 3 weapon. Finally, there's the Ironstorm missile pod; a 72" range, S5, AP4, Heavy 1, Large Blast, Barrage weapon for 30 points. Interestingly, it sounds like the Knights Paladin and Errant may also be permitted to take a carapace weapon. One photo shows the Knight Errant Crimson Reaper with an Ironstorm missile pod mounted on it.

At first glance I wasn't particularly impressed by the carapace weapons. Once I thought about it, though, I realized that the fact that they're mounted on Super-heavy Walkers makes them a good deal. Since a Super-heavy can fire its weapons at different targets, each additional weapon is like adding one more unit to the army. Four 40 points you can get almost as many S8, AP3 shots as a Space Marine Devastator Squad can give you. The Ironstorm missile pod is effectively a 30 point Whirlwind tank. And the Twin Icarus autocannon is essentially a Space Marine Stalker tank with half the shots but with the Interceptor rule.

For a Knight Crusader, I'm considering the heavy infantry-busting combination of the Rapid-fire battle cannon, the Avenger gatling cannon, and the Ironstorm missile pod. That's two S8, AP3, Large Blasts, one S5, AP4, Large Blast, and 12 S6, AP3, Rending shots from a single model.

The Models
The models are about 95% identical to the Paladin and Errant. In fact, the White Dwarf says that the new kit has all the sprues needed to build the original models (as I originally suspected). There are a few additions that are kind of neat, though. For those who didn't like putting tiny aquila heads on their Mechanicus-aligned Knights, the new kit has little Cogs Mechanicus. Sadly, since I already have two unbuilt Knights, I won't be able to replace all the aquilas unless the new kit has extras.

The new model kit also adds a rim to the shield on the right side of the torso. And it includes two new faceplates: a Mechanicus one that looks half armored and half organic and a brutish one with a snout.

[Edit 5/1/2015: Make that three new faceplates. A couple leaked photos now show a third new faceplate with a solid upper half and a perforated "mouth guard".]

My Impressions
I had really hoped that this release would include ranged D-weapons, if only to keep up with Eldar. However, if Eldar are removed from the equation, this is actually a very nice release that gives Imperial Knights a lot more variety and allows them to be a full, reasonably well-rounded army. (And leaving ranged D-weapons out of the army makes it easier to keep friends.) It looks like five Knights, a few meltagun upgrades, a Thunderstrike gauntlet here and there, and a few carapace weapons bring the army up to 2000 points.

I also like that there are enough options to give each Knight a specific role in the army. It's easy to see a Knight Gallant with its Reaper chainsword and Thunderstrike gauntlet leading the charge. A Knight Errant and a Knight Warden with their 36" range weapons follow just behind the Gallant, taking out tanks and infantry, respectively. The Knight Paladin with its longer ranged Rapid-fire battle cannon guards their backs. At the rear, a Knight Crusader covers the rest of the army with its ranged weapons.

Unfortunately, I'm now extremely excited about building a Knight army, meaning that there could be a substantial delay in starting my Skitarii army.

New Imperial Knights Incoming

Not long ago, we started getting rumors about new Imperial Knights: the Knight Warden and the Knight Crusader. Like the Knights Errant and Paladin, these Knight types existed in GW's small scale game, Epic 40,000. Although there are a few differences between the old Errants and Paladins and the new ones (e.g., the original Errants had giant power fists instead of chainswords), they're similar enough that it's been generally assumed that any future models will share certain features with the old ones.

The original Knights Warden and Crusader were both heavily armed, long-range Knights. Thus, it wasn't surprising when the rumormongers eventually gave us the following:

Crusader is armed with: Quake Cannon, TL Las-cannons
Warden is armed with: Volcano Cannon, Multi-barreled Autocannon
Both models have an optional top carapace missile launcher weapon mount, with multishot S8, AP3 anti-flyer capability
Both models are protected by a single energy field based heavily on the rules for the Stronghold Assault book’s Void Shield Generator.
Armor Values: Front:14 Side:13 Rear:13
Hull Points: 8
Both models clock in well above the cost of the Knight Paladin/Errant

As is now the norm, both Knights were supposed to be built from the same kit. Not long afterward, we were told that the kit would build a third Knight: the Knight Gallant. The Gallant doesn't appear to have an Epic counterpart.

Today, GW released their teaser for the Knights. Although the teaser only shows the new Knights in silhouette, we can guess a few things about them.

For starters, the legs, torso, and shoulder armor appear to be identical. Second, the new models can be equipped with weapons found on the Paladin and Errant. Both the rapid-fire battle cannon and the Reaper chainsword make an appearance. It's very likely that the new kit contains all the Paladin and Errant sprues plus at least one more sprue with new weapons.

Mystery Knight #1
Given that the Warden and the Crusader are supposed to be equipped for long-range combat, I'm going to guess that this one is the Knight Gallant:

The Reaper chainsword and the power fist show that this is primarily a close combat Knight, although the structure on its back is probably the missile launcher mentioned in the rumors. Its shape and location are nearly identical to the missile launchers found on larger Titans like the Reaver:

I'm very curious as to whether or not the power fist has special rules (perhaps it's AP1 versus the chainsword's AP2) or if it's just there to give the model an extra attack. If it's effectively identical to the chainsword (and assuming the kits are interchangeable), hobbyists who want to better distinguish their Errants from their Paladins could follow the pattern of the Epic models and equip the Errants with power fists.

Mystery Knight #2
This one is interesting since it's equipped with two new weapons that are difficult to identify. Obviously, its right arm is equipped with a standard rapid-fire battle cannon. However, its left arm has a large weapon with a complex shape on the end:

It's possible that this is the multi-barreled autocannon that the rumors mentioned, but I don't think the shapes are round enough to represent a rotary weapon. In fact, it looks like it could be the tip of the Volcano cannon, like the one carried by the Shadowsword:

That leaves us with the gun on the carapace:

It's difficult to tell what this is, but the rounded shapes and the loops at the top make me think that it could be a twin-linked or multi-barreled autocannon with ammunition drums and feeds.

It's worth nothing this model doesn't seem to match the rumors, which said nothing about the Crusader or Warden being able to carry the rapid-fire battle cannon.

Mystery Knight #3
Now we're really deviating from the rumors. Mystery Knight #2 may have a twin-linked/multi-barreled autocannon and a Volcano cannon, which would make it the Knight Warden. This Knight, however, doesn't match the rumor's description of either the Warden or the Crusader. It's armed with a missile launcher, the mystery arm cannon (possibly a Volcano cannon), and a power fist. If the model has twin-linked lascannons, they're hidden within the rest of the silhouette.

Given what we've been shown, I strongly suspect that Gallant, Warden, and Crusader are going to be very loose terms for the new Knights. Although the Epic Knights followed rigid patterns, the new fluff says that the weapons are actually interchangeable (GW even put tiny lifting lugs on the guns to suggest that they can be hoisted off their arm mounts) and that it's only by tradition that certain types of Knights carry certain weapons.

The GW teaser was probably meant to show the variety that the new/revised kit has and that those providing the rumors may only be aware of a couple of major builds. As for the missing Quake cannon, the only difference between the Volcano cannon-equipped Shadowsword and the Quake cannon-equipped Banesword models is literally a single piece at the tip of the cannon. It would be very easy for the Knight model to do the same.

Adeptus Mechanicus and Skitarii

My first exposure to the Warhammer 40,000 universe outside of a codex or rulebook was through Dan Abnett's excellent novel Titanicus. At that time, I barely knew what a Titan was and all I knew about the Adeptus Mechanicus was that they worshiped some sort of Machine God and trained the Techmarines that maintained the Astartes' vehicles. I was completely new to the idea of the Skitarii, the Noosphere, or the strained relationship between Mars and the Imperium. By the time I finished Titanicus, I was very interested in the Mechanicus and was disappointed that they weren't a playable faction in the game.

As soon as the pictures leaked, I became tremendously excited for the new Skitarii and the fact that the Adeptus Mechanicus would finally take an active role in 40K. The most recent White Dwarf provides the rules for the recently released models and gives hints of more to come. Presumably the current release and those that are expected over the next couple weeks are meant to act as a companion force for other armies of the Imperium. I can only hope that this release does well and that GW expands the Mechanicus into as large and diverse a force as other 40K mainstays.

The Models
They're amazing. I love the robes, the masks, the cybernetic enhancements, and the archaic weapons. The arc rifle is as steampunk as you can get and looks like it was lifted from an H.G. Wells story. The other weapons look even older; the "radium jezzail" that some Sydonian Dragoons carry is inspired by the long barrelled, muzzle-loading, and occasionally rifled firearm commonly used in the Middle East up until the 1800s. "Arquebus" and "caliver" were terms that originally referred to muzzle-loading smoothbore guns used between the 15th and 17th centuries. The fact that a musket rest is provided for the transuranic arquebus shows how much attention went into these models. Apparently, "arquebus" could be a fairly broad term, with some referring to lighter versions as "calivers" while larger ones that required a rest were called "muskets".

I'm a big fan of design consistency, which is another reason why I find the Skitarii so appealing. The recent White Dwarf says that the Skitarii models were deliberately designed to fit in with the design philosophy of other Imperium units; the models share both artistic elements and technical details. For example, the fleur-de-lis emblem on the armored plates of the Imperial Knights, on the Tempestus Scions' armor, and on the Scion/Guard Taurox, also appears on the Ironstrider walkers. And a close comparison shows that, under their armor plating, the legs of the Imperial Knights and the Ironstriders share similar design features. Even the Knight's "faces" resembles a Skitarii mask.

The Rules
I have to admit that, with the exception of their archaeotech weapons, Titanicus made me expect the Skitarii to be something more akin to cyborg Space Marines. Once I accepted that their stat-lines more closely represent Astra Militarum Veterans in carapace armor, I looked more closely at their special rules and wargear.

Honestly, I like the models so much that I would play them even if their rules were mediocre. However, it looks like a lot of thought went into making the Skitarii a useful addition to any army since their rules are apparently meant to allow for some mean combinations.

For example, Vanguard don't seem too impressive as an assault unit by themselves. But when a unit is locked in combat with them, their Rad-saturation rule drops the enemy unit's Toughness by 1. Once the enemy is weakened by Rad-saturation, you can hit them with another unit (e.g., a Space Marine Assault Squad) to finish them off quickly.

Phosphor weapons also have some potential. These S5 AP4 weapons have the Luminagen rule. If a unit suffers an unsaved wound or a glancing or penetrating hit from a phosphor weapon, its cover saves are worsened by 1 until the end of the phase. Combo this with an Omnispex (cover saves taken against attacks made by a unit with an omnispex have a -1 modifier) for some real fun.

My only concern is that we still don't know what "Doctrina Imperatives" are. All the units introduced this week, both infantry and vehicles, include it as a special rule. The only hint we're given is that "Data-tether" wargear adds 1 to the Leadership of a unit affected by a Doctrina Imperative until the start of their next turn. The fact that the special rule is plural (i.e., "Doctrina Imperatives") indicates that there are several Imperatives and the fact that a Data-tether enhance a unit's Leadership suggests that whatever the Imperatives do, they are based on a Leadership test. Some have guessed that this may be similar to Tyranids' Instinctive Behavior and that a unit will attempt to execute a "pre-programmed" task unless they pass a Doctrina Imperative test. Although I hope that this isn't the case and that Doctrina Imperatives are more of a benefit than a liability, it wouldn't be a deal-breaker for me if they do resemble Instinctive Behavior.

Skitarii and Imperial Knights

Just over a year ago, GW released the Imperial Knights. Although I was attracted to the idea of depicting a Mechanicus-aligned house, particularly the Mars-based House Taranis (whose paint scheme I was particularly fond of), I had thought that my Knights were going to go into combat alongside the Ultramarines. I decided against Taranis because:

While the story of House Taranis is interesting, it's obvious that their true loyalties lie with the Adeptus Mechanicus. This would be fine if I were playing Iron Hands or the Imperial Guard, but I play Ultramarines; a Chapter whose captains bear titles like "Knight Champion of Macragge" and "Regent of Ultramar". I want to model a knightly house that will remember a favor and repay a debt millennia after the fact, not one that will ally with the Ultramarines because the Mechanicus' and the Astartes' interests are generally aligned.

Needless to say, my opinion has changed significantly now that we can finally pair up Imperial Knights with an Adeptus Mechanicus army. House Taranis' fluff now makes it the ideal Knightly House for allying with Skitarii. From The Imperial Knight Companion:

The Ritual of Becoming is a hazardous process. Many of those who undertake its stresses do not survive, or if they do are rendered insensate. [...] House Taranis, gifted with the learned presence of the Adeptus Mechanicus and an understanding of the Throne Mechanicum like no other, has a much more practical use for those incompatible with the device's delicate neural matrixes. Known to the Tech-priests of Mars as the Psychosis-Neuracanium, nobles that have failed the Ritual of Becoming and survived are still a valuable resource. [...]

Primarily, the Psychosis-Neuracanium are adapted for use as Skitarii captain-overseers. Their forebrains are implanted with emotive-selectors and memory-catheters to keep their rages and madness in check. [...] The families of House Taranis willingly give these broken sons to the attentions of the Mechanicus, on the promise that the regiments they lead, and the formations they fight in, will find a place at the side of the household Knights.

In other words, I'll almost certainly be building two Knights of House Taranis. Since my fever dreams still include a total of three Knights, the third will either be from House Terryn (as I originally intended for all three Knights) or the Freeblade known as the Obsidian Knight.

Future Releases
Rumor has it that we'll be getting more infantry in the form of the "Sicarians", which will supposedly be revealed this week. While we know very little about additional infantry units, we definitely know that Skitarii will be getting another walker thanks to a single leaked image:

The vehicle, which is rumored to be called the "Onager Dunecrawler", looks to be pretty large based on the size of the gunner.

My biggest concern right now is whether or not Skitarii infantry will get some sort of transport. The Vanguard and Rangers have some awesome rules and weapons, but with the stat-line of a Guard Veteran, they simply won't last long out in the open. The easiest route would be for GW to stick with preexisting fluff and designate the Rhino as a Dedicated Transport for Skitarii squads. The release of the Skitarii Transfer Sheet, which has multiple decals that appear to be sized for vehicles, has made me suspicious that an existing model might find its way into the new army. While I wouldn't be too excited about building even more Rhino chassis, I'd rather field more Rhinos than lose my troops en masse.

Final Thoughts
As I said before, I'm very excited for this release. Not only are fans of the Adeptus Mechanicus getting some great models, but GW's recent history has left the door open for even more releases. Late last year, GW unexpectedly released multiple new Tyranid models, with several of them representing entirely new units. Rather than waiting to release the models with a new codex, the models' rules were simply released in White Dwarf and the Shield of Baal supplements.

If the Skitarii line is successful (and it's hard to imagine that they won't be), I think we can expect the kind of treatment that Tyranids received, with periodic releases of models whose rules are published in White Dwarf and/or supplements. In a few years, the Adeptus Mechanicus might become a full blown army on par with the game's major factions.

Rumors: Are Plastic 30K Models Coming?

It's been rumored recently that GW will be releasing a plastic Horus Heresy standalone game. Once the limited edition kit has run its course, the individual kits in the box are supposedly going to be sold separately as part of the standard 30K game system. Rumors say that the kits will include Mk IV power armor and Cataphractii Terminator armor.

These rumors have been coming from Hastings, a well known and more or less accurate rumor source, and are being confirmed by other sources. Although my opinion of the rumormongers was shaken in 2014, I have to admit that they were pretty accurate with the Blood Angels release. And not only were Harlequins released as the rumors said (a long shot in and of itself), but they were even released in the predicted month.

Honestly, I have no interest in getting into 30K. It's not because I don't like the setting; in fact, I'm collecting the entire series of novels and really like the direction they're going, although they seem to be taking their time with it. No, I'll be skipping The Horus Heresy because a) I already have a pile of 40K models to work on and b) I refuse to work with resin.

However, if plastic models in Heresy-era armor became available, I would buy them up in a heartbeat. Per the fluff, ancient suits of power armor are highly sought after. The most highly regarded and experienced Astartes of the 41st Millennium can be found wearing anything from a single shoulder pad (e.g., Captain Sicarius' Mk II left pauldron) to an entire suit of pre-Heresy or Heresy-era armor. With that in mind, a plastic 30K kit would find itself shared between my Ultramarines' Sternguard, Command Squads, and Veteran Sergeants.

In light of the popularity of The Horus Heresy, it would make sense for GW to start producing the basic 30K troop models in plastic. Hand-poured resin is only economical for smaller production runs. Once you hit a certain point, it's preferable to use plastic injection molding to increase your production while reducing your labor costs and rejection rate. On top of that, GW may want to draw in modelers such as myself who would love to incorporate some older Marks of armor into their 40K army but don't want to deal with Forge World's resin, high prices, or shipping rates. (I am not paying $36 plus $5.40 shipping for five resin Tactical Marines in Mk IV armor that don't even include weapons.)

To Re-base or Not to Re-base?

Because I carry the geek gene, my oldest daughter has found herself attracted to 40K. Unfortunately, the cost of building an all-metal Sisters of Battle army prevented her from doing her first choice. Her second choice was Blood Angels, with her first model kit being a squad of Death Company. I've been closely following Blood Angels rumors ever since.

The Temptation of Tyranids
I admitted a while ago that the new Tyranid models had tempted me to start a Tyranid army. Not long afterward, I heard about an upcoming "Shield of Baal: Deathstorm" kit. Along with essential Blood Angels models and a paperback rulebook that my daughter could use, it would also come with several basic Tyranid models and a unique Broodlord, all for a great price. The kit was tailor-made to finally convince me to start a Tyranid army. Thanks to Jake, local HobbyTown owner and fellow Cabal member, I was even able to snag a copy of the woefully underproduced Shield of Baal: Leviathan book set.

Deathstorm and Changing Base Sizes
It wasn't long before we started getting leaked images of the Deathstorm kit, one of the first of which being this one:

Some eagle-eyed readers spotted some interesting details in this picture. One of the most obvious was the fact that the Death Company Marines' bases were clearly larger than the Genestealer bases (25mm) but slightly smaller than the Terminators' bases (40mm). Until now, all power armored Marines have been mounted on the same bases as Genestealers. [Update 11/29/14: I've since found that Ahriman and Krom Dragongaze from the Sanctus Reach: Stormclaw kit are on 40mm bases despite wearing power or artificer armor.] However, these Death Company Marines were almost certainly standing on the 32mm bases that were also supposed to become available on the same day gamers could pre-order Deathstorm.

Slightly less obvious was the fact that the Tyranid Warriors were mounted on larger bases than before. More detailed GW photos show that they're mounted on the same 50mm bases as Space Marine Centurions:

Left: Warriors on the old 40mm bases
Right: Deathstorm Warriors on the new bases

Finally, it looked like the Carnifex was mounted on a larger oval base. Again, officially released images show this to be the case:

Left: Carnifex on the old 60mm circular base
Right: Deathstorm Carnifex on the new oval base

Only the Genestealers, the Dreadnought, and
the Terminators are on their original bases

This is a good change in the long run. Jump pack Marines are notoriously unstable on the smaller bases while Warriors and Carnifexes all seem a bit too big for theirs. The latter problem can make "base-to-base contact" an impossible ideal (there are way too many things hanging off some models to ever get up next to their base) and gives some of the more creative hobbyists very little room to play with. Now GW has the option of mounting infantry on 25mm, 32mm, 40mm, and 50mm bases while Monstrous Creatures have 60mm bases and several oval bases to work with.

It's great that GW is starting to provide more appropriately-sized bases for existing models, but the big question is what this means for gamers' existing armies. Rules-wise, it doesn't seem to make too much of a difference. Page 9 of the rulebook says the following:

Models and Base Sizes

The rules in this book assume that models are mounted on the base they are supplied with. Sometimes, a player may have models in his collection on unusually modeled bases. Some models aren't supplied with a base at all. In these cases (which are, in all fairness, relatively few and far between), you should always feel free to mount the model on a base of appropriate size if you wish, using models of a similar type as guidance.

In other words, if you put your Death Company or Warriors or Carnifexes on the 25mm, 40mm, or 60mm bases they originally came with, you are in full compliance with the rules. Presumably, if you have a few Warriors on the older 40mm bases and a few on the new 50mm bases, you're still okay. But heaven help you if you're as obsessed with consistency as I am.

Even after seeing the Deathstorm photos, I was feeling pretty confident that I wouldn't end up re-basing any of my models. I haven't built my Assault Marines yet (I'm assuming the Death Company bases reflect the new base size for jump pack Marines), so it's not a big deal to buy a pack of 32mm bases before I start them. I haven't started building Tyranid models, so I won't feel it necessary to re-base any Warriors or a Carnifex. And my Daughter has yet to base her Death Company, so we can pick up some of the new bases before she gets to that point.

The only thing that would seriously affect me is if they put Tactical Marines on the new bases, and I seriously doubt that GW would ever do that...

Hello

Wait a minute. Power armored Space Marines' feet usually hang off the edges of their 25mm bases, right?

Yep

But the Blood Angel Tactical Marines shown in that recently leaked photo don't seem to have that problem. And the trend shown in the Deathstorm kit is that of mounting models to more comfortably-sized bases. Could those new Tactical Marines be on 32mm bases?

Plenty of room for an Astartes on these new bases

Shoot.

What Next?
Honestly, those Blood Angel Tactical Marines look great on 32mm bases. Guardsmen and even Space Marine Scouts are fine on the smaller bases, but power armored Marines have always looked a little funny with their toes hanging off. And since Deathstorm has shown that GW isn't opposed to re-basing existing models, I can only assume that the Blood Angels won't be unique and that all power armored Space Marines are eventually going to start getting packaged with 32mm bases.

I don't believe that there is any rule conflict with using Marines on either 25mm or 32mm bases, so I'm left with a choice: do I re-base all my existing power armored Marines, do I keep the finished Marines on their old bases and put all subsequent Marines on 32mm bases, do I continue to mount all power armored Marines on 25mm bases (including Sternguard, Devastators, etc.), or do I put all subsequent Tactical Marines on 25mm bases and decide how to base other types of power armored Marines as appropriate? Really, which choice is less likely to make me crazier?

Even with their toes hanging off, those bases don't look too bad

Most of my power armored Marines are still on plain gray bases, so I wouldn't be losing a whole lot of work if I re-based them, but my newest models have texture and static grass. I've even brought several of my older models up to the same standard. Although I've put some work into the newer models' bases, at least they would be relatively easy to dismount since they're only held in place by a small amount of glue on each foot. Unfortunately, 15 of my 19 finished Tactical Marines are from the old paint set or the Black Reach starter set. These models were designed to fit into slotted bases and I used plenty of glue in those slots to keep them in place. It would take some serious manhandling to dismount those Marines.

Eventually, I want to be able to run up to four 10 man Tactical Squads. Right now I have about half that number and I don't really want to change their bases, especially if it could mean damaging some of them. Thus, for the sake of consistency, I think I'll continue mounting my Tactical Marines on 25mm bases.

However, I still have plenty of other power armored units to build that could benefit from the new bases. I have bits set aside for a 10 man Assault Marine Squad and a jump pack Captain that could use larger bases for the stability. For a long time I've wanted to make my Sternguard something special; larger bases would go a long way toward setting them apart. And using larger bases for Devastator Marines with their comically large weaponry makes a lot of sense.

Now that I think about it, I'm kind of excited about the new base sizes and the options they present. I bet some of the Ultramarines characters like Chief Librarian Tigurius, Chaplain Cassius, or Captain Sicarius would look pretty good on 32mm bases instead of the tiny 25mm bases they came with.

The Master of Sanctity demands a bigger base!

Even More Tyranid Models!?

Dear Valued Tyranid-playing Customer:

We're sorry that you weren't happy with your last codex. As compensation, we're going to give you some awesome new models. You've already seen the Maleceptor and the Toxicrene, but we don't feel that those are enough. Remember the missing Mycetic spore that had you so upset? Well, please accept our apology in the form of the Tyrannocyte; a combination drop pod and gunship. Oh, and we might have thrown in a couple more things, too.

Sincerely,
Games Workshop

Or at least that's what I imagine GW is saying with the wave of new Tyranid models. Not a day after I suggested that GW might eventually give Tyranid players a Mycetic spore, we get leaked White Dwarf images of a replacement unit called the Tyrannocyte (source here). It has the same transport capacity as the old Mycetic spore and it won't mishap by drifting onto impassible terrain or another model. However, the Tyrannocyte also comes with five deathspitters (which can be upgraded to barbed stranglers or venom cannons) and it can move after the unit inside has disembarked.

The Tyrannocyte model can also be built as a Sporocyst (source here). This thing, which has the same armament as the Tyrannocyte, is an immobile pod with the Infiltrate special rule. Once per turn it can produce a Spore Mine Cluster or, once per battle, it can produce a single Mucolid Spore instead (this is essentially a giant spore mine).

To top it all off, the White Dwarf that introduces these new models says that the following week will bring "Psychic Horror". While writing my previous blog post, I noticed that the Venomthrope was missing from GW's web store. Now I've noticed that the Zoanthrope is missing, too. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that they'll be releasing a joint Zoanthrope/Venomthrope kit in the next couple weeks.

It must be an exciting time to be a Tyranid player.

New Tyranid Models

In one of the most unexpected moves since the introduction of the Imperial Knights, GW has just released the Toxicrene/Maleceptor kit for Tyranids. Both are monstrous creatures, with the first being a highly toxic Cthulhu-like critter while the other is a psyker with a potent witchfire ability.

Fluff and Rules
According to the fluff, Tyranid bioforms such as Warriors, Hormagaunts, Termagants, and Gargoyles are essentially more advanced and/or specialized forms of Rippers. The Hive Mind can further enhance these forms to monstrous proportions: e.g., Trygons are essentially enormous Raveners (which are themselves a variation of Warriors), Harpies are big Gargoyles, etc. The new models are no exception. According to the recent White Dwarf, the Maleceptor is an "adaptation of the Zoanthrope", while the Toxicrene is an "expression of the 'family tree' begun with the creation of the Venomthrope".

Imagine these guys, but big enough to actually need limbs

Both have the standard Tyranid WS and BS, as well as the same toughness as most monstrous creatures. The Maleceptor's strength is one point higher than the Toxicrene's, while both have five Wounds. The Maleceptor, being a Synapse Creature, has a higher Leadership. Sadly, both have a 4+ save, meaning that they won't get armor saves against the majority of weapons suited for monster hunting. A 5++ on the Maleceptor and Shrouded on the Toxicrene improve their survivability, though.

The Maleceptor is essentially a psychic assassin with a pretty mean focussed witchfire attack. This power, and the big bug's mediocre close combat ability, mean that it's designed to stand back and pick off high value targets. The cost of the unit seems too high for what it does, although I don't have a whole lot of experience with 7th Edition Tyranids. Regardless of its abilities, I find the model to be pretty boring.

The Maleceptor

It's the Toxicrene that really interests me. This bug has a very short range Poisoned (2+) large blast attack that can actually damage a vehicle that has lost one or more hull points. Where it really excels, though, is in close combat. The Toxicrene has six Poisoned (2+) attacks that strike at I6 thanks to its lash whips. Being a monstrous creature, all of its close combat attacks are AP2. On top of that, it has the Hypertoxic rule, which means that To Wound rolls of 6 have the Instant Death special rule. GW threw in Toxic Miasma and Acid Blood for kicks and giggles.

Although the Toxicrene model shares most of the same parts as the Maleceptor, the model is a lot more interesting to me. The lash whips and the tentacles around the mouth make an enormous difference.

The Toxicrene

Precedence?
Although I appreciate that GW is continuing to develop new models and rules, this release is downright odd. Tyranids got their most recent codex in January 2014, making theirs the second to last full codex of 6th Edition. (I don't count Legion of the Damned or Imperial Knights given that they aren't really meant to work as stand-alone armies.) Now, a mere nine months after getting a new codex, Tyranids have two entirely new units.

In recent years, the only new units added to an army outside of a codex release were the Stormtalon and the Ork flyer variants. The reason for this was obvious; when 40K 6th Edition introduced Flyers, the new models ensured that Space Marines and Orks would have Flyers along with those armies that had models grandfathered into the Flyer category (i.e., the Stormraven, the Razorwing, the Doom Scythe/Night Scythe, and the Valkyrie).

But the Toxicrene and Maleceptor aren't new unit types at all, they're just monstrous creatures with new abilities. So why were they released less than a year after their army's latest codex?

Third Party Paranoia
We're all aware of GW's newfound phobia of third party model makers and the crusade to eliminate any pre-existing units that don't have a model or to avoid introducing rules for a new unit unless they're accompanied by a kit. It's possible that GW wanted to release the Toxicrene and the Maleceptor earlier this year, but didn't want to introduce even more models at the time of the Tyranids' 6th Edition update. Or perhaps their manufacturing capability wasn't sufficient to simultaneously produce another large kit. Rather than risk creating new units for 6th Edition and allowing third parties to produce models of them, they simply decided to release the rules only after the models were ready.

Appealing to the Hobbyists

It seems to me that a lot of people who are attracted to Tyranids enjoy them as much, if not more so, for the modeling aspects. It's very possible that the Toxicrene and Maleceptor were thought up after the codex release as a way of interesting Tyranid players into buying even more large models. Modern CAD/CAM drastically shortens design and manufacture times, meaning that even large models could be devised and produced within less than year.

Big models seem to be the thing right now, with Imperial Knights, Wraithknights, and the new giant Fantasy models selling pretty well. Maybe GW believes that there's a critical mass of large models that will get hobbyists interested in starting a new army that can be filled with them. Two and a half years ago, I was strongly tempted to start a Tyranid army dominated with monstrous creatures. I have to admit that these new models may have re-sparked my interest.

Filling a Gap
The Tyranid codex may have been one of the most disappointing codexes of 6th Edition. After their mediocre 5th Edition codex, Tyranid players were hoping for a competitive boost. The new codex wasn't exactly what they were looking for. (Although some players believe the Rising Leviathan dataslates released afterward significantly improved the army.)

While the new units look interesting, opinion on their rules has been mixed. No one seems to be able to figure out how they're supposed to improve the army or what gap they're supposed to be filling. If GW believes that these new models fill a niche in the army, I have yet to see any guesses on what it could be.

The fact that GW is releasing models outside of the codex is a good sign, though, since it suggests that they may become more flexible in addressing armies' weaknesses in between codex releases. Maybe they'll finally release a model for the Mycetic spore along with a re-release (or an improved version) of its rules.

Preparation for a New Codex?
Not long ago, I suggested that GW would update the 6th Edition codexes to match the style and power levels of the 7th Edition codexes. I guessed that this would happen within three years of the last update of a codex. With these new models, I wonder if GW is testing the Forge World method: release a new model with experimental rules, allow the gaming community to play test it for you, adjust the rules as necessary, and publish the rules in an updated book.

Come to think of it, it's strange that GW hasn't been doing that all along.

Grey Knights, Rumors, Warhammer Fantasy, and New Armies in the Cabal

Recently I've spent a lot of time preparing models for my traditional pre-winter priming, meaning that this blog and my general interest blog have been thoroughly neglected. Fortunately, there's nothing like a post of miscellanea for keeping the blog current:

Grey Knights

GW's release of the Grey Knights codex certainly took the community by surprise. After months of whispering about Dark Eldar, Space Wolves, etc., the rumormongers somehow completely missed that Codex: Grey Knights was to be the next release.

It was also a bit surprising that the Grey Knights received no new models or units. I supposed it made some sense; Grey Knights already had a lot of beautiful plastic models from 5th Edition whereas many of the new models that other armies got with their 6th or 7th Edition codexes were actually just plastic replacements for Finecast or pewter models rather than new units. Still, I half expected Grey Knights to get a pre-existing kit like the Stalker.

I still haven't played against Carl's Grey Knights under the new codex, so I don't know how much of a challenge they'll be. From what I've seen of the rules, though, I'd hate to play Daemons against them.

Rumors
And speaking of unexpected releases, it seems like the accuracy of rumors has become extremely poor in recent months. With Space Marines, we knew the entirety of the Space Marine codex a month in advance. The rumors nailed several details of the Tau and Eldar codexes early on. And the general idea of Imperial Knights was circulating almost a year before their release. Several rumors even predicted that we'd see a 7th Edition well before it was expected, and they even got some of the details right. However, certain rumors about 7th were aggressively wrong. Remember when a "reliable source" insisted that 7th Edition was moving towards a percentage-based force organization with "sideboards" catering to the tournament crowd? Fortunately, it didn't take long for White Dwarf leaks to show us that the truth was the exact opposite and we were going to get a ruleset that gave us extremely permissive "Battle-forged" armies and even more permissive "Unbound" armies.

I'd seen plenty of inaccurate rumors in the past, but it seems like they've been particularly bad recently. Rumormongers have been completely missing huge releases while giving us outrageously incorrect information and downright fantasies.

Where's my plastic Thunderhawk? Oh, right, GW
is still trying to get it to fit on six sprues.

How often did we hear that Guard would finally get those artillery kits that were previously available only from Forge World? It was only on the eve of the codex's release that we heard that, instead of new models, those artillery units had simply been removed from the codex. In their place, Guard ended up with the Wyvern. The Tyranid release was similar; units that were rumored to be getting models instead disappeared from the codex.

Were any of the long-standing Ork rumors true? (Grot-based armies? Choppas that had an AP value on the charge?) Did any rumors predict the Gorkanaut or the drastic changes to Mob Rule before the White Dwarf leaks? How often did we hear of a Dark Eldar/Blood Angels starter set before the Ork/Space Wolves collection and the Sanctus Reach Campaign took us by surprise?

Until the White Dwarf images leaked, how many rumors anticipated Logan Grimnar's chariot or the Stormwolf? Even while GW was rolling out new Space Wolves products, rumors incorrectly predicted that certain HQs would be getting plastic models.

And then Codex: Grey Knights, enormous Warhammer Fantasy kits, and the Nagash book simply dropped out of the sky while those with "inside information" were yammering about Dark Eldar, Necrons, Blood Angels, and Brettonians.

I've reached the point where, unless a rumor is  accompanied by photos, I simply don't believe it.

And Speaking of Fantasy...
The models of Nagash and his Mortarchs are absolutely amazing. I love my Space Marines' model line, but the Fantasy players seem to get some of the best toys. If I weren't already overwhelmed with piles of unfinished Ultramarines, these new releases (and earlier releases like the Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon or the Coven Throne) would almost certainly convince me to start an Undead army.

They almost tempt me to play Fantasy

Several of the Cabal members are seriously considering starting Fantasy armies. Interestingly, as was the case with 40K, none of us are interested in the same armies. Bryce would do a Goblin-dominated Orcs & Goblins army, Jon would do Dwarves, Jake would field Lizardmen, and (if I were a faster modeler) I would want a Vampire Counts army led by Nagash.

Army Changes In the 40K Cabal
In the right column of this blog is a brief introduction to the members of our gaming group and the armies they play. After staying nearly constant for a while, I've had to update it recently (and learned this week that I'm going to have to revise it again) due to shuffling in some of our members' armies.

A few months ago, Bryce sold his Tau army to Jake, who is now trying to sell his Dark Angels to fund the Greater Good. Jake had really wanted to field a Ravenwing bike army but found that the Dark Angels' 2nd Company isn't particularly competitive on its own. When he played one or two games with Bryce's Tau and finally got to look through their codex (where he realized that he loved the fluff), Jake knew that the army was for him. It's always sad to see a friend fall into heresy.

In the meantime, always eager to try a new army, Bryce has since started a Raven Guard Space Marine army led by Shadow Captain Shrike. Although he hasn't actively played Space Marines in years, Bryce has loved the Raven Guard's fluff for quite some time. After playing Tau and Imperial Guard for so long, it's entertaining to watch him try to get used to an assault-oriented army again.

I've considered starting a second army for at least a couple years, but I've finally conceded that I'm rather fond of my Ultramarines and that I should actually put a dent in my pile of unfinished models before I start a new army. However, I do have a couple of unbuilt Imperial Knight models, which are eager to join the Ultramarines as an Imperial Knight Detachment.

Finally, to the great surprise of the rest of the Cabal, our Ork player bought the last Stormclaw box from Jake's HobbyTown this week. No, it wasn't for the Ork models (except for Face-rippa, he wasn't really impressed with the selection of greenskin units); it was for the Space Wolves. He even picked up the Space Wolves codex while he was there. That's right, one of our most diehard Xenos players will be bringing another loyalist Space Marine army to our tables, conveniently replacing the soon-to-be departed Dark Angels.

Although Jon claims it could be a year before he actually plays them, he's so excited about his new models that I predict that we'll be seeing Space Wolves a lot earlier than that.