Dark Guardians

 The last of my smaller marine forces is now complete, kind of anyway but I'll get to that in a bit.

First up as always, the group photo. Sorry for the rubbish quality but for some reason my photography skill seem to be getting worse the more photos I take, probably because I'm trying to rush getting the pictures.

As you can see, there are 3 Inceptors, 3 Outriders and a squad of Infiltrators, all lead by a librarian.

The librarian is the current leader of the force and is there to "sniff" out chaos wherever it maybe hiding. 

A couple of very bad shots of the Libby. I hadn't realised quite how bad these photos where until I posted them up here. I've been using transfers again this time and I'm quite proud of the one of his shoulder as I had to cut and trim it to get it to fit under the cloak.  

Next up are the Infiltrators. These are the first contact squad, going forth and finding the enemy. As such they contain a medic, to help keep them fighting a little bit longer. This is just a basic 5 man squad as they are not really the ones expected to do much of the heavy lifting. 

The units symbols and the chapter symbol have also changed. The new symbol, a mashup of a sisters symbol (order of the ardent shroud) and the DA logo, specifically the wings. Each unit also has a unique symbol on there opposite shoulder, these have a skull.

Out riders are next and one bit I like about these is the Eggs bike in the middle and his scroll work on the bike. This is a transfer from the betrayal of Calth set but it looks good on the bike, whether this is an oath, litany, battle or personal honours or list of victims I haven't decided but you cant read it anyway so it can be whatever I want really. The other bikes show the markings for company, squad and battlefield role, with the chapter symbols on the shoulder pads. 

You can't see here but the chapter symbol is different on these, being more aligned with the ravenwing. Again the sword has been replaced with the skull from the ardent shroud.

Lastly we have the Inceptors. These form the final prong of the attack, with the Infiltrators being the centre thrust and the bikes flanking, these guys are a hammer that drops from behind. Painting these models proved a little bit of a challenge, the Infiltrators are "greenwing", the Outriders Ravenwing, which should have made these Deathwing. However, they just don't fit the fluff for Deathwing as they really are just greenwing or possibly even fall under Ravenwing being a fast moving unit. In the end I kept them as normal marines and will.look to add something more Deathwing in future.

I have yet to.finish the bases for these guy, as I need to get some brass rod or something. I also need to do the Suspressors for the Stone Dragons, so I'll probably do them all at the same time. 

As I said the chapter symbol is the standard symbol, with the unit symbol being a lightning bolt, to signify their lighting assault from above. 

A better shoot of the different chapter symbols, the two standard symbols on the outside and the Ravenwing in the centre. For future Deathwing units, the symbols will be similar to the standard symbol but with red Wings on a bone background.

The squad markings, designating each squad and role.

Remember when I said that the force was kinda finished? Well here's the reason;

While online the Libby as the leader, while I was painting them I felt that they needed something else, something more in keeping with the Guardians, their chapter mission and this forces own mission and so a chaplain was born. Now I would love to have him as an Interrogator chaplain but as yet they are only 1st born and not Primaris marine scale, so he will be a normal chaplain for the time being.

Also, I really like this pack, it's a mix of sigmarines stuff and a chaos pack, but it goes together really well, with the vent ports reaching out past the details on the top of the pack. 

I've kitted him out some what, he has his crozius and pistol but also a chainsword, which he can't actually take. I was thinking about adding more stuff but ran out of room on him. 

As you can see, he has also been suitably adorned with purity seals, reliquaries and other trinkets, as any self respecting chaplain would be.

The figure itself is a mash up of marine, AoS sequitor, necron (head of crozius) chaos marine backpack, AoS retributor pack, and a bits box raid. The only issue now is how to paint him? His armour will be black, as the chapter has black armour, as well as chaplains but his robes will be coloured. I was wondering about red, the same as the shoulders on the normal marines but I'm not sure about that, so maybe white and green, like the DA ones? Or maybe go completely off base and go for purple or something? Anyway, right now the Eagle Knights are on the paint table, so it will be a little while until I get around to painting him, plenty of time to decide.

Stone Dragons

 The next force on the paint table was the Stone Dragons. Now, the Stone Dragons have had a bit of a convoluted  development, switching from ultramarine successors to space wolf successors, from system based to fleet based and back to home world based. One thing that hasn't changed is that the chapter is a crusading chapter, formed of many small crusading forces, such as this one. 

This force is based around the Phobos armour and stealth, a classic hunting party is you will. Lead by a Captain and a couple of Lieutenants, this force is the largest of the 500 point forces, coming in at 19 models in total. 

An incomplete family photo

Another angle

The force works in a number of ways but it mostly works around infiltrating and the unit of reavers and infiltrators backed up by the suppressors and eliminators. Now, there was a slight change of plan with this force, the suppressors were actually supposed to be part of the Eagle Knights but by the time I realised this they were already painted and transfers applied! So they are now part of a slightly bigger Stone Dragons force. 

The aforementioned suppressors with their eliminator buddies.

The eliminators are still headless as originally I wanted something classically Blood Angles but now I guess they will have to get the Space Wolf treatment and some wolf themed helmets. 

Headless warriors.

As with the previous marine forces I have tried my hands at transfers and I think that after some practice with the others I'm finally getting the hang of it. Ok so there not perfect, not by a long way, they are better than the first ones I did. I have tried to add in lots of details and extra little markings, to try and signify some of the deeds that they guys have done, I did think of adding in a lot more and I might go back and adds more later but for now they will do. 

Some of the transfer details. 

Eliminators

The eliminators are different from the rest of the force as they are a lot plainer, loosing a lot of the yellow markings, except their chapter badge and also a lot of the silver\metal parts. In addition, these guys are not finished as I really want to camouflage the cloaks to blend in to the grass basing and battle mat that i have. I had a go at doing some camouflage patterns on spare parts but I have yet to master the art. What I have decided is that I want a stippled effect but I have been struggling to get the right colour and intensity to the pattern. I have been asking around at the club and I think I've got a plan, I just need to try it out and see if it works, I'll let you all known as I'm brave enough to try it out!

Some of the extra details

Infiltrators

The infiltrators form the one half of the main force and are designated for ranged interactions. There was a slight error made here that I need to correct, as the Comms array man has his markings on his shoulder but the sergeant is missing his (the bloke holding his pistol), he has his Sgt insignia just above the chapter badge but no flashes below. I could probably just leave it but then it would fall foul of the lore, as no marine would reach Sgt without having claimed some sort of battle or personal honours. Apart from this minor issue, the squad is sorted.

Reavers

The reavers are very similar to the infiltrators but at least the Sgt has the right markings on. The only issue with these guys is that I really should have stripped a couple of the guys as the paint \ primer on them is very thick and not particularly flat in places. Luckily this isn't to noticeable from a distance and so it won't be noticeable on the table, it just annoys me that I didn't spend a bit more time preparing them.

The commanders

The leaders of the force are made up of a Captain and two lieutenants, one reaver and one infiltrator or Phobos armoured one. As usual I've taken a bit more time and care over these guys and I think I've done a good job. I've also gone and added a few more transfers, especially to the Captain.

Stranger details

More details

All in all, I really like these models and think that this is the best paint scheme of all the smaller marine force. The classic grey and yellow really works and stands out with out being to much. I will base these up with all the others when all the marines are finished, that is after I have dipped them in quick shade! 

Next up are the Dark Guardians, however, this may take a little longer than planned. We are currently away from home for a wedding, however we had to fly earlier than planned due to predicted weather issues, so we headed south several days earlier that originally booked and as such I didn't get a chance to finish the models and get pictures to post. I will try and get them done as soon after the new year as possible but that might be a few weeks away yet.

Primaris units

 

With Christmas and a small spending spree on eBay, I've amassed a small collection of primaris marines to build my various marine forces. Although I've listed my various armies and the plan for which units to use, I thought I would go through exactly what units I have and which armies they will be used in. 

HQ

Marneus Calgar

Captain in gravis armour

Captain in Phobos armour

Captain with relic shield

Lieutenant in Phobos armour

Lieutenant with power sword

Lieutenant with bolt rifle

Lieutenant with shield

Vanguard librarian

Non-force org

Victrix guard

Troops

10 infiltrators

15 intercessors

10 assault intercessors

Elite

Ancient 

6 Reivers

Fast

Suppressors

Inceptors

Outriders

Heavy

Eliminator

5 Hellblasters

In addition I have also purchased a selection is AoS Stormcast Eternal models, which will be converted up into;

Librarian

Chaplain

Judiciar

5 Bladeguard

Bladeguard Ancient

This gives me a whole host of models to choose from but the basic list is going to look like this;

Emperor's Disciples - Ultramarines successor - because I've got Calgar and I want to use him

Marneus Calgar with Victrix guard

Lieutenant with power sword

Ancient

5 Intercessors

Brazen Hawks - Imperial Fist successor - heavy hitting stuff,

Captain in Gravis armour

Heavy Intercessors (in new Kill Team box)

Hellblasters

Stone Dragons - Space Wolves Successor - sneaky sneaky stuff

Captain in Phobos armour

Lieutenant in reiver armour (using standard Reiver)

5 Infiltrators

5 Reivers

Eliminators

Dark Guardians - Dark Angels Successor - fast and sneaky

Librarian in Phobos armour

5 Infiltrators

Outriders

Inceptors

Eagle Knights - Blood Angels Successor - smashy smashy, with a bit of range

Captain with relic shield

Lieutenant with relic shield

Lieutenant with bolt rifle

Librarian

Chaplain

Judiciar

Bladeguard Ancient

5 Bladeguard

10 Assault Intercessors

10 Intercessors

Suppressors

So, four 500 point or so lists and one 1000 point plus list, with very little I want to add. The only things that I would like to add is some transport vehicles for the Eagle Knights to keep them fast and mobile, as they should be.  I may add other units over time but for now this is it and all effort will be put into getting everything i have painted up properly. 

Christmas haul

 So Christmas has been and gone for another year and its been a slow start to the new year for me. I've a few posts in the pipe line but with the new lockdown here and three kids to keep  entertained while the wife works from home, time to blog is at a minimum. This is mostly because the oldest keeps nicking of with the phone to listen audio books and the youngest wants to watch YouTube eveytime I get the phone out my pocket.  Anyeay, While I may not have received much in the way of 40k goodies this year for christmas, I did receive what I wanted.

This year, I plan on clearing the backlog of unpainted models, so I didn't want a ton of new models to add to the pile. So the wish list was short, just one of the new starter sets, which my son would be getting the other one and we would split the models, him the Necrons and me the Marines. The only other item is the last of the POP minitures, the Ultramarines one. That completes the quartet of models. 

With the addition of these models to Dark Imperium and Shadowspear, I now have pretty much all the models I need to build the five 500 point armies. There are a few models that I would like to add to a couple of armies and I may add them later, specifically to the imperial fists force but I will have to look at that later and see if I want to. 

Anyway the Christmas haul;

I've done some mild kit bashing, changing around arms and and weapons, just to change the poses. The two picture above are the same model just with a change of arms, which gives them a very different look. Also they are all currently headless, well more or less. This is mainly as I plan of using non-primaris heads on a lot of these guys, mostly they will be first born heads, as for lore wise these will be upgraded first born marines or new in chapter created primaries and not Crawls versions. More will follow later but first I've a different project I'm working on!

New Eagle Knights

 

The last of my army updates and, for me, the most important one. The Eagle Knights primaris units had a rough introduction to the chapter, they were unwelcome Interlopers in to a proud successor of the Blood Angels and we're only accepted because Lord Commander Dante, the Lord of the Angels, decreed that they should. Separated off and sent on unimportant missions to keep them out the way, they built themselves a reputation as worthy warriors and more importantly worthy Knights. With the introduction of the Rubicon Primaris and the Indoctrinated or upgrading old ones Marines to primaris and the process of turning scouts to primaris marines, the original primaris were brought back in to the chapter proper and treated as equals. 

The chapter lore will be progressed to show this integration and the change in operations to reflect the new ways. The overall theory will remain though, up close and personal or fast and mobile. As such the main bulk will be formed of the new assault Intercessors and supported by suppressors. This will give both the elements that the chapter uses, with their intercessors charging headlong across the board to get in to combat while the suppressors use their mobility to jump around taking out other targets. The plan is also to get the new Lieutenant and Captain from the 9th edition boxsets and also have their shields tank stuff. 

In terms of colour scheme, this won't change. There are a few minor differences from the original art above, namely the feet aren't black, nor is the top of the pack and helmet but that's really it. Minor things that looked good on paper but just didn't work on a model. The new Marines will.follow exactly the same as the old ones and will, if I feel like it, be able to be run together with no issues. 

So, if all goes to plan, the basic force should consist of the new Lieutenant and Captain from the Indominus boxset, the ones with the storm shields, supporting 10 assault Marines, possibly split in to two squads but most likely just painted up to enable them to combat squad. The suppressors, the standard 3 of them, will form the fire support. As I mention above, the aim is to charge across the field and get in to combat, while the enemy long range firepower is being dealt with by the suppressors. Is is far from a power list or even a well rounded list but it's fluffy and should be fun to play. 

In future the force my expand, although I suspect not by much and not for a long time. What will make the biggest difference will be the codicies and how that are handled. I know that all the chapters are now in the main codex with supplements for specific chapters but I don't know whether I will.both with the supplements or just stick with the main book and just use stuff out of there. I imagine that by the time I get my app my guard finished, not to mention all the kill team stuff, there will have been another marine codex and a whole host of new models released anyway, so things might be very different by the time I'm actually in a position to expand my Marines properly again!

Stone Dragons

 

Next up are the Stone Dragons. This force is the least complete of all my new forces, as it currently consists of 3 Reivers, although 3 more should be on the way. 

The Stone Dragons are a bit of a mixed bag. The current lore states that these guys are probably Ultramarine successors but they follow the ways of the Space Wolves. This was because I wanted Space Wolves but without having Space Wolves, which you couldn't do. Now however you can but these guys are not a new chapter, so I can't just rewrite the lore. I could just continue as it is but that leaves another problem, how do you integrate new Ultramarine primaris units into a Space Wolf following chapter? Did they just turn up and go "yeah, that's sounds like a great idea!" Some how I doubt it. Anyway, I'm sure I'll figure a way to bring it all together. 

One thing that hasn't changed about the Dragons however, is the colour scheme. Along with the Knights, the original colour scheme is still in use, as it just fitted and look right straight away. It's Space Wolf enough for it to be obvious they follow the Space Wolves tactics but far enough away that they aren't instantly identified as Wolves. There have been a couple of minor alterations to the scheme and there will probably be some more minor changes to get it to fit with the new models, which I will explain later, but these will be minor. 

The only edits to the current scheme is the loss of the yellow helmet crest and the vox grill on the front being black instead off yellow, both because it hid the eyes to much, turning them from a prominent feature of the helmet in to just another yellow splodge.

The new Dragons will continue the lore of hunters and surgical strikes. This will be continued with the new breed by switching over to Vanguard Marines and exclusively using Phobos pattern armour. The lore will progress to a point where the "new" recruits and upgraded old ones will have integrated to form a coherent fighting force of silent hunters, using shock and awe tactics.  

As such the new for will look something like quite different to the old force, not that it got built! The new list will be lead by either a Librarian or a Lieutenant. I would prefer a Librarian but it depends on what boxsets I manage to pick up. The Vanguard start collecting box has a Lieutenant in, where as the Shadowspear box has all 3 options. A Librarian would also fit in better for when the forces are combined as with the new codex, I believe you can only have 1 Captain and 2 lieutenants in the force, so having a librarian and chaplain (from Dark Guardians) in the mix would be useful. Next up will be Infiltrators or possibly Incursors. Both of the boxsets, Shadowspear and the Vanguard start collecting set, contain Infiltrators but whether these are mono pose, single build models or proper multiparty kits I don't know. I suspect that they are mono pose jobs and so I won't have a choice. Thematically, I would like Incursors with their paired combat blades, it's more Wolfy but Infiltrators would still work. A barrage of bolters followed by an assault, should still be able to do a fair amount of damage. Next up are a small squad of Reivers, these are here for two reasons, partly due to there combat abilities, a unit of 5 can put out 21 attacks on the charge but also there ability to drop on grav chutes can be useful for grabbing back field objectives. The last element of the list is the Eliminators. These will offer some longer range fire power and also some anti-vehicle potential. Granted theses are not lascannons but they can still put out some damage.

All in all I think this is a pretty well rounded list for a 500 point list. These is some combat, some shooting and some long range shooting, plus the ability to snipe out characters. Yes, anti-armour is slightly lacking but at 500 point levels, I can't see many Land Raiders or Repulsars being used.  

As it stands, I have 6 Reivers, so I'm a long way off this list. As mentioned above, the colour scheme may change and this is due to the fact that Phobos armour only has one pauldrons and so I may well paint the top of the left arm yellow as well. I have no doubt there will be other changes, probably to the power packs but until I paint up some of the Reivers I won't really know. 

All that is left now are the Eagle Knights and that could be a long one!

Edit: Well, my plans have been in place for less than a month and already they will have to change! In the last post in this series I spoke about the Dark Guardians and how they were being built around scouts, to form a very narrative force. Only now scouts aren't troops. Yeah, didn't see that one coming! So a rethink is in order, what that rethink will be I don't know but I suspect it will be Phobos shaped.

Dark Guardians

 The Dark Guardians are my second marine army and as a Dark Angels successor, they are part of my second favorite marine army. I have always loved the lore of the 1st legion, it's hidden history and shady dealing. The Dark Guardians were supposed to be a full 2000+ point army in there own right, to go alongside my Eagle Knights army but with no time to really paint or play they have been relegated to the loft, although there is a full force there just waiting to get painted and I will get them painted, one day.........

Anyway, there new Primaris Guardians are one their way, although it might be a while till I get the last of them. First though, there have been, as always, a few updates to the chapter. This time the updates are minor and are pretty much all visual. Some may have noticed that the colour scheme has changed a bit from the fluff, to be honest I didn't when I painted them! I had gone off the original scheme, mostly the yellow chest plate but when I painted up the kill team, I followed the pattern from a biker I had already painted up and did t really think much about it. It was only when I was over the pages for the Brazen Hawks that I noticed that the colours for the Guardians was different on their page! Anyway this is the old and new colours for the Guardians;

The old scheme

The new scheme

I think the new scheme is cleaner, simpler. It doesn't show very well on here but the edges of the pauldrons and vents on the pack are actually metallic, leadbelcher to be precise. It's clearer n these pictures;

Apart from the colour scheme changing, the lore will remain the same but as with the others, be progressed. In terms of the Guardians this means accepting, all be it grudgingly some primaris marines, who will be put to work on more mundane tasks, while those who survive the upgrade procedure will continue with the "other" tasks. The force will switch to the new bikes and heavier armoured primaris units, namely gravis armoured  Inceptors. These fit in to the tried and tested hammer and anvil tactics of the chapter.

The 500 point force will consist of a Chaplain and 2 scout squads. One of these squads will be for close combat work, with knives and bolt pistols, while the other will have sniper rifles, heavy bolters and bolters. This core will be supported by a squad of the new Outriders , just the one squad of 3 for the moment. There will also be a squad of Inceptors, armed with the assault bolters, mainly because these are the ones that come in the Dark Imperium box set. If I decide to increase the size of this force, then I will no doubt add another squad of bikes and a squad of plasma Inceptors, I may also add in one of the new land speeders but that's going to be some way off, like years!

So far I have the scouts and the Inceptors and fire the mean time a lieutenant will suffice as the units warlord, meaning I will have a legal force to field. 

 

Brazen Hawks

Next up for the "new" Marines is another chapter that had some coverage a while ago, it even had a test model painted up! Sadly, the chapter got shelved and the test model got dumped in Detol. I've still got a few pictures of the old models but the new scheme will be quite different.

Old Brazen Hawks colour scheme.

This new Brazen Hawks will still be an Imperial Fists successor chapter and the fluff, rather than changing will be progressed. The new Hawks will represent the chapter having completed it's penitence crusade, down to a dozen or so battle brothers, who come to the aid of one last cry for help, only to find they were not the only ones to answer and that a sub-fleet of the Indominus crusade's Tertius fleet had also answered the call. This led to the chapter re-establishing contact with the wider Imperium and also receiving a much needed in flux of new Marines, in the form of several companies worth of Primaris Marines. The chapter will keep it's new crusading ways and the new colours to mark a new beginning. The new scheme will be quite a radical departure from the old scheme;

I'll go in to the updated fluff more when I redo the chapters lore but basically the change is because those that remained of the old chapter decided that the bright bronze\copper of the old chapter was too flashy and represented all that was wrong with the old ways and a new duller, less flashy scheme was needed. The chapter will also move closer to the Fists way of wageing war, with long range weaponry, although they will still retain there passion for stealth and subtlety.

The actual 500 point army will consist of just 4 units. A captain in gravis armour, a tank of a unit, designed to bolster the fire power but also act as counter punch to protect the two shooting units. These units will be a 5 man stalker bolt rifles equipped Intercessor squad and a 5 man heavy plasma incinerator squad. This means that they both have 36 inch range and can threaten enemy units right from the off. Yes it's at the cost of total shots but I think it will work, both as a stand alone list and as part of a bigger list. The last unit and the only one I don't yet have, is a unit of flamestorm Aggressors. These are here as part of the counter punch, to deal with any units that get to close. It might not sound much, 3 Aggressors but 6d6 12inch auto hitting shots is not to be sniffed at, especially when they can be used in overwatch as well. 

This force will form the firebase for the larger force, a sort of mini castle. I'm aware that there are lots of better options out there for primaris marine castles, such as Redemptor dreads and Repulsar tanks. The Redemptor could be an option for the future but the Repulsar is not really viable in a 500 point list, when the cost is between 314 and  365. Plus with the cheapest HQ being 75 points, with just these two your looking at a minimum of nearly 400 points just for two units. 

So this will be the second force to build and paint, as it's the second most complete. I will get some Aggressors at some point but I'm not in a hurry as I still have a lot of stuff to build and paint!

I'm not sure who's up next, possibly the Stone Dragons or Dark Guardians, although neither of these forces are anywhere near complete. 

New Marine armies

 

With the release of 9th and the new, smaller ways to play, I decided that it was time to redo my marine armies or in some cases, just do them, as I've been talking and pondering some of them for far to long. So with that in mind, I went hunting on eBay!

Don't worry, I did actually have a plan and so far, I've been sticking to it. The plan was simple, I wanted 5 small 500 point armies, as described in THIS earv0lier blog and I wanted to keep things as cheap as possible. As such i decided a 4 part plan;

Part 1: Dark Vengeance Space Marines

Part 2: Shadowspear Space Marines or Vanguard Space Marines Start Collecting Set

Part 3: 9th Edition Recruit Starter Set

Part 4: 9th Edition Elite Starter Set

This, plus the bits I already own, should give me everything I need for my armies, with a little bit to spare and once combined should be able to make a 2000 point marine army. Granted this will not produce the best, most effective army going, I probably won't even be very competitive but it will for fill my desire for several marine armies and give me lots of variation to play with in smaller games. I will go over all the individual army lists in separate posts but the general idea is to be able to form a battalion or brigade detachment from the units, using the various restrictions in the new marine codex, such as one captain and 2 lieutenants. 

I have made a start on this project with this;

This is an almost full set of Dark Imperium Marines (missing one Intercessor) and a set of First Strike Marines. This gives me;

1 Captain

2 lieutenants

1 Ancient

12 Intercessors

3 Reivers

3 Inceptors

5 Hellblasters

Plus I already own;

Marneus Calgar

2 Victrix Guard

3 Intercessors.

Now, there is just one issue with all this, Calgar. Yes, I have Marneus Calgar and I really don't like ultrasmurfs! I will paint him up as a different chapter and give him a new name and such but it does limit at least one army to Ultramarine chapter tactics.  

With this lot, I can however start putting together a couple of the armies using some of the intercessors, the Hellblasters, Marneus Calgar and his guard and the other captain. As it stands, the two armies that I can do the most to are the Ultramarine, who will take up the mantle of Emperor's Disciples, and an Imperial Fists successor, a reborn Brazen Hawks. I'll go in to more details about each little army in the next few posts.

I'll also post up over the next few weeks, as I get around to building these guys, although at the moment I'm concentrating on getting the last few models of the Hjaltland LI finished up.

The future of my marine armies.

So with 9th we get a new wave of space Marines and the death nail of the classic marine is one step closer. Now I've mentioned in the past that my old marine armies, my Eagle Knights and Dark Guardians have been relocated to the loft for storage as but what's is the future of the various chapters? Well, let's have a quick look shall we.....

Eagle Knights

(Blood Angels successors)

The Eagle Knights were my first completed 2000 point marine army and to be honest is still my only complete marine army. These will also be my first primaris army I complete or that's the plan anyway. As it stands these will still follow the old Eagle Knights and be primarily close combat orientated. With the release of Assault Intercessors this plan is now a possibility. The army will be built around a patrol detachment, with one or two minimum Intercessor squads with one or two full squads of Assault Intercessors and two HQ's, a Captain and Lieutenant. At the moment I have no idea of the points value for these units, so things may get adjusted to meet the 500 point limit but to be honest, if any army goes over 500 points, it will be this one. 

Dark Guardians 

(Dark Angels successors)

Next up are the Dark Guardians and hopefully these will retain their hammer and anvil approach, with bikes and probably an Inceptor squad or two, hopefully with plasma. Now it might be quite difficult to get all of these units in to a 500 point patrol detachment. I believe that for a Intercessor squad and HQ will be around 150 points or more, so leaving only 300 and a bit for bikes and Inceptors. This may mean a small rethink, maybe dropping the Inceptors and just having bikes, or running scouts to cut down the required troop option. On second thoughts, sniper scouts might actually fit the narrative better, after all, someone has to tell the hunters where to hunt.

Stone Dragons

(Space Wolf \ Ultramarine Successors??)

Lastly, the force that has changed time and again, been amalgamated and split more times than I can count! The current idea is to form a scouting, sneaky force, which will necessitate another change in the forces narrative. The overarching narrative is a hunting force, so that will remain but the tactics that they use will have to change as the force will be formed of Phobos armoured units only. The idea will be to have a selection of units in there, although I might have to have a think about how to dark with vehicles. 

The 4th chapter, possibly a return of the Emperor's Disciples or the Brazen Hawks.

This force will be the 4th and final 500 point force, giving a total force when combined of 2000 points. This chapter will focus on longer range and heavier firepower, with a core including Intercessors with stalker bolt rifles and Hellblasters, with heavy plasma incinerator. Alongside a captain and a squad of flamestorm Aggressors there won't be much change our of 500. The Aggressors are in there as a counter punch units to protect the long range units. As to what chapter tactic they'll end up using, I have no idea, but probably something Imperial Fists.

So, here are the four armies that are planned for my Marines in 9th edition and also the upgrade to primaris units. These armies are not fixed in stone but the general idea will not change. As I said, the idea is to form 4 separate forces that can fight at 500 points or Combat Patrol level but can be combined to for higher level games while still keeping within the patrol and battalion detachments. The four armies also cover the 4 main elements of list building, with assault, speed, stealth\infiltration and range all dealt with. This is not going to be a highly tuned and optimised list but a fun and narrative one. How long it will take me to build and paint these armies is anyone's guess though!

New Marines

So, we've now seen the rules for the new units in the 9th edition launch box. I'm not bothering with the necron units, as I do t really care about them. Well have a quick look down through the list of units and while I'm not going to go in to details, I'm going to just put a few thoughts down on each model.

I'm not really sure what the point of this unit is? It's kind of a chaplain but it's not a chaplain. It's a beast in combat though and will no doubt carve though most things he meets in combat. 

Another solid unit, with a 2+, 4++ and 4+ FNP, he will be very difficult to remove. Apart from that he's a standard captain.

Basically your regular standard bearer, with the standard rules for when someone dies.

The big thing to note here is the changes to storm shields, going from 3++ to 4++ but adding one to the save characteristic. Apart from this, the units pretty standard.

The new bike units are quick, like very quick. 14 inch move, which can become 20 if you advance. On the new boards, especially the smaller boards, these guys will be zipping all over the place. Apart from that, these are pretty much as you would expect from a marine bike.

Now this is the unit that interests me most. A proper assault squad for primaris Marines. The upgrades to the chainswords is good and as I understand it, will be universal to all Marines, although I've yet to see in to the flesh. I will definitely be getting a squad of these, maybe two depending upon the points values, for my 500 point blood Angels list. I would like to see some extra weapons options, especially for BA units, such as hand flamers and inferno pistols. I'm also still waiting for things like lightning claws to make there way into the primaris arsenal.

With the release of 9th we will no doubt see some more units released but as I'm only looking at building a couple of small 500 point lists for my Marines, there are very few units that I'm waiting for.