After the long double post of the elite section we move on to the fast attack section of the codex. Now this is quite a small section so I've combined it with the layers section as well, which at 1 entry is the smallest section in the book.
Hellhounds
The Hellhounds are probably one of the biggest wines of the book, even though they all went up slightly by 1 power point. Now, there are really three variants, of which the Hellhounds is one. The others being devil dog and bane wolf. Of theses variants only the bane wolf has remained unchanged from the index. The bane wolf is in my opinion the worst of the three variants, it has the shortest range of all three, although the chem cannon itself is not a bad weapon, you just need to be sure of killing whatever your shooting before you get destroyed and with only d6 shots, that's not necessarily going to happen. The Hellhound has rcieved a much needed boost with the inferno cannon being changed from d6 to 2d6. This means that it can actually do some serious damage now, especially with the extra range and auto hits. This is the variant that I usually take when fielding one of these variants. However, the biggest winner of all three is the devil dog. This version has seen two significant changes to its profile. As the only version that didn't have an auto hit weapon, it suffered massivly with the heavy weapon penalty. Now its an assault weapon, although its still a d3 weapon. Another bonus is that the weapon has also dropped in price, by almost half. This means that it is now a real viable weapons platform and has a good chance of doing real damage. This is a solid choice for taking out heavy armored infantry and vehicles.
Scout Sentinels
Now, I think that the scout was one of the losers of the codex, as it has faced a double blow. Firstly it has rcieved one of the few power points rises, with all options rising by a point. This does make it more cost effective to take more, but its still basically a 50 percent points rise. The second blow comes from its main rivel and ill go in to that in a second. As a platform, the scout is not great, its not tough, stealthy or strong. As a heavy weapons platform its bit great, with the penalty to hit when moving with heavy weapons, which all of its weapon options are. The scout move at the beginning can be useful but overall, it does lack something to make it stand out. The only reason to take them is really the fact that they are the cheapest fast attack choice for the XXXX detachment.
Armoured Sentinels
The armored sentinel, and the other big issue for the scout. This is due to the fact that its the same power points level now and only a couple of standard points more expensive, but is tougher, having gained a point of toughness, and has a better save and access to more weapons. Really the scouts abilities don't make it stand out, as the scout move isn't going to be game changing very often and the extra movement isn't going to mean much during a game, the extra toughness of the Armoured sentinel will. The access to extra weapons is also useful, as plasma is one of the best weapons this edition, just be very careful when overcharging! I still don't get why they don't have access to multi-meltas either, I would have though that it would have been the perfect platform for it. I really think this is the better option of the two sentinels now, its just a shame I have three scout versions!
Also, while were talking sentinels, what's up with the chain swords? I like how they have a profile now and are actually useful, but i would have expected a bit better profile, at least ap -2, its a huge bloody great chain sword!
So that's the fast attack options, short and sweet. In theory there really are only two options, hellhound or sentinel, but there is quite a variety in there still. For Hellhounds it has to be either the hellhound itself or the devil dog a good second. As for the sentinels, with these changes its only really the Armoured sentinel.
For the flyers there is now only one option, with the sad demise of the vendetta.
Valkyries
Now, one of my favorite units, the good old valkyrie. Its a shame that the vendetta has been moved to forge world, although this was not a big surprise, as its been expected for the last 2 codices. The Valkyrie was a poor choice at the beginning of 8th for a number of reasons. Well, most of them have been amended in the codex, as not only have there been a points reduction, on both systems, but also some of the weapons profiles and rules have been updated. The Valkyrie has dropped 2 power points and has lost 20 standard points, meaning that the flyer is a lot more reasonable now and can be kitted out fully for a more reasonable price. In addition to this price drop, my preferred weapon choice also got a boost, with a change from Heavy to Assault. This means that the Multiple Rocket Pods are now worth taking, as there hitting at full BS rather then at -1. It also means that if you really need to move, you can advance and still fire, which means that at full health you can cross most of the table with ease. These changes alone make the Valkyrie a great choice for air cover and even with the Hellstrike missiles, the Valkyrie is a deadly hunter, although one shot weapons are not great with guard. However the icing on the cake for the flyer is the new Roving Gunship rule. This adds one to the hit rolls if your hovering, meaning that there is now no penalty to moving and firing heavy weapons and with MRP's you'll actually be hitting on 3's! How great is that! I really like the changes, as it means that the Valkyrie is finally able to for fill its roll as mobile gun platform, a roll it has struggled with since 8th launched. One other point to note, is that they have closed the Grav-chute Insertion loop-hole. How? Well the recent FAQ has changed the wording from "more then 20 inches" to "20 or more inches" meaning you can no longer move 20 inches, the minimum fly move and drop off your troop with out restriction. The rule was obviously meant to stop you flying and dropping troops without penalty, but it left the 20 inch move open to abuse, one I have used myself. Now, you can no longer fly the min and drop troops without risking loosing some of them. This makes sense and I was not surprised that it has been amended but with the addition of Roving Gunship, I think I'll manage.
While there are other imperial flyers available from forge world, this is the only flyer available to the standard guard player, and to be honest its not a bad one. Its pretty tough and can kick out a lot of shots, especially with the heavy bolter add-ons. If you have one, I would definitely field it, if your have more than one, I'd field them all!
Next up is a big one, the heavy support.
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