Today we're looking at orders and there have been quite a few changes here. For starters there is a whole new category of orders, commissar orders. This will change quite a bit in regards to orders and the role of officers and commissars. The full extent of this change is yet to be seen but I think we will finally see a proper place for commissars. There has also been a change in how orders are issued, while infantry orders still have a 6 inch range, vehicles orders have a 12 inch range. In addition orders are now issued in the command phase with thee only exception being if an officer disembarks from a transport, then he can issue an order as though it was the command phase.
First up the Regimental Orders
FRFSRF - Heavy 3
The classic and we'll loved Front Rank Fire, Second Rank Fire has changed, mostly for the worst. Rather than doubling shots it changes the weapon to a Heavy 3. So it's now a heavy weapon, resulting in a -1 to hit when moving. This can be mitigated a couple of ways, but this encourages you not to move, in a game where movement is key.
Take Aim +1 to hit +1 AP
This is a mixed bag. +1 to hit is always useful and with some of the traits, could end up with 2+ bs guardsmen, which sounds nice! The ap1 is less appealing, against any marine army it's useless and against a large number of other armies it won't do much. Against some of the lower armoured enemy it could be useful, such as orks and other guard armies.
Fix Bayonets +1 to hit on Melee +1 AP
This is another mixed bag, the +1 to hit is nice, but the ap1 is not as good. However, with guard melee, it's the wounding that always the hard part as you are only rarely wounding on less than a 5. A +1 to wound would have been a lot better.
Take cover - Get light cover if already in light gain dense.
This works similarly to the old stratagem and while it might be useful it's also very speculative. You have to put this on a unit before you know it's being shot at and so your opponent can simply just switch targets. Might be useful on an objective holding unit but not a great order.
Move Move Move! +2 movement if you chose to advance auto 6 (no roll )
With this I'm assuming that the results are cumulative, meaning either an 8 inch move or 14 inch advance. Not quite as good as the old version but still a good boost to movement when you need to grab an objective or get out of trouble.
Suppression fire - target infantry unit only. Can only target 1 unit. If 5 or more hits are scored enemy unit subtracts 1 from hit rolls until your next shooting phase.
This could be useful for reducing threats and reducing the effectiveness of an Emmy unit. Possibly not the best order to be using regularly but certainly one to keep in the back pocket for those niche times.
So the standard orders are as usual a mixed bag. There are some standout orders that I can see being used a lot and a couple that I don't see being used very regularly but none of them are useless or unusable.
Next up we have Tank Orders. As yet I do t know whether they will be restricted to just Leman Russ and the new Rogal Dorn tanks or if they will be any vehicle like they are currently.
Pound them to dust - when using blast weapons double the amount of models on the enemy unit.
I think this will be a pop one for LRBT's, as getting those shots really counts. If they remain a d6 weapon then it will be very easy to guarantee at least 3 shots and not very difficult to get the full 6. When every shot counts, you always need to maximise your shots.
Full Throttle - add 2inch movement. Count as stationary if advanced.
This could be very useful for getting into a good firing position or getting away from the enemy. Counting as stationary after advancing is really nice, as it means you don't have to worry about any penalties for moving.
Gunners kill on sight - reroll 1’s To hit.
I think this is going to be more useful on non-tank models. If you can get this on Chimeras or sentinels then this will be useful. It will also be good on non blast equipped tanks, such as the punisher.
Blitz them!! - add +1 to charge rolls. If a charge is made roll a dice a 4+ inflicts D3 mortal wounds. (Dozer blades add +1 to “hit roll”
This might be useful when charging in a vehicle, however I think that giving it one of the other orders before charging would be far more useful than the possibility of inflicting mortal wounds.
Shock and awe - Gain objective secured
This could be very useful when your trying to snatch an objective or even contest one. This is not going to be used very often but will be very useful when the need arises.
Pinning fire - target infantry unit only. If 5 or more hits are made unit subtracts 2 from movement
This is, in my opinion, the weakest of the tank orders. To get 5 or more hits is quite an ask for most units and so will rarely happen. It might work with Chimeras if the lasgun arrays work the same way but with a battle cannon and bolter combination, guarantying 5 hits is a long shot.
S with the tank orders there are a couple of real stand outs for me and a couple of really weak options, how they fare in the overall scheme of the new codex is still unknown.
The last set of orders we have are described as prefectus or commissar orders. This means that they may well be limited to commissars and possibly Militarum Tempests units.
Forwards, for the Emperor! - When shooting,the unit counts as having Remained Stationary if it made a Normal Move or Advanced
This could be good for making quick moves or using on units with heavy weapons.
Duty and Honour! - The unit can perform actions even if it Fell Back or Advanced, and shooting does not cause actions to fail.
This is a good order and fills a gap that the guard have been lacking. Being able to shoot and perform an action is very good.
Get Back in the Fight! - The unit can shoot or charge (but not both) in the same turn it Fell Back
This is pretty much the same as the old version and was always a useful tool for the tool box and I can't see that changing. That the order will now have to be done by a commissar actually make more sense than it did before!
At All Costs! - Unit pains Objective Secured (its models each count as 1 extra model if it already has this ability),
This could be useful when your trying to take or hold on to an objective. This is definitely going to have its uses both for objective secured units, really forcing the enemy to focus down on the unit, or by buffing back died units that aren't objective secured when they need it.
Show Them Steel, Show Them Contempt - Add 1 to the unit's Leadership, and its models can ignore mortal wounds on a 5+
This is probably one of the weaker orders. Adding a single pip of leadership to a unit won't general do much, especially as you have to do it very speculative at the beginning of your turn. The 5+ to mortal wounds is a little better and you could use this on a smite sponge to add some resilience but in general your enemy isn't going to waste to many mortal wounds on an infantry squad.
Remain Vigilant - units cannot be set up within 12*, and the unit can Hold Steady if charged (and its overwatch hits on a 5+)
This could be good for pushing back the turn 1 and 2 deepstrike shenanigans. But I don't see this being used very much. Again, if your worried about being charged then other orders would work better, such as move, move, move or for the emperor. If you put this on a unit the enemy can just ignore them.
Overall the the commissar orders are not to bad, there are as always some good, some bad and some ok. I think there are as ever a couple that really stand out and will be used quite a lot.
My real question here is how the interaction between the various officers and commissars orders will work. I highly doubt that you'll be able to double up on orders but will you have to do orders in a certain, well, order, say senior officers, officers then commissars or can you choo and change as you like. There is still a lot of information we don't know yet but I have no doubt that we will keep getting more and more information as we get closer to the Cadian boxset.
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