Hobby update

So it's been a while since I put up any hobby posts. With family holidays south and the school holidays taking up a lot of my time recently I haven't had much chance to post anything, although I have been chipping away at the to do list in the back ground. As always this list has grown with the birthday haul and at this rate I'll not finish my list before the end of the year.  

Anyway, I am currently working on my assassin's, the Warhammer+ exclusive plus an Eversor Assassin. While the Vindicare assassin model that came from Warhammer+ is a lovely model, it's not a very practical model for the table top, so some modifications were carried out.

Modified Sister's statue

Replacement middle section

As you can see, I've split the model in to two parts, the actual Vindicare assassin and the statue of the sister. To do this I had two options. Cut the Vindicare off the main model below the feet or replace the central floor section the Vindicare is standing on. I chose to do the latter and replaced it with plasticard. 

Stand alone Vindicare assassin

The model itself sits nicely on a 32mm base and since this picture was taken I've added rubble and basing paste to it to make it look more like broken building, as this model will be spending most of its time in building rather than on the grass, like all the other models. 

Original model

As you can see from the original box art, this is quite a nice diorama but is quite large for the tabletop.

Eversor Assassin

In addition, I've built the Eversor Assassin to the instructions. I did consider building it without the base and have him running on the ground but I deduced not to as it does look cool and the base section isn't really big enough to use as a separate price of terrain or anything. 

In addition to these two models I have also completed my first born Eagle Knights and also my repulsor I got for my birthday, also in eagle knight colours. I will post up photos of these when I can, most likely the repulsor will be up next, as the first born Eagle Knights are currently boxed up for those own safety!

Astra militarum unit reviews - part 8 - Militarum Tempestus

In this entry we have the Militarum Tempestus Scions units. 

The Militarum Tempestus Command Squad is the scion equivalent to the cadian and platoon command squads. If you’re taking more than one squad of scions, chances are you’re going to take one of these as well. The have the same bonuses as the other command squads, the standard grants extra OC, the medi-pack gives a FNP and the Master vox throws out orders to 24 inches. However they gain another option and that’s the command rod, to enable the unit to have two orders on it at the same time. While not as good as the Kasrkins version, as you need to issue both orders, it’s still very good.  The Tempestors ability to give the unit sustained hits is also going to be useful to help scoring wounds with the S3 weapons. One other ability the tempestor has and one that i nearly missed, is that if the tempestor is your warlord then Scion units become battle line, meaning you can take 6 instead of only 3. 

The Tempestus Scions are the only battle line option for the Militarum Tempestus force. The storm troopers ability to re-roll hits is always useful and they also have the standard vox-casters ability to regain CP. overall they are a good unit, however there are a few little issues. The first is that you can attach two leader units to this unit, yet there are none that can deepstrike apart from the MT command squad. So no attaching commissars or psykers if you want to deep strike the unit, the same with things like bodyguards. If you start on the table, its fine but most of the time you’re going to want to deep strike these guys in. The  other minor issue is that you cannot attach any other officer units other than the MT command squad, which means that if you do attach a command squad to a unit, unless its a 5 man unit, you can not put it in a transport. I would like to be able to put some sort of single model officer unit and another leader unit on to a full 10 man unit and stick it in a Taurox Prime and drive it up the field but I can’t, it either has to be a 5 man unit or either deep strike with only a command squad or walk up the field.   

The Taurox prime is the Militarum Tempestus dedicated transport. While the other transports can be used (as far as i can see) your most likely going to take the taurox prime, as the prime is good, its fast, has some punch but it is not very tough. With a capacity of 12 it’s not great, as mentioned above, but it’s pretty usual and means that you can’t take a full squad with both leader units. The fire support ability is good, mostly as it just says attacks, not specify which attacks, meaning that you could potentially have 3 different options to attack with your disembarked models. 

One other note on the Scions is the Valkyrie. Now, I’ve mentioned the Valkyrie before but in when looking at it in terms of the scions only there are a few more options that appear. You can deepstike down a unit in your opponents movement phase, once you’ve seen the opponents moves, hide them ready for a close range strike next turn, however, you need to be very careful with positioning. I think the most likely time to use this ability if when you think that the Valkyrie is about to be shot out the sky and you need to get the squad out and keep it some what safe. Being able to take more fliers again is also useful for scion only armies to give you a better anti-vehicle option than melta guns or Taurox krak missiles. Three flying around would be very interesting. 

The scions are still a very good army that lack a few key parts. Not having any ability to have heavy weapons without guard support is an issue and having a limited number of units is also a problem for pure scion armies. However, with the current setup, this is not really much of a problem.

Astra militarum unit reviews - part 7 - Superheavy

Now we come to the big boys and girls, the superheavies. These have never been overly popular on the table top, mostly due to their cost and lack lustre rules, however, they have got better and some of them may actually be quite useful. 

The Baneblade is the vehicle we usually think of when we heard Guard super heavy tank mentioned. It has long been the go to super heavy and still seems to hold that position. Granted it’s not as pure vehicle killer of the shadowsword or anti-infantry of the Stormlord but it is a very good alrounder, capable to taking on many vehicles and infantry alike. Its rolling fortress ability is going to be useful to both infantry and vehicle and i can see a formation of several Russ’s and baneblade trundling up the table. This still seems to be the go to version and is again the most likely version we will see.

The Banehammer, to me is completely surplus to requirements. It has a cannon with the same profile as the baneblade but less shots, so why wouldn’t you take a baneblade. It could be due to the 26 transport capacity and the 12 firing decks but with the extra heavy firepower and special rules of the baneblade, do you really need this? The Quake special rule is nice, forcing units to take battle shock tests within 3” for the target unit but the range is very small and there are not going to be many times when this rule affects more than one or two units. I really don’t see why you’d take this over the Baneblade.

The Banesword doesn’t really have a clear role to me. It’s got a good main gun, that triggers deadly demise tests on a 3+ rather than a 6 but if you’re after a vehicle killer, you would take the Shadowsword or maybe the doomhammer. I can’t see why you’d want to take this model over several of the others.

The Doomhammer is a budget Shadowsword and if that’s want you want then you’ll take a Shadowsword. However, it does have an ace up its sleeve, its transport capacity and firing deck. While only being able to take 26 models with 12 firing, it’s still a very useful addition to the close range firepower of this unit, which its going to need with the 24 inch main gun. The fact that it always counts as in half range against vehicles and monsters, thanks to the close-range ability, the damage it can do is still going to be less than the Shadowsword. 

The Hellhammer is my favourite super heavy and the one i have. It was never the best but now it has arguably got worse. While toughness has gone up, the hellhammer cannon is still sitting at S7. Ignores cover and ignoring the penalty for shooting while in engagement range are good, there is very little reason that you just wound not take a baneblade. If you think you see one of these on the table, it’ll actually be a baneblade.

The Shadowsword. There is little explanation needed for this titan killer. This has one job and one job only and it does it very well. With 2 to 4 shots at S24 with D12 and the devastating wounds ability, this tank has the ability to chew threw armour like butter. However, if there are no monsters or armour, then it’s a bit useless. You will see this thing on the table, as 10th seems to be a vehicle heavy meta, even if it wont be the most popular super heavy you face.

The Stormlord is a strange beast, it is really a pure anti-infantry super heavy. The Mega-bolter not very strong, only S6 and will struggle to even take out marines, its strength lies in its 24 firing deck positions and 40 man transport capacity. Filling these positions with heavy and special weapons makes this a significant mobile fire platform capable of putting out a substantial amount of low strength fire power. However, this mostly means that it’s left sitting on the shelf in almost all cases. It’s a great fun and fluff vehicle but little else. 

The Stormsword is probably one of the weakest superheavies and sits in a similar position to the Banesword, as it doesn’t seem to have a clear role. While the Concussion wave ability is good for spreading mortal wounds around, the range is very small and wont do any serious harm to any units. The main gun is powerful and it can do damage but its not really a vehicle killer and its to powerful for infantry. I’m really not sure where this fits in to the super heavy structure or why you’d take it over many of the other models.

Astra militarum unit reviews - part 6 - Leman Russ

This time round we have the Leman Russ Battle Tank and all its variants. In the past we had two versions with multiple weapon options, now however, we have multiple versions with just one main gun option. This mean that we can field an incredible number of Russ variants in a game, 24 when including commanders! Not that you’ll have enough points for 24 tanks! A couple of notes on the Russ, all the profiles are the same, there is no difference between the short ranged and long ranged hulls and secondly all of them will be equipped with hunter-killer missiles and sponsons, as they are both baked in to the price. The type of sponson will change depending upon the main armament.

First up the standard Leman Russ Battle Tank. The basic tank, which is out classed by a lot of other versions. The Armoured Spearhead ability is a good ability, enabling you to re-roll hits but overall doesn’t make up for a slightly lack lustre gun. You’ll see them on the tanks top due to their iconic nature but they are far from the go to version.

The Leman Russ Demolisher on the other hand is one of the go to versions. It has long been one of the best versions of the tank and continues to be so. While it only has a short 24 inch range, it packs one hell of a punch. The same number of shots as the battle cannon but stronger, with better AP and more damage potential. The Line-Breaker ability also makes this unit even more potent, as it doesn’t matter if it gets in engagement ranger or not, you’re still getting splatted. Paired with flamers for defensive fire or multi-meltas for extra punch, this is the go to Russ.

The Leman Russ Eradicator has always been an odd tank. Back in the day it had some use, but now it struggles to find a role. It has a similar rule to the demolisher, letting it shoot at units in engagement but you’re going to take an actual demolisher over this pretty much all the time. It’s nice to have ignores cover on the main gun, but its low strength and AP mean that it’s not going to be very useful at taking out targets most of the time. This has never been a popular unit for the table top and I don’t see that changing when it just doesn’t have the punch to stand out from the rest.

The Leman Russ Executioner could have been so much more than it is. It is great as an anti-elite infantry killer, especially when paired with the plasma cannon side sponsons but its plasma profile is nothing special. Being able to add 1 to the hit rolls thanks to Gung-ho is good but most of the time you’ll not be wanting to waste shots on half strength units. I would have liked to have seen less shots on a stronger profile. I think that you’ll see more of these around than the Punishers while filling a similar role, as although they don’t kick out as many shots, they can take on a much wider range of targets. You’ll see a few of these around in the anti-infantry role.

The Leman Russ Exterminator has always been an odd ball in the Russ line up. It has never really had a place or a use, not good at anti-horde due to low shots, not good as an elite kill due to low AP, not good at vehicles or monsters due to low strength and the trend continues. While the Withering hail ability is useful by increasing the AP of subsequent attacks by other units, it really doesn’t make the Exterminator viable. You wont have seen these on the table top and your not likely to any time soon.

The Leman Russ Punisher is a great anti-horde vehicle, especially with its devastating wound special ability (against non vehicle or monster units). Tooled up with bolsters and a stubber, this thing can put out a substantial number of shots. It will however struggle against any sort of heavy infantry, monsters or vehicles, as it always has done. If you know that you facing a horde list, then one or two of these is a must but they are a niche vehicle that wont work a lot of the time. If you see a Russ heavy list, id expect one of these in there to deal with the infantry but otherwise i doubt you’ll see many.

The Leman Russ Vanquisher is your dedicated tank and monster killer, putting out a substantial amount of damage that few units will be able to ignore. Unfortunately it’s not enough to kill most things and no longer ignores invulnerable saves, meaning it can be stopped. It also suffered from being just a one shot weapon, meaning it’s just as likely to hit as it is to miss, not something you want when targeting a priority unit. The tank killer ability to re-roll wounds is useful, as even at S18 you’re still wounding lots of things on 3’s. Paired with a hunter killer missile and lascannon you have a good chance of doing damage but overall it’s still not quite the one shot weapon it should be. You’ll probably not see many of these around.

It seems that in this edition as with a lot of previous editions, the Leman Russ Demolisher is still the king of the Battle tanks and will be a familiar sight across table tops for many years to come. Some of the others have uses but none are as good as the demolisher for outright fire power.

Astra militarum unit reviews - part 5 - other Infantry units

With most of the vehicles out the way, just the heavy armour to go, we will have a look at some of the other infantry and non-vehicle units. I’ll start with the only vehicle like units, the new Field Ordnance Battery.

The Field Ordnance battery is one of my favourite models these days and i plan on getting a few, one pair of each type. In terms of rules, these are all good units, some better than others. The lascannon version is very good and will see a fair bit of play but i think that the bombast will see the most, although it is over shadowed by the basilisk a little. If the rockets were indirect then they would be the go to version i think. You’re going to want these guys under an order as often as possible, both for the added BS but also for the sustained hits ability, which pairs well with the bombast and rockets. Despite all this i think the main reason well see them on the table top is because they are new and less because they are great options.

The Heavy Weapons Squad has been a staple of the guard for a long time and for quite a while it has been dominated by the mortar and I don’t really see that changing. We might see some more auto cannons with the D3 but hiding these guys away on an objective and just mortaring the hell out of stuff still seems the way to go. With the ability to hit on 5’s (or even 4’s) with the overwatch stratagem is good and means that the weapons going to be hitting consistently no matter whose turn it is! Even so, I don’t think well start seeing a lot of these again, one or two maybe but that’s it.

Rough riders have made a welcome return this edition. We have been missing proper fast attack units for a while, the hellhound and sentinels just don’t cut it really. These are fast, and with the Horsemasters ability are always fast. You’ll rarely shoot with them, so advancing or charging are the order of their day. These units will be used in one of two ways mostly, an early game charge, first turn if you can manage it, to knock out or at least cripple a dangerous enemy unit or they will be held back and hidden as much as possible to act as a counter punch, charging any units that get to close to your lines or attack you artillery or units camping on your home objective. For best effect a full squad of 10 is going to be best.

Ogryns are still overshadowed by the Bullgryn brothers, although they do still have some uses. The Ripper gun is useful and with point-blank barrage ability can become quite the marine killer, however, they just don’t have anything to make them stand out from other units. There are units that car better at doing the same job and the bullgryns are just a better bet if you want to field ogryns. 

Bullgryn squads have lost some effectiveness this edition. The Slabshield now longer grants a 2+ save but rather an extra wound, which isn’t as good, although the wall of muscle ability does help with this a bit, reducing damage by 1. The gauntlet is still not worth is and the maul is really the way to go. Big squads of 6 are going to be the way to play these guys and in a very similar vain to the rough rider, however they are going to be a lot slower trudging around. It’s a shame that you can’t attach leader units to these squads, as they would be great for keeping your warlord alive.

The Cadian Elite, the Kasrkin, while not as potent as they were, are still very powerful. With the Warrior Elite ability meaning they can be under two orders in a turn and will always have at least one order, regardless of officers, means that they are reliable. They come with the standard vox-caster ability and also the melta mine ability to do mortal wounds, which is always nice. The ability to take four special weapons plus what is effectively a snipe rifle, means that they can be tooled up. The only downside is their lack of deep strike abilities. While it’s unlikely you’ll run a whole army of kasrkin, a couple of tooled up squads will be a regular feature in many lists.

Ratlings are still in a funny space. They are still only T2 with a 6+ save, so will get wiped out to a stiff breeze. They are going to be best used as either a distraction unit or an early punch unit, to take out an important character early game. Shoot and scoot is a good ability but not one you want to actually use much as it means that the next turn you’ll probably have to move and loose the Heavy bonus, which you want to maximise their shooting. The 5 man units are also an issue, if you could take 10, you could be sure of taking out a target but with only 5 it’s not a given. 

After the squads we have a several ‘attachable’ units.

Nork Deddog is a classic unit that is still going strong. While slightly better than the standard bodyguard, without the options, I’m not sure if he’s worth the extra points. He has some good abilities, such as giving officers a 4+ FNP and his thunderous headbutt ability is great for dishing out mortal wounds, however if your in combat with Nork then your likely staring down the barrel of defeat. A good unit but not worth the extra over a regular bodyguard.

Talking of the regular Ogryn bodyguard, here it is. The extra weapon choices give the ogryn bodyguard a lot of versatility, however, most of the time you’ll be going for the brute shield and maul or maybe ripper. The ogryn is there for defensive or melee purposes not add firepower. The 5+ FNP to officers in good but it’s the +1 to hit and to wound that will be more useful when it comes into effect, hitting and wounding most infantry on 2’s is always good. However, with the way attaching leaders to units works these days, the bodyguard units are not as needed as they once were and are therefore unlikely to make it in to many lists.  

Next up are a couple of units that are really just oddities. One i can understand but the other just seem to be out of place and not much use.

Munitorum Servitors are the oddest unit in the codex. They serve no real purpose and really offer little to the guard. The only reason to take them is as a source of multimeltas or plasma cannons on infantry bases, but with all the plasma and melta that the tanks can take now, there is little reason to take them. In the onl days when they gave the techpriests buffs to fixing vehicles they were useful, now they give nothing and in many respects take away. If a Techpriest is leading they actually take away his Lone operative ability and make him more vulnerable. I really don’t think you will ever see these guys on the table top.

Regimental Attaches are another strange unit. While each model individually is a good model with a good ability, forcing you to take all three is strange. Most lists wont have need to both the Master of Ordnance and the Officer of the Fleet, in fact most wont have need for the OotF at all. The astropaths ability is good, but most times you’re not going to bear placing the unit in a position where it will come into effect. I would much rather had the option to bring them individually, as now I’m either not going to take them, or have at least 1 useless model floating around.

Astra militarum unit reviews - part 4 - Vehicles

This time round we have a number of the vehicle units, from artillery to walkers and a few in between. There are a few things to mention about vehicles these days, a lot of them have lost the squadron ability that use to enable you to take multiply units in one slot, usually 1 - 3 models per slot. Now it’s just one model for one slot, which is a shame. Secondly with the way points work, all of them are going to come equipped with hunter killer missiles. These one shot weapons are not actually that bad, even with the 50/50 chance of missing. With all the missiles you’ll have on the table you’ll be able to do some serious damage to something. 

First up we have the old favourite, the Basilisk. This is still one of the best artillery units in the guard, even if it’s taken a little hit this edition. While the weapons profile is good and is one of the main reasons to take the gun, the earthshaker ability is going to prove very useful against certain infantry units. Any negatives to movement for combat units or fast units is going to cause you opponent problems. Two inches can easily be the difference between a successful charge and a failure, or getting to an objective or not. Having several of these on the table will give your opponent multiple issues to deal with and can throw a whole game plan in to disarray. These have always been popular units and I don’t see that changing.

The Deathstrike is an icon of the imperium and last edition it really got the treatment it deserves, now it’s not quite as good but still useful. You have to have placed a target marker, which means that you’re not firing turn 1, which is when it would have been most useful. Even when it does hit the 2d6 shots is very swingy, as 2 shots isn’t going to do much but 12 (or more with blast) is going to wreck most units. I really like the fluff for this unit but on a competitive table this is not going to do what you want it to, one for the fun and fluff games still i think.

My poor old Wyvern is up next and this has taken a major nerf as far as i can see. Loosing both shots and AP, something the host of special rules can’t make up for. For the points it still seems that mortar heavy weapons teams are better. The only good point to the weapon and the only reason you might take one is the suppression rule. Just hitting a unit will add a -1 to the hit roll, which could make a difference to some units and keep a few more of your guardsmen alive, however, i still think that it is outclassed by other units.

Lastly for the Artillery we have the Manticore. This is one of the weapons that out performs the wyvern. While you have less shots you have a much stronger profile and with the furious barrage rule meaning you’ll be re-rolling most of the time, means that you’re more likely to actually kill stuff. Definitely one of the better artillery pieces and probably the one we’ll see most often on the table. 

Next up are some other tracked vehicles, that fill a variety of different roles. 

The Hellhound is back to its original single profile, having lost the devil dog and bane wolf versions. The weapons still exist and while the flamer and melta versions are still good, the chem cannon is still the weakest of the lot. In general you’ll see the hell hound more than any of the other versions but i still think that you will not see many of them on the table top, as there are many other units in the game that can do the same job either better or cheaper than the hell hound. The only use for this is going to be taking advantage of the flush them out rule to remove cover from a unit that you need to hit hard. 

Hail Hydra! Ok, so another fan favourite that’s not always lived up to the hype. This time around it is very good at taking out flyers, re-rolling hots and wounding on a 2+ (and re-rolling wounds!) means that flyers are going to be in for a rough time. The low number of shots and AP means that you’re highly unlikely to actually take down any flyers in one turn or even two, even a perfect round of shooting will not kill an Valkyrie. These are also useful against ground targets, elite infantry especially, so they have some versatility if there are no flyers, which given the current rules is likely. I think these are nice unit but don’t think that they will be making a comeback any time soon.

The new kid on the block, the Rogal Dorn is up next. This thing is a beast of a unit and has some decent firepower but not the best. While tougher than the Leman Russ its not as versatile, with fewer weapon options. As a centre piece to the army it is a good model but I’m still not sure it’s better than taking a leman russ with change. The ablative plating ability is going to come in useful for nullifying a big hit that might take the tank out. While i want to like this model i just don’t think its as good as the russ and while i can see one being played as a centre piece, the Russ is still the go to tank.

There has always been some discussion about which sentinel was best, now however they have taken on different roles and no longer try and compete for space in a list.

The Armoured sentinel is tougher but slower and is now rolled up to perform the role of hunter, with the hunter-killer ability to re-roll wounds against vehicles and monsters. There is no difference in the weapons available now, so plasma cannons are no longer exclusive to armoured sentinels. These are one of the few units that can still squadron properly, with up to three being able to be taken in a single slot. You’ll find these hunting in packs, focusing on singular high profile targets. Three lascannons and three hunter killer missiles will do significant damage to whatever they hit. 

The Scout Sentinel is now a very different beast from its armoured brethren and will be used in a different way. Being quicker but weaker it will not be able stand up to much punishment, however it’s not supposed to. What the scout is supposed to do is spot for the artillery. The Daring recon rule means that artillery can or-roll 1’s and don’t suffer the penalties for shooting indirect. This means that you can get artillery hitting on 2’s indirectly. Although you can take these in packs of 3, they will most likely be used individual spreading around the board keeping as hidden as possible from all but the artillery target. If you’ve got an artillery heavy list you will have 3 of these minimum, maybe more by doubling up some units to add some durability. 

Next is the sole flyer in the codex, the Valkyrie.

The Valkyrie has taken a serious nerf this edition that is to the new flyer rules. Not being able to swap between hover and flying is quite an issue, doubly so with the changes to grab chute insertion. You can no longer drop troops in where you need them, now only troops with deep strike can use this ability and only at the end of your opponents movement phase. This means that your only option is the Scions and even then they have a round of shooting to survive. While it is still useful for non deep striking units, I don’t see it being much better than a chimera. While i want to love the Valkyrie it really struggles to find a use at the moment. 

Now the last on this rather long list of vehicles, isn’t actually a vehicle at all but I didn’t really have anywhere else to put it. The Aegis Defence line is back after a little break with some significant changes. It no longer comes with any weapon platforms and is purely a defensive fortification. The rules are reasonable as well, granting cover as well as a 4+ invulnerable save plus it enables you to shoot at enemy unit in engagement range of the fortification and also means that you can ignore desperate break out tests. All in all it could be useful but i think that points would be better spent elsewhere. 

Astra militarum unit reviews - part 3 - Battle line and transports

Next up we have the Battle line units. These are only a few of them and there are some winners and losers here. All these units have a couple of rules in common, such as being able to take two leader units, with one being a command squad and the Vox caster ability to gain CP’s if a stratagem is used on them. Both of these are good abilities and every unit will take a vox caster as there is no downside to taking one.  

First up are the standard Infantry Squad. This has been the standard basic troop unit for the guard for as long as they have existed and they are still one of the go to units, however there is a little bit of an issue with them, that as far as i know, has not been solved at time of writing. The unit can take heavy weapons and a single special weapon, although currently not both at the same time, as it has been able to for, well, ever. You can take one special per 10 models, but if you take a heavy weapons team, you replace two guardsmen with a single team and thus the squad now has nine models and so you can’t take a special! Hopefully they will fix this soon and we can go back top our standard squads. In a squad of 20, you can take two heavy weapons and one special, which is alright. This squad also get the benefit of cover if its on an objective, so this is going to be you base unit for holding your home objective, probably with a couple of mortars for indirect fire support.   

The Cadian Shock Troops are going to be seen a lot on the table, both due to the ability to take two special weapons per 10 models, or 4 per 20 and the shock troops ability, which means that any objective you control at the start of your turn will remain under your control even if you no longer have any troops on it. The means that you cadian squad can keep moving and advancing, not having to hang around on an objective all game, possibly out in the open getting shot to pieces. 

The next squad is the Death Korps of Kreig and these guys are going to be very popular. It will be a toss up between these and cadians in most cases. The DKoK can take up to six special weapons or five and a vox caster, more than any other battle line units in the guard. With its grim demeanour ability giving +1 to hit and also +1 to wound means that you have some serious hitting power with these guys, although you might not get to use these abilities very much thanks to the medi-pack enabling you to bring back troopers every turn. Whether you take the DKoK or the Cadians will depend on whether you want to be able to hold objectives and move around the board or if you want to hold objectives and be hard to shift. I think that most lists will either go all in on one or the other of these units with only a squad of basic infantry to hold the back line. 

Lastly and most definitely least we have the Catachans, my favourite in lore units and by far the worse battle line unit in the guard, if not the game. You get the standard guard profile and a special ability that improves strength and AP if you charge or were charged and 2 special weapons per ten men, which can only be flamers. I understand that they are trying to keep with the model kits for the weapon options and they are trying to make catachans more combat focused than the other battle line units but the SGT doesn’t even have a chain sword or equivalent. The kit comes with a big knife for the sgt, so why can’t it have a special rule for this? I think that if they want ed to make this unit more combat orientated they could have given them 2 attacks each, at a base strength 4 and given the sgt addition attacks, strength or ap with a catachan devils claw. These guys are supposed to be built like tanks with the strength to match. As it is, there is very little reason to play these guys at all, unless you want to run Harker or Straken for fluff reasons.  I really hope that an updated catachan kit part of the guard release in 10th.

So, most armies will have cadian or DKoK with maybe one or two infantry squads and the catachans left sitting on the shelf at home.

Transports have taken on greater meaning in this edition with the changes to disembarkation rules. 

The Chimera is the standard transport of the guard, heavily armed and reasonably tough, even in this new edition. Its role has not changed much from previous edition and with the Mobile Command ability enabling embarked officers to issue orders as normal means that keeping you guys inside and protected does not reduce their capabilities. This is going to be the go to transport for most people, although it would have been nice if it had gained a couple of extra spaces on board to take a full squad and command squad, but a capacity of 12 is still pretty good. 

The alternative option is the Taurox. This is not as tough, nor does it have as many wounds but it is quicker and still packs a punch with its twin auto cannons. There is little reason to take the taurox over the chimera in general, the only advantage it gives you is speed, especially with the rapid deployment ability meaning you can disembark after advancing, giving you a large threat range. 

I think in most cases people will take the chimera with just one or two taurox’s to help push certain units up the field early, such as Kasrkin.

Astra militarum unit reviews - part 2 - Leaders

There are a number of other officer units, these units however are formed of multiple models or in the case of the tank commander, a vehicle model. 

For the majority of people the go to leader unit will be the Platoon command squad. This is probably the most versatile officer unit and, while only being able to issue one order, with the Master Vox it can issue the order up to 24 inches, giving you a large number of units that can receive orders. The ability to use stratagems on battle shocked units is also very useful, although the range is very small. The war gear abilities are also very useful, with the aforementioned master vox, the standard gives +1OC and medic 6+ FNP, which combined with a 20 man infantry squad can be a very powerful and hard to shift unit. 

The Cadian command squad is very similar to the platoon command squad, with the exception of some wargear options and the ability to only join Cadian squads. The wargear abilities are the same, although it does not have the ability to effect battle shocked units, instead being able to ignore any dice modifiers the unit may suffer (apart from saving throws). If you’re running Cadian units, this is going to be your go to command unit with possibly Creed or a Castellan as warlord. I can see both command squads being run in armies for different reasons but a squad or two will be in pretty much every army.

The last command squad unit is Gaunts Ghosts. This unit is unable to join any other units, although it has the lone operative ability to keep it safe. However, it also doesn’t have any abilities, apart from being able to issue two orders that affect any other guard units. The unit itself has a couple of abilities that are useful and a selection of weapons but in reality I don’t see any reason to take this unit over either of the other officer units, apart from the obvious fun and fluff reasons for running Ibram Gaunt.

Lastly for the officer units we have the Tank Commander. Now, this is the only vehicle commander and if you want to run a vehicle heavy list or an armoured list, then you are going to need to take a few of these. The ability to order units up to 12 inches away is useful, as it means that you don’t need to keep your armour bunched up and the ability to shoot on death is also very useful and means that you can throw it forward when you know it going to die and get some useful extra shots out. Overall, it doesn’t compete with any of the other officer units apart from the Lord Solar, who is the only other office who can order vehicles. A Lord Solar and three tank commanders will be a very familiar sight within Armoured or Vehicle lists. Also if your taking just a Russ or two, they will most likely be Tank commanders.

Compared to the named characters, these using will be seen in every list, apart from Gaunts Ghost that is. The command squads are a staple unit in any list containing any infantry units and in most cases they offer more utility and versatility than any of the named characters.

There are also a number of other non officer, leader units that are more support character than actual command units. These models are most likely going to be attached alongside the officer units, to make use of their complimentary buffs.

The first unit actually breaks this assumption as the Commissar is actually an officer unit but due to the fact that it can only issue two of the orders it limits its usefulness as a proper officer unit. The main reason you take a commissar is for the battle shock buffs, being able to undo battle shock for a unit near by and also being able to re-roll tests for the unit its attached to is important in an edition where battle shock is important and very restrictive. While the unit has lost some of the versatility it had in previous editions, it is still an important unit and will be a feature in most lists running infantry blobs along side one of the command squads. 

 Another unit that will see a lot of play is the Primaris Psyker. Whilst psykers in general have lost a lot of versatility with the loss of many psychic powers, the Primaris psyker has retained what i consider to be into primary function within the guard, providing defensive buffs, in the form of an invulnerable save. Granting both a 4+ FNP against psychic attacks and a 4+ invulnerable save are going to keep your infantry squads hanging around for a long time. The witch fire attacks are really a secondary thing and will not be the primary reason for taking a primaris psyker in your army. This is definitely a key support character, the main question is do you take Commissars or Psykers?

The Preacher on the other hand is not such a great character. With his ability to give sustained hits in melee, you might attach him to a Catachan unit but his re-rolls ability only effects himself, which is not very useful when he only had a couple of weak attacks. If it granted the whole unit re-rolls it would be significantly better and might make him usable, as it is, he is completely outclassed but the other two supporting leaders.

Lastly in this section we have the Enginseer. You’re only ever going to take this unit when you have a number of vehicles or a super heavy. The ability to repair vehicle and give them a 4+ invulnerable save is going to be very useful, so much so that you may end up running multiple enginseerers. The fact that they gain the lone operative ability when near vehicles also means that you don’t need to bother with putting them in squads to keep them alive, just keep them near a vehicle and they’ll be fine most of the time. The vengeance ability is not overly useful, as you’ll be wanting to keep this guy out of combat as much as possible to keep him alive, however it could be useful in a last ditch Hail Mary charge. 

From these support characters you will see more commissars and psykers than any others, as these are the best units here. Seeing large infantry squads running around with a command squad and either a commissar or psyker will be fairly normal i think and form the core of a majority of guard lists. 

Astra militarum unit reviews - part 1 - named characters

We'll start the unit reviews with the named characters first and the highest of the high is the Lord Solar.

The Lord Solar is a very good character (even if the model still sucks) with several very go abilities. Claiming an extra CP in your command phase is a great ability in an edition with limited CP, plus with the ability to redeploy units at the start of the game, means that this is almost a must take unit. You can easily put him in a big unit of infantry or rough riders to hide him, although the going with rough riders means that you’re taking a powerful unit and relegating them to back field duties. The ability to issue 3 orders in also very useful, however, without the ability to use a master vox, the range is very limited and you may find in hard to actually issue three orders most of the time. All in all i think this is a very good unit and i can see it being taken in a lot of lists.

Creed is  a mother big name in the guard, even if it’s now Ursula and not Ursarkar. While not quite as powerful as the Lord Solar, i think she actually has more utility. Yes the extra CP is very useful but with Creeds Tactical Genius meaning you can use a stratagem for 0CP per battle round, which could be worth 2CP, gaining you a CP per turn over the Lord Solar. In addition, having a unit be under two orders a turn can also be very useful. The only issue is the restrictions on the units that she can join. I would pick Creed over the Lord Solar pretty much every time. 

Colonel Straken, hero of Catachan, is one of two Catachan leaders. While he has lots of character, as an actual leader choice, he is quite poor. He is based around getting in to melee but seeing as he can only join Catachan squads, who have very little melee ability, he really isn’t very good. The Lethal hits ability can be useful but the ability to re-roll hits and wounds would have been better if it effected the whole unit not just him. 2 orders are useful however but don’t make up for the weaknesses in other areas. I think he is really a character to use for fun and fluff reasons rather than any tactical reasons.

Sergeant Harker on the other hand is actually a more useful character to attach to a unit of Catachan. While payback is useful and gives a bonus to shooting, especially as the squads can’t take any heavy weapons of their own, and the payback time can be a very useful in critical moment, the most useful ability is the Hellraisers ability. Either pushing the unit forward or sitting them back on the home objective can cause issues for you opponent. I think the most useful way of running Harker would be with a unit of 20 Catachan sitting on the home objective, with the -1 to hit and cover keeping them safe. I would look at taking Harker over Straken in almost every circumstance. 

The last of the Epic hero’s is Sly Marbo. Marbo is a very useful distraction character and has some good abilities. One-man army is very useful for counter strikes and fighting a shadow is useful for keeping him alive but overall i think he’s not as useful as he was. He is really just a fun and fluff character, alongside Straken. I can’t see him getting very much play at all.

Lastly i have included the Castellan on the list. He’s not a named character but he is the only single model character unit left. The Castellan is a very useful model and for certain units he will be very useful, such as the Kasrkins. The unit can take a number of different weapon options for some versatility but overall i think that he will be outclassed but the Cadian command squad. 

Overall there are a couple of units that are going to appear in most lists, such as Lord Solar or Creed and some units that you’ll very rarely see outside of fluffy lists, such as Straken and Marbo.