What's to Come... Horus Heresy: Betrayal at Calth Pics & Exact Contents!

By now we've all seen some fuzzy pictures about the new board game GW's about to launch. But very recently some new pictures, and with better quality, have emerged... feast your eyes on these!

Game close up from the back of the box

A note about all the pictures that you're about to see:

Via Spikey Bits’ Anonymous Source 10-29-2015

“Please note these pictures were sent to US via an anonymous source. We are not watermarking them, and they are free to use by anyone via Fair Use from a news media outlet. At Spikey Bits we never hold the hobby hostage with images, please do not either.”

The Box Contents:

• 30x Tactical marines MK IV Plate
• 5x Catapharctii Terminators
• 1x Contemptor with Lascannon, Melta, Assault Cannon and CCW
• 1x Captain Aethon
• 1x Kurtha Sedd
• 12 Dice
• Command Decks
• 42 playing cards
• 4-piece hex-board
• 49pp rulebook

The Miniatures:

It’s hot today Heresy fans! The latest images are in of the upcoming plastic Mk.IV Maximus Astartes & Officers and also crystal clear pics of the plastic Cataphractii Terminators and Contemptor Dread sprues are here – Get in here!

Officers in power armor & Cataphractii armor

SO MANY Mk.IV Maximus Marines!

OK, you get 30 of these guys – that’s a ton. These look like fully detailed multipose models, not starter box quick assembly dudes. I think that is more fuel for the theory that GW has big plans for these kits outside of this boxed game. I see all the little gubbins like grenades, knives and such. So far I’ve spotted: retro missile launcher, heavy bolter, plasma gun, meltagun, plasma pistol, powerfist, chainsword and a boatload of bolters.

One Calth themed decal sheet with all the Ultramarines and Word Bearers logos you would need!

The officer sprue is very nice and while we saw it earlier this summer, it looks spectacular here in full detail. The 4-winged staff combined with the decal sheet leads me to believe that one of those may be a Chaplain (or perhaps a Dark Apostle in the case of the Word Bearers). All those script blocks on the decal sheet will be wonderful to cut up for use all over a Word Bearers army.

5 Gorgeous Cataphractii Terminators! So Sweet!

Plastic Contemptor with Kheres Assault Cannon, Multi-melta & Powerfist

As you can see the Cataphractii have ball and socket waists, and I think the arms attach flush with the torso, but can be rotated as desired snugly under the barrel shoulderpads before being glued in place. That should provide good posing options for hobbyists. There are over 20 arms for the 5 models, so there are tons of build options including lightning claws, heavy flamer, powersword, powerfists and chainfists in addition to the combi-bolters. Most importantly we get all the shoulder and groin pteruges we expect from our Cataphractii.

The Contemptor is a great deal with solid weapon options. It gives you out of the box options for CCW/AC, CCW/MM, and even AC/MM builds with some simple conversion work. Better yet, swap weapons with a friend for the AC/AC, MM/MM, CCW/CCW loadouts. You won’t get the full “action figure” posing options the resin Forgeworld Contemptor gets, but there has to an up-sell option after all.

Ouch!!

So right off the bat, note the 2014 copyright on the sprues. GW have been planning on rolling out 30K for a long while. Also let’s be brutally honest here. There is NO WAY NO HOW Games Workshop would invest the hard cash to make plastic Cataphractii Terminators and a Contemptor Dread on plastic sprues just to (just) promote a boxed boardgame. They have bigger plans for this range.

Also to Come:

Come see all the juicy new repacted Lizardmen Seraphon models, plus new Tau and Eldar release pictures as well from the upcoming WD issue 92.

It’s nice to see the Lizardmen Seraphon finally getting some Age of Sigmar love, and the new Tau terrain formations were a pleasant surprise as well. Looks like we may be seeing the Eldar that were unveiled at the 40k Open a few weekends ago, available soon as well... Thank you for your time and until the next publication

Joaquim de Oliveira

This publication was only possible thanks to:

BOSL (part1, 2, 3 and 4)

Focus on ... The New Battlesuits and the Commander

So, just after a quick reading of this week's WD and a careful review of the previous codex, I decided to write here someting about the new crisis suits and both commander suits...

Today on the menu... the new crisis and commander battlesuits!

We have a crisis on our hands!

The iridium armour guy is like: Guys... here's the commander?!

Crisis Battlesuits are the iconic unit of the Tau Empire and this new plastic kit contains three of them, plus six Drones to accompany them into battle. They may look similar to their predecessors, but the models in this kit are brand new designs with a host of new assembly options, enabling you to build them in dynamic, mid-action poses. The kit also includes an arsenal of weapons and wargear, from fusion blasters and flamers to target locks, Drone controllers and shield generators... Here are just a few of the kit's great features:

• Each Crisis Battlesuit can be posed at the ankles, hips, waist, shoulders and neck for a huge range of movement. There are also weapon and support system sockets on their arms and jet packs giving you even more variety when constructing your miniatures. 
• From the back you can see the XV8's jet pack and power core. There's a small hole underneath the power core for a flying stand so you can build your battlesuits in mid-leap, as if they've just engaged their jet packs.
• There are six Drones in the kit, which can be built as Gun Drones, Marker Drones or Shield Drones. You can build up to three of each type, which can join your Crisis Team in battle or even form a unit of their own. 
• For the first time you can now build a suit of iridium armour, one of the upgrades in the Codex. This suit features a larger torso with raised gorget, extra armour around the waist and additional armour on the knees (you know, for those damn arrows in the knee...).

Arrows? Where??

So, buy or not to buy... for me yes! But if you already have a collection of these and you're happy with them then maybe it will not be worth ... except to arrange the pieces to build Iridium armour perhaps... Don't forget that these miniatures now come with 50 mm bases!

Paragons of war

Tau Commanders are the most battle-hardened of all Fire Warriors, having endured at least 20 years of continuous warfare in the service of the Tau Empire. Over that time they will fight many foes and face multiple Trials by Fire, only the strongest emerging to command their own Hunter Cadre. Some are thoughtful tacticians, commanding their troops from the rear, while others are headstrong (some may even say reckless) individuals who lead by example, racing across the battlefield to engage the enemy – an act of true selflessness for the Greater Good.

Leading fearlessly from the front, this commander bounds into combat... because that always works out great for the Tau...

Tau Commanders wear some of the most advanced battlesuits available, and this new plastic kit enables you to build two different types – the XV85 Enforcer Armour and the XV86 Coldstar Armour (shown above). Here are the main points about the new commander suits:

• Coldstar armour is designed for rapid battlefield redeployment, enabling the Commander to rocket skyward before plunging to earth where they are most required. It comes equipped with a high output burst cannon and a missile pod, with options for additional support systems. 
• From the back you can see the jump jets unique to the Coldstar Battlesuit and the aerodynamic fins (yes fins and not wings... because Tau don't have enough fish/ocean references in their army...)that enable the wearer to engage and outmanoeuvre enemy aircraft in mid-flight.
• The Tau Commander kit can also be built wearing the XV85 Enforcer Battlesuit. Larger than a regular Crisis Battlesuit, it can carry significantly more weapon and support systems, plenty of which come in the kit. This example has been equipped with a plasma rifle and an airbursting fragmentation projector. 
• The Commander kit has been designed with modelling flexibility in mind and features joints at its ankles, knees, hips, waist, head, shoulders and elbows that enable you to build it in countless different ways. Its weapons and support systems (including its drone... yeah, the commander may take up to 2 drones but the box brings only one... thanks GW!) are all compatible with the parts in the Crisis Battlesuits kit, too.

So, what about this one? In the case of the enforcer armour, just like the crisis above, if you already have the finecast one from the previous codex in your collection and you're happy with it, then keep it! If you don't have one but found one in your local store cheaper than this new one remember that finecast has his issues and might not be worth the extra work... 

About the new coldstar armour I have some mixed feelings: On the one hand it looks cool but, as we will discuss the rules ahead, I can't find a good reason to put one in the table... Don't forget that this new commander now comes in a 60 mm (montrous creature) base!

Meanwhile on the tabletop...

That's all nice but...what can they DO on the tabletop? Find out for yourself:

Please click on them for a better view...

Some initial thoughts:

• First the crisis: Both crisis and bodyguard battlesuits haven't change much from the priveous codex. The points cost is the same, same rules and options as well, with one exception... Now you can bring a unit of up to 9 battlesuits!! And for some reason this is true to the bodyguards to... imagine playing with the Farsight Enclaves supplement with this new rule... I know that to sell as much as they can is the sole porpuse of GW... but Daaamn man!;
• About the "Enforcer" commander: No rules for this guy in this WD... until the release of the new codex I will assume that everything keeps unchanged ...and that's nice;
• The non-shooting commander is still a good way to go: Equip him with multi-sepectrum sensor suite + command and control node and as long as he doesn't shoot all the shooting from his unit (you can now have up to 9 crisis in a single unit remember!) ignores cover and gets to re-roll all failed to hit rolls... and since he's not supposed to shoot I'd equip him with drone controler as well: now all the drones in the unit have his BS5! Bring some missile drones for a real punch...;

This is how the battlesuits should be in the game: hitting targets while airborne... 

• Now the "Coldstar" commander: For 60 points more, you replace the "enforcer" with this brand-new model, and turn him into a Flying Monstrous Creature... without Smash, Fear, or Vector Strike, and automatically buy a high-yield burst cannon and missile pod;
• My problem with with this new suit is: What is he supposed to do? In this week's WD it's said: "Equipped with one of these, your Commander can fly across the battlefield, covering huge distances more quickly than ever before (...), you'll have to decide whether you want him to fight alongside the other Fire Warriors in your army, duel enemy flyers across the skies, or a little of both"...so, lets break it down a little:

1. To support/help other units in your army the "enforcer" described above is still a better option... and cheaper too;
2. To "duel" with enemy flyers be minded that he is still WS4 and I3... hand to hand combat with the real monstrous flying creatures such as winged hive tyrants and winged daemon princes is still going to be a nightmare for your commander. He might survive for 1-2 turns of combat thanks to his armour save, but don't expect any miracles... And if he's going to assault flying vehicles remember he is S5: against low rear armor flyers like Valkyries and Stormtalons (rear armour 10-11) you're still praying for 5-6's to glance them.

And remenber: be careful about getting hit while swooping. Each time you get wounded while airborne, you have a 1/3 chance of crashing to the ground resulting in a hit that causes Instant Death to your T4 frame.

Shooting enemy flyers will be a better strategy, specially thanks to the missile pod, but you have to be really carefull in the movement phase, in order to positioning this guy facing rear/side armour. Against nasty vehicle flyers like the stormraven gunship (armour 12) you're relying on the missile pod alone, and you can't glance this one in combat... If you're concerned about enemy flyers you can allways upgrade some of your battlesuits with velocity trackers. For the same points cost of the "coldstar" upgrade you can give skyfire to a unit of 3 broadsides with twin-linked heavy rail rifles or to a riptide (for just 20 points) and use a nova-charged heavy burst cannon (12 S6 shots with rending). Think about it...

Personally I don't know If he's worthwhile or not. If I really had to bring him to a game, and since he has free space for two more upgrades I'd give him a fusion blaster, a high strenght shooting weapon, and vectored retro-thrusters to give him hit and run, to escape serious combats and instead shot down his foes...

 - Post Publication Note -

Thanks to a comment in a group in Facebook about the Tau Empire (see here)  I've only noticed now that the Coldstar Commander can only take up to 2 items from the Support Systems list, and up to 2 drones... so no more weapons for this guy... damn, is even worse than I thought...

If you have other opinions/suggestions for this new battlesuits please share them in the comment section! Thank you for your time and until the next publication 

Joaquim de Oliveira

This publication was only possible thanks to:

GamesWorkshop.com (part1 and 2)

Brother Against Brother... A New Board Game?

I cast fist... Primarch style!!

This is how we were greeted this morning in GW's "What's New Today" segment ... A new board game like Space Hulk or the Assassinorum: Execution Force, but in the days of the Horus Heresy?

Steel your souls, brothers, we have been betrayed! War will never be the same again… Mark Zero in approx. 290 hours. Commencing countdown.

The video is clear: "The Horus Heresy: Betrayal at Calth: A miniatures game of desperate battle in the 31st millenium"

I guess this is what was mentioned as "next week teaser" in war-of-sigmar.herokuapp:

"Next week teaser

Hello again !

More info from the tower !

Next week tease :

-Tau scenery
-Seraphon repack (i still hope for something new)
-And a big box with a lot of plastic inside ;) (7th nov)

Cheers.
Bob."

So remember (not the 5th of November):

See it in store & preorder 7th November (see, I told you) - Launch 14th November...

Well, I guess that's everything for today... Thank you for your time and until the next publication

Joaquim de Oliveira

Question: any chances of seeing any of these two in the box?

This publication was only possible thanks to:

Games Workshop and War of Sigmar

A look into the Tau Codex Rules and Formations.... the Age of Tau has Began!!!!

Today, as soon as I entered the internet, this was one of the first things with which I came across, and spent a good time to read and reread it and I have to tell you : If any of this is true, this codex is not just a reprint of the previous ... is far superior to that ...

So I'm given you some Q&A Time with Iuchiban!Someone has the new Kauyon campaign book early, and is spilling the awesome xenos beans. For the full content go to the links at the end of my message... here we go!

Via Iuchiban (in warseer)10-23-2015
Q: – Is there a Decurion-style detachment in the book?
– How is the artwork in the fluff section, are there new pictures or do you feel it’s all recycled?

Yes there is, and looks powerful:
Hunter Contingent:

Consists of:
0-1 Command
1+ Basic
1-10 Auxiliaries

Command:
– 1 Commander or Shadowsun
– 0-1 Ethereal or Aun’va or Aun’shi
– 1-2 Crisis bodyguards

Basic (Hunder Cadre):
1 Commander
0-1 Fireblade
0-1 Crisis Bodyguards
3-6 Strike, Breacher or Kroot
1-3 Stealht, Ghostkeels, Riptides or Crisis.
1-3 Scouts, Piranhas, Vespid, Drones
1-3 Broadsides, Hammerhead, Stormsurge, Sniper
Rules for Hunter Cadre:

– Defensive fire at 12″ (This is something new, I think...)
– Can run and the shoot. In this order.
Rules for Hunter Contigent:
– Reroll Warlord trait
– Units can combine their shooting attacks, and shoot as if they were a single unit. So they can get benefit from special rules and the same markerlight, for example (there are lots of examples ahead...). This is really, really powerful.

The strength of your force may be calculated by multiplying its weight by its velocity. Strive always to maximize both and victory shall be yours.- Commander Puretide

Q: So Hammerheads and Skyrays in squadrons of 3 get BS 5 natively?
Thanks so much for your efforts Iuchiban, we all really appreciate it!
Now, a question: what does the Armoured Interdiction Cadre (3 hammerheads 1 skyray) formation do?

Let’s go with the formations:

Hunter Cadre (see previous posts)

Retallion Cadre
– 1 Commander
– 3 units of Crisis
– 1 Broadside unit
– 1 Riptide unit
Rules: Relentless
+1 BS when Deep striking
May choose to enter from reserves in turn 2 via Deep Strike. This includes Broadsides.

Pew pew spess mehreens!

Infiltration Cadre
– 3 Pathfinder units
– 2 Stealth battlesuit units
– 1 Piranha unit
Rules: If one unit of the formation is destroyed, rest of the formation enters from reserve next turn automatically.
If an enemy unit gets hit by 3 or more markerights from this formation, you get a free Seeker missile hit to this unit.

Optimised Stealth Cadre

IMO this is one of the best formations in the book. Ghostkeels and any Stealth Battlesuit unit in the formation at 6" of the Ghostkeel ignore cover, add +1 to BS and hit vehicles in the rear!!!!!

Firebase Support cadre
– 2 units of battlesuits
– 1 unit Riptides
Note that they do not have to be max size like before
Rules: They formation can combine their shooting attacks and shoot as a single unit. When doing so, they get Tank and monster hunter SR.

Armored Interdiction Cadre
– 3 Units of Hammerheads
– 1 Unit of Sky Rays
Rules: Choose a point in the battlefield. When shooting to a unit at 6″ or less from this point, reroll to hit.

Air Support cadre:
– 1 Sun Shark Bomber
– 1 Razorshark Strike Fighter
Rules: Ignore shaken and stunned with 2+.
Beginning of the turn, roll a D6 for each lost hull point. If you roll a 6, recover 1 HP.

More pew pew , and still against spess mehreens!

Allied Advanced Cadre
– 4 units of Kroot
– 2 units of Vespids
Rules: Vespids get Infiltration and Stealth (Forests)
Kroot at 12″ from Vespid units, get Obscured (Forests) instead of Stealth (Forests), and get +1 BS
They all get supporting fire with other units of the formation...

Q: – Can you clarify the last line of Contingent buff? What kind of limitations do sharing special rules have? Could a Broadside fire a twin-linked weapon at a unit and other units enjoy that rule?

May be this is a bit confusing. The rule says (will try to translate as accurately as possible):

– Any time a unit of the Hunter Contigent shoots, any other unit of the same Detachment, that still can shoot can join their fire power to the attack. Those units have to shoot to the same unit, as if they were a single unit; this includes use of markerlight tokens. If 3 or more units shoot this way, they get +1 to BS.

I think is pretty clear: They can benefit for example from the Tankhunter or monster hunter as you only need a model in a unit to get this rule. Special rules that apply to weapons only do not get any boost.

The Firblade will boost all units that shoot with him, as attack is resolved as a single unit.
Very powerful.

Didn't even have to take the blade from the sheath...

Very powerful indeed. The new Tau 7th Edition books looks to have gotten a HUGE buff in the Kauyon supplement. Seems like this thing may be a must have for every Tau player out there not wanting to buy both the new codex, AND the Kauyon book!

But it's not over, for there some more news related to the new codex, also in BOLS. Just see the link, but here are some of the main points:

– Darkstrider (Can joint breachers now, as well as Strike and Pathfinders teams). The -1T to target Works very good with the new Pulse Shotguns

– where is Tide Wall in all of this? I am really surprised, but the Tidewall is NOT in the codex.

And just for clarification, Markerlights are the exact same except that for one point they can turn the Stormsurge’s Destroyer Missiles into Strength D right?  I am afraid that the wording is the same as in previous codex: 1 markelight token boosts 1 Destroyer missiles fro S8 to SD. Rest of Markerlight uses remains the same.

– If the Hunter Cadre can run and shoot, what’s the point in using Ethereal’s Water ability?

Ethereal water invocation is: Snap shot and then run. In this order
Hunter Cadre is run and shot. In this order.

Just noted that Hunter Cadre vehicles can as well move flat out and then shot. That’s good for Fusion Piranhas … mmm interesting. By the way it only works if unit is at 12″ from the commander before running or moving flat out.

In the meanwhile...

Well, that has maked me excited... but I'll wait for the codex. Howerver, that didn't stop me from adding some forces to what had previously ...

Yeah, today I'm happy...

Oh yeah, just got the Infiltration Cadre Burning Dawn and an old box of Fire Warriors to use as a Strike Team. So expect to see new developments in the field of assembly and painting these miniatures soon on my blog ...

Well, I guess that's everything for today... Thank you for your time and until the next publication

Joaquim de Oliveira

This publication was only possible thanks to:

BOLS (part1 and 2) 

What's New Today ... This Week's New Pre-Orders!

From today the new Fire Warriors box is out in Games Workshop stores and independent stockists, as well as the Infiltration Cadre Burning Dawn and the Shadow Force Solaq... But that's not all, because this week there are loads more new kits available to pre-order!

Here we go ...

The Mantle of Heroes...

The battlesuit is one of the Tau Empire's most iconic pieces of wargear, a huge armoured suit that can turn a humble Fire Warrior into a mighty hero of the Tau Empire. Armed with the most powerful weaponry his race can devise and kitted out with a suite of high-tech upgrades, a battlesuit pilot can take on anything the galaxy can throw at him and not just survive but emerge triumphant. Today, then, is a good day, for we have not one but two new battlesuit kits available to pre-order: the XV8 Crisis Battlesuits and the Tau Commander.

The new commander set has two options: The Coldstar on the left, amd the Enforcer on the right...

The Tau Commander can be built in two ways: wearing the classic XV85 Enforcer armour or the new XV86 Coldstar armour. This new upgrade for Tau Commanders enables them to zoom across the battlefield like an aircraft and even take on other flyers in mid-air with their high-yield burst cannon and missile pod. As you'd expect, the kit comes with loads of weapon and assemble options, which we'll be taking a closer look at next week.

The XV8 Crisis Battlesuit’s greatest strength lies in mobility and ranged firepower -- it is the XV8's role to get to the right place, at the right time and eliminate the right targets.

The XV8 Crisis Battlesuits are a revamp of another classic kit. The models are all-new designs, complete with new construction options, such as iridium armour, and a range of poses in the arms and legs that make them incredibly dynamic. They come with an arsenal of weapons and wargear, too, plus six drones to accompany them into battle. You can see more of this great kit in White Dwarf 91, out today.

Wow, so dynamic... much options ... extras!

Personally this is my favorite release of this week: the box  contains everything needed to build three XV8 Crisis Battlesuits, with six accompanying drones. There’s an impressive level of customisation available, with ball fittings allowing unprecedented posability. One miniature can be optionally assembled as a Shas’vre, with special head and chest plate, and there’s a prodigious amount of advanced Tau weaponry in the box: four plasma rifles, three flamers, four fusion blasters, four burst cannons, three missile pods and three shield generators. The six accompanying drones can each be built as gun, shield or marker variants and an assortment of battlesuit electronics systems are included. One model in the kit can even be built as the new, experimental Iridium-class XV8-02 Crisis Battlesuit - distinguishable by its thicker armour and aggressive appearance. Huge variety!

I', quite happy to see this set also includes the flying stems wich we can use for taking-of/flying/landing positions in the battlesuits, just like the battlesuit in the center... Also, the bonding knife for the team leader is super! 152 components are included in total, with three Citadel 50mm Round bases (!!!) and three Citadel small Flying bases.

The "New" Codex and More...

But that's not all! Also available to pre-order this week is a new edition of Codex: Tau Empire, which includes all the new units such as the Stormsurge and the Ghostkeel, plus new colour profiles, background information and miniatures galleries.

It's your choise now...

Today also heralds the release of War Zone Damocles: Kauyon, the next instalment in the ongoing war for the Damocles Gulf. If you're a fan of the Tau or the Imperium you'll definitely need this double-set of hardback books. If you're not? You'll want them anyway, because they're packed with loads of great new background, missions, artwork and pictures of beautifully painted Citadel miniatures. Remember the Shield of Baal series that came out towards the end of last year? Kauyon is like that, but even bigger and cooler. It's got the Tau in it for a start!

Also available are three sets of datacards for the Tau Empire, Raven Guard and White Scars, plus a Tau Empire painting guide and a new Black Library novel focusing on the red-armoured renegade himself, Commander Farsight. But that's not everything for today, next post will be about the new formations and oh boy... just saty tunned for my nest message.

Thank you for your time and until the next publication

Joaquim de Oliveira

This publication was only possible thanks to:

GamesWorkshop.com

What's to Come... The "New" Tau Codex Crisis and Much More!

And so ends another week , but for players of Tau Empire , although the next week seems to be the last regarding the new releases of both Tau miniatures and books , things are only heating up ... Checkout the rumors that are flowing this morning about what may be the final wave of Tau models to be released, the Battlesuits!

Crisis averted, White Dwarf's here!

Soo, what's comming up? Lets see:

• Commander (apparently with a drone) – 40€, 30£, 50$
• Crisis Battelsuits (3 suits + 6 drones) – 60€, 45£, 75$
• Drones (2 drones) – 9€, 7.7£, 12$
• Warzone Damocles: Kauyon (campaign book) – 60€, 45£, 74$
• Codex Tau (128p) – 39€, 30£, 49.5$
• Tau cards, Raven Guard! cards, also White Scars cards!! for some reason – each 10.5€, 8£, 13.5$

So from that it looks like we know the White Scars will once again be part of the Damocles operation. It looks like that this set of books will be similar to the Shield of Baal books that came out to supplement the campaign boxes as well? Here’s hoping for some new Astartes rules for fighting the blue xenos, AND maybe to make the Raven Guard soar high again!

                                           

READY THE CASH CANNON!

And, as an extra, checkout the new rumors for the Tau and Astartes that have been spotted about what may be some very nice rules mechanics!

• Commander is 85pts base. Coldstar has no particular rules compared to a Crisis so no +1T ... sorry. The high yield canon is crap (or should I say crap for that model), 18″ S5 AP5 Assault6 Twin-Linked.
• Crisis suits kit contain 4 of each weapon (except only 3 missiles). Iridium armor is still in the Codex, you can build one of such suits per kit (it's the red one we saw in the pictures?).
• Kauyon’s pictures show two formations: the awesome Shadowstrike Kill Team (2-4 Scouts + 1-5 Vanguards, you chose to fail or succeed reserve rolls for the Vanguards, they don’t scatter within 9″ of the scouts, they can charge the turn they DS) and Pinion Battle Demi-Company (like a demi company but with scouts that help reserves by accompanying other units to allow them to do a flank attack and can give ignore cover to an unit with 9″)
• Codex pictures show 80pts Devilfish and 44pts Pathfinders (minimum unit size of 4)

Apart for counting as a Flying Monstrous Creatre, it´s sad to hear about Coldstar, although I think we should reserve judgement until we get the true rules in the codex (particullary the special rules, and signature systems!). On the other hand I'm really excited with the new crisis design... man, so dynamic!

And for the Ravens? More assaulting from deep strike mechanics, and a new demi-company? That’s pretty saucy. I’m sure Raven Guard players will be estatic, however I wonder if that offer will extend to the normal Codex Space Marine chapters as well? Good guy Games Workshop seems to be including more options in the their kits as well. Nice to see the ability to field units without purchasing extra bits to do it. Gosh, maybe that was their plan all along? Perhaps especially in view of what is about to come by Forgeworld ...

From the shadows we strike ... what's left in your bank account!

The New Codex "Crisis"...

Usually I don't care much to rumors in the warhammer universe ... except when they come accompanied with images that seem minimally legitimate ... wich happened this week with the "new" Codex ... but honestly it's all very confusing ...

Via BOLS:

"Latest word says GW is putting out a bunch of new campaign and warzone books along with the “optional” Tau Codex. Here’s the details:

Readers have noted in the upcoming White Dwarf product list there a bunch of new Tau books are coming out.

For a while now, there have been rumors swirling that 40K codices may become less and less important, with alternative routes to getting current rules becoming available. Well take a look at what some folks are saying about next week’s releases:

Then we got the details on the Tau codex via the new White Dwarf:
via Gamerstrust.de 10-20-2015"

The Tau Empire is so young and innovative that they haven't changed the cover of their own codex...

I’m so confused right now… there will be four (4) items in print coming up, correct? They are:

– Codex: Tau Empire

– Operation Shadowtalon (Raven Guard)

– Burning Dawn (Tau)

– War Zone Damocles: Kauyon (campaign book)
And according to these rumors, here's the deal:

• If you already have a 6th edition Codex: Tau Empire, you just need War Zone Damocles: Kauyon.
• If you get War Zone Damocles: Kauyon, you get rules for both Tau (for the new units and Hunter Contingent) and Space Marines (Formations) plus new Fluff.
• If you get the new Codex: Tau Empire, you get everything that’s in the old Codex plus all the Tau stuff from War Zone Damocles: Kauyon (including the new Fluff?)
• If you get either Operation Shadowtalon or Burning Dawn, you get some scenario-specific fluff and a formation or two, but that has nothing to do with the real new rules/formations.

No sure if trying to be consumer friendly... or just suck all of our money as usual.

So under this piece of news, the New Tau codex seems identical to the old one except for the newly released units and formations, all of which are in the War Zone Damocles: Kauyon campaign book. It’s said to be be not so much a “new codex” as a “reprint” with all the new items collated together.

Honestly strikes me as odd that GW is thinking about their customers' savings ... it's usually the other way ...And, since we're discussing Tau books... what's going to happen to the Farsight Enclaves Supplement?? Maybe there is a explanation:

Via BOLS:

"Well that’s an interesting turn of events. I can see GW doing this to avoid the sticky situation that occurred with the Leviathan campaign last year which resulted in a handful of new Tyranid models that have difficult to access rules (which I’m sure negatively affect sales). I bet we will see this type of thing rolled out with future codices. I’m looking at you Tyranids and Chaos Marines!"

I hope that in the coming days this issue be clarified ... until then, leave your wallet alone!

In Other News:

The Warhammer TV crew are planning their Christmas advent calendar and they'd like your help. If you have a suggestion for a painting tutorial that you'd like Emma and Duncan to tackle, then send them an email. You never know, your suggestion might be one of the ones featured in the run-up to Christmas.

Thank you for your time and until the next publication

Joaquim de Oliveira

This publication was only possible thanks to:

GamesWorkshop.com,

ForgeWorld and

BOLS (part1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) 

What's New Today ... The Damocles Campaign Continues!

It has been nearly 2 years since the release of the initial Damocles Gulf Campaign with the Apocalypse Warzone: Damocles, a book with 18 new data sheets for Imperial Guard, Imperial Knights, Space Marines and Tau Empire, 4 new apocalypse missions, new strategic assets and Damocles finest hours... and now the whole thing is back!

Game over man... game over...

Now, on the world of Prefectia, near the Damocles Gulf, the Ethereal, Aun'Do, has gone missing. His transport shot down by Imperial forces, the young Ethereal carries information vital to the next Tau offensive, which cannot fall into enemy hands. Commander Shadowsun has sent out an Infiltration Cadre to rescue him. But they are not alone in the ruins of Prefectia… Soon available in stores, but sold out on GW webstore, are Shadow Force Solaq and Infiltration Cadre Burning Dawn, two strike forces with which you can re-enact the hunt for Aun'Do.

Captain Solaq, presenting in his best Captain Morgan stance with a helmet that would make Lady Gaga jealous!

The Space Marines set, shown above, hails from the Raven Guard Chapter and is led by Captain Solaq, a brand new Space Marine miniature. The box also includes a Land Speeder, five Sternguard Veterans and five Vanguard Veterans, a highly-experienced strike force tasked with hunting down the Ethereal.

The Space Marine Captain represents Solaq, the leader of the Raven Guard forces hunting Aun'Do. The model is fully compatible with other Space Marine kits and can, of course, be painted in the colours of any Space Marine Chapter (personally I think it would make a fine convertion for Sicarius...). The Shadow Force Solaq box also includes the War Zone Damocles Campaign Supplement: Operation Shadowtalon, a 32-page book that tells the story of Shadow Force Solaq through a series of missions, enabling you to recreate the battles that take place in the comfort of your own home.

While the Raven Guard scour the ruins of Prefectia for Aun'Do, the Tau are also on the hunt, their best recon units searching for the lost Ethereal.

Ethereal Aun’do, hovering majestic above the battlefield on oversized hover drone that would make Marty McFly jealous.

Infiltration Cadre Burning Dawn includes 19 plastic models, among them an Ethereal, three Stealth Suits, 10 Pathfinders, four Drones and a Piranha (which comes with another two Drones nestled in its hull). Like the Raven Guard set, the Infiltration Cadre is a brilliant start to a new army, or perhaps even reinforcements for an existing collection.

The Ethereal in the set is a new plastic model and represents Aun'Do. Like the Space Marine Captain, you can paint the Ethereal in the colours of your chosen sept. This version has been painted in the colours of Vior'la. The box also includes a 32-page campaign supplement: Burning Dawn. It tells the story of the hunt for Aun'Do, plus background on the Infiltration Cadre. It also contains the same three missions as Operation Shadowtalon, meaning you and a friend can play through them together as part of a mini campaign.

All across the Damocles Gulf planet-wide battles are being fought. Led by Commander Shadowsun, the Tau have returned to reclaim the region they lost long ago. The Imperial Guard, bolstered by White Scars and Raven Guard Space Marines and Imperial Knights, defend the worlds of the Imperium against the Tau Third Sphere Expansion...

Therefore, as an extension of this campaign (or even the evolution of it...), we are presented not with one but with two boxes, and, respectively, two books ... while similar to last year’s Stormclaw and Shield of Baal campaign boxes in the fact that they contain seeming “limited” edition figures inside the sets, this time GW has separated the boxes into separate factions of just Space Marines, and Tau respectively.

So not one, but TWO new campaign boxes are headed out way soon!. Get your wallets ready for what’s sure to be a limited edition release on October 24th!

But the campaign is not over yet, for there will be a third book related with this campaign - War Zone Damocles: Kauyon... stay close for I shall write something about it... and the confusion surrounding the new (or may be not soo new) Tau Empire Codex.... Thank you for your time and until the next publication 

Joaquim de Oliveira

This publication was only possible thanks to:

GamesWorkshop.com and
BOLS (part1 and 2)