Space Marine Codex Review: Part 9- Flyers

The final part of my Space Marine Codex review for 8th edition will take a look at the three flyers available to the forces of the Adeptus Astartes.

Flyers

Stormhawk Interceptor

The latest addition to the Space Marine airborne arsenal, it packs some impressive firepower, somewhat hampered by having to be on the move every turn. 

The Stormhawk Interceptor is comparable to a flying Rhino. You get T7, 10 wounds and a 3+ armour save. Added to the -1 to hit that enemy units suffer thanks to be being hard to hit, as well as re-rolls of saving throws of a 1 (thanks to the Infernum halo launcher) and you have a pretty durable vehicle that is going to take a fair amount of decent firepower to take out. Small arms fire shouldn't worry the Interceptor too much. 

The Stormhawk can also move, with a movement of 20-50" at full strength, making it very fast and almost certain to get where you want it to go. It can't hover though, but this will be of less influence when flyers are no longer able to score objectives. 

The Stormhawk comes with two assault cannons, two heavy Bolters and an Icarus Stormcannon (48", heavy 3, S7 AP-1 2 damage). The two assault cannons and two heavy bolters give you 18 medium strength shots at -1AP. It should be useful for tearing through lightly armoured infantry and should even cause small elite units some damage. The downside is that the Stormhawk Interceptor will be hitting ground targets on a 4+ at best, as it still suffers the -1 to hit for moving and firing heavy weapons. It gets even worse for the Icarus Stormcannon, as it sufferes an additional -1 to hit for firing at units without the Fly keyword (though it does get +1 to hit against units with fly). 

The Stormhawk gets the Interceptor special rule, meaning +1 to hit against enemy units with the fly keyword. This means that it is still hitting fly units on a 3+ with most weapons and on a 2+ with the Icarus Stormcannon. 

The base cost of the Stormhawk is 164 points, which is not too expensive for the firepower it can put out. It is definitely a better option if you know you will be facing a lot of fly units, though few infantry units have this keyword and the basic armament is not ideally suited for going up against vehicles (such as flyers). 

Fortunately, you have some weapons options to choose from. You can upgrade to take a Las-talon (a short-range, two shot Lascannon), a Skyhammer Missile Launcher (similar to the Icarus, but with D3 damage) or a typhoon missile launcher. Taking the Las-talon, Icarus Stormcannon and Skyhammer Missile Launcher will set you back only 166 points, but will give you two S9 shots and six S7 shots, each doing multiple damage. Against vehicles with the fly keyword, two of those weapons will hit on a 2+ (unless you are targeting a flyer, in which case you are probably hitting on 3's). This actually makes the Interceptor a great flyer to use against certain armies such as Eldar, Harlequins or Dark Eldar, who feature a lot of weaker vehicle with Fly. It will be less useful against other armies, as you will be hitting most ground targets on a 5+ with this load out. 

If you know you are likely to be facing a lot of flyers or fly units, I would say that the Stormhawk Interceptor is a solid choice and could do a lot of damage for a very reasonable cost. However, against most other armies, it may suffer due the reduced accuracy of its firepower (though that is still pretty impressive for the cost). 

Space Marine Codex Review: Part 8- Dedicated Transports

Next up for my Space Marine Codex review is the dedicated transports that are available for the army. Many of the transports have seen some great benefits thanks to the change to vehicle rules for 8th edition, while the Drop Pod has seen some decrease in utility from its previous incarnations. 

Dedicated Transports

Rhino

The classic transport vehicle for the Space Marine army is back and is a fantastic way to keep your Marines safe in 8th edition.

The Rhino has benefited greatly from the update to 8th edition. Gaining T7, 10 wounds and a 3+ save has made it so much more durable than it ever was in previous editions of the game. It can now no longer be destroyed in a single shot (at least with most weapons), with even a Lascannon taking three successful wounds and average damage rolls to completely destroy it. In most of my games so far, the Rhino has been fantastic, ferrying my squads to where they need to be in relative safety.

The Smoke Launchers are another great bonus, with -1 to hit actually proving to be very effective at keeping it safer for a turn. The fact that you can advance and still use the smoke launchers means you can get to your opponent even faster.

Another benefit of the Rhino is the fact that vehicles can now charge into combat. This means you can use the tougher chassis of the Rhino to soak up potentially devastating overwatch fire before the squad it was transporting charges in. Getting to charge from a transport vehicle is another big boost for the utility of the Rhino, as you no longer have to spend a turn in the open before launching a charge.

The Rhino also gets to repair a wound on a roll of a 6 each turn, but statistically, you will be lucky to recover one wound per game. Still, it is a nice little bonus. Also, the Rhino can be risky when it is destroyed. It explodes on a roll of a 6, doing D3 mortal wounds to every unit within 6". This doesn't sound like much, but I've had plenty of exploding vehicles causing havoc to both players in my games, as an ill-timed explosion can devastate a battle line. Always something to bear in mind and maybe keep a Command Point spare to re-roll an explosion result.

Overall, the Rhino is greatly improved in 8th edition and will likely be a frequent sight in many Space Marine armies.

Space Marine Codex Review: Part 7- Heavy Support

Part 7 of my Space Marine Codex review will take a look at the various options in the Heavy Support section of the book. Thanks to the changes to the vehicle rules have made many of these options much more favourable than they have been in previous editions.

Heavy Support Units
Devastator Squad
The classic Space Marine Heavy Support choice has seen some improvements in 8th edition thanks to their special rules and a general improvement in Heavy Weapons and shooting them.

The Devastator squad is pretty much unchanged for several editions; the squad consists of between 5-10 Marines, with up to four being able to take a Heavy Weapon. The Squad Sergeant has a Signum, allowing a single model in the unit to get +1 to hit when shooting. The Armorium Cherub also makes a return, allowing you to shoot with a single member of the squad once more in the shooting phase. This gives you up to 5 heavy weapons shots in a single turn, which can be pretty potent. You will probably use this on the Signum model, giving you five shots, three hitting on a 3+ and two hitting on a 2+ (in most cases).

What is different in 8th edition is that there are many viable choices for equipping your Devastator squad. Grav Cannons are no longer your only competitive option, in fact, they may now be one of the poorer options.
Missile Launchers and Lascannons are probably two of the most popular options, providing your army with some great high-strength, multi-damage shots for taking on vehicles and monstrous creatures. Equally though, Plasma Cannons can be devastating if you can overcharge their shots successfully (and have a nice source of re-rolls to hit nearby). Heavy Bolters can even supply a strong volume of fire, with some of the Stratagems allowing them to deal Mortal Wounds to enemy units.

One of the great changes for Devastators is that moving and firing Heavy Weapons is not as punishing as it once was. You can move and fire, only suffering a -1 to hit penalty, meaning that Devastators can play a more active role in the game if necessary. With a Captain or Chapter Master nearby, you can even be quite effective at firing while moving.

One of my current combinations is to put a lieutenant next to my Devastators to give them re-rolls of 1 to wound. This helps to mitigate poorer wound rolls with my Missile Launchers.

Devastator Squads are a powerful unit to add to your army in the new codex, able to perform a wide variety of battlefield roles. They also benefit from being more mobile in 8th edition, so don't always have to remain the static force they once were.

Better Know A Blogger: Part 43- Errant Wolf

This week's Better Know A Blogger features Dave G from Errant Wolf. 

Errant Wolf is one of the most recent additions to my blog list and has been an entertaining read ever since.
I have been following with interest his recent posts about constructing a board and an army for the upcoming Armies on Parade. I've never entered one of these myself, but am interested to see how much work and planning goes into such an event, especially when you are starting from scratch. 

In addition to that you will find some great hobby photos of his brilliant Space Wolves army, as well as some great Shadow War battle reports and reviews on kits and other products. Dave also posts his own series of interviews, where he talks to some big names in the gaming community to find out about their hobby history.

Here are Dave's answers to my questions:

1. What age did you get into gaming and what started it off?

Oh man, way too long ago, probably when I was about 12, but I really got into 40k, Space Hulk and Necromunda when I was about 14 in the early 1990’s. Space Hulk is my one true love and is a game I’ve played throughout my life. It’s easy to learn, hard to master and can be played with almost anyone.

Around the same age, I started collecting my first Space Wolves army, and again, I’ve never been able to escape the Wolves. I’ve tried plenty of other armies over the years but always come back to them. I’m on possibly my 5th incarnation now, which is a Horus Heresy army.

Hobby Sunday 27/08/17- Genestealer Cult Acolytes

I actually managed to get some hobby work done this week, in between writing up Space Marine Codex reviews and battle reports. If I actually had a life, I doubt I could get half the content on the blog that I do! 

This week, I managed to complete my second unit for the Genestealer Cult (only 20 more to go!), a unit of 6 Genestealer Acolyte Hybrids from the Deathwatch Overkill box. I started these models a while back, but finally got them finished this week. 

Here are some work in progress shots and the completed models. 

Space Marine Codex Review: Part 6- Fast Attack

Part 6 of the review looks at the Fast Attack section. As a White Scars player, this is possibly one of my favourite sections of the Space Marine codex and one I will draw much of my army from in many of my army lists. 

Fast Attack

Bike Squad
One of the units that I used most often with my White Scars in 7th edition, this unit has undergone a few changes in the new Space Marine Codex.

The big changes for Bikes is that their move has increased to 14" and they now have 2 wounds each. While this improves their durability somewhat, it really doesn't make up for the loss of the Jink save that they had. However, few units have that kind of durability in 40k now, so it's a loss felt across the board.

The other change in Bikers is an increase in their firepower. The Twin Boltgun is now Rapid Fire 2, meaning four shots each at 12". This means a unit of 5 Bikers can put out 20 Bolter shots inside rapid fire range, which is pretty impressive. Even better, if you take two special weapons in the squad, you can still fire your Bolters and can even target a separate unit with the special weapons.

Space Marine Codex Review: Part 5- Elites

Part 5 of my 8th edition Codex Space Marine review will take a look at the Elites section of the codex. The Elites choices for Space Marines seems to have undergone a big expansion since 7th edition. A lot of this has to do with choices such as the Apothecary and Champion moving from a Command Squad to their own distinct choices.

Elites
Chapter Ancient
The Chapter Ancient is a new addition to the army in 8th edition. He comes with what I would call the standard Space Marine Character stat line, with similar stats to the Lieutenant, Chaplain or Librarian. So on his own, he is a decent character, able to hold his own in combat (he comes with a Power Sword) against standard infantry and is fairly durable with 4 wounds and a 2+ armour save.

Where he comes into his own is in with the Astartes Banner. The Banner on the Chapter Ancient gives +1Ld to friendly Astartes units within 6". This is a pretty good bonus, meaning that most units will be Ld8 (or 9 if the Sergeant is still alive). Coupled to And They Shall Know No Fear, this helps prevent your units from losing members to morale tests, keeping them in the fight for longer. The big bonus from the banner comes in the form of "resurrecting models". Each time a model is removed within 6" of the Ancient, on a 4+ that model may make an attack with one of its weapons as if it were the shooting phase, or may make a single attack as if it were the fight phase.

This is obviously a very powerful ability if used correctly. I think the Chapter Ancient will be of more use to a gunline army, parked next to a unit of Devastators or Devastator Centurions. This will allow 50% of your casualties to still fire at the enemy army before they are removed. This can be very useful if you lose the first turn, allowing many of your models in a unit to fire at the enemy army even if they are being wiped out. On a Bolter, this may not be a big deal, but a Lascannon or Missile Launcher is a different matter. Note that the two effects are specified differently in the rule. All UNITS within 6" of the Ancient gain +1Ld, while the resurrection shot only affects all MODELS within 6". This means that you cannot spread out your units with only a single model in range to get the benefits to all members of the squad. If this was the case, the Banner would be ridiculously overpowered (more so than many feel it is already).

Unusually, the Banner specifies a single attack in close combat. This is surprising, given that there is no limit on how many shots the model can make with a single weapon in the shooting phase. For example, a Terminator with an Assault Cannon would get to make 6 shots with the weapon, but only a single attack with his Power Fist. To me, this makes the banner more effective for a gunline army, as you are likely to get more attacks in many cases.

If you are planning to use a Chapter Ancient in your army as the foundation for a gameplan, the Standard of the Emperor Ascendant is pretty much a compulsory inclusion in your army. This increases the chances of getting a resurrection shot from 50% to around 67%, giving you much better odds of getting the ability off on nearby models.

The Chapter Ancient seems like a solid inclusion in any Space Marine army. At 76 points, he is not too expensive an addition to the army, but you may wish to go for the cheaper version to get roughly the same effect.

Blog Milestones- 500 Edition

This week the blog has hit two major milestones that I wanted to highlight. 

Thanks to Dave at Confession of a 40k addict for his great images once more.

First up, my 500th post was up on the blog at the weekend. At around two and a half years old, I'm surprised I've had that much to talk about! 

Secondly, yesterday the blog hit over 500,000 views. Thanks to everyone who takes the time to read the blog and comment on my articles. It really is the feedback and interaction with all the great bloggers and readers out there that keeps me coming back and posting on such a regular basis. 

On a side note, I would encourage you all to keep commenting on all the great 40k blogs that you read. A simple "Great work" or "nice post" makes all the difference, especially when you are just starting out in blogging. It is great encouragement to keep young blogs going. 

Don't worry, this slightly egotistical post is not all you are getting today, my Space Marine codex review will continue this afternoon with the review of the mammoth Elites section of the new book. 

Better Know A Blogger: Part 42- Chucking Monkeys

This week's Better Know A Blogger features Luke (AKA Monkey Chuka) from Chucking Monkeys.

Monkey Chuka's blog was one of the first that I followed when I started reading 40k blogs. I was initially drawn in by the awesome look of his Tyranid army and found some really great hobby posts, littered with humourous and random commentary from Monkey Chuka himself. 

One of my favourite series of posts was his work on building a Tyrannocyte conversion. Luke set himself the immense task of converting a Tyrannoctye to feature a sleeping Carnifex inside it! From reading the posts, you can see it was a labour of love and hate in equal measure. Without a doubt though, the end results was absolutely fantastic and a real insight into his hobby skills. 

At some point last year, he stopped posting on a regular basis, leading me to stop following the blog for a while. Fortunately, the return of 8th edition 40k seems to have heralded the return of Chucking Monkeys and I was very happy to see new blog posts appearing on my blogroll, as well as comments appearing on my own and other great 40k blogs. 

His most recent work has been focusing on his amazing Red Scorpions Primaris Marines. This is gearing up to be a fantastic looking army, with ever new post leaving me drooling over the amazing paint jobs he has achieved on the units. 

Here are Monkey Chuka's answers to my questions:

1. What age did you get into gaming and what started it off?

Early teens. I was born in Salford, England, less than a mile away from Old Trafford where football is etched into your neurons at birth. Getting the bus into Manchester and spending the day at Games Workshop (back when they still sold TSR products) taught me that there was another way. I tried emigrating to the opposite face of the planet in order to escape the sports mad crowd but Kiwis are just as obsessed with rugby as Britons are with football. However, New Zealand is Middle-Earth and re-ignited my interest in hobbying, so there is that.

Space Marine Codex Review: Part 4- Troops

Part 4 of my Codex Space Marine Review will take a look at the Troops choices available. This will be a quick review, as there are only three choices. I was planning on grouping this with the Elites section, but that is actually a fairly substantial section of the codex, so I will focus on that in its own review.

Troops

Tactical Squad

The classic choice of the Space Marine army is once more in prime place in the Space Marine Codex.

The Tactical Squad hasn't really changed much in several editions of the game; the squad consists of between 5-10 models. In a squad of 5, one Marine can take a Special Weapon or one can take a Heavy Weapon. In a squad of 10, one can take a Special Weapon and one can take a Heavy Weapon. All pretty standard stuff so far.

Where the Tactical Squad has changed is in the actual 8th edition rules themselves. Now that a single squad is able to fire at multiple targets, you are no longer "wasting" the Bolter shots from the rest of the Tactical Squad if you take a single Heavy Weapon or Special Weapon. This upgrade can fire at one target, while the rest of the squad can utilise their Bolter shots to damage another target. Also, giving that the To Wound values have also changed in 8th edition, the humble Bolter can now wound vehicles on a 5+, meaning that a Tactical Squad is now more than capable of taking a few wounds off a vehicle with some lucky rolling, or even finishing off a vehicle that the Squad's Heavy/Special Weapon has seriously damaged.