Pre-order Preview: Vigilus Defiant and Chapter Approved

Well, everybody, seems like Warhammer Community hasn't disappointed us after all. No sooner than someone at DakkaDakka dropped a hint that our wait for news and previews would be over, Warhammer Community posted a pre-order preview for Vigilus Defiant and Chapter Approved.



Obviously I'm not going to say much here, so go to the Warhammer Community website and read more about it instead.

To sum up, though, if you don't want to read too much...

Vigilus Defiant has campaign stuff, 12 narrative missions, and new datasheets for the Primarized Marneus Calgar, his Victrix Guard (the dudes with the swords and shields in the teaser video) and Haarken Worldclaimer. And we'll also have rules for new Formations.



Well, basically it seems that the Formations aren't that broken, and they cost Command Points. So you can spend a Command Point and choose for any Detachment to be a Formation or Specialist Detachment, and they gain the keyword - like Imperial Fists Siegebreaker Cohort, for example. Why would you want to do that? Apparently because you unlock access to more Stratagems (told you they cost Command Points), a Warlord Trait and a Relic. Cool, I guess? Nothing that makes them auto-takes or extremely broken (so you can calm down, Karru), at least not from what I see so far. We'll see but I'll cover more on the Imperial Guard ones when I get more information.

Okay, I see some people on DakkaDakka asking this question about whether these Formations are narrative-only. While I doubt they would be reading this post (because there are no rumors here and it's basically a copy-paste of the original Warhammer Community post), I might as well offer an answer to that question.

According to The Bell of Lost Souls, who quoted Garro, a blogger of renown (apparently):

"The main draw for players (and what will likely cause the most controversy) is the introduction of “special detachments”. These are a selection of special rules that stack on top of existing detachments that give special rules for certain units (akin to formations in 6th and 7th). These work in that you pay a certain amount of command points to call your detachment ‘SD Indomius crusade veterans’ for example, this then allows units with certain keywords to unlock (via command points pre game) additional rules buffs to represent certain narrative forces. for example the Indominus crusade veterans special detachment allows intercessor squads to be upgraded to veterans.

There are several special detachments in book for regular marines (plus angels and deathwatch, but not wolves), Chaos, and Orks, with Tempestus scions, Genestealer cults, and Mechanicus, and I think Space wolves, getting one each. One of the Ork ones allows you to take a Stompa as your warlord, with its own set of warlord traits to choose from.

these detachments aren’t like old formations in that you can only take units x,y,z in them, you can use them with any detachment with the correct faction keyword. however the special rules will only effect certain keyword units, plus the Special detachments cost command points to purchase as well, which should keep them in check. they were also stated as being useable in matched play, as GW see the campaign expansions no differently than the indexes or codices."

Note: Garro, who attended the Vigilus weekender, says that these formations are usable in Matched Play, not just Narrative. So have fun. Someone can inform the fine folks at DakkaDakka forums about that if they want to, but I doubt anyone will be paying any attention to me now that the whole Thousand Sons rumors thing is dying down. I hope. Never mind. ShaneMarsh beat me to it. Good on you, ShaneMarsh.



There's a Limited Edition if you have money to burn. Otherwise...just buy the cheaper version.



New Marneus Calgar model, but you knew that already.



At least we know what those Marines with fancy helms are now. Honor Guard. Okay...Victrix Guard? Intercept wounds for your Characters, which the Company Veterans do already. Don't ask me why.



And we have the Haarken Worldclaimer dude, who would most likely fall to a direct plasma bombardment from my Spearhead of Leman Russ Executioner tanks, and allow the Imperium to retake Vigilus in an overwhelming victory over the foolish Traitors.



And...what everyone is waiting for. Pre-orders for Chapter Approved will be up next weekend, and it will officially be released on December 15th. Yay?

Nothing on leaks or units costs or whatever, so...yeah. We also have Monopoly and the Forgebane Cryptek will be released separately. Cool, I guess. Anyway, Warhammer Community will be giving more previews over the next week, so keep your eyes out for updates.

Warbringer Nemesis Titan brings war!

I'm not going to say too much, but we're getting a new Titan. I already mentioned it when I covered the Vigilus news a few days ago, but here is the Warbringer Nemesis Titan in all of its glory. Carrying an anti-Titan Quake cannon on its back, it's meant to be an artillery dude. I think.



It's supposed to be between the Reaver and Warlord Titan in size, so cool. It also uses the Reaver's arm weapons for its weapons, so take note of that when purchasing one.

As much as I would love to own one (or any of the other Titans), I can't afford it. Hell, I would much rather buy Adeptus Titanicus models instead. Still waiting on the Warlord Titan with Sunfury plasma annihilators.

Anyway, that's all I've got and I'll see you guys next time! For more news on the Warbringer Nemesis Titan, head to Warhammer Community and read the full-length article there!

Blackstone Fortress

So I had a game today with my friend and we braved the dangers of the Blackstone Fortress. My friend picked the Kroot dude and UR-025 (I think, or was it 75?). I took the Rogue Trader dude and the Navigator dude, and...well, we ended up killing all the Cultists in the area we found inside.

Messed up a few rules here and there, but it's only natural because it's our first time playing. We even forgot to search and look for discoveries, and got too carried away with wiping the entire level of Cultists. Heh. Still pretty wonky on the rules, but we'll figure it out someday.

I wonder what the future holds for us, especially when we get used to the rules!

Let us make some noise!

Brothers from the revered Thousand Sons Legion! I bring news! I bring...NOISE!

An ominous, excessive video has sufraced on the Warhammer TV's Facebook page! https://www.facebook.com/WarhammerTVteam/videos/741405426260116/

Yes, we will be receiving new Noise Marines soon. And the Emperor's Children will soon drown the Imperium in noise and sensation.



Oh boy...looks like the children of Fulgrim will descend upon the Imperium before the year is up. My brothers! Let us defend the Imperium with our lives! For Magnus!

Unlike the Emperor's Children, the Thousand Sons remain loyal to the Emperor and to the Imperium!

Breaking News from Vigilus Open Day!

Was about to do my own stuff when I saw this on Warhammer Community...no, actually I saw this on the Warhammer 40,000 Facebook page. Anyway, there has been great reveals from Vigilus Open Day! You can check all the news by clicking the link here.

Obviously I'm not going to regurgitate everything that has already been written by Warhammer Community, but I'll just sum up the news.

1. Marneus Calgar is getting a new Primaris Marine model. He has been reborn as a Primaris Marine (huh?! How?!) and you'll get a new Primaris model for him soon. Not just him, but we'll be getting a couple of new Ultramarine models, like the guys with awesome Ultramarine Shields as depicted in the video.



2. Seems like there will be new Black Legion models, new Warp Talons or Raptors...I dunno, you know, those Chaos Space Marines with jump packs. Among them is Haarken Worldtaker, who leads a massive Black Legion warband to assault Vigilus.



3. A new Campaign for Vigilus, called Vigilus Defiant. Basically what we had with Kauyou and Mont'ka from Warzone: Damocles, and Warzone Fenris: Rise of the Wulfen and Wrath of Magnus. And The Gathering Storm. Whoopedo.



The courageous Astra Militarum shall hold strong and protect Vigilus alongside the revered Adeptus Astartes and the stalwart Skitarii!

4. Genestealer Cultists are getting their codex, and a whole host of new units. Genestealer Cultist bikers. No, I'm not kidding. Genestealer Cultists on bikes. Hey, we Guardsmen don't get bikes, but Genestealer Cultists do?! How is this fair?!





5. New Chaos models for Khorne and Slaanesh in Wrath and Rapture. Cool.



6. New Warbringer Nemesis Titan from Forge World. Sorry, I'll never be able to afford that.



7. Chapter Approved 2018 will be out soon.



Good news for Grey Knights, who apparently have a huge points reduction across the board. Maybe the Grey Knights players will stop whining now, eh? I kid, I know how much you have suffered. Okay, not really, but...you know what I mean. I hope Rubric Marines and Scarab Occult Terminators get points reduction too. I'm getting really sick of hearing to all the whining on the Thousand Sons pages about how Rubric Marines are not competitive. They're not that bad, for Tzeentch's sake.

Congratulations, Grey Knights!

Oh, and we already know the Adepta Sororitas will have a beta codex in Chapter Approved 2018, so something else to look forward to.

Purge those heretics!

Anyway, I'll let you guys know when I get more news, but...yeah. Being in the United States, I can't attend Warhammer Open World or Vigilus Open Day. Thank the Emperor for the Internet!

Before you give advice...

Now I'm on the Thousand Sons page on Facebook, and I notice - not just the Facebook page, but also on Dakka Dakka and a whole host of other websites including Reddit, BellofLostSouls, etc. - that whenever someone asks a question about starting a Thousand Sons army, or asks about Rubric Marines or Exalted Sorcerers, he (or she) gets jumped on by a certain group of people. This group of people would tell him about how awful Rubric Marines and Scarab Occult Terminators are, or how bad Exalted Sorcerers are, and advise him to buy bunches of Tzaangors, or take Daemon Princes over Exalted Sorcerers.

And this is less than a month before Chapter Approved drops.

Now, if the guy was asking for competition advice, or for tournament advice, I can understand that. But even so, it's still highly dangerous and irresponsible to give advice like that. Firstly, the meta changes all the time...or at least every six months, anyway. Rubric Marines might get a points cut. Tzaangors and Daemon Princes might get nerfed. A lot of things might change. According to rumors, Cultists might even go up to 5 points. Point is that you don't just advise a new player on what's competitive, and tell him how to build a list, usually in an overbearing manner by complaining how Rubric Marines suck (they don't) and almost forcing a Tzaangor/Daemon Prince build on him or telling him what models to buy. If they want an Exalted Sorcerer, then let them use an Exalted Sorcerer! Don't get all aggressive and tell him off, and force him to buy and use Daemon Princes over Exalted Sorcerers! If someone is talking about how cool his dual-sword wielding Exalted Sorcerer is, don't jump in and start telling him off for using an uncompetitive choice, force him to use a Daemon Prince, and advise him against using Seer's Bane! He's just describing how cool his model is or how his last game went!

Jeez, I know there's the competitive crowd, but honestly, can you not push your competitive ideals onto players who want to be fluffy and narrative? If I want to use Rubric Marines, I will use Rubric Marines, to hell with the tournament scene, or them being overcosted or whatever. And besides, the meta might change, and Chapter Approved is less than a month away. Can you imagine telling a new player to get nothing but Tzaangors and eschew Rubric Marines, then Chapter Approved drops next month buffing Rubric Marines and nerfing Tzaangors? Wouldn't he have wasted all that money? For the Emperor's sake, stop forcing competitive ideals on other people and let them play whatever they want! We're talking about new players who have chosen Thousand Sons for their fluff, beautiful models and other cool stuff, not a veteran player choosing a faction and building a list to win a frakking tournament!

Thousand Sons automata

One of my favorite parts in A Thousand Sons, the Captain of the 6th Fellowship, Khalophis, controls battle-automata, or Cybernetica units.

With the number of Dreadnoughts, whether it's Contemptor, Deredeo or Leviathan, that I have, I'm thinking I can basically create a Thousand Sons automata army that's based off Khalophis's battle automata maniples.

So what I'm thinking...right now I have three Contemptor Dreadnoughts, a Deredeo Dreadnought and a Leviathan Dreadnought. All Hellforged, of course. Guided and controlled by psychic sorcerers, these "Dreadnoughts" will be automata (which fits the Thousand Sons theme) but counts as or uses their respective Hellforged Dreadnought rules.

I'll try to get a game with these new guys, but I need to find an opponent first. And with Thanksgiving coming up...yeah. That might be difficult. But I won't give up! And I also want to try out my new Deathwatch list! In any case, this is what I have planned, and I'll see you guys next time!