GAMING COMMENT: IG codex halflife review

[General Biakal]

Cold comfort as a 'stealer eats your face

Since May 2009 there has been a new IG codex.

at about 18 months old its now virtually at its mid-life point (sorry Dark Eldar but it just is... "Bi moar fings" from GW and you will get more books. its how it works- White Dwarf says so) and its pretty much sorted itself out as a very very strong codex in the 2000pt plus range and soft as piss in the under 1500pt range. the much hated Doctrines are gone... but then again that system was so badly thought out its no wonder. "pay 100,000 pts for a thing that really wont make any difference at all" is never going to hit the spot. But the flexibility of the codex means most of what people actually used from the 4th Ed. book are easier and cheaper.

when it comes to units all the usual suspects are included, some going back to rogue trader virtually. Some units have been moved around and some are brand spanking new. as with most books its a mix of well thought out rules and units and at least as much "fuck it, we will FAQ the cunt later" but unusually with IG its more of the former.

thats not to say its "all there". even a thick twat like me can see gaps... a really shooty character, like a sniper lone wolf who is the ying to Marbos mental-CC yang. a light, cheap troop transport. like a truk, but for men. decent rules for servo skulls. the vulture and the Thudd gun in the main codex.... yeah, why not?

there is no argument that some of the things that used to be totally overcosted have been calmed down, army-wide there has been a general drop in costs and new units like the Valkyrie are so shockingly cheap it makes your head spin. more options for melta and plasma, more tanks and better troop options. on the face of it IG are looking pretty fighty.


But what, i hear you yell, does a fat, jaguar driving bloke with a huge cock think in depth about how the codex has matured? well, i was comming to that...

HQ
I fear for the future when it comes to HQ squads, which is weird cos this is supposed to be about the here and now. But it is relevant because your squad is now BS4 and can take 4 special weapons. in IG terms hitting 2 out of 3 is much better than 50/50. but this does mean your HQ squads get very up close and personal to the enemy which is not always the best idea... which is why i fear for the future. The last two Guard lists from FW have the option for only ONE special weapon... which makes sense in a military way (self defence) and a game way (keep the HQ's back from the fighting handing out all important orders). but for now the squads can lay down a lot of effective AP 1 and 2 fire and even order themselves to be even more effective. with a list of options a page long the HQ squad is like your favourite hooker... she can be anyone you want her to be. Commanding with vox and lascannon, fighty with 4 meltas and carapace armour or a mix. or neither. for now, they can really get some war done.



Storm Troopers
even with the boost to to AP3, storm troopers just feel a little tired. cant take objectives, expensive, shit models. Hellguns with shocking range, limited options. in the old days when BS4 was a novelty these guys had a niche. veteran spam just makes them look behind the times.

TROOPS

Platoons
I dont want to go into platoons too much... you all know how they work by now. I still think that Commissars are way to pricey... to the point where most people just dont bother. Fluff wise your army should crawl with them. cut the price or make them free if you have more than four squads in your platoon.

veterans
I heart veterans. i just love them. bumped from an Elites choice down to troops, given doctrines that actually make sense, yep im there. i dont even think they are over priced... it might be nice to make the doctrines free tho...
the only downsides are you can only take six squads which means you will essentially be going mono-e-mono with Space Marines... and they win all day. otherwise they cry to mummy and get a new xbox360 game instead. personal choice steers me to an all veteran army but to be honest it dosent always do me well...
 

Chimera
wow... its a decent points cost now! its gone from the least value for money APC in the history of anything to cheap and common... so i wonder why GW all but halved its points cost? was it by chance to encourage you to buy.... DUM DUM DUM.... valks?


FAST ATTACK
just a quick note on FA. this is the zone where the real hard work goes in to planning your list. cos BY far the FA slots are butt kickers extraordinaire. your gonna struggle with three slots my son...

Valkyrie
thank fuck for the Valk. and thank fuck for GW's cock headed business plan. because the Valkyrie is so cheap in points its a bit embarassing. 130pts for three twin linked las cannons. on a fast transport vehicle thats also a flyer. not even marines pay that shit. the thinking is this "we have made possibly the best large scale plastic kit we have ever done... that goes together like a german jigsaw puzzle and looks awesome. so why not cost them so you could technically field six of them in a 1750pt battle..... bwhahaha etc"
so out goes the sensible costing and in comes "bi moar stuffs".
brilliant.

Armoured Sentinels
WRONG slot. too expensive. brilliant model.
why cant it be a troops choice? why cant it claim objectives? id even agree to it being only as part of a platoon-but would a spam sentinel army really be that bad? they cost enough... and they cant scout and outflank like...

Scout Sentinels
no probs here... cheaper than before, same nice new model as above. maybe a veteran upgrade? melta? im happy here so far... i would really like an IC type Sentinel tho. just for fluff if nothing else...

HellHounds
really, the shock of the codex. the old Hound was tired looking, had some dumb fucking rules (which while got better with 4th ed were still rough around the edges) and was a bit of a cinderella of the list. but 5th ed comes and POW! three varients with an awesome model and even more awsome shooty flamer death. plus a rare and useful Multi Melta option. how cool would the chimera be with that option? i personally would have coped with taking the main flame cannon down to AP3 and not bothering with the devil dog but i dont doubt in these times where the elite space marines can outnumber the humble guardsmen EVEN IF YOU TAKE PLATOONS a couple of melta blasts can be very handy. i really like the banewolf tho....

"FUCK YOU DEEP STRIKING BLOOD ANGELS JUMP TROOPS...FUCK YOU. I HAD COMBAT RATIONS OFF YO MOMMA LAST NITE....AND SHE DELIVERED THEM TO MY FOXHOLE!"

yes, if you dare get close to the Banewolf it will kill you then sleep with your momma. but be aware.... anything it doesnt kill will assault you and kick its metal ass.


ROUGH RIDERS

By far the biggest missed opportunity in this or ANY codex. RR are such a glass hammer they deserve to be given the most amazing chance any unit gets....

moved into the troops slot.

yeah, i said it. i went there... the should be a troops option. But not right out the box.... no. What They SHOULD have done is make Kamir a HQ choice, and if you take him RR become troops. price him up if you have to. but do it... just because there would be a mad-head out there with 60+ rough riders. and they would win as many as they lost... but man it would be worth it. you could quite easily table a MEQ army is one and a half turns. or you could not roll enough 5s and 6s to hit and kill three Marines and in the pile-in phase be wiped out. but that is a gamble worth taking.

To Be Continued.....