8th Edition Warhammer 40,000

8th Edition Warhammer 40,000  is on the way and so far I have to say I like it. There is no faction destroying, no Warhammer ends times. GW are making fantastic offers of support refunding codexs bought in the last 8 weeks and are being very open about the upcoming rules.

I have  already seen stat lines for 2 wound Terminators and although this may not be the final outcome it has left me pretty happy and a single profile type for all units can only simply the game. Dreads and monstrous creatures will be on an equal footing for a change and that will clean up a lot of bitterness about the flyrants, Grey Knight Nemisis and the Wraithlord.

2nd ed movement distances are back which leaves me wondering what is going to happen to the charge range. It also makes me wonder about the effectiveness of vehicle shooting, but in my head I can already guess it will be something like not moved, moved, "ran" as it would be for infantry.

There is loads to come and it is very exciting as well as a huge accolade that GW has taken what was a hostile and largely negative community and managed to make huge strides in turning it around.

New codex

So I finally got my hands on the new codex and there is still a lot I have to work out from it, but overall I am impressed. Apocalypse battles are my favorite part of 40K and the new book alongside the new rulebook make every game of 40k much more like Apocalypse. The book is high quality and hefty as you would expect from the newer codexes and there is a lot of material in it, but the majority will be familiar to most Space Marine players.

Doctrines have been opened up to all of the Space Marine Chapters, but with a little bit of wangling I have found that the Ultramarines can use the doctrines more far more times than their less disciplined cousins, with the tactical doctrine available up to 3 times a game! As an Ultramarine you get it once, as part of the Gladius formation you get it again and as part of a Demi-company you get it again! So just for being fluffy and thematic with your Ultramarines force and taking a balance force (as the codex decrees brother) you get a significant bonus.

I also couldn't resist picking up the card set to accompany the codex. The cards are very high quality and feel very nice. They also help me keep track of what I have and have not used and substitute in the additional Space Marine objectives to the main list.

I have started to get a couple of games under my belt with the new objective system and it is very easy to gain or lose points. How the cards fall can make or break you very quickly, with kill a psyker, manifest a psychic  power and take down  a monstrous creature all liable to appear in games without psykers or monstrous creatures.

It is a new style of play and one I think I like in friendly games. I am yet to sign up to a tournament in this edition and will be interested to see how they work.