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| Cover from the new Codex |
Why do I feel this way? Well while it is true that the Marine codex's make a great start for beginners and even better for learning the game it also sets newbies (like myself) with a false set of standards with above average infantry (4's across the board) and cheap but good vehicles as well. I think this has eschewed my perception of other armies and this is especially true with the release of Grey Knights. Now I know how people have constantly mentioned that GW seems to have puppy love for their Marines and this maybe true but I have trouble subscribing to the same train of thought and if I ever truly felt that way I'd probably just stop playing and go to another war-game (Infinity and Warmachine are the bit games at my LGS right now).
So the purpose of this little rant was as much as for you all than it was for me..I kept saying 'that's good but Grey Knights...' and I do not feel that is fair to any codex really. As you will see in my next few posts (yes this will be a multi-post review) I personally feel that BOTH Grey Knights and Necrons feel a bit...incomplete. I'll explain why over the next few posts more in depth.
At this point I just wanted to get some initial thoughts on record how I feel about the latest army. I also plan to speak on my previously mentioned concerns and thoughts (from the previous post). So lets get started:
Overall:
I love Necrons, their fluff and their overall theme is amazing but I'm not sure if Mr. Ward nailed it on the head. It almost seemed like Grey Knights were in the back of his head saying "don't make a better codex than us" or "don't add that it's too similar to our codex or will screw us over". I could be wrong, but that is just my newbie impression. The codex also feels incomplete, where are my FOC changes? Why do they mention that X HQ model likes to employ scarabs but not let him take them as troops? We have a Cryptek HQ who does nothing for other Crypteks? There is like a page dedicated to a crownworld that has been infected with the flayed one disease and is ruled by an overlord who seems to be immune to it (although they kind of say he isn't) and he sends out monthly 'hunts' for flesh. So...great can't wait to see the HQ that they have for him...only...they don't. Also constantly seeing amazing close combat stuff then realizing it is completely wasted on Init 2. This makes the Initiate a sad sad newbie. On the other hand we have some amazing things (I honestly think that 2 squads of 20 warriors with a Ghost Ark in tow will cause some pain! And let me say I LOVE THE CRYPTEKS. Any kind of model that adjusts the way a squad works is amazing. Lastly I am saddened to see that some of the best (in my opinion) vehicles are not even models yet...
Leadership 10:
I still think this is a great ability and 'fluffy' too. LD10 means that they are rarely going to run away causing them to lose Reanimation Protocol rolls. It also means they may stand up a bit more in assault as it will take several wound losses to lower that to something that is going to be hard to roll. Unfortunately on that note if they fail they will more than likely get swept.
Initiative 2:
Originally I said this didn't bother me too much...and for a vast majority of the codex I still feel that way. But the so called close combat models are just not resilient enough to live till initiative 2. One thing is that they at least go before power fist and thunder hammer but I think that is the only reason they are going at I2 instead of I1. I understand they are meant to be uber slow. I get that, really I do...they are slow but precise like it and even love it...but if you want to match the lore the close combat models need a higher toughness and a higher weapon skill to match. A great example of a unit that could have met this goal while being I2 is Lychguard but I feel they failed at that (I'll discuss this more when I get into that unit itself).
Psychic Defense:
For an army that has zero reaction to the warp they have only one psychic defense model in the game. And it is a fairly pathetic one at that. Maybe I've been looking at this wrong. Maybe my thought of neigh indestructible slow moving but precise robots that are supposed to shrug off even anti-tank rounds should shrug off psyker powers as well. Even when they do get knocked down they get back up. Maybe they are trying to say that because the Necron have no presence in the warp they are weak to it? I mean come to think of it the old ones did create the Eldar to fight this. I don't know though it kind of goes against the feel of the army still. Anyway let me go over the only psychic defense they have:
1) Only on one unit
2) Its in the heavy support (an already contested slot)
3) It is a paid upgrade (15 Points)
4) I'll just say it, it is the new Tomb Spyder, can be fielded in groups of 3 but no mention of being able to operate independently! That alone makes me sad.
5) It is basically a toned down Runic Blade (Space Wolf Rune Priest). You need a 4+ and it only works if you are targeted (not just any psychic power cast) and only works on units within 3 inches!
To be honest, I don't see many people taking these I see people mainly just forgoing psychic defense and hoping for the best. This upgrade (gloom prism) should have been on HQ's in my opinion. In fact I'd like to see it across multiple units (Crypteks, Lords, Overlords, maybe some vehicles.) but only time will tell on this front.
Mobility:
This is still a mixed bag, it has a good deal of fast moving models and a lot of slow moving ones as well, the nice thing is I really like the way the codex did this. I've already got a list together that I think that would allow me to creeping doom (I'm moving slow but I'm eventually going to get to you and when I do...brains!) and I've also put together a list that just completely ignores your long range in favor for getting up the field fast under the cover of darkness! So I'm really looking forward to playing with some of this mobility and lack there of in this army.
Well...This is it for now, next I'll be writing up a wargear and universal (necron) ability review. Let me know what you think Please remember I'm a newbie and this is why I post these things, maybe some of you senior players like to know what your local newbies are thinking? Am I wrong about something? Well tell me! All I ask is keep it polite and constructive otherwise tear the comments apart!
Knowledge is Power...
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