New FAQs from GW

Most people check out nerd forums of some sort on a fairly regular basis. Therefore, this is probably not breaking news for you. But just in case you are not a forum stalker, here are the latest FAQs/Erratas for 40k:

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/article.jsp?categoryId=1000018&pIndex=1&aId=3000006&multiPageMode=true&start=2

Now, I'm not going to get into a huge review and critique on the whole release. Mostly because I don't have the time and patience to read them all, but also because I haven't had the time and patience to read every Codex, which means I wouldn't really understand the subtle changes where applicable. But I do want to point out a few things that will really change the game for me. And I did notice there is a FAQ for the Dark Angels already. That is pretty funny considering the book was just fucking released less than a week ago. Does GW even have a proofreading team?


What? Can you FAQ that please...

 Anyways...

Rulebook FAQ

Everyone will agree that 6th edition is heavily focused on shooting. And for the most part, that is fine with me. It sets the game apart from Fantasy and sets the sci-fi atmosphere where one would expect to see volleys of bolts, plasma, and other weird shit flying through the air. But I do think that shooting has become so strong in this edition that the idea of assaulting with a full strength unit is basically a myth. At least in my experiences with this edition, I have never been able to find a way to pull off a strong assault, even when using transports for protection while approaching. There are just too many ways to be stuck on the ground, in range of enemy weapons, and unable to retaliate or defend in any reasonable manner. Well, until now:


Q: When making a Shooting Attack against a unit, can Wounds from the Wound Pool be allocated to models that were not within range of any of the shooting models when To Hit rolls were made (i.e. half the targeted models are in the shooting models' range, and half are not? (p15)

A: No.


This is a massive clarification. It makes the flow of the game just a little bit more manageable if you play the game inch by inch. I think I will be able to get units into better positions now, losing only a few models that might fall just in range of enemy fire. Before, a whole unit would risk being slaughtered, even if only one guy was stuck within the range of an enemy unit. I might actually be able to pull off some assaults now...

Chaos Space Marines FAQ

I had to touch base on this one because talking about Chaos is what I do. Chaos is the army I play, and they are cool, they got a fucking Boon Table...



I like rolling on the Boon Table after sex.


This FAQ has made a lot of Chaos players happy around the nerd world. First of all, look out for Noise Marines. You will see a lot of small 5 man units with Blastmasters now. Before the FAQ, you had to have 10 man units in order to get a Blastmaster. Oh, and if you have a 10 man unit, now you can have 2 Blastmasters!

For those of you that don't know what a Blastmaster is, it makes a mess of Marines at a very long range, and ignores cover. Pretty nasty.

And then there is the new ruling on Heldrakes. Heldrakes were already very nasty, and they just got nastier.


Q: How do I determine the Arc of Sight for a Heldrake’s ranged weapon? (p52)

A: Treat the Heldrake’s ranged weapon as a Turret Mounted Weapon, measuring all ranges from the edge of the Heldrake’s base nearest to the target unit.


All I can say is "wow". Every Chaos player always assumed Heldrakes measured their shooting from the mouth of the model, and figured out the arc as a Hull Mounted Weapon. This meant that you had to line up your Zoom in a manner that brought the Heldrake into position for good roasting. Well, now you can just fly the fucker on however you want, and measure out your damage from anywhere on its base. But it doesn't stop there. Remember, Heldrakes can also make a Vector Strike in the movement phase before they fire their weapon in the shooting phase. Before, this meant you could fly over something, Vector Strike it, then roast something that was in front of you and in the arc of the mouth. But now, you can fly over something, Vector Strike it, the roast whatever is in range of the base.

Picture this... A Heldrake Vector Strikes a Rhino and blows it up, spilling the Marines onto the ground. Then in the shooting phase, the Heldrake can now roast the Marines that were inside by placing a template behind it. That's fucking nasty.

Burninating the peasants...


So here is my new ruling on Heldrakes: they are the official "fuck you" unit in the Chaos Codex. A lot of armies have some kind of "fuck you" unit available, and I think people are entitled to use them in moderation. There is the Kheres Pattern Contemptor Skyfiring thing, for example. People take one because they are cool and they cause some serious damage. And I take a Heldrake for the same reasons. But I think it is now safe to say that Chaos players should ever only take ONE Heldrake. If you take 2 Heldrakes, you are an asshole. If you take 3 Heldrakes, you seriously need to worry about the size of your penis and consider herbal enhancement.

I'm just saying... Heldrakes are just that good now. If you take more than one against me at a friendly tournament (basically all the tournaments in Winnipeg), I will give you a shitty Sportsmanship score. We can still be friends, but I will think you are an asshole.