Talk:Warhammer 40,000/Tactics(8E)

From 1d4chan
  • I've started the conversion for 8e. Need some, more input to fix it up! Arahknxs (talk) 09:53, 27 June 2017 (UTC)
  • A lot of this seems to have been copy and pasted and is no longer relevant, like it refers to bunching up units as making them vulnerable to a flamer; yet 8e means that your tarpit will take 3 hits at max from a single flamer no matter how bunched up the models are. Twinna (talk) 11:34, 2 July 2017 (UTC)
    • I did indeed copy the entire 7E article as a lot of the same strategy still applies. You're correct though that there's still stuff to change for 8E relevancy. Arahknxs (talk) 02:23, 3 July 2017 (UTC)
  • The Beta Rules: Since there are a number of changes that the Beta rule set affects, should we make an itemized list of them? To be edited and added to as more revisions arrive?
  • I just did a pretty big revamp of this page, let me know if I made any offensive edits. Angry Pirate (talk) 23:45, 22 May 2019 (UTC)

Re-rolling Successful Hits[edit]

I am pretty sure that is not a thing, why would that be on the page? Also why is all this convoluted math on the page? Angry Pirate (talk) 09:06, 19 May 2019 (UTC)

That is a thing, although it's got very few uses. Most times a re-roll specifies that it only affects ones or failed rolls, but certain times it doesn't which is what opens that exploit. The only time I've seen it suggested is an interview with Don Mastodon when he was talking about The Purge. He suggests using it to keep enemy units alive and locked in combat with you a bit longer, in case destroying them would leave you at a disadvantage. He also suggests using All Life Is Worthless in the hopes that if you need to, you can kill some of your dudes who were stuck in combat with something like a Super-heavy (Knights for example). This is advice that apparently helped him win some tournaments, though I couldn't find records of how those tournaments went or when he needed to put these tactics into effect. As for the math and tables, those are really not needed in my opinion. -- Triacom (talk) 09:37, 19 May 2019 (UTC)
You have got me all wrong, the page had a table discussing the effects of abilities that forced the opponent to re-roll all successful hits. I don't think any such ability exists. I can get why one would want to re-roll a successful hit, like if you've got your target caught in a tri-lock and you don't want them getting out. Although, re-rolling a wound roll in that case would make more sense most likely. In any case I removed the table and I am going to start cleaning up the rest of the page as well. Stop me if I start doing stupid stuff. Angry Pirate (talk) 20:26, 19 May 2019 (UTC)

Accuracy Back-up[edit]

By and large, this will be a WS or BS value. Regardless of the name of the stat, here called "AS" for "Accuracy Skill", the basic odds of hitting is:

(7-AS)/6

  • An ability to re-roll ones will multiple this value by 7/6.
  • An ability to re-roll all failures is more complicated, as accuracy is buffed more the worse that it is; the overall formula is:
    • 1-(1-(7-AS)/6)^2
  • If you are forced to re-roll successes, the formula becomes:
    • ((7-AS)/6)^2
  • You never re-roll a die twice, so if you re-roll successes and failures, the net impact is as if you had no re-roll ability - instead, you will end up rolling the die, ignoring the result, rolling it again, and then moving on to additive modifiers.
  • Adding or subtracting a number to hit will behave as you expect - +1 to hit equals -1 to AS, and vice versa - with the caveat that improving your AS past 2+ does not accomplish anything, as you always miss on a 1. Your AS can be degraded to 7+ or worse, at which point you will automatically miss.
  • Mixing re-rolls with additive modifiers is a bit tricky, since you only apply modifiers after rerolls. On the one hand, this means that getting to reroll failures is less effective if you'e taking a penalty: for example, if you normally need a 3+ to hit but are taking a -1 penalty (say from using a power fist), the ability to reroll failures won't help you if you roll a 3 (since it only gets downgraded to a 2 after the question whether you get a reroll has already been decided). On the other hand, this also means you normally shouldn't reroll if a bonus would turn a failure into a success.
  • Thus the general formula is involved; it is presented here for the interested, but the table below is probably more useful in practice.
    • reroll_failures is the number at or below which you may re-roll if it is a failure; this is typically 0 (no buff), 1 (re-roll 1s), or 5 (or more, for re-roll all failures).
    • reroll_success is the number at or above which you must re-roll if it is a success; since most debuffs that do this do it for all successes, you would use "2" (or any value less than 2) for those, or "7" otherwise.
    • modifier is the net result of adding up all positive and negative additive modifiers to the roll.
    • numerator = (7-AS)/6
    • numerator = max(min(numerator,6),0)
    • reroll_success = min(7-max(min(reroll_success,7),2),numerator)
    • reroll_failure = max(7-max(min(reroll_failure,6),0),7-numerator)
    • numerator = max(min(numerator+modifier,5),0)
    • accuracy = (numerator*(reroll_success+max(7-max(reroll_failure,numerator+1,reroll_success+1),0))+max(numerator-reroll_success,0)*6)/36

Here is the general accuracy table; one of your big take-aways should be how powerful modifiers are, as some models have access to negative modifiers to incoming attacks, which is a drastically better durability buff, in practice, than almost any other durability buff available.

General Accuracy
Accuracy -2 To Hit -1 To Hit +0 To Hit +1 To Hit +2 To Hit
Keep Failures and Keep Successes
6+ 00.00% 00.00% 16.67% 33.33% 50.00%
5+ 00.00% 16.67% 33.33% 50.00% 66.67%
4+ 16.67% 33.33% 50.00% 66.67% 83.33%
3+ 33.33% 50.00% 66.67% 83.33% 83.33%
2+ 50.00% 66.67% 83.33% 83.33% 83.33%
Keep Failures and Reroll Successes
6+ 00.00% 00.00% 02.78% 22.22% 41.67%
5+ 00.00% 05.56% 11.11% 33.33% 55.56%
4+ 08.33% 16.67% 25.00% 50.00% 75.00%
3+ 22.22% 33.33% 44.44% 72.22% 72.22%
2+ 41.67% 55.56% 69.44% 69.44% 69.44%
Reroll Ones and Keep Successes
6+ 00.00% 00.00% 19.44% 38.89% 58.33%
5+ 00.00% 19.44% 38.89% 58.33% 77.78%
4+ 19.44% 38.89% 58.33% 77.78% 97.22%
3+ 38.89% 58.33% 77.78% 97.22% 97.22%
2+ 58.33% 77.78% 97.22% 97.22% 97.22%
Reroll Ones and Reroll Successes
6+ 00.00% 00.00% 05.56% 27.78% 50.00%
5+ 00.00% 08.33% 16.67% 41.67% 66.67%
4+ 11.11% 22.22% 33.33% 61.11% 88.89%
3+ 27.78% 41.67% 55.56% 86.11% 86.11%
2+ 50.00% 66.67% 83.33% 83.33% 83.33%
Reroll Failures and Keep Successes
6+ 00.00% 00.00% 30.56% 55.56% 75.00%
5+ 00.00% 27.78% 55.56% 75.00% 88.89%
4+ 25.00% 50.00% 75.00% 88.89% 97.22%
3+ 44.44% 66.67% 88.89% 97.22% 97.22%
2+ 58.33% 77.78% 97.22% 97.22% 97.22%
Reroll Failures and Reroll Successes
6+ 00.00% 00.00% 05.56% 27.78% 50.00%
5+ 00.00% 11.11% 22.22% 50.00% 77.78%
4+ 16.67% 33.33% 50.00% 72.22% 88.89%
3+ 33.33% 50.00% 66.67% 86.11% 86.11%
2+ 50.00% 66.67% 83.33% 83.33% 83.33%

Armouries on the various army pages.[edit]

I've been wondering this for a while now, but what do the armoury sections add that cannot be covered by unit entries? Everything in them is either stating info that is obvious and redundant to anyone holding the relevant book (which are the people using the tactica in the first place), or it's insight that is restated in the unit entry itself, where it's actually relevant. I'm not really seeing why we keep them around at all to be honest, since they take up so much space and it's annoying to scroll past that kind of bloat. How should we improve them, if possible (so that they're not just restating profiles) or should we just remove them? Personally I'm leaning more towards getting rid of them entirely. -- Triacom (talk) 03:46, 17 March 2019 (UTC)

  • Half agreed. Agreed because indeed most "tactica", especially in the armoury section is mere rewritings (though it does help to have the relics section next to the weapons they replace). But I don't want them to be utterly erased because there can exist weapon tactics that better fit there than across multiple unit entries, especially sgt upgrades or guns that are shared by different unit types. Definitely have to improve the section, of course. I say remove from the section all those weapons that are exclusive to a single unit. Example: Reiver Carbines would only be mentioned in the Reiver entry - and only relevant to how to use them when compared to gun & knife Reivers... but Thunder Hammers would remain, because many units have to compare them to other melee options. And even then, an argument still remains on common guns compared to other common guns, like Heavy Bolters vs Autocannons vs Missile Launchers and such. So, weapons exclusive to a single unit get relocated, and the ones common to a couple or trio of units get to remain. If the section is too bloated still, they can be turned into those [Expand] things. Those sections you clic and they drop down revealing all the text, literally forgot what they're called lol. Zerghalo2 (talk) 22:01, 16 May 2019 (UTC)
The only case I can think of where the same weapon types need to be scrutinized across multiple units like that is when it comes to the Eldar, even then there's now a workaround that doesn't involve scrolling up, then down, then up and down again (as such the wargear section of that page is gone). Most Sergeant upgrades don't need to be given a full weapon breakdown and the ones that do are already unique to the unit anyway. Lastly, as I mentioned, if weapon options really do need to be considered that much for each unit that can take them, then they're already covered in those unit entries, making the wargear section redundant. -- Triacom (talk) 22:11, 16 May 2019 (UTC)
As long as we avoid situations like "See X unit section to see how Y weapon does in combat". That's a no-no. Zerghalo2 (talk) 22:23, 16 May 2019 (UTC)
BTW, just like Dark Eldar have got a list of which unit has what keyword, and Deathwatch have what counts as Specialist Ammo, I think weapon lists could be posted, for convenience. Just so that one doesn't need to write which weapons " Tools of Torment" are, down on a notebook to memorize it. Zerghalo2 (talk) 22:50, 16 May 2019 (UTC)
The "see x section for y" is exactly why I'm against the Armouries in the first place as they lend themselves to that. It's also why I did a full restructuring of the CSM tactics page where anything like that was removed and you no longer have to flip between several different sections to see the various characters/relics/stratagems a Legion has. If a unit really needs to consider a weapon choice like you list, it can always be included alongside the unit itself like it is with the Eldar page. -- Triacom (talk) 23:01, 16 May 2019 (UTC)

Bloat[edit]

  • Can you please explain to me how the tactics for 5th edition for a faction is more relevant than the layout for articles? Why don't you want the pros/cons of the factions hidden away behind an expandable box? I'm fine with removing all the changes I've made but I used a few hours on it and I don't see what I did wrong. Angry Pirate (talk) 03:57, 23 June 2019 (UTC)
I don't really like those either, but in my case it's because I don't see what they add to the page. Everything they say could easily be summed up in two paragraphs and they feel pretty drawn out as a result. -- Triacom (talk) 04:45, 23 June 2019 (UTC)
My reasoning precisely. Besides, those pros and cons are already on the corresponding tactics pages. Unless it took you a few hours to copypaste all of that and put it in boxes, I call bullshit. --Newerfag (talk) 06:47, 23 June 2019 (UTC)
Why didn't you change it back or write something when I finished the Imperium section? That's annoying, it's also annoying that you just change it back again without finishing the discussion and letting me make a point. Kind of being a dick here, especially with removing the changes to the layout of the pages since that might help introduce a little more conformity in the army pages. The pros and cons are hidden away so you don't have to read them if you don't want to, they are there for you to read if you don't want to go to the army page. How much time I used is irrelevant but if you want to know why it's because I had to transcribe what was on the GW websites and find fitting descriptions of the different factions other than "paper vehicle", which for example only describes 2/3 of the DE force and isn't even that fitting given how tough vehicles are this edition. You are also removing all the links to the Ynnari and Corsairs because you are too lazy to just edit out the "why play" and "pros/cons" if you really just wanted to remove the bloat, but it's pointless anyways since you can't count it as bloat when it's being hidden away. That's all without removing the bloat of the old editions' tactics which are pointless to have posted in this section, so why don't you actually rewrite it properly instead of trying to start an edit war, because what I made is far more relevant than what was there previously, it was just copy-pasted from the previous edition and you are just a lazy fuck who can't even go to the discussion page before removing all the changes, including the spelling and grammar I fixed. Angry Pirate (talk) 07:34, 23 June 2019 (UTC)
In fairness to Newerfag, you also could've re-written it instead of just reverting the edit or better yet, writing the pros and cons into the actual summary in a way that flows well with the rest of it instead of being a massive break into a list that could've easily been summed up in the first place. When I redid the CSM tactica I had good reason to turn the pros and cons into a two paragraph summary and I did just that. -- Triacom (talk) 09:23, 23 June 2019 (UTC)
The Ynnari and Corsairs are now part of the Craftworlds tactics, mostly because now they don't really function as independent factions anymore. I will admit that Triacom has a point here though, but for this page the summaries should really be at most a couple of sentences in length- a more in-depth description of their strengths and weaknesses should be left for the individual tactics pages. As for the old editions' tactics, nobody complained when they were on the prior versions of the tactics pages but I can remove them nevertheless. --Newerfag (talk) 15:11, 23 June 2019 (UTC)
Furthermore, I've used the Custodes as an example of what the pros/cons sections here should look like. For this page, just a very basic overview should be fine- the full pros and cons are at the top of each tactics page, which quite frankly does not qualify as "hidden away" in the slightest.--Newerfag (talk) 15:24, 23 June 2019 (UTC)
  • I didn't know what to rewrite or how because Newerfag didn't write what the problem was just that it was "bloat", despite the fact that specifying what should be in the tactics pages is in no way bloat since it actually helps prevent bloat on those pages, removing the tactics pages for old editions isn't bloat either. I changed the previous army descriptions because they weren't neccessarily accureate. Take something like describing Orks as a horde army, that's useless, you can play any army with a 7 pt Troops choice as a horde army, Tau are not a horde army, it's an army build not a faction, factions consist of a number of different datasheets. I thought the new descriptions were too dry so I wanted to add the "Why Play Them" sections from the Individual Tactics pages to make the article less dry, Newerfag could've also just removed those parts if that was what was offensive. As far as I could see it was just a "more words bad" change without any reasoning given. So I reverted it. If you want to remove the "Individual Army Tactics" section then that was fine before I started, but despite 8th having been out for years nobody bothered to remove the Tyrants Legion from this page until I did it and nobody bothered to remove the old edition tactics despite them being irrelevant to the topic and being posted just below the "Individual Army Tactics" section, it was fine after I did the Imperium section which was the only change I made and then I waited a couple of days, but then when I change the Xenos and Chaos sections you revert it without reading the article. I say Newerfag hasn't read the article because then the Imperium section would have been reverted as well, but what Newerfag did was lazy and makes it not really worth it to even try to coorperate on an article when anything that adds a lot of words gets reverted before it's even read in context and after it is reverted no care is paid to how the article looks and whether you actually only reverted half the changes made. Of course I'm aware that any changes I make can get unmade, but putting it in the discussion page first would be a good idea. Whatever have fun with the shitty article. Looks real neato now.
I get you did a lot of work to make the lists in the first place, and like I said a lot of the info's not useless, it's just bloated because of how much space it takes up and how it's more annoying to read. You say it's a case of 'more words = bad' and that's mostly correct, taking those lists down to two paragraphs that don't have constant breaks would be using fewer words to say the same thing. -- Triacom (talk) 19:23, 23 June 2019 (UTC)
And regardless of your disagreement with how it should look, your first response here should not be "fuck you guys, I'm leaving". But if you want to know the problem, it's that what you did could have been said much more briefly with just as much information, and while the descriptions weren't perfect they were representative of how those factions are most commonly played. I will admit I should have removed the old tactics stuff earlier, but on the other hand nobody else did so I assumed that people wanted it there. And I did read it in context, and with that context I knew that it was too wordy and went into details that a player still trying to figure out what army to use would be overwhelmed by (and also plenty of bitching about things that would be of no relevance to the new players I assume the page is meant to appeal to). Did you even look at the example I made showing how it could be boiled down to just three sentences of pros and three sentences of cons, or did you just skip directly to the bitching? If you didn't know what to rewrite or how, try asking first. --Newerfag (talk) 21:19, 23 June 2019 (UTC)
It's not that I did a lot of work, a couple of hours is nothing, if my time was precious I wouldn't be spending it here, on the other hand my time isn't infinite either, it was more of a concept than anything, I think what Newerfag suggested is a good idea and I hope he finished it, although I think it should be done in a timely manner since currently the contents are fucked up and the sections that I changed are all fucked up. What Newerfag did was lazy and stupid, it makes literally no sense to delete half the changes I made except if all you've seen is a big green number on your watchlist or under recent changes, clicked revert and just wrote "removing bloat". If he had written down what he has now written down instead of just reverting HALF the changes I had made I would have deleted it myself and possibly even made it look exactly the way Newerfag requested, but now the page has three different styles of summations of different factions, which no matter you spin the gacha is the wrong way of doing things. If Newerfag has the time to go around playing hall monitor and delete good-faith attempts at improving articles then I'm sure Newerfag has the time to actually improve the article and make it all look uniform and nice. You could also just remove the whole section since all the tactics pages are in the box in the bottom of the article and telling us that "this faction has warp monsters", is supremely useless and not entertaining in any way. The thing about CSM being an evil twin is at least trying to be funny or something. I remember a time when "Orks" where more Gretchin than Orks and when Tau fielded more Kroot Hounds than Tau Firewarriors and all of this changes at the drop of a new Chapter Approved or FAQ, this is the general tactics article, it shouldn't go into detail about which units and tactics are best for the army currently, it should be pure fluff like what I copied off the GW website/codices or nothing. Also fucking read the first post I made you absolute fucking moron, "Can you please explain to me how the tactics for 5th edition for a faction is more relevant than the layout for articles? Why don't you want the pros/cons of the factions hidden away behind an expandable box? I'm fine with removing all the changes I've made but I used a few hours on it and I don't see what I did wrong." and you wrote ":My reasoning precisely. Besides, those pros and cons are already on the corresponding tactics pages. Unless it took you a few hours to copypaste all of that and put it in boxes, I call bullshit." That's not a fucking suggestion, unless you refer to "Everything they say could easily be summed up in two paragraphs and they feel pretty drawn out as a result." But after I reapplied the changes I had made because I don't think having two styles is ever better than one, having one overall style that is bad is still better than having half a style that is bad and half a style that is okay. So no, Newerfag was being an unhelpful dick and trying to start an edit war, but he won real quick, won by making the article look like trash, sure got me there. - Pirate
I am working on it, yes. Give me some more time and the rest of the section will be in an identical format. I apologize for being so quick to act without thinking. --Newerfag (talk) 14:20, 24 June 2019 (UTC)
RL being an ass means this is taking longer than expected, so any help would be much appreciated. --16:33, 1 July 2019 (UTC)

Individual Army Tactics[edit]

Why has this been moved off the main page? Not going to restore it yet but an answer would be nice. --Newerfag (talk) 00:15, 26 July 2019 (UTC)

Each of these pages contains (or should contain) a section on:

  • "Why Play Them," which briefly summarizes the positive aspects of the army.
  • "Unit Analysis," a brief discussion of the benefits (or lack thereof) and drawbacks of each unit individually.
  • "Building Your Army," suggestions on how to buy, convert, and paint the actual models.
  • "Tactics," suggested viable builds for a complete army.

For those of you who want a tl:dr version of what each army can do, we're in the process of writing summaries for them up here as well. Take a look at them if you haven't picked an army yet.

Imperium[edit]

Adepta Sororitas[edit]

Raised from infancy to adore and worship the Emperor of Mankind, the Sisters of Battle fanatical devotion and unwavering spiritual purity is a bulwark against corruption, heresy and alien attack.
Why Play Adeptus Ministorum[edit]

Because you're a proud fa/tg/uy who can remember the good old days when the models were pewter, the vehicle armor was Papier-mâché, and the universe was populated by manly motherfuckers instead of whiny power armored Mary Sues. And with the sausage-fest that is the Imperium, an entire army composed of badass power-armored women with nothing but a flamer and their faith is like a breath of fresh air. Whats that? Inquisitors? Fuck your shit. Go play Grey Knights. These are blasts from the past, when everything was ecclesiarchal, the force org chart was 50% HQ, and the Canoness had a goddamn laser mace. You're going to win for the same reason you always have. You're the hardest, beardiest, motherfucker around and you've been pushing these kids' shit in since they had Pokemon lunch boxes. Welcome to the new hard mode.

The Adeptus Ministorum AKA Sisters of Battle consists of the armies of the Ecclesiarchy, bringing many colorful characters such as warrior nuns armed with flame throwers, priests wielding chainsaws bigger than themselves, gun-slinging angels, disturbing yet sexy assassins, pipe organ tanks, and berserk killing machines whose pilots are driven mad by the need to redeem themselves. Do you like the idea of playing a mostly-female army of paladins? Do you like the idea of burning literally everything to the ground? Do you like playing an army that gets renamed every edition? If so, this army's for you.

Sisters have a bit of a murky history, their previous codices ranging from mediocre to nearly unplayable. Fortunately, this isn't the case any more. They were reasonably strong in the index, and while their Beta codex have gutted act of faith and hence made the jetpack part of the army much less good, a competitive list of sister will still reliably win against other non-competitive lists, which was not the case in previous editions. However, do not bring them to a tourney and expect to win.

Adeptus Custodes[edit]

The Adeptus Custodes are the Emperor's personal bodyguard. Each warrior is a hero in his own right, surpassing even the Adeptus Astartes in martial prowess and tactical acumen.

Pros

  • Extremely strong units, with basic troops that are more powerful than the elite units of most other factions. Capable of excelling at both melee and shooting.
  • Almost all units have at least a 2+/5++ save and 3 wounds each, making them hard to kill as well.
  • Straightforward play style with wide access to deep striking.

Cons

  • Units cost a lot of points and have some of the lowest model count in the game, making them vulnerable to being outnumbered and causing difficulties when it comes to holding objectives.
  • Most of your units' ranged weapons are short ranged and struggle against enemies with high armor saves.
  • Lack of Psykers to use Deny the Witch makes them vulnerable to psychic power use, especially Smite spamming.

Adeptus Mechanicus[edit]

The Adeptus Mechanicus wield a diverse selection of troops and warmachines that include the cybernetic warriors of the Skitarii Legions, the zealot Electro-Priests, robot maniples from a lost age, and more.

Pros

  • Incredibly durable, with army-wide 6++ at minimum.
  • Potent guns and shooting.
  • Canticles of the Omnissiah offer a variety of powerful buffs.

Cons

  • Limited roster, especially when it comes to Heavy Support and Fast Attack units.
  • No Psykers.
  • Only one transport will force you to footslog most of your units, with all the risks that carries.

Adeptus Titanicus[edit]

The Adeptus Titanicus is the division of the Adeptus Mechanicus that operates and oversees the Titans, the colossal Imperial war machines that are the most powerful non-naval engines of war in the Imperium of Man.

Pros

  • Insanely tough. Your weakest unit has 35 wounds, and Void Shields make a mockery of Mortal Wounds.
  • Excels at taking on other super-heavies and basically everything else.
  • The sheer psychological impact of fielding a giant death machine can keep your opponent from coming up with a good strategy.

Cons

  • Absurdly expensive, both in terms of points and real world money.
  • Needs substantial support to hold objectives.
  • Not suited for most games of 40k.

Astra Militarum[edit]

The Astra Militarum is the implacable military arm of the Imperium, and one of the largest armies in the galaxy.

Pros

  • Versatile and strong vehicles that provide excellent long-range firepower.
  • Hordes of dirt cheap infantry that can be buffed with many different force multipliers, such as Commissars, Astropaths, Priests, and all Commanders.
  • Low points cost for many units allows for easy CP accumulation.

Cons

  • Overall flimsy infantry with low saves, and only a small number of units are effective in assault.
  • Without synergy from supporting characters, units are not very strong.
  • Anti-infantry weapons will destroy your hordes easily, and large unit sizes make them vulnerable to morale issues. Similarly, an all-tank army will be easily dispatched by massed anti-vehicle attacks.

Blood Angels[edit]

Afflicted with an ancient curse, these Space Marines descend to battle as an unstoppable angelic host.

Pros

  • Compared to vanilla Marines, more effective in assault due to the Red Thirst rule granting +1 to wound on the charge. This is further enhanced by widespread access to jump packs that increase mobility and allow for deep strikes, as well as melee beatsticks like the Death Company.
  • Powerful characters that give multiple bonuses, such as re-rolling charges, re-rolling hits, and allowing the Death Company to ignore morale.
  • Many vehicles have superior movement speed and potent multi-shot weapons.

Cons

  • Reliant on quick strikes that deal a lot of damage in a short time; not as effective in battles of attrition due to the need to charge (or be charged) in order to benefit from Red Thirst.
  • Dependence on charges can allow opponents to plan ahead, allowing them to either tie your units up or set up Overwatch attacks to pick them off before they can get into close combat.
  • No real advantage over other Marines when it comes to long-range shooting; the absence of things like Centurions does not help with this.

Dark Angels[edit]

These baleful knights are relentless in their battle against Chaos - and protect a dark secret from their past...

Pros

  • More reliable Overwatch and Stratagems that improve shooting give them a much better ranged game (especially with plasma weapons) without detracting from their effectiveness in assault.
  • Near-immunity to losses from Morale.
  • Supports two major alternate playstyles in addition to the vanilla-equivalent "Greenwing"- the Deathwing focuses on massed Terminators with mix-and-match wargear, while the Ravenwing emphasizes a combination of bikers and flyers, both of which are fast and hard-hitting.

Cons

  • Deathwing/Ravenwing buffs have little to no benefit for Primaris/Greenwing units, meaning your force will have to synergise based on their own merits rather than relying on stackable buffs. This means combining playstyles may be inefficient.
  • Cannot take some units available to vanilla Marines, the most notable of which is an interceptor aircraft.
  • Bonuses against Fallen are thematic but unlikely to be relevant in practice.

Deathwatch[edit]

The Deathwatch are specialized alien hunters, drawn from the elite of the Space Marines and assembled into versatile and deadly Kill Teams and armed with advanced ammunition and tactics.

Pros

  • Mission Tactics allow for greater adaptability in mid-battle, and also grants improved effectiveness against xenos armies.
  • Low model count and basic paint scheme makes armies simple to assemble.
  • Excellent anti-infantry weapon access.


Cons

  • Low model count compared to other MEQ armies isn't compensated for by durability boosts, and the sheer number of weapon loadouts available can cause problems with keeping track of it all.
  • Poor access to long-ranged anti-armor weapons, worsened by only having a few usable vehicles.
  • Mission Tactics take trial and error to use effectively.

Grey Knights[edit]

The Grey Knights are a secret Chapter of Space Marines tasked with combating the dangerous daemonic entities of the Warp and all those who wield the corrupt power of the Chaos Gods.


Pros

  • Almost all units are psykers, and are one of the two factions in the game that can use Smite repeatedly without penalties.
  • Strong in assault and close range shooting. This is further improved by widespread deep striking and Terminators as troops.
  • Multiple bonuses against daemons and enemy psykers.

Cons

  • Limited unit selection, further reduced by high points costs.
  • The codex is extremely limited in terms of unit selection, with minimal options for anti-vehicle weaponry of any kind.
  • Bonuses against psykers and daemons are highly situational and are not likely to grant their benefits in most situations.


Imperial Knights[edit]

Imperial Knights are titanic war machines, bonded through honour, fealty and years of experience. While their numbers are small, few can match their power on the battlefield.
Why Play Imperial Knights[edit]

They are powerful.

Modeling and painting Pros[edit]

  • Cool models. As in "psychologically-intimidating" cool. Putting a Knight on a table will cause your opponent to internally go into "aww shit" mode.
  • Can be magnetised so that you can customise your knight depending of the opponent/meta, although not so much of an option with forge world models. They’re also surprisingly easy to build and paint, painting in particular is made so much easier by the presence of nice large armour panels, the ability to build the knight in separate sub assemblies, and nice sharp details which take highlights very well.
  • Many online stores, including Forge World sell conversion bitz specifically for knights, allowing you to construct them in any flavor you need to.
  • Lots of large prominent areas for freehand painting.

Gameplay Pros[edit]

  • Tough as nails. With 24 wounds, T8/3+/5++ vs shooting, it'll take on average 23 BS3+ lascannon shots to take one down. Waltz it forward at the front of your army and watch it soak up entire turns of shooting. (Just be careful if the Guard player sets down a Shadowsword.)
  • Low unit count will be getting first turn roll bonus almost all the time.
  • They make for an excellent Imperial ally in 2000 point or more games, especially more as it can be more efficient having a couple of slightly weaker knights running around killing stuff than a single warhound Titan.
    • While you would never really put some imperial factions together (sisters of battles and marines for example) there is no imperial faction which does not gain something by the presence of a Knight (although every time this is to perform the role of “a giant fuck off robot with big guns”, but who doesn’t need a giant robot on their side)?
  • Knights have all of the ranged firepower, possessing strength 9 ranged weapons for your name blade chewing needs, high rate of fire strength 6 guns for your GEQ chewing needs and even more heavy firepower in the dominus class.
  • You absolutely destroy most balanced armies because they take a spread of different weapons for taking on different targets, and as your whole army is vehicles you can pretty much ignore large parts of their armies threats. Watch out for Dark Eldar though, they pack anti-tank like no ones business.
  • You are That Guy.

Modeling and painting Cons[edit]

  • Price. Your cheapest models are the Armiger knights at a cool $75 USD. The standard Questorius class knights run at $157 and the Dominus knights are a wallet pounding, non-multikit bearing $170! Prepare your wallet if you go Forge World, which has knights that are eye-watering $285. Perhaps not much more expensive than a regular army considering you only need 3-4 questorius class knights to function properly but it certainly feels more expensive.
  • More of a neutral aspect than anything, but while knights have the capacity for simple paintjobs, they thrive in the design and freehand field. If you paint them flat colors you are sorta missing out on some spectacle for your army. If you revel in this however, this is a pro, and you will have quite a lot of space, especially on the Dominus class knights, to flex on others with your painting skills.

Gameplay Cons[edit]

  • Damage Tables mean that your Knights get slower and less accurate the more worn down they are from combat.
  • Although tougher than they were in the previous edition, they've also gotten a lot pricier; a bare-bones Gallant runs 352 points, while a fully-kitted Crusader weighs in at 535.
  • Knights die surprisingly easily and hit surprisingly weakly. Expect to take a lot of wounds and miss a lot of shots. As mentioned in the Pros section, their best weapon is the sheer intimidation factor of the models. Speaking of intimidation...
  • You won't win the psychological warfare against level-headed opponents. Your Knights might be scary as fuck to noobs but not to those who keep their calm. That's why you are That Guy.
  • A 3+ armour and 5++ invulnerability save is nothing special to write home about, especially as most knights don’t get their invulnerability save against melee attacks. Unless you’re up against “small arms” fire you will take a surprising amount of damage very quickly. Stuff like Tesla guns with +1 or +2 to hit will do an obscene amount of damage despite your saves.
  • They will need help dealing with hordes even if they can't be tarpitted any more.
  • Hammernators will wreck your shit mercilessly and almost look cost-effective doing it. Bjorn will tear one of your knights a new asshole if you let him attack. Even generalist infantry melee blenders (like Khorne Berzerkers) will wear you down quickly through sheer volume of attacks.
  • Dedicated anti-tank guns will bring them down with shocking rapidity. With the changes to ion shields, static gun lines threaten them quite a bit.
  • You have to ally with the Mechanicus to get Engineseers and other Techpriests to repair Knights at a reduced efficiency (1 wound instead of D3, although the right warlord trait can boost that to 2).
  • You're big, but there are even bigger kids on the block, and the firepower and melee capability these beasts can bring to a battle makes your knights look like an Ork trukk by comparison.
  • You are That Guy.
  • Even if you don't want to be That Guy, you end up being That Guy - there is no "friendly" or "beer&pretzel" settings on your army list.

Space Marines[edit]

Genetically Engineered, ruthlessly trained and armed with the finest weapons and wargear in the Imperium, the Space Marines are Humanity's greatest warriors.
Why Play Space Marines[edit]

Space Marines are perhaps the best army for beginners. Their units are fairly expensive points-wise (but not to the same extent as more elite forces like Grey Knights or Deathwatch), so they usually field fewer bodies and vehicles than most other armies. While you can't bog down your foes in waves of men, this makes army construction cheaper and painting faster. Additionally, Space Marines are dead'ard; their basic troops have Toughness 4 and a 3+ armour save, giving them great staying power compared to most basic infantry of other armies. They're also solid in whatever role they're put in; Marines are good shots, and they're not half bad in an assault, either.

Pros

  • Easy for beginners to play, yet rewarding for experts. Can be customized to focus on many specific elements (e.g. Terminators, mass jump pack assaults, etc.) with varying grades of viability.
  • Units can do something of everything, with an answer to every situation.
  • You're GW's favorites, so you'll always be the first to get anything new. See also: Primaris Marines, getting the first full Codex in 8E.
  • Loads of powerful characters to choose from, many of which have potent buffs to surrounding units.
  • You'll almost always have an armor save.
  • Many of your models are simple to paint with their solid colors and easily identified highlight areas---This makes painting your army very beginner friendly.

Cons

  • As the most popular army by a long shot, most people build their armies with at least a few options for killing Space Marines present.
  • Tanks (other than the Forge World ones and the hefty points-priced Land Raider family) are somewhat lacking compared to those of other armies.
  • Unlike with most other armies Chapter Tactics do not apply to vehicles, only infantry, bikes, and dreadnoughts.

Space Wolves[edit]

Fighting like warriors of old, the Space Wolves are a noble Chapter of Space Marines who combine gene-crafted might and advanced technology with ancient tradition and the strange lupine strenght the canis helix...
Why Play Space Wolves[edit]

Just like their legendary progenitor, the Primarch Leman Russ, Space Wolves are fierce and aggressive warriors. Though they are not berserkers or madmen (well, OK, maybe some of them are a little crazy) their headstrong personalities and inherent sense of justice means that the Space Wolves are forever waging a war against the evils of the galaxy, fighting with the cunning of a hunting pack rather than the frenzy of a rabid dog. Space Wolves like red meat, strong ale, bawdy songs and good old-fashioned brawls, but most of all,they like to hunt glory upon the battlefield. They see death in battle as a fitting end for a true warrior, and if they leave a long and exciting saga of heroic deeds as their legacy, so much the better.

The Space Wolves are a truly different and unique Space Marine army built around a core of charismatic champions. Each of the Space Wolves is a hero in his own right, and though this means that Space Wolves armies are typically few in number, their individual prowess more than makes up for it. Space Wolves are master of the ferocious assault and their bombastic leaders are amongst the most feared and respected warriors in the 41st Millennium.

Pros

  • You like any of these things: assault, wolves, Vikings, wolves, runes, wolves, werewolves, wolves, snow, wolves, ice, wolves, honour, wolves, beards, wolves, Nordic names, wolves, repeating words, wolves, and not wearing helmets. Also Wolves.
  • Your troops units reliably pull their weight. Blood Claws hit impressively hard on the charge, and your Grey Hunters can be more mobile and choppy than Tactical Squads.
  • The Space Wolves have access to unique wargear that is generally slightly better than what Codex Astartes Space Marines use.
  • Awesome looking exclusive models. Space Wolves are covered in pelts, teeth, talismans, and runes which gives them a Viking-inspired, savage appearance.
    • Consequently, an added benefit of playing Space Wolves is that you'll piss off PETA
  • Not only are the models awesome looking, but they're cheaper than vanilla marines, depending on which units you buy. Specifically their devastator, tactical and assault squad equivalents all go for 37 US bucks each. And that unique flyer ~6 points down goes for a dollar less than a Storm Raven gunship (really saving up for that Nuln Oil).
  • Powerful HQ characters, both special and standard.
  • The Tempestas discipline is good for helping you survive shooting long enough to get into combat.
  • All the Wolf you could ever wolfy wolf wolf. If you have a thing for Wolves, look no further. We also have legitimate Werewolves in the army now.
  • Unique access to Thunderwolf Cavalry and Wulfen means that few armies come close to being as good at assault as the Space Wolves.
  • Between strong troops and strong HQs, you can take bigger detachments for more command points without feeling like you're being taxed.
  • A unique flyer in the Stormwolf which is essentially a flying Land Raider. Packs a 16 troop capacity and half a dozen heavy weapons to back it up.
  • Between Prospero Burns, Leman Russ: The Great Wolf, and Horus Heresy Inferno, the fluff is being overhauled to make the Wolves both more serious and more likable.
  • Grey Hunters, Blood Claws and Long Fangs can take Wolf Guard who are able to upgrade to Terminator armor. It might not seem like much at first. However an extra heavy or power weapon can't be understated. Cyclone Missile Launchers have strength comparable to a Plasma gun with more range and doesn't have to exchange his Storm Bolter.
  • Confirmed to be getting the next Codex with a handful of new units, as well as the goodies from the vanilla Codex that the Wolves didn't have access to. Can you say "Wulfen Dreadnought"?
  • A certain HQ can be painted as a killer Santa

Cons

  • No ability to Combat Squad. Not necessarily a bad thing but all other Space Marine Chapters can do it.
  • With the elimination of USRs we've lost Counter-Attack, and now that Decurions don't exist anymore we don't have Counter-Charge either. This takes a lot of flavor and versatility away from our army- gone are the days of being able to Rapid Fire into a dedicated melee unit, overwatch them when they charge you, fight like you had gotten the charge, and have one of your nasty CC specialists Counter-Charge them in their assault phase.
  • All the Wolf you could ever wolfy wolf wolf. If you have a thing for cats, or creative names, go away. We also have legitimate Werewolves in the army now.
  • No heavy weapons in Grey Hunter or Blood Claw squads. Blood Angels players will rub it in by mentioning their access to Heavy Flamers.
  • No access to Grav weaponry without allied Space Marines. With the nerf to grav weaponry this isn't as bad as it used to be.
  • You won't be able to play Space Wolves without people constantly reminding you to Wolf your wolf... seriously its fucking ridiculous on /tg/. With Fenris being in the middle of the Great Rift , "Yiff in Hell" jokes now hit pretty hard. A vocal minority consider Wolves Mary Sues worse than the Ultramarines. Thus the hate is widespread.
  • Santa Grimnar jokes will never end. Thanks Games Workshop
  • Grumpy old man Bjorn jokes are funny at first, then become annoying after the first ten minutes.
  • PETA
  • Also helmets seem to be a precious commodity to the space wolves, so be prepared to rage paint bare bearded space marine heads or buy some off the secondary market.
  • While the extra bling looks nice when well painted and can alleviate some of the boredom of painting 30+ troops by focusing on making each one look individual, it also makes things more time-consuming. Consider purchasing a few codex marine kits to mix in to reduce the sheer quantities of wolf bling you have to paint. As an added benefit, this is also your best way to get ahold of meltaguns, flamers, one-handed power axes, and combi-weapons.
  • Wolfing Wolves
  • Getting murdered by a Killer Santa
  • Every problem that plagues Space Marines applies to the Space Wolves. They are a (mostly) melee army in a shooty edition. Bring out the Plasma, Flamers and the big guns because you're going to need it. Remember, Only a noob charges a full strength unit. Primaris Marines and allies act as a temporary patch for said problems.

Imperium[edit]

The Inquisition acts as the secret police force of the Imperium, hunting down any and all of the myriad threats to the stability of the God-Emperor's realm, from the corruption caused by the Forces of Chaos to assaults from vicious alien species.

The Sisters of Silence are an all-female order of Imperial Witch Hunters tasked with hunting down rogue psykers and other psychic threats across the galaxy.

The Rogue Traders lead exploratory fleets into unknown territory to find and colonize planets uninhabited by humans and to bring humans outside the Imperium into the fold.

The Officio Assassinorum is the hidden blade wielded by the High Lords of Terra. They are the slayers of kings and false messiahs, the bane of Traitors and rebels across the stars.
Why Play Imperium[edit]

You're joking, right?

Many of the armies in the game have the IMPERIUM keyword. The units listed here fill Imperial "factions" which don't have full blown army lists of their own but offer relatively cheap ways to fill in some of the holes in your other lists while remaining Battle-Forged.

Need some leadership boosts and a highly customizable force? Pick up an Inquisitor or two. Lacking psychic oomph? Take the Astra Telepathica, a Culexus or the Inquisition. Meta with a lot of character auras? A Vindicare is a solution. PS: The recent Beta Rule, Battle-Brothers, will force you to divide these factions into detachments centering around a keyword other than IMPERIUM keyword, but that shouldn't stop People, and has granted some units to not need an HQ tax. The problem with this though, is that it makes it much more difficult to bring in transports with Authority of the Inquisition. Have you, my friend, always been taking inquisitorial chimeras? Well now they must be taken in a guard detachment.

Many of the units on this page are now of questionable usefulness if they can't use the keyword Imperium. Especially if detachment limits are used as they are at tournaments. If you want 3 silent sister squads you'd have to give up 1 out of 3 detachments and have no CP from it to get them making them virtually useless. If you wanted just 1 or 2 Assassins or sister squads too bad you have to use 3 and lose cp for it. Which kinda seems like GW punching themselves in the face as many of the models on here are comparatively expensive to buy or part of expensive sets like blackstone. Currently you can take an Imperial Guard detachment alongside Space Marines easier and with no negatives but get penalized for a single assassin.

Chaos[edit]

Xenos[edit]

Dark Eldar[edit]

The Drukhari are an ancient race of reavers that dwell outside the material universe, descending upon the galaxy in improvised raiding parties to feast upon the suffering of mortals.

Pros

  • Blisteringly fast army. Infantry moves at least 7" and Vehicles move in excess of 14". Amazing transports can both protect and ferry around your units while still allowing them to shoot from inside.
  • Increasingly powerful as the game goes on because of the Power From Pain ability which all non-vehicle units share and gives progressively more buffs each turn.
  • Kabal units provide massive firepower and especially potent anti-Monster shooting, Wych Cult units have Combat Drugs they can choose before the game to alter their profile and abilities that make it harder for enemies to fall back, Haemonculus Coven units provide tough units for better board control.

Cons

  • Outside of transports Kabalite and Wych Cult units are very fragile and while inside transports your units do not benefit from Aura abilities.
  • The most powerful Dark Eldar Stratagem has been nerfed and the synergy between Craftworld Eldar and Dark Eldar has been vastly decreased with the change of a couple of core Stratagems. Without the aid of their other Aeldari cousins Dark Eldar have no way to interact with the Psychic phase.
  • Poisoned Weapons which are some of the most widely used Dark Eldar weapons are nearly useless against vehicles, even light vehicles which boltguns otherwise deal with quite well. Poisoned weapons also lack AP which makes them weak against units with a 2+ Sv.

Eldar[edit]

The Aeldari of the craftworlds are a proud and ancient race - while their numbers are small their grace, speed and agility is without peer.

Pros

  • Fast overall with one of the best transports in the game and a generally high Movement stats, Flyers with unmatched aerial manoeuvrability.
  • Excellent psychic powers and utility HQs such as Warlocks and Farseers.
  • Eldar Trickery is back! Now you have countless ways to mess with your opponent's plans, be it Deployment, Deepstrike, with the right psychic powers and Stratagems even the lowly Guardians can be made nigh-invulnerable for a crucial moment and hold an objective almost no matter how much your opponent might want to rip it away from you.

Cons

  • Most of your Infantry are vulnerable out in the open, it takes effort whether though Stratagems, Psychic powers, Transports or terrain to keep your Infantry alive.
  • Most of your melee units are underwhelming compared to their shooting counterparts.
  • Only one or two of the Craftworlds are ever used.

Harlequins[edit]

Hailing from the webway, these sinister Aeldari have turned murder into an art - and the galaxy itself is their stage.

Pros

  • Incredibly fast with a default 8" movement plus the ability to Advance and Charge, and everyone ignores terrain and models.
  • Hit like an absolute truck in Assault with 4 attacks base for basic troops, and can also pull off close-ranged Shooting shenanigans with Fusion Pistols and Starweavers. 4+ invulnerable saves on everything means you can shrug off high-calibre shooting more easily than most other factions.
  • Have the AELDARI keyword, meaning you can plug the holes in their capabilities with complementary units from Dark Eldar or Craftworld Eldar.

Cons

  • Even with improved Invulns, you're still fragile, especially against weight of fire. Your Troops are basically dead if they are ever outside of a transport and not in melee. If you can't hit first and hit hard or tie up your opponent's units so they cannot fall back, the clownery stops.
  • No long ranged weaponry. The best you have is 24" on your Shuriken Cannons. Currently, your best option to kill a Leman Russ is a pistol with 6" range. Saddle up Bitchez!
  • Small pool of units to choose from- Two HQs, one Troops, one Fast Attack, two Elites, one Heavy support, and a transport. Most Harlequin armies are going to look very similar each other in terms of units and high pts costs for both wargear and basic models means you won't be fielding lots of those units either.

Corsairs[edit]

Corsairs have forsaken the protection of their Craftworld to live lives on the edge. They rarely enter unfavourable battles instead using speed and guile to outmanoeuvre their foes.

Pros

  • Corsairs have the most flexible weapon loadouts of all the Aeldari factions, allowing you to either specialize against a particular unit type (like GEQ or MEQ), or kit them out to handle a wide range of threats.
  • With the 2017 CA dropping their point costs, most of the Corsair units are actually pretty reasonably priced for what they bring to the table.
  • Like the other Eldar factions Corsairs are very mobile, perhabs more so even than their cousins because of their use of jetpacks.

Cons

  • In the transition from 7th to 8th edition, most Corsair units have been liquidated. For some reason, this also included their HQ choices such as the Corsair Princes, Barons and Void Dreamers. Like Imperial Assassins, Corsairs can currently only be brought as a pure Corsairs detachment without an HQ, forgoing any command benefits for the detachment.
  • Corsairs have all the frailty of the Dark Eldar, meaning that a single stiff wind could very easily wipe out an entire squad of your dudes. While they have access to the Falcon now, with no means to repair or mitigate damage received, it'll suffer all the more for it.
  • For the time being (which will probably be a very long time), Corsairs lack any and all faction traits to shore up their weaknesses. With all the other Aeldari armies having Craftworld Attributes, Drukhari Obsessions and Harlequins Masque Forms, they can all perform more effectively both in defensive and offensive roles compared to the Corsairs. Coupled with your lack of unit choices, this leaves the Corsair faction with very little in-house incentive to pick them compared to what all the other Aeldari factions offer.

Necrons[edit]

The Necrons are deathless androids that once ruled the galaxy. Following a long stasis, they are awakening across the universe, armed with destructive weapons from aeons past.

Pros

  • Between vehicles with an assload of wounds, Living Metal to get those wounds back, and troops that can literally stand back up, it's a durable army that can hit hard and take just as much.
  • The entire army has Leadership 10. While losing the final 5 Warriors in a squad after losing the first fifteen sucks, it's not nearly as bad as losing 4 in melee and then having a 50/50 chance of getting destroyed.
  • Their basic guns the gauss flayer are exactly the same as the Space Marine boltgun, except they have AP-1 instead of AP-, on cheaper models to boot. 10 Immortals armed with tesla carbines and supported by a model with the My Will Be Done ability will do an average of 30 hits S5 AP- at range 24".

Cons

  • For once, accusations that you're a slow army are actually true. Most of your stuff is moving a mere 5". This is compounded by your Gauss weapons relying on their 12" Rapid Fire range to remain points efficient, making it possible for opponents to dramatically lower your damage output by keeping you at arm's length.
  • Tesla fails horribly against things that gives you to hit penalties, hitting stuff like Flyers, vehicles which have popped smoke, Mechanicus and Space Marine units from certain sub-factions while they are 12 or more inches away, Tzeentch Daemons close to the Changeling, Tyranid models close to a Malanthrope and/or a unit of Venomthropes.
  • Overpriced HQs are overpriced, expect your Troops, Fast Attack and Heavy Support to do the heavy lifting.

Orks[edit]

Violent, insane and innumerable, the Orks are a screaming horde of scavengers and barbarians who live only for battle.

Pros

  • "WAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHH!!!!!!"
  • Massive numbers of attacks in melee with a Stratagem that allows you to fight twice.
  • Quantity over quality in firepower makes for great Overwatch performance plus we get extra shots thanks to DAKKA! DAKKA! DAKKA!

Cons

  • Requires very large numbers of models to play properly. This can get extremely time-consuming both in hobby time and during games.
  • Few reliable anti-tank options. Most units are generally unreliable and have a large variability based on dice rolls.
  • Orks are extremely CP reliant. That limit some build options as low CP armies are not very viable.

Tau Empire[edit]

Dynamic, enlightened and optimistic, the T'au bring their way of life to the 41st Millenium through diplomacy - or, where that fails, powerful technology, including advanced battlesuits.

Pros

  • You can shoot overwatch with any unit within 6" of the charged unit. Noteworthily, basic overwatch in 8th can be performed multiple times, but using it makes you unable to fire more this turn.
  • Markerlights let you focus down single big targets effectively with your entire army.
  • A plethora of abilities that allow you to transfer wounds from more important targets to less important ones, as well as abilities that allow you to ignore wounds and good Sv characteristics and/or invulnerable saves can make your key units very resilient.

Cons

  • Virtual army wide BS 4+ meaning the so-called "Ranged experts" of the galaxy are only as good as your off the line Imperial grunt.
  • The Kroot which are supposed to be protecting you against melee threats are pretty bad, expect to lose if you get stuck in combat for any large amount of time.
  • You have no psychic powers, no defenses against them and no really cheap Smite screens.

Tyranids[edit]

The Tyranids are a vicious race of extragalactic predators, joined together in a single, horrifying hive mind. Where other factions use technology, Tyranids use adaptive bioforms bred for specific - and deadly - purposes.

Pros

  • Your melee specialist units hit hard as a steam train and move like cheetahs on crystal meth. Your ranged units can be hard to hit if they are close to a unit of Venomthropes or a Malanthrope.
  • Synapse makes your units more or less immune to morale and Instinctive Behavior is more of a nuisance rather than something that can make your Carnifexes decide that eating each other is a good idea. Synapse creatures are psykers so you generally have great anti-psychic abilities.
  • Wide variety of different types of units that can fill almost any role.

Cons

  • If you ever lose all your Synapse units or if you get more than 12" away most of your units have terrible morale.
  • Your melee, while highly damaging, is generally not great against big vehicles and monsters.
  • While 'nids can spam wounds and models like the best of them, there is a general lack of solid armor. 2+ saves are rare making you generally vulnerable to the basic weapons of most factions.

Genestealer Cults[edit]

Insurgent citizens that worship the Tyranids as deities from beyond the stars, the Genestealer Cult seeks to destroy the Imperium from within.

Pros

  • Cult Ambush lets you bring Space Hulk into 40k, and you're the Genestealers. With some amazing melee units you can quickly crush your foe if they are not properly prepared.
  • You can have your pick of Astra Militarum detachments for brainwashed allies to shore up some of the list's inherent weaknesses. You can mix in some Tyranid units into your army as an allied detachment as well
  • Genestealer cults are the latest faction to get a codex, meaning that they are surfing the crest of improving rule design and power creep (+1 strength AND a bonus to charge range makes catachans jealous).

Cons

  • Heavy Support, fliers and Fast Attack choices are extremely limited without using other allied factions, and these allied factions don’t get to share your keywords and other buffs. Alas, the way this works also mean that you can’t take a titan with your pseudo guardsmen, no reverting the forest battle on endor for you.
  • The entire army is extremely squishy and expensive, 8th edition is a cruel place and time to be a GEQ.
  • Your gods will eat you after all's said and done.

Unaligned[edit]

Homebrew Tactics[edit]

Friendly Grammar Nazi[edit]

The new edition is coming out in week, you might want to save your energy for the inevitable slew of grammatical mistakes in the 9th ed article. Angry Pirate (talk) 08:12, 3 July 2020 (UTC)

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