Codex: Astra Militarum review

Alright! After devouring through this book for a few hours, I managed to  get how to use this codex!

First impression of this codex was pretty good. Apart from the cover being Astra Militarum, the contents of this codex still refers the Guards as Imperial Guards rather than Astra Militarum. As I read on, there was one thing I took note of though: several pages of the printing in the codex is poorly done. MANY PARTS OF THE TEXT AND PICTURES HAVE THEIR INK SMUDGED. I do not know if this is a rare case or not but I hope I can return it and get a new one. Chances are slim as this book was wrapped up when it arrived.

MANY PARTS OF THE TEXT AND PICTURES HAVE THEIR INK SMUDGED!

On to the contents. One thing I noted when I started reading the codex is that there were more fluff included than the previous codex in my opinion. It took me about 1.5 hours to read through the fluff, stories and all that. As expected the pictures are all printed in colour. This is a great plus point as it makes reading the codex seem more appealing. Plus it makes the settings of the pictures more clear, unlike the black and white pictures of the previous codex, where it is hard to see where the soldier is fighting and all that kind of stuff.

PICTURES ARE IN COLOUR!

To the army list, one difference that really caught my eye is that there is now a wargear list. This means that for every unit which I want to upgrade with cooler weapons, I have to keep referring to the wargear list, which is something of a trouble, especially when I am new to the codex and making a new list.

I HAVE TO KEEP REFERRING TO THE WARGEAR LIST!

Nothing much have changed for the points cost, except for some plus and minus here and there.

Let's start with the HQ. One thing that caught my eye is the drop in points cost for Commissar Yarrick. Only veterans in the command squad get to be upgraded with carapace, which is kind of sad as it means our Master of Ordnance will be more vulnerable on the field. There is also the inclusion of tank commanders, which is kind of cool as it gives the fluff of an armoured company supported by infantry instead of the other way round and so on. Rules for the servitors are now also available in the codex, which I don't remember seeing them in the previous codex.

DROP IN POINT COST FOR COMMISSAR YARRICK!

Next, the troops. They switched the troops with elites, thus having the troops in front of the elites rather than the other way round like the previous codex.Nothing much have changed for the infantry platoon besides the lower points cost for Heavy Weapons Squad. Conscripts are cheaper but still very squishy. Veterans are cheaper with a revised points cost for their doctrines. We see the loss of penal legions, though I don't use them so it doesn't really matter to me.

VETERANS ARE CHEAPER!

Dedicated transports still includes chimeras but at a higher cost with also the inclusion of Taurox an Taurox Prime. So I guess GW wants us to get more Taurox, since they have cheaper points cost.

CHIMERA IS MORE EXPENSIVE NOW!

Ogryns are more or less the same in the elites section with bullgryns being more expensive. Their points cost can be found in the white dwarf weekly. Ratlings and psykers look the same to me. Militarum Tempestus is under the elite section too but we see the loss of storm troopers, one of my favourite units. Since they always help me get at least one kill point each game. Marbo is gone too, so it is pretty sad to see a pie plate guy disappear.

STORM TROOPERS AND MARBO GONE!

For fast attack, rough riders are still around along with the sentinels. Armoured ones are now cheaper, thus it is a plus point to me as I love to bring armoured sentinels in my list. Nothing much changed except now Vendetta can only carry 6 guys and is much more expensive, way more.

VENDETTA IS MORE EXPENSIVE!

Revised Leman Russ tanks points cost is good, with 120 points being the cheapest. But guess what, I don't even know what that tank does as I don't even want to use it. Hahaha! We see the lose of 3 of our artilleries apart from the Basilisk and the inclusion of the wyvern battery (The mortar guy).

REVISED LEMAN RUSS TANK COST IS AWESOME!

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The orders look pretty sweet, I must remember to use them. But effectiveness of it is still unclear as I haven't got a game yet. The orders cards are not a must buy as you will see it in the codex and it is only for reference. But if you are a hardcore gamer, get one, you do not want to forget to give an order.

ORDERS CARDS ARE NOT COMPULSORY BUT THEY ARE COOL!

Now you get to choose whether to use warlord traits from the rulebook or from the codex. That's right Guard players, we got out own warlord traits table.

WE GOT OUR OWN WARLORD TRAITS TABLE!

That's all for my review on the new Codex: Astra Militarum.

If you have  any questions, feel free to ask. 

Time to work on a list. Muhahahaha!

Winters