There is a new edition of Warhammer 40K in the pipe. The start box is currently in preorder, sort of... it sold out within minutes of it going up for pre-order!? If I really wanted a copy, I'm sure I could get one from my FLGS... but I don't. I may not even buy the main book - at least not straight away.
GW has released the core rules as a free PDF along with ALL the new datasheets and point costs. Which is nice. Now that the points are out, as of today, I've been looking over my forces and seeing what I can put together.
WHY!? Am I actually going to PLAY the damned game...? Maybe! There is a tournament coming up in July that I'm seriously considering going to.
The tournament is Battleforce Recon. It's a smaller event with smaller forces (1000 points!). I attended in 2018 and in 2019 - and it was good fun! I signed up for it in 2020... but.. COVID happened... They ran it last year (2022), but I just wasn't ready for hanging out in crowds at that point. I'm not sure I'm all that exited about it still... but...
This year, like in 2018, everyone will be playing with brand new forces for a brand new edition. In 2018, Warhammer 40000 - 8th Edition had just come out and none of the new codexes has been released and everyone was playing with Index armies. The armies will change as new codexes get released... but for now everyone has armies with limited abilities and special rules to keep track of.
So I have been looking at my various forces and pondering how they are to be organized under the new rules. One thing that has really changed with 10th edition is, as far as I can tell, they have completely ditched detachments. The only requirement is that you have at least ONE Character model - to lead your force... and... that's pretty much it...? Beyond that you can take up to three of anything else that isn't a Unique unit or character, and up to six of anything that is labelled "Battleline" - those are generally your bog standard infantry soldiers...
THIS caused be SOME anxiety as I have Many, MANY Imperial Guard Infantry Squads!? But yesterday they released the new data cards for the Astra Militarum and I'm still, theoretically, going to be able to field up to 12 squads... sort of... Astra Militarum "squads" can now be fielded in 10 or 20 model units... (yikes!).
Also, I have enough tanks to, theoretically, (once they are all painted) field and entire tank squadron! The new construction rules have kind of wrecked that plan as none of those tanks are "Battleline"!? Not even the standard Leman Russ Battle Tank... All of the variants have their own Data Card, so I can take up to three of each - three standard Battletanks, three Vanquishers (bigger gun, better at taking out vehicles), three Executioners (giant plasma cannon), three Punishers (giant gattling cannon), three... you get the idea. It will kind of force me to field way more of the special variants - I'd originally intended to have three platoons of three - each platoon having two Battle Tanks and one of the special variants... Ah well... How many times and I actually going to roll out with that full Tank Squadron. Honestly the time I finish it, there will be at least one new edition out - and it may have entirely changed by then!?
This will make things a little EASIER for my Aeldari force, however. If you recall with the previous (9th edition) Codex - Dire Avengers, which had been "Troops" in previous editions and formed the core of my Aeldari fighting force, has become Elites and only Rangers and Guardians were allowed as Troops... which meant the corps of my figthing forces would be Rangers (who, technically, aren't even part of any particular Craftworld, they just show up to fight alongside, from time to time) and/or Guardians (who are just ordinary citizens that are pressed into service in dire circumstances)!?
Now I no longer HAVE to include Rangers OR Guardians - I can have a force made up of entirely Aspect Warriors - the real warfighters of the Aeldari Craft worlds...
So below is what some of the forces I have might look like - what I can field now... in some cases what I could potentially field if I got all the stuff I have painted... and what I might take to Battleforce Recon.
Did I mention they got rid of power ratings...? Oh, they got rid of Power Ratings alright... But points have been super streamlined. Units are just; a unit of X include y troops for Z points... not points per model and points per weapon and every different option... which is kind of what they tried to do with Power Rating... but now they're doing it with points (basically the Power Rating x20 = points...) People like the bigger numbers I guess...? 2000 points sounds like a more supstatian force that one that's got a power rating of 100...?
Harlequins
Now, Harlequins have been lumped back in with the craftworlders and can be included as part of any Aeldari force... but I was looking at things and realized I could almost put together a 1000 point force of JUST HARLEQUINS... It might be tough to get them all painted in time for Battleforce Recon... but sometimes a DEADLINE is just what I NEED to do such a thing.
The Current Troupe - Troupe of the Eternal Lament
What I have done:
- Troupe Master - 55 points
- Shadowseer - 60 points
- Solitaire - 115 Points
- Death Jester - 70 points
- Death Jester - 70 points
- Death Jester - 70 points
- Troupe (6) - 75 points
Total: 515 points
BUT I do also have another 26 Troupe players if various states of paintedness. Originally I was going to organize them into four more units of 6 (with two spares left over) ... but that would be five Troupes... and TROUPES are NOT Battleline... No matter I can just reorganize them into THREE TROUPES. Troupes can be fielded in groups of five, six, eleven, or twelve...? (I THINK this is because the current Harlequin box comes with six miniatures... but one of those miniatures can be used to make your Troupe Master - which would leave you only five for a unit).
So I am ONE miniature shy of being able to field three Troupes of eleven.
OR four miniatures shy of being able to field three troupes of TWELVE!?
(I think Keiran had some spare metal Harlequins that they had picked up insome used lot... I may be able to steal/buy those from them!)
If so, I would be able to field the force as:
- Troupe Master - 55 points
- Shadowseer - 60 points
- Solitaire - 115 Points
- Death Jester - 70 points
- Death Jester - 70 points
- Death Jester - 70 points
- Troupe (11) - 165 points
- Troupe (11) - 165 points
- Troupe (11) - 165 points
Total: 935
Which would leave me 65 points... Perhaps they could be joined by a unit of rangers (55 points)
OR (If I did manage to scrounge up four more Harlequin players...
- Troupe Master - 55 points
- Shadowseer - 60 points
- Solitaire - 115 Points
- Death Jester - 70 points
- Death Jester - 70 points
- Death Jester - 70 points
- Troupe (12) - 180 points
- Troupe (12) - 180 points
- Troupe (12) - 180 points
Total: 980 points - I could make the Shadowseer a Reader of Runes for +20 points and that would be 1000 points even...
OR maybe I could field two Troupes of 12 and one Troupe of six and add in an Aeldari War Walker - that I could paint up in all sorts of fun Harlequinesque colours!?
Aeldari
This is the rest of the Aeldari that I have currently painted. I have loads more in various states of completion - including a few units that are VERY CLOSE to being complete... but this is what is DONE and ready to play right now!
- Farseer Thymiltelyir (1) - 65 points
- Warlock Conclave (2 -Adryllewi and Broelwyn) - 60 points
- Rangers (5) - 55 points
- Rangers (5) - 55 points
- Rangers (5) - 55 points
- Shrine of the Fading Night Dire Avengers (10) - 140 points
- Shrine of the to-be-named-shrine Dire Avengers (10) - 140 points
- Warp Spiders of the Shrine of the Mean Red Spiders (10) - 200 points
- Wraithlord Kloethades (1) - 160 points
- Wraithlord Phinyndros (1) - 160 points
- Wraithlord Melynaearian (1) - 160 points
Total: 1150 points
Boom! That right there is a force big enough for Battleforce Recon, right there! I just have to drop one of the Wraithlords and I've got 990 points!
The Stuff that is closest to being finished include
- Dark Reapers (5) - 75 points
- Howling Banshees (10) - 170 points
- Autarch (1) - 65 points
- Warlocks (4) - 120 points
- Farseer (1) - 65 points
- Guardians (11) - 110
That would be another 605 points, for a total of 1755. Just need another 245 points for a 2000point force.
Of course, I could mix in the Craftworlders and Harlequins... and that would be 1665 points without having to paint a single thing...
I have SO MANY other things I could paint up to add to the force... Like thousands of points more... But there is little point even considering those at the moment.
Cadia
I have
LOADS of Astra Militarum, but I thought I've had a quick look at what the small force of Cadians might add up to for a smaller tournament. (I'm not SUPER excited about bringing Imperial forces to a tournament, as there are SO MANY other Imperial forces... and it's always a bit lame fighting other Imperial forces... but anyway)
- Platoon Command Squad - 60 points
- Platoon Command Squad - 60 points
- Cadian Shock Troops - 65 points
- Cadian Shock Troops - 65 points
- Cadian Shock Troops - 65 points
- Cadian Shock Troops - 65 points
- Commissar - 35 points
- Commissar - 35 points
- Regimental Preacher - 35 points
- Regimental Preacher - 35 points
- Heavy Weapon Squad - 60 points
Total: 580 points...
Not much, it seems. I'd need a lot more to bring that up to 1000!? The few things I have that I could finish up and add to the force amounts to:
Platoon Command Squad - 60 points
CREED! (using old model in place of new one) - 55 points
Kasrkin - 120 points
Primaris Psyker - 60 points
Total: +295 points = 875 points
A Leman Russ Battle Tank is 195 points. I could add that and remove a few of the others to make 1000 points.
Tallarn Desert Raiders
Stuff that I currently have painted )I'd have to drop ONE of the Platoon Command Squads, above, as I can only have THREE!?):
- Platoon Command Squad (5) - 60 points
- Platoon Command Squad (5) - 60 points
- Platoon Command Squad (5) - 60 points
- Infantry Squad (9) - 65 points
- Infantry Squad (9) - 65 points
- Infantry Squad (9) - 65 points
- Infantry Squad (18) - 130 points
- Infantry Squad (18) - 130 points
- Infantry Squad (18) - 130 points
- Commissar - 35 points
- Commissar - 35 points
- Primaris Psyker - 60 points
- Regimental Preacher - 35 points
- Heavy Weapon Squad - 60 points
- Heavy Weapon Squad - 60 points
- Heavy Weapon Squad - 60 points
- Rough Riders (5) - 80 points
- Rough Riders (5) - 80 points
- Rough Riders (5) - 80 points
- Leman Russ Battle Tank - 195 points
- Leman Russ Battle Tank - 195 points
- Leman Russ Vanquisher - 190 points
- Leman Russ Punisher - 180 points
- Leman Russ Demolisher - 220 points
- Scout Sentinel - 50 points
- Taurox - 65 points
- Shadowsword - 440 points
Total: 2885
So... lots already done...
What would 1000 points look like? Looking at what I took to the
2018 Battleforce Recon...
- Platoon Command Squad (5) - 60 points
- Platoon Command Squad (5) - 60 points
- Platoon Command Squad (5) - 60 points
- Infantry Squad (18) - 130 points
- Infantry Squad (18) - 130 points
- Infantry Squad (18) - 130 points
- Heavy Weapon Squad - 60 points
- Heavy Weapon Squad - 60 points
- Scout Sentinel (1) - 50 points
- Roughriders (10) - 160
- Leman Russ Punisher - 180 points
Total: 1080
Close, I'd have to shave off 80 points. I guess I could just take five Rough Riders...? That would make 1000 points, even...
Chaos Space Marines
This was the force I've been thinking of building up to take to any tournaments... because Chaos Space Marines will fight ANYONE - including EACH OTHER!?
I don't really have a recent picture of the entire force... this is most of them...
But there have also been more Noise Marines added since the above picture was taken...
Currently the full force looks like:
Heratic Astartes Daemon Prince (1) - 180 points
Chaos Lord in Terminator Armour (1) - 100 points
Sorcerer (1) - 60 points
Master of Possession (1) - 70 points
Legionaires (5) - 100 points
Noise Marines (5) - 85 points
Noise Marines (5) - 85 points
Noise Marines (5) - 85 points
Obliterators (2) - 160 points
Traitor Guardsmen (10) - 70 points
Traitor Guardsmen (10) - 70 points
Cultist Mob (10) - 55 points
Venomcrawler (1) - 140 points
Total: 1160
Again - could go with these and not have to paint a thing! I'd just need to lose 160 points from these...? Maybe lose the Master of Possession and a unit of Traitor Guard and the Cultists...? Add in some Intoxicating Elixers?
I have no end of minis I could paint up to add to this force as well... another 15 Noise Marines, 20 Chaos Space marine Legionnaires, 10 Terminators, 5 Raptors, and so many cultists and accursed cultists and mutants and Dark Commune...
Well... I have some options for Battleforce Recon (if I end up going)... and I have lots I could just get playing with, if the mood struck (though I'd have to get creative about where I'd play, as the game room is still out of commission!). Maybe I should stick to Kill Team and Warcry as planned...
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