With the 8th Edition Codex: Astra Militarum one week away from release, we are seeing some interesting previews of what this codex will offer!
Appearing on YouTube via a Winters SEO review, the 8th Edition Codex: Astra Militarum has given Guard players lots of tools and tactics to take their armies to the next level. The Regimental Orders and Doctrines have been discussed ad nauseam. If you aren’t tracking the most recent coverage of the Codex: Astra Militarum that delves more into Doctrines and Orders at length checkout the latest here.
For this post, we will be discussing the Warlord Traits, Relics, and Psykana Disciplines that are at the Astra Militarum’s disposal.
This codex brings three new Psykana powers to the table that are quite useful.
Nightshroud has a warp charge of 6 and will make a chosen friendly Astra Militarum unit with 12″ harder to hit by enemy units that target them with -1 to hit by ranged weapons.
Mental Fortitude will grant a chosen Astra Militarum unit the ability to automatically pass Morale tests with a warp charge of 4.
Lastly, we have Psychic Maelstrom. This power sounds brutal and has potential to do some serious damage at the start. With a warp charge of 7, an enemy unit within 18″ of psyker is chosen and a D6 is rolled. On a 2+, that unit suffers a mortal wound. If that wound is not negated, then roll a D6 again. If it is 3+, another mortal wound is suffered. This process is continued by adding 1 to the dice roll until you fail to cause a wound or the enemy unit is destroyed.
Picture casting Smite then Psychic Maelstrom on a target. Smite will already do work but add to that a power that can then wound on a 2+, then a 3+, etc. and you can see the amount of damage that can be dished out.
There are 14 Relics, called Heirlooms, included in this codex. 6 are general ones and the other 8 are Regiment specific. Of these relics, there are two that are going to be see a high percentage of use: The Deathmask of Ollanius and Kurov’s Aquila. Some runners up are the Laurels of Command and the Valhallan-specific Pietrov’s mk.45. The Deathmask of Ollanius is for an Infantry model only and will give the bearer a 4+ invulnerable save and the ability to heal D3 wounds at the start of any of your turns. Kurov’s Aquila will grant you the ability to roll a 5+ to gain 1 Command Point every time your opponent uses a Stratagem.
Laurels of Command will allow an Officer with the Voice of Command ability to issue another order to the same unit that was just given an order with a roll of a 4+. This does not count towards the maximum number of orders this model may issue each turn. The Valhallan-specific Pietrov’s MK 45 gives the bearer a pistol with S4, -1AP, 2 Damage, and the ability to prevent any units within 6″ of bearer can never lose more than one model due to an single failed Moral test.
For Warlord Traits, you the standard 6 generic traits and the 8 Regiment specific traits. Of these traits, a few do jump out as being well worth taking and some do not. Grand Strategist can allow you to re-roll one failed hit, wound, or saving throw once per battle and you can roll a dice for each Command Point spent. On a 5+, you are refunded that point.
Another is Bellowing Voice which adds 3″ to the range of your Warlord’s abilities. There is also the Master of Command that will grant your Warlord the Voice of Command. If said Warlord has this ability or the Tank Orders ability, they can instead issue one additional order per turn. If your Warlord is a Named Character, then they must take the trait that is specific to their <Regiment> keyword. If your Warlord is Commissar Yarrick, he must take the Master of Command trait.
The Regiment specific Warlord Traits are great if you want to focus more on playing your army as they perform in the fluff. The only Regiment trait that appears to be underwhelming on this list is the one for the Militarum Tempestus. The Faithful Servant of the Throne grants a Tempestus Warlord the ability to deny one psychic power in each enemy psychic phase in the same manner of a psyker. There may be some uses for this but, when compared to other traits that could be assigned, it simply falls short.
Some stars include the Tallarn trait Swift Attacker: Your Warlord and all friendly Tallarn units within 6″ of them can charge even if they fell back that turn or the Armageddon trait Ex-Gang Leader: add 1 to the Warlord’s Attack characteristic and +1 to any wound rolls made by your Warlord in the Fight Phase.
It is important to note that these traits will also influence vehicles as well, unless stated otherwise. If you are playing a home-brewed regiment or one that is already in the lore but has no rules, then you are allowed to take the Stratagems, Traits, and Heirlooms of a chosen regiment included in this codex that you feel would fit their fighting style. For example, Tanith First and Only would feel right at home using the Tallarn rules. The Savlar Chem Dogs would play more like Armageddon than anything else.
These are some of the rules we are seeing so far. Our very own Rob Baer will have his hands on this codex soon so stay tuned for his review and his tips and Tactics breakdown.
For more new rules and content revealed concerning the Codex: Astra Miliotarum, check out our previous article of our coverage of the Warhammer Twitch stream.
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About the Author: Juan Lopez
