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Very First Eldar Codex: 2nd Edition 40k RETRO

eldar second edition codex hor war

Nostalgia time for the very first Eldar Codex, circa 1994. Take a look at how things started and how much 40k has evolved in the past 20+ years.

1994 saw the production of Codex Eldar, when Warhammer 40k was shifting from a slow, methodical narrative RPG-based game to the faster-paced game that led to how the game is played today. Eldar had a lot of models at this point, as a faction. This first book was written by Rick Priestly, one of the developers to how 40k evolved to be what it is.

eldar flashback 1

This codex was 88 pages long and divided into sections via fluff sections, with war gear being at the very end. The fluff starts out talking about the webways, exarchs, aspects, the fall, Harlequins, and how Slaneesh affected the Eldar. Each model has the stat lines plus fluff involved with the models. The stat lines show the movement value, which went away in later editions and has now re-surged. The other stat lines are the same name, but calculating weapon skill and ballistic skill involved subtracting (yay maths).

eldar flashback 2

After this, the painted models are showcased with different color schemes and each different model. As well, the Wraithlord was originally the Dreadnought, the stats for the Elday Vyper, and wargear cards, similar to data cards now. The armory section goes through armor, weapons, then leads to the army selection. Army Selection had options for Characters, squads, support, then Harlequins, which required special rules for inclusion. Finally, the back section had the catalog with bits numbers to get replacement pieces as needed, since the internet and ordering online was not a thing at that point.

eldar flashback 3

Not all things in the codex have survived the years, other than created through conversions. These old magazines, codex, and images remind us how much the hobby has evolved. The lore, though most has been retconned, is fantastic to as a read and reminder of where things were and how different the hobby and world was in the early stages of what we now know the game to be.

To delve deep into this nostalgic book, be sure to press play on the video below!

About the Author: Drago