The Raven Guard are stepping out of the shadows in today’s new Codex Space Marine rules & tactics preview. Come see the latest teaser form Games Workshop.
GW dropped a big teaser today on how the new Space Marine Raven Guard will play and feel on their big daily ramp up to the release of the new codex book.
In the new Codex: Space Marines, the Raven Guard are a diverse and flexible army, taking full advantage of stealth, shooting and melee to annihilate their foes.
Shadow Masters is one of the most versatile and powerful new Chapter Tactics, offering a great bonus for all sorts of armies. Raven Guard Scouts now live up to their reputation in the background, and units of snipers with camo cloaks will be incredibly difficult to displace from cover, while other ranged support units like Devastators, Intercessors and even ranged Dreadnoughts will benefit hugely from better defences against shooting. Like all the new Chapter Tactics, the purpose of this rule is to reward focused army building with powerful benefits that allow for a range of viable armies.
This seems pretty amazing based on the way that re-rolls activate over all, now re-rolling ones will be one of the only ways to draw an accurate bead on the sons of Corax.
The Raven Guard aren’t just a shooting army – on the other side of the coin, they’re still a potent combat army. Kayvaan Shrike, now promoted to Chapter Master of the Raven Guard, allows fellow Raven Guard jump pack units to reroll their charge ranges, helping your Assault Squads, Vanguard Veterans and Inceptors close the distance on key enemy units.
Reivers, on the other hand, are a versatile and powerful unit in a Raven Guard army and function well with other assault units; they’re almost as mobile as jump troops with their grapnel launchers and grav-chutes, with some handy abilities like Terror Troops and shock grenades. If you want to make your own Raven Guard characters, their unique Warlord Trait, Silealker, prevents enemies from firing Overwatch, while the Raven’s Fury Chapter relic allows a jump pack character to move at blistering speeds and reroll charge ranges – combined, you’ll have a potent and deadly character assassin.
One of the most exciting new features of the Raven Guard is their unique Stratagem, Strike From the Shadows. You’ll want to pack as many command points as you can into your list to take full advantage of this, allowing you to hold units back at the start of the game and deploy them anywhere more than 9″ away from the enemy just before the game begins.
Deploying over 9″ away by using a stratagem seems like a very powerful tactic indeed. Two chapters down, lots more to go, and judging by the power level of these previews, Astartes players have a ton more to look forward to form this book!
What are your favorite rules previews from the latest round of teasers?
GW Previews New Codex: Space Marines
Games Workshop just gave us a first look into the new Codex: Space Marines. Let’s take a look at what they had to say about the first Codex of 8th edition.
This is the complete guide to your army, with 104 pages of background, covering the long and storied history of the Adeptus Astartes and the distinct traditions of the First Founding Chapters and their Successors. There’s also new background focused on the Primaris Marines and the Ultima Founding, from Chapters brought back from the brink of destruction like the Crimson Fists to new heroes like the Rift Stalkers. There’s detailed livery to inspire your own paint schemes, as well as a breakdown of squad and company markings, from those of the more Codex compliant Chapters like the Ultramarines to the unique battle-iconography of the Black Templars.
New Models Ahoy! Checkout our breakdown of all these new units picture above!
The new Codex: Space Marine is looking very promising. You’re going to be getting 26 new Stratagems, 14 new Warlord Traits, and 85 datasheets in this 104 page book.
We are anxiously looking forward to what Games Workshop has to reveal over the next week, leading up to the pre-order next Saturday.
What do you think about the new Codex: Space Marines? Let us know in the comments below.
Latest 8th Edition News & Rumors from Games Workshop
About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
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Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
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About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
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