The Salamanders are the spotlight in today’s new Codex Space Marine rules & tactics preview. Come see the latest teaser from Games Workshop.
GW dropped a big teaser today on how the new Space Marine Salamanders will play and feel on their big daily ramp up to the release of the new codex book.
In today’s Chapter Focus, we’re looking at the Salamanders, stoic paragons of strength, honour and flamecraft. We’ve already taken a first look at the Salamanders Chapter Tactic, but today, we’re taking a deep dive into how this works with the rest of your army and other powerful abilities like the Salamanders’ Stratagem and their special character.
Salamanders are renowned on the tabletop for their mastery of flamer weapons, and Salamanders armies have traditionally revolved around getting as many of them into the opponent’s backline as soon as possible. This is still true of the Salamanders in the new codex, but their Chapter Tactic is far more versatile that before, to the extent that you’ll be able to field a viable Salamanders army with no flamer or melta weapons at all!
Master Artisans allows any Salamanders unit to re-roll a single failed hit roll and a single failed wound roll every time it shoots or fights – essentially, this is a more flexible version of the old Master Crafted rule. In practice, this opens up a huge range of possibilities for the Salamanders: safely supercharging plasma weaponry or guaranteeing a deadly blow with a power fist, for example. Like the other Chapter Tactics, Master Artisans will benefit Dreadnoughts as well, allowing them to make the most of their powerful weaponry – if you want a whole army of these ancient heroes, then Salamanders are one of the best choices for your Chapter Tactics (just as you’d expect from the guys who brought you Bray’Arth Ashmantle!).
The ability to supercharge weapons and being able to re-roll a single failed hit roll and a single failed wound roll is going to be a huge battlefield advantage for Salamander players. Not to mention being able to use this ability with Dreadnoughts as well.
Salamanders armies will be able to combine these Chapter Tactics with a range of other options in the codex to create some great armies. Salamanders Characters in particular are going to be some of the most powerful in the game, and it’s more than possible to have a Captain in Gravis Armour with Strength 5 and Toughness 6(!) through their unique warlord trait and relic. The Salamanders’ unique Stratagem, Flamecraft, greatly boosts the power of flamer weapons of all shapes and sizes, while their unique character, Vulkan He’stan, offers further benefits to generals who want to bring the heat to the battlefields of the 41st Millennium.
Finally, the Salamanders can make great use of one of the most powerful units in the new codex: the Aggressors. In a Salamanders army, you’ll want to equip yours with Flamestorm Gauntlets; these powerful weapons benefit hugely from Flamecraft in the shooting phase and gain deadly accuracy from Master Artisans in the combat phase. A firebase of Aggressors surrounding Vulkan He’Stan is going to be nigh impregnable and is especially terrifying when you consider that these walking fortresses can fire twice if they remain still in the movement phase.
A captain in Gravis Armour with Strength 5 and Toughness 6? That’s going to be a great warlord trait and relic combo to have the option of taking. Then they’re going to get the Flamecraft Stratgem to boost the power of their flamer weapons. Combo an Aggressor with a Flamestorm Gauntlet, then use the Flamecraft Stratagem, and your opponent won’t know what hit them.
Plus it looks like Aggressors will be able to fire twice if they remain still during the movement phase!
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.
