Post by niennumb on Nov 8, 2017 18:20:31 GMT -5
So I picked up the new Craftworld codex, and oh boy is it cool.
So I thought I'd give the my thoughts. I'll probably give a unit by unit thought later but this first post is going to be some general thoughts on big topics.
Point Reduction:
One the one hand I'm not a fan of how codex giving a lot of point reductions gives armies with a codex a big advantage over those using the index, the point reductions here do a lot to make army more internally balanced, and some of the choices are pretty interesting.
Biggest things to point out are that Dire Avengers got a massive point reduction and Guardians stayed the same. So for the troop slot the DA are now a much more reasonable consideration, going from slightly more than 2 guardians, to 1.5 guardians in cost.
Worth noting that some things didn't get a point reduction, of those many got buffs though some didn't.
Stratagems:
Holy mobility batmon-kei. You can now have a choice of either deepstriking vehicles (including transports), or deepstriking 1-2 infantry of bikes, and you can redeploy up to 3 units. And all that is before the game starts.
In game you can make any unit auto advance 6, or move 7 after shooting. It's not the old shoot and scoot, but it's very versitle.
There are other things that provide buffs, that's 6 stratagems that are about the theme that craftworlds can use CP to put units where they want.
A little note on the deepstriking strats, if I'm reading it right, because you don't make the decision to use those, or to determine what is deployed in a vehicle, until after learning your opponents army. So you can have a lot of versatility in your deployment. That fire dragon team can start in a transport on the field, in a transport that deepstrikes, or can deep strike by themself. These are all options.
There are also multiple strats that effect units near farseers, or affect warlocks. So Psykic powers are a big thing.
Psykic Powers:
So Craftworlds have 2 psykic schools, so they both got expanded to 6 powers. Runes of battle come in pairs, so that 9! new powers.
That said, the Farseer powers don't change them much. Executioners is just a smite varient, Will of Asuryan is pretty meh, and Mind War requires some setup to be good. But having the extra options means that you can easily run multiple Farseers now and have them all using their full psykic potential.
Runes of Battle got a HUGE change. The buffs are no longer auras, but now target units of infantry or bikes. This means no more cluster as many units as possible around the conceal caster, and no stacking -1 to hit on vehicles. It also means you can put out buffs onto specific units easier.
And Oh boy buffs. In addition to the melee buffs (both to hit and wound), -1 to hit from range, you also get +1 to all saves, or possibly the most powerful Quicken. Move as if it were the movement phase. That's after deep strikers, and no 'cannot charge' clause. Yep, we get Warp Time.
And that's not including the Debuffs, which are also great. Let's just say I'm glad I've got a lot of warlock models now.
Craftworld Powers:
Having good cheap HQ choices (warlocks) and specialized units means that CW eldar probably have the most ability to take advantage of using different CW benefits for different units.
Having a HS detachment who would get more advantage of the -1 to hit beyond 12", while the rest of the army that's up close uses something else. Or your bikes and melee units getting Sain-heim.
Other than Ulthewe being the super generic 6+FNP the rest of Craftworlds do seem to support working with the units and themes associated with that Craftworld.
So I thought I'd give the my thoughts. I'll probably give a unit by unit thought later but this first post is going to be some general thoughts on big topics.
Point Reduction:
One the one hand I'm not a fan of how codex giving a lot of point reductions gives armies with a codex a big advantage over those using the index, the point reductions here do a lot to make army more internally balanced, and some of the choices are pretty interesting.
Biggest things to point out are that Dire Avengers got a massive point reduction and Guardians stayed the same. So for the troop slot the DA are now a much more reasonable consideration, going from slightly more than 2 guardians, to 1.5 guardians in cost.
Worth noting that some things didn't get a point reduction, of those many got buffs though some didn't.
Stratagems:
Holy mobility batmon-kei. You can now have a choice of either deepstriking vehicles (including transports), or deepstriking 1-2 infantry of bikes, and you can redeploy up to 3 units. And all that is before the game starts.
In game you can make any unit auto advance 6, or move 7 after shooting. It's not the old shoot and scoot, but it's very versitle.
There are other things that provide buffs, that's 6 stratagems that are about the theme that craftworlds can use CP to put units where they want.
A little note on the deepstriking strats, if I'm reading it right, because you don't make the decision to use those, or to determine what is deployed in a vehicle, until after learning your opponents army. So you can have a lot of versatility in your deployment. That fire dragon team can start in a transport on the field, in a transport that deepstrikes, or can deep strike by themself. These are all options.
There are also multiple strats that effect units near farseers, or affect warlocks. So Psykic powers are a big thing.
Psykic Powers:
So Craftworlds have 2 psykic schools, so they both got expanded to 6 powers. Runes of battle come in pairs, so that 9! new powers.
That said, the Farseer powers don't change them much. Executioners is just a smite varient, Will of Asuryan is pretty meh, and Mind War requires some setup to be good. But having the extra options means that you can easily run multiple Farseers now and have them all using their full psykic potential.
Runes of Battle got a HUGE change. The buffs are no longer auras, but now target units of infantry or bikes. This means no more cluster as many units as possible around the conceal caster, and no stacking -1 to hit on vehicles. It also means you can put out buffs onto specific units easier.
And Oh boy buffs. In addition to the melee buffs (both to hit and wound), -1 to hit from range, you also get +1 to all saves, or possibly the most powerful Quicken. Move as if it were the movement phase. That's after deep strikers, and no 'cannot charge' clause. Yep, we get Warp Time.
And that's not including the Debuffs, which are also great. Let's just say I'm glad I've got a lot of warlock models now.
Craftworld Powers:
Having good cheap HQ choices (warlocks) and specialized units means that CW eldar probably have the most ability to take advantage of using different CW benefits for different units.
Having a HS detachment who would get more advantage of the -1 to hit beyond 12", while the rest of the army that's up close uses something else. Or your bikes and melee units getting Sain-heim.
Other than Ulthewe being the super generic 6+FNP the rest of Craftworlds do seem to support working with the units and themes associated with that Craftworld.