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I can't see a thread about this being anything other than a Pre-order so apologies if my search-fu has failed me once again.

I ordered IA8 yesterday and have arived home tonight to find that it was delivered this lunchtime - result! Well done FW.

First impressions - well as always with IA books I am very impressed with the heftyness of it, Hard cover, 225 pages of full colour fluffyness and a full colour poster. No more than you would expect for £45 + P&P I suppose. Nice cover art as per FW newsletter but the cover isn't as glossy as the previous IA books, which I rather like [differant feel to the cover as well for those tactile-ly inclinded!]

The contents are as per previously shown off by FW, so I won't go into what is included but there is quite a bit of new model rules and army lists for Elysians, Raven Guard and of course Orks; but I think that was well known anyway.

The format of the book is similar to previous IA books but has been vastly improved, it reminds be of really old school GW publications with lost of colourisation and graphics on every page. In fact now I consider it they have clearly taken a few pointers from the Dark Heresy and Rogue Trader RPGs with clear presentation but a real grittyness that suits the subject matter.

All of the regular IA components are in there, technical drawings, army lists, scenarios, special characters, squad load-out diagrams, notorised sketchs of the participants and a crap load of new rules for all of the new toys.

I was a fan of the series before this but this has really set a new benchmark for Imperial Armour books. 10/10

Dammit now I feel compelled to get a Death Skull force!

I'm off to start reading this thing, my plan was to wait until my holiday in two weeks but this sucker needs to be read.

Thanks for the quick review. I'm now eagerly awaiting my copy... I get the feeling that very little work will be done if it arrives at work tomorrow

Are the rules for Grot tanks in?

any special characters for the IG or Raven Guard? if so, can you give a synopsis of what they do differently than the normal choices? thanks in advance.

endtransmission wrote:Thanks for the quick review. I'm now eagerly awaiting my copy... I get the feeling that very little work will be done if it arrives at work tomorrow

Tru dat, fortunately by chance I have tomorrow off of work

Kroothawk wrote:Are the rules for Grot tanks in?

Yes Fast Attack Choice - 3-6 vehicles. As you would expect they look like good fun.

warboss wrote:any special characters for the IG or Raven Guard? if so, can you give a synopsis of what they do differently than the normal choices? thanks in advance.

I have not seen anything for the IG and the contents do not show any characters, just the usual positions from the regular codex.

There are a couple of Ork characters. Zhadsnark 'da ripper' a biker boss and Mek Boss Buzzgob the main protagonist from what I can tell.

The Raven Guard have Shadow Captain Korvydae of 10th Company, Master of Recruits. Don't be fool he is no super scout, but another CC hero that counts assault squads as troops.

Thats all folks i'm off to bed, but if you want to leave some questions I will try to answer them tomorrow morning.

Night.

notprop wrote:
I have not seen anything for the IG and the contents do not show any characters, just the usual positions from the regular codex.

There are a couple of Ork characters. Zhadsnark 'da ripper' a biker boss and Mek Boss Buzzgob the main protagonist from what I can tell.

The Raven Guard have Shadow Captain Korvydae of 10th Company, Master of Recruits. Don't be fool he is no super scout, but another CC hero that counts assault squads as troops.

Thats all folks i'm off to bed, but if you want to leave some questions I will try to answer them tomorrow morning.

Night.

thanks for the quick response. lol, i would have preferred one that included news of some awesome IG commander ability but a friend of mine will be happy to hear about the raven guard captain.

Never mind your friend, I am quite happy to hear about him, though I hope he's not Shrike-lite...

notprop wrote:The Raven Guard have Shadow Captain Korvydae of 10th Company, Master of Recruits. Don't be fool he is no super scout, but another CC hero that counts assault squads as troops.

I am Korvydae, Captain of the Raven Guard 10th Company and Master of Recruits! It is my job to ensure that all the young aspiring Marines make the transition to full battle brother, so that they might serve the Primarch, the Emperor and the Imperium until their deaths. In order to do that I... make Assault Squads... Troops? Wait... what?

How does that make any sense? Oh, wait, it doesn't, Warwick just copypasta'd his way out of another rules jam. Copy Shrike, find and replace name - instant 'new' character. Such a hard worker, that Warwick.

To be fair, being Captain of the 10th Company doesn't mean he won't have access to the Assault Company, the Veteran Company, etc.

Not at all, but his Special Rule of allowing more of them makes no sense from a 'I'm the guy who trains the newbies' perspective.

He's the "Master of Recruits" not their teacher...

The Sergeants of the Scout Companies and the Veterans attached to the 10th are the ones who do the actual training.

He's just the guy who oversees everything, I'd assume.

are the valks mandatory for the elysians or just optional dedicated transports?

Can Elysians take veterans as troops as with the regular Imperial Guard list?

Is there enough Elysian in there to justify a buy for folks who alrady have IA3 Taros?

Or in my case, IA4? I loathe to be forced to buy more squads of Elysians because they are only fieldable in platoons now.

Yes, as it brings the Elysians back into line with the current codex.

Second question: is IA8 covering all Elsyians and as such a good buy for a new Elysian player?

warboss wrote:are the valks mandatory for the elysians or just optional dedicated transports?

No they are dedicated transports only. Vendettas are Fast Attack and Vultures are Heavy Support [incuding Punisher cannon option YAY!].

BrookM wrote:Can Elysians take veterans as troops as with the regular Imperial Guard list?

Yes, pretty much identical organisation but with no armoured vehicles plus Elysian goodies.

Duncan_Idaho wrote:Is there enough Elysian in there to justify a buy for folks who alrady have IA3 Taros?

Elysians have an army list that brings it upto date with the latest codex [no bad thing IMO], current rules on the equipment from the previous IA books, rules for the sweet sweet fast attack buggies, some more scenarios for drop troops and rules/how to deal with the cross over to apocylse for all of the new/existing vehicles that the Elysians use. The book is about 20% Elysian, 20% Raven guard [don't hold me to that!] with the majority being Orks which is probably what was necessary with the amount of new stuff they have from FW.

BrookM wrote:Or in my case, IA4? I loathe to be forced to buy more squads of Elysians because they are only fieldable in platoons now.

As I say its pretty much as per the IG codex in terms of infantry options. So the basic infantry platoon be as the IG codex but with the interesting option of choosing a Drop Sentinal Squadron as a Troop selection [its Elite otherwise] or there are the Veteeran options.

Duncan_Idaho wrote:Second question: is IA8 covering all Elsyians and as such a good buy for a new Elysian player?

I would suggest that this is a must for a new Elysian player or indeed an existing player with previous IA books i.e. upto date rules. Indeed all of the rules for them are included plus otherwise you will miss out on the buggies and Sky Talon transport. Of course if these rules become availabe on ta intawebz then not so much.

notprop wrote:

BrookM wrote:Can Elysians take veterans as troops as with the regular Imperial Guard list?

Yes, pretty much identical organisation but with no armoured vehicles plus Elysian goodies.

This is good news. Thanks.

I have my first [prehaps only] gripe with IA8. The Elysian buggies [as per sentinals in the IG codex] do not have options for mounting additional defensive weapons [i.e. Heavy stubbers & Storm Bolters], which I have alway thought would make a really good modelling opportunity as well as a sensible/realistic alternative armament choice.

Im thinking I would love SAS/LRDG jeep patrols with so many guns on them they look like hedgehogs [Fragile but spikey!] or is that just me?

No, me too. Since i already play Brits in FoW i am somehow missing it here.

But good to know that IA8 is a good buy for Elysians.

Are both the buggies and Venators fast attack choices btw?

H.B.M.C. wrote:I am Korvydae, Captain of the Raven Guard 10th Company and Master of Recruits! It is my job to ensure that all the young aspiring Marines make the transition to full battle brother, so that they might serve the Primarch, the Emperor and the Imperium until their deaths. In order to do that I... make Assault Squads... Troops? Wait... what?

How does that make any sense? Oh, wait, it doesn't, Warwick just copypasta'd his way out of another rules jam. Copy Shrike, find and replace name - instant 'new' character. Such a hard worker, that Warwick.

Shrike:
-Fights with a pair of master-crafted Lightning Claws, which have the Rending special rule
-Changes your army by giving it Fleet

Korvydae:
-Fights with a big ole' Thunder Hammer
-Changes your army by making Assault Squad troops

Where are you getting this C/P idea from?

BrookM wrote:Are both the buggies and Venators fast attack choices btw?

Yes indeed they are, but not it interchangable. i.e. no mixed formations as on choice.

I have also just noticed that there is only the Shadow Captain in terms of rules for the Raven Guard, so NO RAVEN GUARD ARMYLIST HERE! Not really a problem as you could throw a gretchin out of the window and hit about 5 differant books with Marine lists in them, but I thought I would mention it.

bhsman wrote:

H.B.M.C. wrote:I am Korvydae, Captain of the Raven Guard 10th Company and Master of Recruits! It is my job to ensure that all the young aspiring Marines make the transition to full battle brother, so that they might serve the Primarch, the Emperor and the Imperium until their deaths. In order to do that I... make Assault Squads... Troops? Wait... what?

How does that make any sense? Oh, wait, it doesn't, Warwick just copypasta'd his way out of another rules jam. Copy Shrike, find and replace name - instant 'new' character. Such a hard worker, that Warwick.

Shrike:
-Fights with a pair of master-crafted Lightning Claws, which have the Rending special rule
-Changes your army by giving it Fleet

Korvydae:
-Fights with a big ole' Thunder Hammer
-Changes your army by making Assault Squad troops

Where are you getting this C/P idea from?

Whenever he sees Warwick somewhere he reverts to some automatic state of repeating the same old joke over and over again.

BrookM wrote:

bhsman wrote:

H.B.M.C. wrote:I am Korvydae, Captain of the Raven Guard 10th Company and Master of Recruits! It is my job to ensure that all the young aspiring Marines make the transition to full battle brother, so that they might serve the Primarch, the Emperor and the Imperium until their deaths. In order to do that I... make Assault Squads... Troops? Wait... what?

How does that make any sense? Oh, wait, it doesn't, Warwick just copypasta'd his way out of another rules jam. Copy Shrike, find and replace name - instant 'new' character. Such a hard worker, that Warwick.

Shrike:
-Fights with a pair of master-crafted Lightning Claws, which have the Rending special rule
-Changes your army by giving it Fleet

Korvydae:
-Fights with a big ole' Thunder Hammer
-Changes your army by making Assault Squad troops

Where are you getting this C/P idea from?

Whenever he sees Warwick somewhere he reverts to some automatic state of repeating the same old joke over and over again.

Maybe he just C/P's the same joke over?



Amirite? Amirite?

http://instantrimshot.com/

The Dreadnote wrote:http://instantrimshot.com/

Thank you, thank you, I'm here all week. don't forget to tip your waitress.

Honestly though, i agree with HBMC. Warwick is the king of Copying and Pasting and - most importantly - NOT PROOFREADING. I own a single IA book, for apocalypse, and I have downloaded the rest because I'm not paying for un-proofread rules.

Seriously, they make the design studio look like they have their gak together. That's amazing.

warboss wrote:

notprop wrote:
I have not seen anything for the IG and the contents do not show any characters, just the usual positions from the regular codex.
There are a couple of Ork characters. Zhadsnark 'da ripper' a biker boss and Mek Boss Buzzgob the main protagonist from what I can tell.
The Raven Guard have Shadow Captain Korvydae of 10th Company, Master of Recruits. Don't be fool he is no super scout, but another CC hero that counts assault squads as troops.
Thats all folks i'm off to bed, but if you want to leave some questions I will try to answer them tomorrow morning.
Night.

thanks for the quick response. lol, i would have preferred one that included news of some awesome IG commander ability but a friend of mine will be happy to hear about the raven guard captain.

Actually, there are some other guard and ork characters in the scenarios section at the back of the book, with costs so you could use them outside the scenarios.

Orks :
Grahkrag ( May take 1 Nob/Meganob unit as Troops; removes the limit on Ardboyz mobs)
Skalk (may ride squiggoth; makes 1 unit of Loota mob a troop choice; eternal warrior)

Elysians :
Captain Thanstadt (2 orders, unit he leads are Fearless, units within 12" are Stubborn)
Captain Gerek (Command Tauros; reroll failed reserve rolls; grants free/additional Recon strategic asset in apoc games)
Captain Xhyst (with accompanying CCS; 2 orders and the CCS is Fearless)


Automatically Appended Next Post:

bhsman wrote:
Korvydae:
-Fights with a big ole' Thunder Hammer
-Changes your army by making Assault Squad troops

He also has the rule that the force MUST include at least one unit of scouts; which ties him into the Master of Scouts role more tightly. He also grants Hit and Run to the unit he leads.

Doh. Just read through the Elysian lists in the book and found the first of (probably) many typos. Elysian Vets and Vet Sergeant are WS3/BS3, rather than the WS3/BS4 of normal Guard Vets. In addition, the Vet Heavy weapons troops have WS4/BS4?! The Attack and LD values are wrong too. Why would the Hvy weapons team have a higher LD than the sergeant or normal vets?

endtransmission wrote:

Automatically Appended Next Post:

bhsman wrote:
Korvydae:
-Fights with a big ole' Thunder Hammer
-Changes your army by making Assault Squad troops

He also has the rule that the force MUST include at least one unit of scouts; which ties him into the Master of Scouts role more tightly. He also grants Hit and Run to the unit he leads

I guess the point being made elsewhere is you'd think that he'd have a bit more to do with scouts than that.

Still, more Raven Guard stuff is better than no Raven Guard stuff!