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It's been quite some time since I first released my Spyrer Codex for Warhammer 40,000. The original Codex was written for 5th Edition, and was a bit of an oddity as I designed it so you could play a 500-1000 point battle with just a handful of models.

Now that 7th Edition is upon us, and has brought us both the ally-rich Battleforged option, and the completely open Unbound option, I've decided to take the opposite approach and try to represent the Spyers a lot more like they would really be in Warhammer 40,000. They are still highly skilled warriors and carry quite powerful wargear, but wouldn't individually overmatch Space Marines the way they did in my old Codex.

Please have a look, tell me what you think, and I'd love to hear your comments, suggestions and constructive criticism!

You have multiple options for downloading the Codex. You can grab it from the attachment right here on this thread, or you can snag it using either of the sites listed below:

Scribd.com

Box.com

LAST UPDATED 08/19/2014

New version uploaded - see first post.

Also, check out my kitbashed Hive Spyrers in the project logs section!

Update Notes - v1.1

- Gave Houseguard the option to upgrade their lasguns to either boltguns or hotshot lasguns.

- Gave Houseguard Captains the option to upgrade their laspistol to a hotshot laspistol.

- Gave Houseguard and Houseguard Captains the option to upgrade their flak armour to carapace armour.

(These three changes should allow for far more flexibility in the choice of models for representing your Houseguard - as now Space Marine Scouts, Tempestus Scions and old Stormtroopers/Kasrkin can be used due to the new armour and weapons options.)

- Added an "Armour" sub-section to the Hive Spyrer's Wargear section.

- Added the ability for Spyrer's to re-roll failed Armour Save rolls of 1 due to their hunting rigs. This will help make most of them just a little more survivable, and will make the Patriarch truly hard to kill without low-AP weapons - very useful since he has no Invulnerable Save.

A very good fandex ! Hell, it even looks like an official one

I've followed your fandex since 5th edition, and I'm glad that you still capture the touch of the Spyrers very well.

However, there still are some problems I must address:

-First, I suggest bumping Venom Claw to Poisoned (4+). Hell, with S3, the Malcadons will not going to make their points back, even with re-roll against models with T3 or less.

-The Laser Gauntlet is worse than a Lasgun, IMO. Yes, the Yelds have Power Boost, but with S3, and a gun as weak as the Gauntlet, I don't think they can kill enough to level up their equipments.

-The Houseguards should have an options to take Shotgun for free, and one model should be able to take a flamer or grenade launcher.

-What is the role of the Stewart in the squad ?

-The Houseguard Captain is overcosted. I think you should drop his point cost to 10 pts, or make one Houseguard be able to upgrade to Captain.

That is all. Keep up the good work !

New version uploaded. See first post.

Update Notes - v1.2

- Venom Claws have been improved to Poisoned (4+) base, and the Toxin Sacs Power Boost has been improved to Poisoned (3+).

- Laser Gauntlets have been improved to Assault 2 base, and the Pulse Lasers Power Boost has benn improved to Assault 3. (And I realized that with this change, if the Yeld gets both the Pulse Lasers and Boosted Laser Power boosts, then his Laser Gauntlets become identical to the Boosted Pulse Laser carried by the Patriarch, minus the Twin-Linked rule - which kind of makes sense.)

- Houseguard were given the option to replace their Lasguns for Shotguns at no cost. Options are nice.

- The Houseguard Captain was reduced to 10 points.

Nice
-However, one of my questions still stands. What is the role of the Steward in Household Guard squad ?
-When the Jakara is hit by ranged poisoned weapons, sniper weapons and psychic shooting attacks, how does the Mirror Shield react ?

The Steward is mainly there to be a character in the unit. He provides a Leadership boost for if you don't want to spend much on the unit by adding Houseguard and/or a Captain, allowing you to use the Baggage Handlers rule without fear that they will immediately run away as soon as the shooting starts.

He can also be a "sacrificial lamb", accepting a challenge for a joined character such as the Patriarch or Matriarch so they can concentrate on slaughtering the enemy grunts.

As for the Mirror Shield, I don't see any confusion as regards to poisoned weapons. Poisoned weapons, unless otherwise stated, count as having a Strength of 1. I may need to make a note regarding Sniper weapons though, since they only have a stated Strength when hitting vehicles.

I hadn't even thought about Psychic Shooting Attacks, as I keep forgetting they are now sort of a separate thing. I will have to make a provision for them in the rules, but basically they will work the same, except during the Psychic Phase.