Dionysodorus wrote:I do think that there's an awful lot to like about this codex. The internal balance comes up a lot, and that's great, but also...
1) It's fantastic that the doctrines affect almost everything. Chapter Tactics type rules are just
fun. It's cool that not only your regiment's infantry and walkers but also tanks and transports and even superheavies get little buffs that distinguish them from those of other regiments. It is really lame that Predators and Land Raiders don't get Tactics.
2) Regiment-specific orders go a long way towards making this feel like a meaty codex that someone put thought into. It's a really flavorful Guard-specific mechanic that further distinguishes regiments.
3) There doesn't seem to be a small number of obviously-best regiments. I guess this is related to "internal balance" but I took that as more about the units themselves. People's opinions about the best doctrines vary widely. Also, unlike Marines or AdMech, there aren't any special characters which are so overpowered relative to everything else that they practically force you to take certain regiments. Harker and Pask are good but not astounding.
Regarding Regiments, I think one factor I really like is that there are several 'layers' to each Regiment. In addition to the Regimental Doctrines, each regiment also has unique Orders, Artefacts and Warlord Traits.
What I like about this is that there's more than one reason to take a particular regiment - so they don't win or lose based on their doctrine abilities alone.