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Found this and thought I would share:

Part 1 (rules)
http://thegoodthebadtheinsulting.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/iyanden-part-1-rules-warhammer-40000.html

part 2 (fluff)
http://thegoodthebadtheinsulting.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/iyanden-part-2-lore-warhammer-40000.html

Some key points:
- 2 pages of rules for $60
- Mat Ward butchers the fluff as normal with no regard to canon or time lines.

The purpose of Matt Ward has been revealed to me in a heroin induced hallucination.

Eventually he will be fired, after he has destroyed the continuity of the majority of the background in 40k and fantasy. This is a cunning plan by GW because then they can do what DC Comics did with their Crises on Infinite Earths series. They will reboot the whole system and then sell replacement books for everything that has been invalidated.

I do like the reviewers blackmail theory as to why Matt Ward still has a job at GW despite his monumental incompetence.

I managed to get about halfway into the fluff review before closing from boredom. This isn't a review...it's just another Ward-hate rant picking at perceived sins of destroying canon and waffling on for faaaaar too long in doing so.
I also spotted quite a few of those sins being pointed out as debatable or just plain wrong. It seems they don't actually have an accurate picture of what the craft world's fluff was before.

I hate Ward as much as the next person but he isn't incapable of writing a decent and balanced codex. The Space Marine codex, while rediculously UM heavy, was IMO the most varied and balanced codex in 5th Ed. This sort of makes it worse, rather then being unable to do it, he just doesn't.

But yah this isn't so much a review of the codex as it is a Ward rant.

I find the rules to be well balanced and exactly what I expected. The lore is very good and in tune with what we expected from Codex Iyanden. I feel it manages to capture the spirit of the Craftworld perfectly while expanding on it in interesting ways.

I'm also not sure about some of your complaints. You suggest most of the scenarios are useless (I'm fond of them and look forward to trying a lot of them out, especially the Altar of War ones) and claiming most focus on Tyranids vs Eldar. I'm pretty sure, unless I'm missing something, only one of them has tyranids in it. The rest are against Daemons, Chaos Marines and other things that perfectly play up to all the lore contained in the book. In fact, I was a bit dissapointed only one mission featured the Tyranids, as my main gaming partner doesn't play any of the other armies, and orks are my babies.

I also like one of the biggest nitpicks you had about the lore - the creation of the infinity circuit. Yes, it makes perfect sense the masters of spirit lore created it, and that it did not exist before the fall. Why would you trap your spirit in a semi-conscious, limited state when they were still going to there proper place in the Warp?

I also felt he put proper focus on the battle against the Tyranids and was surprised at how it was only a portion of the lore he built up. I thought it was surprisingly good in general, especially for Matt Ward - though I don't have any particular hate for him, rather liking what he did with the Necron book even though I don't play them. After reading all the lore in the book, which is exactly what I wanted in the first place, I'm perfectly content with how it works so well with the Path of the Eldar series and the main Eldar codex.

Edit: Actually, I completely agree with the complaint of recycled art. That's just lazy and more than a little dissapointing. I wanted a lot of new fresh art! I'm not sure if any drawings/pictures in the book is even new other than the House colors.

I actually strongly disagree with all the hate for Matt Ward. By this point it is more of a bandwagoning and common enemy effect. I mean, come on, the guy wrote some silly fluff, leave him alone.

It's not as if he is a one-man fluff team and rules writer. GW has complete oversight and there is a score of editors and play-testers assigned to each book. In fact, he is actually notable for maintaining relatively good internal balance within his books, UNLIKE other much more beloved writers such as Phil Kelly.

I am not denying his fluff in general is over the top and biased in some ways, but it is such a large portion of the canon by this point that you will have to come to grips with it or give up.

Ranting pointlessly and repetitively will accomplish absolutely nothing but waste the time of everyone involved.

 ImotekhTheStormlord wrote:
I actually strongly disagree with all the hate for Matt Ward. By this point it is more of a bandwagoning and common enemy effect. I mean, come on, the guy wrote some silly fluff, leave him alone.

It's not as if he is a one-man fluff team and rules writer. GW has complete oversight and there is a score of editors and play-testers assigned to each book. In fact, he is actually notable for maintaining relatively good internal balance within his books, UNLIKE other much more beloved writers such as Phil Kelly.

I am not denying his fluff in general is over the top and biased in some ways, but it is such a large portion of the canon by this point that you will have to come to grips with it or give up.

Ranting pointlessly and repetitively will accomplish absolutely nothing but waste the time of everyone involved.

Sums it up pretty well.

How much of the codex focuses on Iyanden's most iconic battle in any case?

 Kain wrote:
How much of the codex focuses on Iyanden's most iconic battle in any case?

I'd say... maybe a quarter of the fluff? So 10 pages. There are other big battles covered as well - most notably against Chaos and Orks - and quite a lot on the rivalry and differing politics between Yriel and Iyanna.

JWhex wrote:
The purpose of Matt Ward has been revealed to me in a heroin induced hallucination.

Eventually he will be fired, after he has destroyed the continuity of the majority of the background in 40k and fantasy. This is a cunning plan by GW because then they can do what DC Comics did with their Crises on Infinite Earths series. They will reboot the whole system and then sell replacement books for everything that has been invalidated.

I do like the reviewers blackmail theory as to why Matt Ward still has a job at GW despite his monumental incompetence.

Here's the thing though, Ward makes rules that sell models, so the books will sell regardless of the abortion of fluff, and GW just keeps patting him on the back for it so, you cant fire a guy that consistently makes you money, the second he doesn't that's when he is no longer useful.

 ImotekhTheStormlord wrote:
I actually strongly disagree with all the hate for Matt Ward. By this point it is more of a bandwagoning and common enemy effect. I mean, come on, the guy wrote some silly fluff, leave him alone.

It's not as if he is a one-man fluff team and rules writer. GW has complete oversight and there is a score of editors and play-testers assigned to each book. In fact, he is actually notable for maintaining relatively good internal balance within his books, UNLIKE other much more beloved writers such as Phil Kelly.

I am not denying his fluff in general is over the top and biased in some ways, but it is such a large portion of the canon by this point that you will have to come to grips with it or give up.

Ranting pointlessly and repetitively will accomplish absolutely nothing but waste the time of everyone involved.

If you find Wards writing bad in any way, you have a legitimate reason for disliking him. People say they're sick of people hating on ward, well I'm sick of seeing people use the phrase bandwagonning without knowing what they're talking about. If anything, it's people jumping on the bandwagon bandwagon, which is pretty dang silly, but it's whatever.

Anyways, with 2 pages of useful information (game related), It more or less confirms my suspicions of it being something of a cash grab attempt. Not only did it come out crazy fast after the book it's supplementing, but you're not getting much for 50 bucks. If you want fluff there's much much cheaper ways of going about that, like getting a BL novel or the like. Kind of reminds me of White Dwarf in that there's a little stuff you like (40k related) and a lot of stuff you don't (ads and lord of the rings).

pass

I'm going to start by saying, that the writer of both these articles is incredibly biased against Ward. Just read his intro on part 1, and you'll see what I mean.

To me, it wasn't' even a review, it was just another typical Ward-bash. It's impossible to take someone seriously about it, when they can't really be objective about it.

I can sum up the book real quick for anyone:

1. The book has two pages of rules, and has no downside for them. If you are planning to be a competitive Eldar player, there is no reason not to pick this up, as more options are good, not just or Wraith-heavy armies, but it is their purpose.

2. The Fluff really isn't bad at all, I enjoyed it for the most part. However, I did enjoy most of the Newcron fluff as well. There is nothing like Draigo in it, so no worries there.

 Super Ready wrote:
I managed to get about halfway into the fluff review before closing from boredom. This isn't a review...it's just another Ward-hate rant picking at perceived sins of destroying canon and waffling on for faaaaar too long in doing so.
I also spotted quite a few of those sins being pointed out as debatable or just plain wrong. It seems they don't actually have an accurate picture of what the craft world's fluff was before.

This. If I wanted to read an autismal rant about how Mat Ward is destroying the background, I could just go to the 40k background section. The funny thing is that this guy who wrote the blog is just as much of a hack writer as he clames Ward is.

Ward's improved significantly from his GK days, I'll give him that.

Although there's still no real excuse for 7e Daemons of Chaos, but that's a fantasy battle thing.

Its easy to bash a writer on what they publish. Its not that easy to get published. If Gav Thorpe bashes Ward, I'd listen. Any Joe Blow on the interwebz bashes Ward ... whatever. Losers will scream about flaws they see in winners, which neither makes the winners losers nor the losers winners.

As to the supplement, I'll be getting it. I've alway wanted to run an Eldar "ghost" army, and this book lets me do so legally.

SJ

 jeffersonian000 wrote:
Its easy to bash a writer on what they publish. Its not that easy to get published. If Gav Thorpe bashes Ward, I'd listen. Any Joe Blow on the interwebz bashes Ward ... whatever. Losers will scream about flaws they see in winners, which neither makes the winners losers nor the losers winners.

As to the supplement, I'll be getting it. I've alway wanted to run an Eldar "ghost" army, and this book lets me do so legally.

SJ

Thorpe has transcended the realm of codex writing and has entered the land of the Black Library. He has no time for the codex proles.

Terrible review. The only particularly informative part of it was about the reuse of artwork, which for the price tag is cheeky.
I actually like the fact that 6th edition Iyanna Arienal might be bug feth insane and willing to commit mass-murder to achieve her goals.

[Please take note of the rules on swearing -- thanks -- Mod Kilkrazy]