I’m not going to go the whole hog and go through every single
item and new rule, for a couple of reasons, but I’ll mention a couple of
interesting snippets. I also (by way of
further disclaimer) haven’t been through all the fluff yet, so don’t expect
much from me on that score yet. The inevitable
question when dealing with these kinds of things is always the same: ‘Is it
worth the money?’ I’m going to be honest
and say no. That’s not to say I
regretted my purchase or that I’m not glad I got it, but on an objective scale,
it’s not enough stuff to justify itself to the average buyer. If you’re really into the Iron Hands or Clan
Raukaan specifically, then you’ll probably enjoy the background and the rules
tweaks and scenarios are nice and flavourful.
Unfortunately, the scenarios are probably going to be the part of the
book I’ll get the least out of, as with pickup games and tournaments and the
like, I'm probably just going to stick to the basic missions and leave it at that. I might try to get someone in on them to try
them out though, so you never know.
Right, let’s get into some rules chatter. The army itself has to be chosen from the core
Codex Space Marines and the Iron Hands Chapter Tactics (like you’d use anything
else, really) and give a couple of unit tweaks.
With Raukaan rules Dreadnoughts (of all ilks) can be chosen as either
Elites or Heavy Support, so you no longer need a Master of the Forge to unlock
that option. The other addition is that
for each HQ choice, you can have two Techmarines instead of one. Increase that to three if that HQ choice is a
Master of the Forge. I really like both
of these rules, although the tactical benefit they’ll give you is somewhat
limited. Techmarines are expensive for
one wound models, man. The multi-Dread
option without needing the Master-tax is nice though. I’ll probably mess around with a couple of my
lists to fit some more Techmarines in there though, because it’s such a
thematic possibility, and it’ll look awesome!
The problem I’m finding is that there is always the temptation to load
them down with more stuff. You have your
basic Techie for 50 points. He packs a
S8 AP1 power fist attack and a 2+ save, plus his ability to get your transports
running again, making him a nice addition to many squads. But them for another 25 points, you can give
him an extra servo-arm attack, a twin-linked plasma pistol and a flamer, plus
make him even more reliable in vehicle repair, which (let’s be honest) is a fairly
good deal. But by that point you’ve
spent 75 points on a 1 wound character.
Well, at least servitors are cheap, if you want to run that way. Nevertheless, for theme, there’s nothing
better! I really want to bodge together
a hyper Command Squad by attaching a bunch of Techmarines to it. How awesome would that look? Ignore the points. Please.
We get a new Warlords table, and I have to say I really like
it. It runs a nice gamut of abilities,
but they are all useful. A couple of
particular note are the result that lets your Warlord repair vehicles even if
he’s not a Techmarine (if they can already repair, they get a reroll), and one result
that allows you to use the old Chapter tactics rule from 5th and
automatically fail Morale tests. Given
the way ATKNF and rallying works now, this is tactically very tasty indeed,
allowing you to fall back from approaching assaults and disengage from disadvantageous
close combats at next to zero risk to the unit (unless you’re a few inches from
the table edge, that is). A big thumbs
up for this table from me!
Special items are interesting. All of them are Relics recast. If a character can chose from the Marine Relics,
then they have to select from the Gifts of the Gorgon list instead. You have some very nice items and some ‘eh’
fairly average options, but they all feel good.
There’s a librarian weapon that is essentially a Force Power Fist, a
boosted power axe that becomes a power fist on rolls of a 6 to hit and even a
helmet that houses a powerful comms system that allows your nearby units to
use the HQ’s leadership and even reroll 1s to hit with shooting. They specify that this item can be used even
inside vehicles and building (which seems like an odd distinction to make, as
that’s how everyone seems to play aura-effect items anyway). But unlike the magic banners that become more
inspirational when locked up inside a vehicle where no-one can see them, this helmet
actually make sense in those terms. It’s
a comms network. LoS isn’t a problem. One odd thing about the Gifts list is that there are no restriction as to what you can take other than 'only 1 per army'. No wepaon replacement, or distinctions as made as to which replace weapons and which do not. I'll use my common sense on this one, but basically follow the same selection rules as the mainstream codex just to be on the safe side.
My favourite item is probably the Chains of the Gorgon, which
provide defensive benefits based on how many time the character is
wounded. The trick is that it become
less effective, the more wounded the bearer is, which is not what I would have expected. It never gets worse than a 4+ invulnerable
though. It does mean that if your
character is tooling around with a Command Squad , is wearing this and rolls
the right result on the Warlord Table, you can be dealing with 3+ Feel No Pain
roll. Brutal! I made a character using the regular Space
Marines codex and built him for durability and tarpitting. His name is Leythan Korduskaya, ‘The
Wall’. I think he may be getting an
upgrade! I really want this Mega Iron
Council now!
So that’s my initial review of the release. If you aren’t hardcore about the Xth, then it’s
a definite miss for you, but that’s the way of these supplements from what I can
tell. Just know what you’re buying
before you buy it. If it’s just for the
rules, I don’t think I can justify it to you.
I’m enjoying it though.
End Of Line.
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