Goatboy here with some discussion on the Grotmas Astra Militarum, Chaos Space Marines, and Blood Angels Detachments we just got!
Thankfully GW has decided to grace us with the rules a bit early so I can look them over, devour the juicy bits inside, and spit out some interesting editorial nonsense. I am always happy to see more rules added to the game and while some of it can be a bit of a bloat (Space Marines sooo Fat with Detachments) but I am still glad to see them. I like more rules especially if they are interesting and some of these detachments might have power in them.
Today I want to talk about the Astra Militarum, Chaos Space Marines, and Blood Angels updates we got in the last few days. I think all of these might have some space to play in them. It feels like GW is starting to get the hang of these detachments. There is a design thought in each of these and the rules, enhancements, and stratagems are starting to really reflect that. There is more than just stat checks and roll manipulation within these rules shelves to put your models on.
Astra Militarum Grizzled Company
Let’s start with the first one release with the Astra Militarum release called the Grizzled Company. I love the name as it reminds me of my old DND game from back in my college days, when I had a Dwarven Cleric who went by the Grizzlier. The idea behind the detachment is that your Veteran leadership can give out an extra Order to units and if your unit is ordered they can reroll 1’s to hit. If the target is on an objective they can reroll 1’s to wound as well. This is a pretty solid rule that just helps the AM army do a lot more with the default rules they have. It also lets them have more opportunities to damage things they target which is a powerful thing.
The Enhancements all push this idea of utilizing more Orders by either allowing certain models to issue orders and join a new unit (Commissar with Ogryn), give new and existing orders like granting stealth or +1 AP if they target an enemy within 12″, and finally increasing the range of Orders you can give by the officer unit. All of these seem powerful for this detachment.
The Stratagems are also pretty interesting. You have a 1CP out of phase Order you can give to any unit called Snap to it. You have a sticky objective Stratagem option for 1CP. The rest of them are all Stratagems that upgrade the unit even more if a specific order is assigned to them. This would be like increasing their strength, giving them Lethal Hits, Ignoring Cover, and increasing their AP on their weapons. All of these fit really well with the theme of the army and utilizing Orders to stack other abilities on top of it.
CSM Nightmare Hunt
The next one will talk about is the new Chaos Space Marine detachment called Nightmare Hunt. This is the upgraded “Nightlords” detachment that needed some help to get it to work. I think this one has some powerful interactions with their Enhancements and trying to get Battleshock to work. If this army causes your unit to get Battleshocked it will explode in lethalness pretty quickly. The detachment rule is similar to Dread Talons in that causes Battle Shock tests with a -1 if the enemy unit is below starting strength and within 12″. The upgrade is they allow the army to always get a +1 to their hit roll if the enemy unit is Below Half-Strength. This extra bit might help a lot with the army as well as a ton of other things in the list that will cause your Battleshock tests to go off at -2. I get the feeling the army might really sing once we see the new Raptor rules that will come out with their updated kit in the new Killteam box coming in the future.
This army will mostly do a lot of work with their Enhancements and all four seem interesting. Warp-Fueled Thrusters lets your Chaos Lord with Jump Pack and his unit go back into reserves if it is out of Engagement range during your opponents fights phase. You have another option Sorrowscent Vulture that lets you attach a Chaos Lord with Jump Pack to Warp Talons and give them a 6″ scout. You have Terrorglut Parasite that forces Battleshock tests to any unit within engagement range of the model and unit at another -1 at the start of the Fight phase. The last one is ok as it gives the unit the Chaos Lord stealth and if they are on an objective marker they can’t be shot if they are not within 18″ of the shooting unit. The first three seem well set up to be taken all the time with this army.
The Enhancements continue the idea that having the army do what it’s supposed to do – cause battle shock tests and they fail – makes the army better. One of them lets you increase the AP of your attacks in either the fight phase or shooting phase. Another one lets you reroll all hits in either the fight phase or shooting phase. You also have the powerful advance and charge strat which is always helpful. You have a fallback, shoot, and charge stratagem as well. You also have two powerful ones that allow you to cause Battleshock tests either within 6″ of the enemy to all units or one unit within 12″ of a unit that came in from reserves this turn. The last two are going to be very powerful in how this army is going to cause a cascade of battleshock tests and hopefully get the rest of their rules to work.
Ave Dominus Nox indeed!
Blood Angels Rage Cursed Onslaught
The last one will talk about is the new Blood Angels detachment – Rage-cursed Onslaught. This is an updated Death Company detachment for those sickos that want to run a bunch of crazy marines out for blood. The rule here is a simple reroll melee wound rolls of 1 and if you charged this turn you get +1 attack. If you happened to be Battleshocked it is a +2 to your attacks. This army is all about cascading your units into Battleshock and allow them to get even more crazed in combat.
The Enhancements push this idea with a bunch of powerful combat options. You have a Chaplain upgrade that gives him and his unit scout 6″ as well as a 6″ aura of reroll battleshock tests. You have the powerful give the model and unit they are attached to fights first once per game. You get a 6″ aura of giving all Death Company a +1 to their strength of weapons (doesn’t say just melee). You also have an upgrade to a character that gives the model Sustained Hits 2 when fighting a Monster, Vehicle, or Character. I think the Fights First and 6″ +1 strength Aura are going to be the big winners out of this list.
The Stratagems seem good as well. You have a 1CP make the objective sticky after getting killed which is helpful for an army that just wants to get to you and kill you. You get Armor of Contempt as well as a 5+ feel no pain for your Death Company units (might be good for DC Dreads). You get an option to get +1 to strength or AP of your melee weapons unless you decide to go into the Red Thirst and get both. You get a 2CP auto fight on death for your Death Company. You also get an advance/shoot or advance/charge ability for your army. If you succumb to the red thirst you get to do both.
The Verdict
All three of these detachments seem interesting. I think the AM and CSM options feel powerful. It will really matter for the CSM detachment if the Raptor kit gets the rumored two heavy melee weapons and other fun stuff from the pics shown so far. I also feel like this is getting close to stretching utilizing Battleshock as an actual thing but will just have to wait and see. Stacking a bunch of -2 tests to an army has to cause something to fail right?
Subscribe to our newsletter!
Get Tabletop, RPG & Pop Culture news delivered directly to your inbox.
Which one do you like the most?
Don’t Miss:
Thomas Reidy, aka Goatboy, the ever-evil member of BoLS. I do arts, play 40k, and even paint a lot of stuff. I have been playing Warhammer 40K since the 1990s, and have won multiple national events including Adepticon and GW GTs. I’ve been writing for BoLS for 15 years. Look at my Instagram to see what I am working on – or working on for someone. I am always doing something hobby related.
Read more at this site