Rejoice, scions of Medusa, for the Iron Hands are about to become more formidable than ever before thanks to their shiny new codex supplement. Today, we’re taking a look at what awaits the mighty Sons of the Gorgon…
This article was originally published on the Warhammer-community site.
Who Are The Iron Hands?
The Iron Hands are a First Founding Chapter, gene-wrought sons of the Gorgon, Ferrus Manus. Since the earliest days of the Great Crusade, the Iron Hands have sought to perfect their physical forms by replacing the frail flesh they deem so weak with the inviolable metal of bionic and cybernetic enhancements.* Their dedication to this cause has led the Iron Hands to become the most mercilessly efficient and enduring of all the Adeptus Astartes. They are unfaltering, unyielding and unstoppable.
On the Battlefield
As one might expect from a Chapter of Space Marines who replace their limbs and body parts in order to make themselves as tough as possible, the Iron Hands are hard as nails.* Their codex supplement takes this principle and dials it up to 11, as well as demonstrating their natural affinity for machinery.
The cold, almost mechanical focus displayed by the Iron Hands in battle is exemplified by their Calculated Fury ability – gained by fielding an army made exclusively of Iron Hands.
With this bonus to the Devastator (Combat) Doctrine, you’ll have no need to rely on the aura ability of a Captain to earn those handy re-rolls for you shootiest units!
Whether you want to include an allied Detachment of Iron Hands to your force or are planning to go ‘full Gorgon’ with an entire army of them, the codex supplement offers loads of awesome new rules and thematic, tactical options. Let’s take a look at some highlights…
The officers of the Iron Hands read the ebb and flow of battle with a cold detachment, directing their warriors to crush any opposition with ruthless efficiency. There are six Warlord Traits unique to the Iron Hands Chapter. One of the most interesting and tactically flexible is Student of History.
This enables your Warlord to press the attack with great speed or withdraw to the relative safety of cover or your own lines. Give this Warlord Trait to a Primaris Captain in Phobos Armour to keep your opponent guessing as to your intentions.
Iron Hands psykers have an affinity for machinery and can manipulate machine spirits to do their bidding through force of mental will. Their Librarians can, therefore, master powers from their very own psychic discipline, Technomancy, enabling them to commune with the machine spirits or attack those of their enemies. For example, Blessing of the Machine God will all but guarantee an undamaged vehicle will hit its mark – especially when you consider that you’ll be able to re-roll 1s to hit with your Calculated Fury ability!
There’s still loads more! As a First Founding Chapter, the Iron Hands have vaults filled with ancient and powerful Relics, some of which date back to the birth of the Imperium and beyond. The Ironstone is a perfect option for a Techmarine supporting either a vehicle squadron or a host of Dreadnoughts, enabling you to reduce incoming damage and repair any that your beloved war machines do suffer!
In addition to the Relics of Medusa and the Special-issue Wargear options available to the Iron Hands (and their successor Chapters), there are another 16 bespoke Iron Hands Stratagems that can be used in addition to those found in Codex: Space Marines. One of these is Mnemonic Auto-savant – used at the right time and with the right Tactical Objective in a Maelstrom of War mission, it can be an absolute game-winner.
Believe it or not, we’ve barely scratched the surface of what’s in the codex supplement. Seriously, just look at the contents…
Codex Supplement: Iron Hands will be available to pre-order this weekend, along with their brand-new Character, Iron Father Feirros. We’ll have more on this awesome new Character later in the week. Until then, check back with us tomorrow for a sneak peek inside the Raven Guard codex supplement (after all, sneaking is very much their thing). If you haven’t already picked up your copy of Codex: Space Marines, grab it today – as any son of Ferrus Manus will tell you, it’s the logical thing to do!
* When your Primarch has GIANT METAL HANDS, you have a lot to live up to!
** Assuming that the nails in question are made of pure adamantium. After all, thanks to their Chapter Tactics, Iron Hands ignore any wounds they suffer on the roll of a 6, and their models count as having double their current number of wounds for the purposes of the characteristics used on their damage tables. I guess what we mean to say is, they’re actually considerably tougher than nails.
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