Hi All,
As a long time guard player I am quite excited about the new codex release in the works. While all my models are third party, I still like the new miniatures and am excited to see how much more dynamic the army will look. The only thing I am more pumped for is the new crusade rules that will come with the release. Now, the AM are the last codex without dedicated crusade rules, which puts them in an interesting spot. As we read these rules we might be able to get some hints as to how GW will alter the rule set in 10th ed. Army-specific crusade rules have evolved a lot over time, especially if you compare the Chaos Space Marine rules with the initial Necron rules. So what should GW implement in this new book?
Army Specific Rules:
One of the difficult bits to adapt to the crusade setting is how an army’s theme of heroic sacrifice can be used to forge a narrative. On the one hand, you have the Blood Angel rules where almost everyone is guaranteed to die for marginal benefits. On the other, you have the Sororitas rules which allow you to glean some benefit from losing your super characters but it’s still a profound loss. I think a good set of AM rules will incorporate this in some fashion. It might be that you get an Requisition to swap out a unit with battle scars, or some other way to recycle damage squads. I would like to see a refined Path of the Eldar system where you take an officer and move him up the ranks from a Platoon Commander to senior HQ or even to a tank commander! I think if the rules focused on a commander’s reputation it would be very fun. Another idea is to make a mobilization system sort of like the Tyranid rules. Rather than consuming planets, the guard get access and bonuses to certain units as they activate them and the PDFs organize.
I am also curious if individual regiments will get mini-rules like in the CSM book. The Necrons also got a set of these rules and they work very elegantly. The one downside of this is that it will likely mean the removal of custom-regiment traits.
Relics and Agendas:
When it comes to relics, I think the guard need a mix of support and weapon relics. A few options can be weapon relics, especially for Catachans, but I think they should work in locus type effects. I think you have a lot of fun options for the guard in terms of agendas. I think one issue is that Guard HQ’s (except tanks) are terrible at killing anything and so will likely level up slowly. You can boost them by taking Sentinel and Survivor agendas but they might need a hand up when gaining exp.
Requisitions:
I think if the tank-ace rules are in the book, which I highly doubt, you will need to spend requisitions to get them. I think a requisition to replace a unit is also a given. It wouldn’t surprise me to see some form of unit promotion requisition here but it would be so limited I wouldn’t count on it. I also would think there might be a Cadian Whiteshield or generic Conscript requisition here.
Battle Traits:
We usually see 1-2 full tables and 2-3 mini tables. I think we will get 1 mini table for officers, one full table for infantry units (excluding characters) 1 mini table for tanks/vehicles and maybe one wildcard mini-table for Engineseers or Commissars. They can go a lot of different ways with the type of upgrades, I would be shocked if there isn’t a shoot-and-complete-action upgrade.
Summary:
I think there are a lot of exciting options and possibilities with this book. I think these rules can really flesh out the regiments and add a lot of flavor to the army. I think mini-rules for specific regiments can be used to add options for fun army types like Catachan melee guard swarms and tank-mounted infantry. I am curious as to how they will create custom-rules that are different from the wrote, “take over planets” rules. I think if they are clever they could create a system to defend rather than attack. What are you hoping to see in these new rules? L et me know in the comments!
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