A few months back when speculation concerning the new edition of Games Workshops highly successful table top game Warhammer 40,000, began to float around the net, one of the main concerns was that of the Codex army books! In the last system, the codexes built up a substantial part of the game and presented the player with extra troops, characters, vehicles and such to add too their forces. The codexes are perhaps one of the major reasons behind the games success and gave players not only extra forces, but also in-depth histories and backgrounds for their chosen force. Contrary to the rumours, the latest instalment in the Warhammer 40,000 universe still keeps with the Codex books, even though the system is a completely playable game on its own!

The very first in the line of these new codexes is just out and takes a greater look at the ultimate warriors in the universe; the Space Marines!

Unlike the last codexes, the new books weigh in a considerably less pages, with the first only consisting of 48 rather than the average 112 of the old system. But in this case for once less really means more! Rather than go into a specific Chapter of Space Marines, the codex covers the basic organisation of the elite warriors of the Imperium, and gives not only a more detailed army list, but also characters and a new scenario for the game.

The book is organised in a very simple to follow format, with not only the rules and army lists being easy to read and follow, but short descriptions of each troop/vehicle type running in sidebars down each page of the lists. The lists for the forces are very similar to that found in the core rule book, with the only real noticeable addition being the new Typhoon Land Speeder variant (it is mounted with a missile launcher!). But as one delves deeper into the book, you find that there are a few changes from the core rules and a great amount of new items to add to your Marine force and help stamp your opponents into next week!

Even the cover of the codex ( Dave Gallagher homage to John Sibbiks original Rouge Trader cover) is something to talk about, and perhaps one of the best for a long time! The cover depicts the famous last stand of the Crimson Fists against an overwhelming Ork force, filled with action. In fact the artwork in the entire book is beyond par and far above the usual excellent standards for Games Workshop, with many, many new illustrations of the Marines, their vehicles and some of the better known characters. Look out for the small illustrations at the side of the army entries, they rock.

After a brief introduction to the book, we are treated to the expanded army list for the Marine forces, followed by a 16 page colour section that not only shows off the extremely talented skills of the ‘Eavy Metal’ team, but also gives us tips and ideas for collecting and painting both your troops, characters and vehicles, plus hints on terrain and tactics. This is followed by a section given over to special characters, histories and fiction, but more on this later. I know that players of the old system will no doubt be itching to know what’s changed and what is the same, so here goes!

One of the major changes is the way that Wargear is now treated.

The old system of 40K used a set of cards to upgrade your troops and although the wargear cards are now a thing of the past, wargear still remains for upgrading your forces. Wargear is the extra items that you can buy that will make your force unique. For example.

Note that the squad is as normal, but with the addition of two items from the Wargear list, the Auspex scanner and the Purity Seal squad Confessor is different from other squads. In this case the Auspex scanner reveals infiltrating troops within 4d6 inches, and because one of the Marines is equipped with a Purity Seal the entire squad can roll an extra d6 if they are forced to fall back and choose the highest numbers so that they don't get wiped out by pursuing troops.

The list of wargear is quite long and not only gives options for squads, but for characters and vehicles too. There is a lot of new stuff that wasn't around in the last edition of the game, as well as some old favourites such as the Rosarius and Hunter Killer missiles. You can really round out your force using the wargear lists and although you are limited to the amount of points you can spend on them (100pts per model/squad with no item more than once!) they do give squads an added edge.

Well in the core rules we find that Dreadnoughts are listed under the heavy support section when choosing your army, now that has changed and Dreadnoughts are classed as Elite’s! You also now have the option of losing the Jump Packs from the Assault squads.

As stated above. The new format of the codex is very much more streamlined than its predecessors, and is less than half the volume of the original codexes. Although there is a lot less pages, the Andy Chambers, Jervis Johnson and Gavin Thorpe have somehow managed to cram more information into the book than seems possible, perhaps the dark hands of Chaos may be at work here. Seriously though. The amount of detail rivals many of the much thicker codexes of old, and with all new artwork, fiction and field reports (detailing the characters, ships and organisation of the chapters) as well as a couple of exploded views of Space Marine power armour and even the testimony of a Space Marine Apothecary in an investigation over the death of an initiate in his charge!

Presented here is the latest in scenarios for the new system, Planetfall Mission. This allows the Space Marine commander to deploy his entire army in drop pods, or in game terms allows a vast majority of your forces (almost everything except vehicles) to be deployed as if they all had the Deep Strike ability from the core rules. This can be really nasty for your opponent when your Space Marine force just suddenly drops from the sky. Of course this is similar to the Myatic Infestation option available for the Tyranids. Watch out on Gamers Web soon for battle reports using this new mission.

The special characters are perhaps one of the main driving forces behind the 40k system and once again are treated here as with the old codexes. However if you are looking for a single character that can seemingly take on an entire army themselves, then you will perhaps be a little disappointed! It is well known that the characters in the last edition of the game often dominated the battlefield, and some of the old characters where extremely difficult to destroy in combat.

In keeping with the new faster and more streamlined system, characters are now handled in a much more subtle manner and are not the army killers of old. Some of the old favourites are back again, starting with Marneus Calgar and Chief Librarian Tigurius, and covering characters and leaders from the Crimson Fists, Black Templars, Imperial Fists and the Salamanders Chapters! On the whole Calgar is an excellent character who will make his presence known when leading your forces, but he is not unstoppable and although his statistics are higher than a normal commander, he can die like any other troop.

Of the new characters introduced, two stick out in mind and look like fun to play. Captain Cortez of the Crimson Fists Chapter show so much faith in the Emperor and his protection that he thinks that he can not be killed in battle (something I was pleased to see as I collect Crimson Fists!). A small section of colour text details how he managed more than once to avoid certain death, and the rules give him an invulnerable saving throw as if he where equipped with a Rosarius. The Emperors Champion is a great idea that seems to have its roots back in the Brettonian forces from Warhammer fantasy. The Emperors Champion is chosen from the ranks of his battle brothers before battle commences. He is classed as one choice in your HQ section and is an independent character. One of the great things he can do is offer a challenge to any other character that he or the squad he is with comes in contact with. This challenge can not be rebuffed and must be carried out.

The complete layout of the new Codex Space Marine is excellent indeed! Containing sections on collecting and painting your forces, short fiction that highlights a standard day in the life of a Chapter, and the breakdown of the Imperial Naval fleets in the universe and how they differ from the standard templates. By far the most interesting thing in my own opinion is the complete chapter listing of the Ultramarines Chapter. As well as photos of the Ultramarines Chapter (as seen at Games Day 96!) the list goes on to give names of all Captains, etc of each company, plus the vehicles attached to that company (IE 2^nd company has 11Rhinos, 3 Land Speeders, etc). I found this a great read and if anyone is thinking of building the entire Ultramarines Chapter (a very expensive task indeed) they better have a very large cheque book indeed!

Of course I haven’t covered very much in this brief review as the book itself isn't that thick and it would be pointless to go into to much detail. The Space Marine Codex is very concise and to the point with very little of the book being given over to useless information, and at around half the price of the original codexes it is a bargain. The only gripe I can foresee is from some of the Marine players who have Dark Angels, Blood Angels, and Space Wolves! These chapters are not included in the Space Marine Codex as they follow their own strict guidelines rather than those laid down in the Codex Astartes! Each of these chapters will however get its own codex rather than being ignored or missed out. And speaking of other Marine codexes! If you have ever fancied fielding Black Templars or Crimson Fists, then you could well be in luck! A wide range of smaller codexes (24 pages long) is set to come out over the next year and will detail characters, skills, and traits that make each of these chapters unique. These slimmer mini codexes will be around the same thickness as the old Assassins codex and will only cost a mere £4 each and will detail all needed to field forces from these chapters.

The photographs and artwork are as one as come to expect from the worlds leaders in miniature wargaming, excellent beyond par and if this book is anything to go by then the future of Warhammer 40,000 looks very bright indeed. If your planning a Space Marine army or just collecting 40K in general then this book comes with my highest recommendation.

Marc

All images and their likeness are the sole © and ™ of Games Workshop Ltd. Used only for illustration and promotional purposes no infringement is intended. Knowledge is power, Mentor Legion.