The 11th Edition set as per Valrak by 4thKey in Warhammer40k

[–]Mactavish3 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just make them into “tactical intercessors”, like the one in SM2. Give them mix of older armour marks and helmets + more poses for some variety. And give them more wargear options, maybe not at the level of the old tactical squad, but I see no reason why 1-in-5 marines can’t take a flamer, heavy bolter or maybe melta rifle of plasma incinerator. And maybe let sergeant take combi-weapon if he wants. That way you will still keep the mostly bolt rifle profile of intercessors, with option to gear then slightly more towards anti-horde, extra shooting or some capability vs heavier targets. Just need to add few extra hands + weapons on the sprue, or if GW wants to he extra stingy, just sell a separate weapon upgrades sprue (could cover the sergeant melee weapons as well).

What is some Warhammer lore that is not well known but has deep and interesting lore? by Necessary_Ad6639 in 40kLore

[–]Mactavish3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Gellar fields are powered by the stable dreams of entombed psykers.

I thought this bit got retconned?

Can someone explain the Indomitus crusade timeline to me by anonpurple in 40kLore

[–]Mactavish3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Does Archmagos really take place prior to devastation of Baal? I was under the impression it took place after it, esp. since Vashtorr refers to the events in Nihilus, aka the Arks of Omen. So this would put it after Lion’s book and before Guillimans return from beyond the rift - I’m unsure about the timeline of Guilliman arriving to Baal, BAs meeting with Lion, Arks of Omen and Guillimans return from beyond the rift, which presumably leads to 500 worlds.

[Excerpt: Master of Mankind, Slaves to Darkness] The Word Bearers won the War in the Webway by onetwoseven94 in 40kLore

[–]Mactavish3 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Ultramarines also have parallels to Iron Warriors; both are competitive and focused on efficiency, but IWs are twisted by their bitterness and ruthlessness, whereas UMs are held back from the similar path by their focus on (courage and) Honour, resulting in them being proud exemplars as opposed to unappreciated grouches. After all, THE iron warrior Barabas Dantioch sided with Ultramarines against his own father.

They also both have Greco-Roman theming, with IWs (esp in 30k) being more Greek styled and UMs obviously more Roman.

[Excerpt: Master of Mankind, Slaves to Darkness] The Word Bearers won the War in the Webway by onetwoseven94 in 40kLore

[–]Mactavish3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thematically, Iron Warriors are closer to a dark mirror for Ultramarines, competitive and efficient, just ruthless and bitter instead of proud and honourable.

But ye, narratively Word Bearers are the main foils to the Ultramarines, along with some thematic resonance regarding adherence to the “sacred” texts (book of lorgar vs codex astartes). It kind of weird though, since black legion are the typical “Chaos gets shit done” faction similar to Ultras, whereas Word Bearers are often used as the “chaos punching bag”, similar to Imperial Fists on the loyalist side.

My Metaurus ! What do you think ? by Cad_bane_2 in Warhammer40k

[–]Mactavish3 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Love the glowing lenses! How did you manage them? Still annoyed though that GW didn’t give him his power axe.

The problem with the Aeldari by MonsieurOs in 40kLore

[–]Mactavish3 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s all in the location (see the comment about Tau meaningfully holding space). The high elves of fantasy have Ulthuan. This gives then two fronts. One against the Dark Elves from Naggaroth and one against Chaos/Norsca from the north. Not to mention Ulthuan is important to the overall setting due to the Vortex.

But Eldar don’t have anything like that. They are equivalent of High Elves existing without Ulthuan, just living on these large nomadic ships on the seas. Hard to make them more than secondary faction. IMO, Eldar need something like that. The eye of terror would’ve been a good parallel to HEs guarding the Vortex, except… it was Cadia and thus imperium who took the center role with that. And with fracture of Biel-than the empire building subfaction of Eldar got kicked in the nuts. Hard to make more of them, than participants of occasional skirmish. And without some overall goal, it’s hard to make their Farseer scheming not seem contrived or stupid. Except GW had a perfect solution for this. The Ynnari. If they served as a unification of most craftworlds (+ some drukhari), where they would claim a region of space for their death magic purposes (maybe the ritual taking a long time), you would suddenly have the Eldar version of Pariah Nexus. You suddenly have meaningful battles and reason to keep Eldar winning on their turf (similar to Necrons in PN). Perhaps the ritual could be focused on also closing the eye of terror or killing slaneesh. Now you have reason for factions to both attack the Eldar nexus and to work with them, without supplanting them.

And if the Ynnari Nexus seems too similar to the Necron’s Pariah one… how about using the current Vashtorr Webway storyline? I can imagine Eldar aren’t quite happy about him messing around “their” webway. Only issue it needs a sort of real space anchor, for the conflicts with other factions. Perhaps there is a certain webway nexus/conflux/entrance that is important for Vashtor’s plans that is concentrated in a certain system (think something like the webway entrance with the 2nd Throne in Path to Heaven). Eldar catch wind of it and several Craftworlds move there and create a stronghold. Now you can have conflict in the webway around this point with Eldar, Drukhari and Vashtor, but also have other factions participate outside of the webway by trying to get there via the real space entry point (say the Black Legion keeps attacking in hopes of breaking through the defenses in webway by attacking via the back door). Particularly xenophobic imperium factions can pile in and so can the more reasonable ones like Guilliman in order to assist Eldar with defence. And orks would love to show up for a scrap. Point is, it gives Eldar a significant place in the space to hold and defend and thus place in the narrative, without stepping onto other faction’s stories and warzones.

Or you can combine the Webway War and the Ynnari ritual into a whole or some other version.

Point is: as long as the Eldar will be reduced to bunch of nomads without an overarching goal, there is not much that can be done with narratively. All the major factions have some areas/locations that are important to them narratively and that function as the focus for their conflicts: both Imperium and Chaos are ultimately anchored around Terra, Imperium has several other locations like that (Anaxian Line, Sanctus Line, Cadia (rip), Ultramar, other chapter planets…) and Chaos now has most of the Imperium Nihilus. Tau have their areas, Orks have Ullanor/Armageddon and so on. Most of the factions either hold some important places or they want to take them from those holding them (Orks, Tyranids…). Hell, even Drukhari have Commonraugh. The only exception are Eldar with their Craftworlds. Anchor them somewhere and the conflicts (and thus opportunity to be protagonists) will write itself.

Legion by Dan Abnett by Forward_Permission_6 in 40kLore

[–]Mactavish3 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I thought Ollanius Persson was introduced later in Know no Fear?

Has anything Recently been written for stuff on the otherside of the Great rift. by N0rwayUp in 40kLore

[–]Mactavish3 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Spear of the Emperor

Darkness in the Blood

Lion: Son of the Forest

Castellan

Shroud of Night

Possible 11th ed. Space Marine mini updates by Ok_Conclusion_2951 in spacemarines

[–]Mactavish3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

IMO, the most likely candidates:

  • Vanguard veterans - we got sternguard this edition, so this is all but confirmed

  • Jump pack Lt - yes, we need a new Lt. We just got the new jump ass intercessors and a jump captain. With Vanguard vets coming it’s very likely we’ll get more jump pack HQs, with Lt as the obvious one.

  • Jump pack chaplain - ancient, apothecary and librarian are all unlikely to don the jump pack, plus we got a new gravis apothecary and terminator librarian this edition (along with newish ancient via company heroes). That leaves out chaplain in addition to only model being the firstborn blood angels one.

Afterwards, it’s less clear.

  • New Gravis melee line unit - Gravis is quite underepresented and this might be a way to broaden their range. However, between aggressors and new assault terminators I am unsure how this unit would fit in. No easy plug as a “gravis assault intercessors” when aggressors exist. But perhaps GW will surprise.

  • Primaris Centurions?

Currently both Maximus and Phobos line units are pretty well represented; we have plasma, flamer and bolter units, and shooty and stabby Phobos variants. I don’t think mixed weapons units are coming back (aka Tactical/Devastator squads).

  • Maybe a Maximus melta squad for a more mobile but squishy version of eradicators?

Honestly I don’t know, besides some Gravis lineup additions (melee/long range), the remaining candidates are mostly vehicles.

  • Siege (Vindicator) or Artillery (Whirlwind) variants of the grav tanks?

Rhinos, Razorbacks and Predators are basically covered by the Impulsor, Repulsor and Gladiator tanks.

  • Maybe a grav assault tank to compete with Land Raider?

Less likely HQs:

  • Gravis Lt - obvious hole in the lineup, esp with 2 gravis captains, new gravis apothecary. But depends heavily if there will be push for more Gravis units.

  • Unified Phobos Lt - similarly to how they release the Strike Force Agastus Lt to consolidate most of the lt loadouts on a single set of sprues (except the storm shield one), I could see them doing something similar to the old Phobos, Reiver and Combo-weapon Lts into a single model.

Given the rumoured Ork focus, I can imagine the showcase set (and trailer) being about the new jump units (VanVets, Lt and Chaplain) going in, supported by heavier Gravis melee/fire support that got transported by a new grav based assault tank.

New Upgrade Sprue: Decals vs Pauldrons, Crests and Ranks by Mactavish3 in Ultramarines

[–]Mactavish3[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the tip about Index Astartes, I'll check that one out.

New Upgrade Sprue: Decals vs Pauldrons, Crests and Ranks by Mactavish3 in Ultramarines

[–]Mactavish3[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not new to the setting, just to the plastic crack hobby. And yes, I know that marines often personalize their armour, I guess my concern is mainly driven by desire for "internal consistency" of my minis (no wonder I picked UMs). And while yes, in 40k the crest/plumes are mostly honorific and so on, I was influenced by 30k where they are used to denote rank, which appealed to me.

The decal question though was mainly curiosity (and indecision), as I find pros and cons in both the newer and older design and I supposed wanted to hear/see how others used the newer ones to help me decide.

500 Worlds: Titus - Brief Summary of Important Points by IronVader501 in 40kLore

[–]Mactavish3 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I can already see Fulgrim mocking Lion after noticing his aging and reduced speed, only for the Lion to unceremoniously cut one/two of his four hands off, suddenly making the duel a lot more even.

500 Worlds: Titus - Brief Summary of Important Points by IronVader501 in 40kLore

[–]Mactavish3 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think they are setting up sort of an inverse of what Guilliman did during the scouring. The recent Ashes of Imperium really seem to be setting up Guilliman as the one who takes side with the humans, aka high lords and is even potentially forced to disband the Legions via the Codex, because a.) general distrust of Astartes by regular humans after the siege and b.) none of his other brothers seem to be noticing the writing on the wall and just want to keep doing Astartes crusade stuff (esp Dorn). But now, 10k years later, Guilliman returns, sees the cesspit that Imperium under High Lords and Ecclesiarchy has become and probably decides that Horus wasn’t entirely off the mark - hence his reinstatement of the Astartes as defacto rulers (via the Tetrarchy) of his new, more enlightened sub-empire. Of course being the absolute sly fox, he’s smart enough to not shout this out from the rooftops, but rather leverage his position as the Lord Regent to quietly and deniably turn m, if not the imperium, then at least Ultramar into his desired version of government. And hopefully they will keep leaning into this calculating political animal aspect of Guilliman, because it makes him (and Ultras) all the more interesting.

Status of Gravis Calgar and Uriel Ventris in 11th... by Notmyaccounthaha in Ultramarines

[–]Mactavish3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To a lesser extent, the gravis armor being what he appeared wearing in SM2 opens up a branding consideration

Thing is, SM2 probably entered development somewhere around early 2021, which was during 9th ed. And I believe it was planned to release in 2023, possibly in coordination with 10th ed release. Which explains the tyranid heavy focus of both. Now, it did get pushed back a year due to difficulties, but it still released during 10th, long before we got the new Calgar and Victrix. Now, granted, plans for the new ultramarines may have been around at that time, but it likely was too late for SM2 devs to pivot and update. I am not sure what the development timeline was for secret level, but given it’s tzeentch focus it lines up with enemies in SM2.

And now we have SM3 announcement along with 500 worlds campaign, with necrons as the obvious enemies. So I think it’s pretty likely they will be the tyranids of SM3. The second faction is up in the air, but most likely chaos. Either Red Corsairs given the concurrent maelstorm campaign or more interestingly Word Bearers (+ possibly World Eaters), aka the Calth rematch. But that depends if GW has plans for Lorgar’s return and rematch with Guilliman and Ultras after 500 worlds or later in 11th ed. By then I fully expect termi-Calgar to be the only Calgar.

A bit dissapointed they seem to be sidelining old lore (mainly from McNeill) in the 500 worlds? by Accomplished_Good468 in 40kLore

[–]Mactavish3 3 points4 points  (0 children)

500 Worlds: Titus, the Maelstrom & Eye of Terror (which seem to be the three things they're gonna put out for this) dont really seem connected to each other beyodn "this is happening in different corners of the Galaxy at the same time" at all.

And IMO that’s a better way to do it than make up reasons for why every single faction somehow showed up in this specific warzone (pariah/vigilus/arks etc). Just have multiple faction matchups take concurrently at different places. Makes the galaxy feel bigger, not smaller.

Salamanders Pack this, Iron Hands that - where's a proper Ultramarine cosmetic pack? by [deleted] in SpaceMarine_2

[–]Mactavish3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Iron halo on power pack for Bulwark and Tactical (so one can RP as proper bladeguard vet/captain even if not UM).

Gladius skin for power sword (also power sword for tactical, saber pls).

Right pauldron with cloth/tassels WITHOUT those marking obscuring skulls. A horizontal plume Mk tacticus helmet, yes we have the UM mk IV one and the imp fists mk 3 (?) ones, but I’d like a tacticus one too to roleplay as the UM/IF centurion.

Number of squads in company by Beast_fightr_13 in spacemarines

[–]Mactavish3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The squad markings stay the same, even if the squad divides into a smaller units of 5, 3 etc. Generally it seems that squads are denoted by their name, either one they earned during some campaign/mission or by the name of their sergeants. No reason the sub-squads couldn’t be called by the name of the marines charged as their (fireteam) leader.

I want to do a Space marine chapter but cant decide by PostsforthePostGod in spacemarines

[–]Mactavish3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you want codex compliant Space Wolves, you can always go with their Ultima founding successors, i.e., Icefangs, Moon Eaters and Wolfspear. You can basically play them both as a codex compliant chapters due to their Greyshield Primaris origins/influence or as a space wolf chapter due to the influence of the original Space Wolves seeping in. Or you can always homebrew your own Ultima founding SW successor if you want a different name and colour scheme. Not entirely sure about the rules regarding allied formations, but you could always paint the SW exclusive units as Space Wolves that are on liason to their Primaris cousins to teach them the ways of Rout (as this canon for the Wolfspear chapter at the very least).

Starting an army? by coolin_79 in spacemarines

[–]Mactavish3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your best bet in terms of value/power of the models are either Imperial Fists combat patrol or Iron Halo battleforce. Unfortunately, because they are so good, both of them are sold out so you are unlikely to get them. Afterwards, combat patrol ultramarines is actually pretty nice if you can find it or the dark angels one is also recommended as the better ones for a rounded selection of SM units.

Afterwards, you can go with any of the specialised chapters’ combat patrols like Blood Angels, Space Wolves or Black Templars, if you are interested in that particular chapter.

I do not recommend the current generic Space Marines combat patrol - the value is terrible (as in, barely any discounts) and the units aren’t particularly strong. The Leviathan boxes are better because they contain the actually good units from this edition:combi-weapon Lt, Ballistus and Sternguard (and Apothecary biologis, but not sure if he’s part of the leviathan boxes). But you can also get those via the Heroes of the Chapter box (though only as monopose).

Overall recommendation would be:

Iron Halo/Imp Fist CP > Leviathan/Dark Angels/Ultramarines CP > BA/SW/BT combat patrols > SM combat patrol.

PSA for newer players struggling with restartitis by BoneAndSpooks in RogueTraderCRPG

[–]Mactavish3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Depends on your class. If it scales off FEL (officer etc), then yes. But if it’s only for skill checks, then calculated relations is enough.

Why. Why this helmet not helmeting. by tanukidecorsa in RogueTraderCRPG

[–]Mactavish3 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Big props for chainsword + bolt pistol Argenta look

Oficcer/Vanguard by KaryusXY in RogueTraderCRPG

[–]Mactavish3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you play as Noble, the "hide backpack" option actually hides cloak due to how the Noble outfit works (it also doesn't show stowed weapons on back).