I have preordered my copy of Leviathan, both the box and the book! Although the queue has gotten bad, I'm honestly surprised at how well things went for me on my end. I was second in line to place my order, and not only did I get a Special Edition of the Leviathan book, but they were still available for customers after me.
I've also gotten my hands on the miniatures. I love them all! I love this box! I especially love how ugly cute the Neurogaunts are! And the Screamer-killer is every bit as awesome as I'd hoped it would be.
Unfortunately, I won't be able to pick up my order on release, as I'll be at Smallville Comic Con. So I'll have to wait until Tuesday to actually get my hands on my own box.
But I still have my work cut out for me. I'm currently deep diving into the Tyranid datasheets. I also want to look at Summer Game Fest. Obviously, I've had the Space Marine II announcement spoiled, though I haven't watched the new trailer.
No. I won't be doing a deep dive on Space Marines.
For now, we still have Kansas City. I'm only a week behind! So today, it's Chaos Daemons and Deathguard.
CHAOS DAEMONS
The exhibition match put three Greater Daemons to work alongside Be'lakor, showing what kind of power the combined forces of Chaos have. Thomas Reidy also showed off just how mobile the army can be, removing and Deep Striking Screamers and Flesh Hounds into Rob Jones's back line, as well as Deep Striking a Blood Thirster. Reidy was the overall winner of the match, his ability to outmaneuver the Death Guard winning out over the casualties Mortarion's sons inflicted.
Throughout the match and the weekend, we got to see four new Stratagems, two Enhancements, and seventeen new Datasheets for the Neverborn.
Daemonic Invulnerability
For 1CP this Stratagem let's you re-roll 1s on your Invulns in the Shooting phase. That is really good! It looks like some of our old access to re-rolls has been changed to defensive re-rolls.
Denizens of the Warp
Do you really need to Deep Strike in a unit, and your opponent has you screened out? Maybe you're fielding a lot of Tzeentch and want to bring in some Flamers to roast your opponent. For 1CP this Stratagem lets you Deep Strike outside of 3" of the enemy, but gives up the ability to Charge. Another amazing Strat!
The Realm of Chaos
For 1CP you get two scoop up to two units and put them in Strategic Reserves. Note, that Strategic Reserves is not Deep Strike. Still, as shown by the battle, this can easily outflank some opponents. Somewhat situation, but still a useful tool for the toolbox.
Warp Surge
Advance and Charge for a unit in your Shadow of Chaos for 1CP? Yes please!
A'rgath, The King of Blades
A simple enhancement that increases the Strength and Attacks of a Khornate Daemon by 1, with the bonus doubled within the Shadow of Chaos. Boring, but effective.
The Everstave
The ranged version of A'rgath, I feel this is potentially much more potent. It's far easier to stay within your Shadow of Chaos as a ranged combatant. And combined with a Torrent weapon and Overwatch . . .
Bloodcrushers
This feels pretty tough, if a bit slow, for a mounted unit. That 4+ Invuln can go a long way. Mortals on a charge makes me a bit jealous.
Bloodthirster
This thing puts in work! Though not the toughest monster we've seen, at T11 W18, it's not going down easy. Honestly, I'm pretty sure the best loadout is with the standard Axe of Khorne. This thing already does a ton of damage in Melee. And anything that survives still has to face Relentless Carnage.
Contorted Epitome
Although not the meanest daemons, these Slaanesh casters are no slouches. Considering they're probably going to be character protected so they can grant that 4+ FNP against Psychic and mortals, they're going to have staying power. And although 12" is a short range to affect shooting, Horrible Fascination might just help your Daemonettes get a charge off without being blasted off the board.
Daemon Prince of Chaos
Although pretty tough, this model can't lead units or gain Lone Operative, so it'll need to make the most out of that 2+ Save and 4+ Invuln. But the once per game 3+ Invuln definitely helps. Don't get me wrong, this model isn't bad. But I think he'll probably see more play in CSM, while Daemons will probably pull out bigger guns.
Exalted Flamer and Flamers
Flamers auto Hit again! And the Exalted Flamer hands out ASSAULT to those Torrent weapons. The Exalted Flamer hands out pinning debuffs to hit units, which is guaranteed to be at least one unit within 12". Meanwhile, even if your opponent survives your Overwatch, Flamers can still Fall Back and Shoot.
Flesh Hounds
While not the potent anti Psykers they were before, Flesh Hounds can still get into melee easily. And they do get a 3+ FNP against Psychic attacks.
Great Unclean One
T12 W20! This smelly boy isn't getting cleaned up easy! Either you can use him to tie up and wear down units, or you can use him as deadly support for Plaguebearers.
Kairos Fateweaver
While being pretty good at blasting things off the table with warp fire, Kairos's main draw is that he can help generate CP while making an opponent's Stratagem more expensive.
Lord of Change
The non-character Lord of Change is here to support your gunline, dealing devastating attacks with its Bolt of Change while increasing the Strength of nearby Flamers.
Pink Horrors
Yes, Horrors still split on 4s. While multiple model and weapon profiles exist on the Datasheet, it looks like when the last Pink Horror dies you need to switch to another one. Either way, it looks like these things will still be a nightmare to deal with.
Plague Bearers
Coming with the ability to infect an objective marker, plague bearers are still incredibly durable melee infantry.
Screamers
A fast moving charge unit so Tzeentch has a way to tie up heavy infantry, Screamers can also strafe units for a little mortal wound damage.
Sloppity Bilepiper
One of the best models in the game for so many reasons, the Sloppity Bilepiper helps get the normally slow moving Nurgle units into combat and forces Battle-shock tests in the fight phase to boot.
Soul Grinder
Deceptively mobile, the Soul Grinder looks like it will be a potentially versatile daemon engine.
Spoilpox Scrivener
Another Leader to buff up your Plaguebearers, this Scrivener gives them both SUSTAINED HITS 1 and better objective control.
Tormentbringer on Exalted Seeker Chariot
That is a lot of attacks with DEVASTATING WOUNDS! But the main reason you bring this is to buff your nearby melee units and grant some Fight on Death. I can see this being a great centerpiece model for any Slaanesh themed army.
DEATH GUARD
With a relatively newer book and fewer rules and datasheets to bring over, it's no surprise that we have fewer reveals for Death Guard. Still, I know fans of the Fourteenth Legion weren't all that happy with their Faction Focus. More reveals are definitely desired. From the match, it definitely looks like transports help a lot with Death Guard mobility. And while they don't seem to be quite as tough as before, despite literally having their Toughness increased, they also feel like they hit harder.
Disgusting Resilient
The old Death Guard special rule is now a Stratagem. And, honestly I'm a bit disappointed. Not only is this 2CP, but you can only use it in the Fight phase. The real surprise here though is there's no limit to the effect. This does look like it can reduce damage to 0.
Living Plague
A generic enhancement that increases the range of all Auras including Nurgle's Gift. A useful, if boring, enhancement.
Shamblerot
Now this is awesome! Making charges harder for your opponent is always a good thing!
Blightlord Terminators
While we've already seen the front of this Datasheet, we got to see the back of the card now. Other than the simplifications and consolidations that have been made, the weapon options really haven't change. This shouldn't be surprising, as GW is trying to write the rules for the kits now and not just theoretical loadouts.
Death Guard Daemon Prince with Wings
Trading a point of Toughness for some increased movement might be just what the doctor ordered. Although outclassed in Daemons, this is a pretty awesome sheet for Death Guard. Its ability to inflict Battle-shock and gain Devastating Wounds on a charge is awesome!
Death Guard Rhino
Strangely, this Rhino isn't any tougher than its Imperial counterparts. It does come with some Death Guard appropriate weaponry though.
Deathshroud Terminators
While these don't look impressive, that bodyguard rule is really nice! The new Transhuman may not be as strong as the old one, but it's still an awesome rule.
Foetid Bloat-drone
A potentially amazing harassment unit, while its kitted out for anti-infantry, all those LETHAL HITS will make it potentially deadly against any target. Even better, it comes with Fall Back and Shoot and Charge.
Foul Blightspawn
That plague sprayer is evil, but you're taking this for Fight First. Probably an auto-include in many lists.
Lord of Virulence
Another potent threat in his own right, while you can take him to give re-roll wounds to a unit, what you really want him to do is guide your Plagueburst Crawlers.
Mortarion
One of the first reveals was the big man, himself. He is definitely no slouch in combat, with The Lantern potentially spiking to take out larger targets and a massive T12, W16. He went toe-to-toe with two greater daemons and Be'lakor and nearly survived. Probably his best rule is his ability to allow all Death Guard models within 6" to ignore modifiers to everything but saves. Unfortunately his Host of Plagues has to be picked at the start of each Battle-round, making it a little less flexible than others we've seen. The choices are also a bit boring, with Diseased Influence probably being the most useful of the three.
Myphitic Blight-haulers
Normally I feel meltas are a bit weak as anti-vehicle weapons for the new Toughness profiles of 10th Edition. But at +1 to wound on Vehicles, these will turn most enemy armour to slag.
Plague Marines
Punching well above their weight, it feels like a waste their rule is centered around holding objectives. But if you're not worried about Battle-shock, you can definitely just sticky the objective and keep marching.
Plague Surgeon
Bringing back a slain model every turn and healing 3 wounds to another Infantry model, this guy will definitely increase the durability of your units.
Plagueburst Crawler
We've already seen the main attraction on this datasheet, and it's still awesome. I am a little surprised this isn't tougher.
Tallyman
You're probably always bringing at least one of these for the CP generation. But even without that, +1 to Hit is nice and that plasma pistol is pretty good.
Typhus
Finally, we have the man who gave the Fourteenth to Nurgle. Strangely, he's got a pretty potent defensive buff for units he leads. But he also does potent mortal wound damage to enemy units.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Although billed as the more casual match, Thomas Reidy and Rob Jones are both experienced players. And while not the nail-biter Friday's match was, it was still a close and interesting game. It's a good example of the difference between looking at rules on paper verses on the board. From the datasheets so far, Daemons look really scary. Their datasheets are strong, and their rules seem to make them very flexible. And while they won the match, the Death Guard still did a ton of damage to them. While standing back and absorbing a bunch of damage is very thematic and very Death Guard, I'm guessing someone in the studio decided it wasn't that much fun to play. So Death Guard may have lost some staying power, but now they hit much harder. I'm sure some players would prefer they were both tough and a spreading plague the enemy can't resist, but the game has to be balanced somehow. But if you're a Death Guard player, let me know! Do you like the deadlier weapons and the ability to punch harder? Or do you just wish you still had more durability?
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