Warhammer 40K: Lost Relics of the Imperial Fists
We’re revisiting old Chapter Relics from the previous edition to see what could be on the way for future supplements. The Imperial Fists are on deck!
Games Workshop has teased us with four more Space Marine Chapter Supplements – we took some guesses at what those books could be. So with that in mind, we’re digging through the old relics from Angels of Death. Today’s list looks at the Relics of the Imperial Fists!
The Angel of Sacrifice
This Relic is a super-charged Crozius Arcanum. It’s got an extra point of Strength and it’s AP 4 with the Concussive and Only In Death Special rule. Now, Concussive isn’t a thing in 8th, but the rest of this could easily be re-worked for the current edition. Only In Death just allows the model to get his attack in during combat even if he is killed. That’s actually a pretty cool ability that should absolutely stick around if this Relic comes back.
The Banner Staganda
If want a cool Chapter Banner – here you go! The Banner Staganda does some extra special stuff for units within 12″ – while Counter-attack and Crusader are no longer USR in 8th, the banner could still do things similar. A bonus attack is always welcome but why stop there? Why not give them something like an Always Strike First ability? And naturally you could get the morale boosts, too.
The Bones of Osrak
Imperial Fists aren’t exactly known for their Psychic Prowess. Then again, that’s what Relics are for – they help armies do better outside of their normal peramitors. This Relic is for Librarians only and while it used to help you generate an additional Warp Charge and granted a re-roll, making it a simple 1+ with a re-roll would convert it over nicely.
The Eye of Hypnoth
Okay, this one is weird. For starters it not an attack but it does allow the user to target an enemy unit. It this reduces their cover save by 1 and for buildings it reduces their armor by 1. At the time, it didn’t stack with other Auspex bonuses either. In the modern edition, a -1 to cover wouldn’t help the Imperial Fists at all because their chapter tactic already ignores cover saves. The building rule is…not helpful either. My solution would be to change this Relic so that the bearer can nominate an enemy unit and all units shooting at it get +1 to hit or +1 to wound – but not both.
The Spartean
This Master Crafter Bolt Pistol isn’t that impressive compared to the Imperial Fist options today. The Special Rules don’t make it any different than a Master Crafted option from the Armory. Again, Imperial Fists already Ignore Cover and the stats are that of a basic Bolt Pistol. Why not make it interesting? It supposed to be super accurate – lets give it a +1 to hit and make it have some better AP. It can even be 2 Damage base. Now that’s something!
What would you do with the Relics of the Imperial Fists to make them approriate for use in modern Warhammer 40,000?
