Warhammer 40K: The New Astra Militarum Codex Seems A Little Chaotic

What’s going on with the new Astra Militarum Codex?

The Imperial Guard are getting a new book pretty soon. We’ve gotten a ton of rumors, and now confirmed announcements from GW on the new upcoming book. Given all the stuff we’ve seen I’m having a really hard time figuring out what this book is about so so speak. Let’s take a look at it.

New Units And New Models

Unlike some armies, Guard are getting new models with their Codex. In fact they are getting a decent amount of them. New Sentinels, a new Rogal Dorn tank, some new characters and new Roughrider cavalry, infantry and artillery.  Some of these are updates to old units. Others are brand new units. In addition to the brand new models a few release that came out between Codices are getting added for the first time. In particular DKoK and Gaunts Ghost’s.  That’s pretty exciting. What’s a little odd here is that there isn’t a ton of focus with the new units, and what focus there is is a bit odd.

Isn’t This A Cadian Book?

At first glance you might think this book was going to really focus on Cadians and be about them. After all they are getting multiple new units. Cadian Command Squads, Shock Troops and Castellans have all been announced. As well as the new Cadian character Ursula Creed. Cadian Shock troops even have their own rule. The new heavy weapons and ordance batteries also have a very Cadian look, even if they aren’t specifically Cadian. All of that would suggest a book whose theme and focus is Cadian. Many Codices have a kind of “default” or primer faction so this wouldn’t be all that shocking.

But It’s Not Really

However based on all the rules and announcements we’ve gotten so far, this isn’t actually a Cadian book at all. In fact you can’t play a Cadian army. The book has done away with picking a regiment to play, instead opting to have players mix regiments and just pick generic doctrines. There isn’t really anything that makes Cadians any better. That’s kind of odd. The early announcement of Ursula Creed sure made it seem like Guard’s new supreme commander would be a Cadian. But nope, we got a new last minute Lord Solar who is not from anywhere. There doesn’t seem to be any focus on building a Cadian army at all, or any cool synergy.

A Chaotic Army

Honestly all the announcements we’ve gotten from GW have given me the impression of a “small c” chaotic army Codex. I just don’t see any real focus in it. It’s not Cadian, even if they are getting a lot of models. It could be infantry, but we are getting a new tank and buffs to some old ones. So far it just seems like a strange book. Getting rid of regiments and just having players mix and match what they want also seems to kill any kind of cool synergies you might have. Take whatever you want and throw it in an army, might be a philosophy, but its not really a design focus. I guess maybe the theme of the book will be “kind of like second edition“. I love Guard, so I can’t wait to get my hands on the new book, but I remain just a bit confused about what the focus is supposed to be.

Let us know what you think of all the Guard news, down in the comment! 

Maybe 9th Ed. Astra Militarum is the new 2nd Ed. Imperial Guard?

Author: Abe Apfel

Abe is that rare thing, an Austin local born and raised here. Though he keeps on moving around, DC, Japan, ETC., he always seems to find his way back eventually. Abe has decades of experience with a wide range of tabletop and RPG games, from historicals, to Star Wars to D&D and 40K. He has been contributing to BOLS since almost the start, back when he worked at and then owned a local gaming store. He used to be big into the competitive Warhammer tournament scene but age has mellowed him and he now appreciates a good casual match. He currently covers 40K tactics and lore, as well as all things Star Wars, with occasional dabbling in other topics. Abe remains in mourning over the loss of WFB to this day.