40K: Ulthwe Strike Force Returns
After more than a decade in exile, look upon the Black Guardians of Ulthwe Craftworld who return in Fracturing of Biel-Tan.
Fracturing of Biel-Tan has been sighted in the wild. Let’s take a look at exactly what the classic Black Guardians of Ulthwe Craftworld will look like when they return to the tabletop.
Back in 2001, Codex Craftworld Eldar and 2003’s Codex Eye of Terror brought us the original rules for the feared Ulthwe Strike Force, representing the highly trained standing army of Black Guardians who make up the majority of Ulthwe’s military.
You can see their original 3rd edition rules here:
Black Guardians were superior to the standard Guardians at the time with enhanced BS or WS
Note the very heavy emphasis on not only the Black Guardians, but the Seer Council that led them.
Now take a look at these rules from one lucky gamer (Dakka’a GoonBandito) who has a copy of the new book:
Ulthwe Strike Force
The new Forces of Ulthwe units have the Eldar Faction, but can only be included in either an Ulthwe Strike Force Detachment or as part of a Reborn Warhost (the new cross-faction Eldar detachment). They also cannot be included in any army that contains any Chaos Space Marine, Chaos Demon, Khorne Demonkin or Renegade Knight units.
Ulthwe Strike Force Detachment:
- 1-4 Elites (but can only be the new Black Guardian units, which are all Elite choices)
- Stubborn and Preferred Enemy if the enemy army has any Chaos units in it
- Can roll for Deep Strike Reserves from Turn 1 if the Detachment has 4 units
- All the following Black Guardian units have the Webway Assault rule in addition to their normal rules: A unit comprised entirely of models with this special rule can be placed in Deep Strike Reserve. When they arrive, they do not scatter but no model in the unit can be placed within 9″ of any enemy models.
Ulthwe Strike Force Units
Black Guardians: Cross between Guardian Defenders and Storm Guardians essentially. 110pts for 10, 10 additional for 11pts a model. Come with Shuriken Catapult by default, but they can all swap for Shuriken Pistol/CCW for free (if they do so they get the Power Sword, Flamer, Fusion Gun upgrades Storm Guardians get). If they keep their Catapults, they can take Heavy Weapon Platforms with the usual upgrades. No Warlock leader upgrade.
Black Guardian Windriders: 60pts for 3, up to 7 more for 20pts a model. No Warlock Leader upgrade, but otherwise the same as regular Windrunners.
Black Guardian Vyper Squadron: 45pts per Vyper, can take up to 6 in a Squadron. All usual vehicle upgrades
Black Guardian War Walker: 65pts per Walker, up to 2 additional. All usual vehicle upgrades.
Gathering Storm: Fracture of Biel-Tan $50
Though they long ago learned how to stave off the vile attention of She Who Thirsts – known as Slaanesh in the tongues of men – the Time of Ending yet tightens its grip on the Eldar. No matter the methods they use to escape the notice of the god who haunts them, the Eldar sacrifice much in the process.
Some Eldar refuse to abandon the glorious dream of building their ancient empire anew – or at least burning brightly before the end. Eldrad Ulthran, High Farseer of Craftworld Ulthwé, puts into place a plan to bring forth Ynnead, the slumbering God of the Dead. A daemonic host assaults Biel-Tan, corrupting its infinity circuit. Unlikely alliances are formed in the face of desperation. And the Gathering Storm darkens over the entire galaxy…
The Book
Fracture of Biel-Tan is the second book in the Gathering Storm series. A 136-page hardback, it introduces the Triumvirate of Ynnead – The Visarch, Sword of Ynnead, Yvraine, Emissary of Ynnead and The Yncarne, Avatar of Ynnead – and chronicles the desperate battle to determine the future of the Eldar, and the uneasy alliance that will potentially dictate the fate of the galaxy.
The Rules
Fracture of Biel-Tan is packed with new rules content for Warhammer 40,000:
– Forces of the Aeldari – with these sections of background and rules, you can combine Eldar, Dark Eldar, Harlequins and Ynnari models (including the new Triumvirate of Ynnead) into a single combined force in games of Warhammer 40,000;
– 5 new Formations, Artefacts, Tactical Objectives, the Revenant Psychic Discipline, Army rules and Warlord Traits for the Ynnari faction;
– Datasheets for Yvraine, the Visarch and the Yncarne, as well as datasheets for the Black Guardians of Ulthwé;
– Rules for weapons and equipment used by Craftworld Ulthwé’s strike forces;
– Echoes of War missions – replay key battles from the Fracture of Biel-Tan.
~It would appear the classic Ulthwe Seer Council and the Craftworld’s emphasis on fielding it’s psychic leaders en masse is gone.
