Faeits Tarot is a look back at the weekly news and rumors of the week. It is with that hope that we can take a real look at what may be happening in the near and long term future, to divine what lies ahead. If you took the week off, this is the best place to start to get caught up.
News Headlines
Dark Ages Games
Forgeworld PDF Updates
Kharybdis Assault Claw and Legion Basilisk
Cypher Lord of the Fallen: A First Look
Dropzone Commander Reveals its Schedule and New Releases
Dropzone Commander Release Schedule
January:
1) UCM Katana Light Tank
2) Shaltari Tarantula Battle Strider
3) PHR Angelos Jetskimmer
February:
1) UCM Eagle Heavy Gunship
2) Shaltari Caiman Heavy Grav-Tank
3) Scourge Stalker
4) Scourge Harbinger Assault Dropship
5) PHR Mercury Scout Drone
6) Monorail Scenario Pack
March:
1) UCM Fireblade Light Tank
2) Shaltari Birdeater Battle Strider
3) Scourge Ravager
4) PHR Helios Jetskimmer
5) Orbital Defence Laser Scenario Pack
7th Edition Rumors
Often once the cat is out of the bag, its much easier to get information on new topics. Things like a new edition are obviously kept under wraps, and once word starts to spread is when sources closer to what is going on can speak up a little.
Below are the bits from 40k Radio, followed by information from some long time sources here on Faeit 212 that were right on target for codex supplements, mini dexes (inquisition), the heldrake and much more. While we still do not know what form this rulebook will take, something is definitely being worked on, and currently being playtested.
via 40k Radio ****
The big 40k rumor is: This summer GW will release 7th edition 40k and 9th edition Fantasy has been shelved, for now.
All right before all of you blow us up step back and take a deep breath. This is from the source that have us pictures of the Space Marines and the Codex a month early. Also gave us pics of the Dark Elves which we described accurately a month early. Also gave us the info on the Sentinels of Terra. He also let us know that Nids were in January NOT December like so many other rumors sites predicted. So yeah he has been very accurate with the info he has given us. They way it was explained to us is that 7th Edition will be made to include the new Escalation and Stronghold rules. I would also not be surprised to see the Dataslates added to the main rule book.
Yes this is a rumor at this stage so take it with a grain of salt. But then again everything out source has said has come true. Only time will tell. Have a Merry Christmas with your families and don't let this put a knot in your undies.
via 40k radio ****
we were asked to hold off on giving out this info for a couple months and then we were given permission to give it out. As far as WHFB goes, it is not getting shelved but from what we heard 9th Edition was not up to par and was pushed back. If you read on the GD Digital site they pretty much said the new digital WHFB rules will not be out dated this year. I love WHFB and so does the Chiller. There are things that need to be fixed but it isn't a bad ruleset by any measure. If GW is curious as to why it isn't as popular then take a look at the cost associated and how daunting it can be to build and paint a WHFB army. In Fantasy quite often bigger is better and your core troops usually require 3 boxes or more per unit. 40k also has a significantly more exciting story line.
I really hope that IF the rumor is true it is cleaning up some rules while adding in the stuff like Escalation and Stronghold Assault. Both have their place in the game. I know guys like Alec Peters have quite and impressive collection of super heavies and it is only right that they should be able to use them more frequently. Kyle has all of the new fortification set built and painted and we are super pumped up to use them in games. While we wont use Escalation or Stronghold assault in every game it is nice to have those available for the right situation.
via an anonymous source on Faeit 212 (solid source) ****
The next edition of 40k will be called 7th, not 6.5 when it drops, but as far as rules go it will be less of a jump than 5th to 6th.
The key areas being updated:
Interceptor, sky fire, fortifications, lords of war, allies and data slates.
As for its release it'll probably be September not "the summer."
It's not finished yet, still being tested so anything can happen.
The thought behind this edition is to make the game less alpha strike explosive and more "competitive" at all points values (even when including Lords of War), but D weapons outside of apocalypse may see alternate rules.
ps
Pistols in close combat in 7th
7th Edition: Currently As It Stands
via an anonymous source on Faeit 212 (solid source) ****
So, here's the breakdown for areas of interest as they stand.
Interceptor is being unhooked from skyfire
Skyfire lets targets shoot at Flyers at full BS, but ground targets only as snapfire.
Interceptor lets you shoot enemy reserves at the end of the enemy's movement phase.
They will no longer interact and let a target hit both ground and flying units with full BS.
A new universal rule will be introduced to be combo'd with skyfire to represent co-axle weapons.
Interceptor being slightly re-arranged. Units will need to Nominate that they will be intercepting during their own shooting phase, in order to be eligible to use the rule in the subsequent enemy turn. If they then use interceptor, they will still be unable to shoot in their following shooting phase, but can nominate to intercept again.
Right now interceptor is seen by the team as being too strong, and a no-drawback decision. i.e. you shoot with it, if your opponent brings in reserves you get free shooting. If they don't bring on reserves you act normally next turn.
This flip will make it so that a tactical employment of interceptor (with a bit of gambling) will need to be employed. Smart generals may manipulate reserve rolls to delay reserves while an opponent is set to intercept, getting away with not being shot and then not presenting targets or they may bring their units on wholesale after forcing an opponent to shoot at their already-present units for whatever reason, thus denying them the option to intercept.
This was an original thought for 6th, but was cut because it was seen as "too much to keep track of," but now with tokens and markers being so prevalent it should see its way back in.
Character models with pistols will be able to make one attack using their pistol in Close Combat instead of the usual +1 attack if they want (they may always just use it as +1).
This may be opened up to all models or just models that are actively taking advantage of gunslinger (making all their attacks use pistols), but right now it's seen as something that "slows the game down."
The new rules for fortifications will be in the big book (in so far as how building damage, occupation etc)
The new rules for lords of war will be in the big book (but may see changes to D weapons).
More rules are there for if only one player takes a LoW, representing either the player with it having to use such a devastating weapon because of a critically important mission, or that the LoW is the objective itself for the team without it (i.e. destroying a titan is the basis for some campaigns in the fluff, let alone missions).
Dataslates will be in the new book, but are going to be modified. They will still be self contained, but will most likely occupy the ally slot, or if nothing else, lock your ally to being that book.
i.e. if you take a tau dataslate, you can only take tau as allies.
The big words on the board are still "Let people take what they want and play with what they want" but it's being counter balanced with making it fair, competitive and within reasonable limits of the fluff.
I know that the original intention of letting people pick up 1 HQ and a unit for a new army and adding it to an existing force for a fresh alternative / marketing incentive to start a new army has been received as a relative "failure" by the developers and the consensus is that allies feel mandatory in order to play competitively, even outside of the WAAC combos that exist. So this is the biggest area of contention.
Global Campaign: Eye of Terror
This was a rumor towards the end of the week pointing towards a new global campaign coming soon. We have had these rumors before, with new campaigns that are supposed to introduce new units to a possibly wide variety of armies. This could be the first of these.
via Tasty Taste on Blood of Kittens ****
Anyway, the real leak and depending on how it shakes out is the upcoming Games Workshop sponsored Global Campaign.
Word is coming in that Independent Retailers will be given details on Global Campaign for players to run. an Eye of Terror campaign for a new generation.
40k/ Fantasy Release Order
Earlier in the week, Larry Vela, or Bigred (same person) put out a release order for both 40k and Fantasy that very much follows what has been said here before. Some areas of contention though focus on Space Wolves and Blood Angels, which some release orders are swapping. So taking into account that Blood Angels may be coming instead of Space Wolves, this looks like a solid release order list.
2014 looks like it could be full of great releases, and for me of course, I see Dark Eldar in the future this time next year.
via Larry Vela on Bols ***
40k Release Order
Here's the latest word we've heard on the next 12 months, in order of release:
On the Warhammer 40,000 side of things:
Five 40k books minimum, more if they can be fit in:
Tyranids
Imperial Guard
Orks
Space Wolves
Dark Eldar
------------------ the "if they can fit them in line"
Blood Angels
Necrons
Grey Knights
Warhammer Fantasy Rumors
Fantasy Release Order
Don't forget to have these Warhammer Fantasy titles interspersed in there throughout the year as well:
Dwarfs (Q1)
Wood Elves (Q2)
Brettonia (Q3-4)
Warhammer 9th Edition (coming in Summer) is the big maybe in 2014.
Other Rumors
Tyranids are set for a advanced order starting January 4th, and a full release on January 11th. This week we had a few misc tyranid rumors and some details that for the most part do not appear to be real. There could be some truth behind them, but picture leaks have proven otherwise. I do fully expect that there will be lots of Tyranid information flowing sometime next week at the start of the new year.
For Hive Guard and Tyrant Guard Models ***
Tyranids: Some Detailed Rumors **
Valhallan Imperial Guard: The Sad News ***
Blood Angels and Necrons: Mysterious Sightings? ***
No Rumors or News Beyond this Point
I am rating what I personally think of the rumors (not the source). This is based off of behind the scenes knowledge, what different sources are saying, and general logic and guesswork. It goes like this
5 Stars. If its got a 5 star rating, Although still rumor, its only so because nothing has been officially announced (These are on the level that the Rumor Information is just undeniable or confirmed )
4 Stars is a very reliable rumor, and comes from someone I generally know to be in a good place, or the rumors match up well. These are not facts!, These are still rumors, and even great sources can have some information wrong on occasion. (think hastings-like, or close to that)
3 Stars, is a decent rumor. Should be looked at with some truth in it. An average rumor (most will fall here). Rumor based off of real information, discussion, or we do not know where it falls. (Like I said, most will fall here, and this is the baseline.)
2 stars. Most likely speculation, but sound OK. Every once in a while these have something (think Natfka doesn't really think this is happening, but ya never know)
1 Star. Way out in left field, and I feel that these are probably just wild speculation or made up. (think whoa, where the hell did this come from, and generally posted up because its fun, or Natfka was bored)