This morning Forgeworld gives us a preview of Imperial Armour: Index: Forces of the Astra Militarum. All of the Imperial Guard forces out there, especially those of us that have collected tanks for years will be happy to see this one.
via Warhammer Community
https://www.warhammer-community.com/2017/06/19/forge-world-index-astra-militarum-preview/
Want to take a look inside the covers of Imperial Armour – Index: Forces of the Astra Militarum? While we’re sure many of you are still getting stuck into this past weekend’s indexes and devising all sorts of cunning combinations of units, some of you may already be hungry for more. We’ve previewed Imperial Armour – Index: Xenos already, so today we’re looking at the Astra Militarum. Imperial Armour isn’t just a name for this index – it’s absolutely packed with Imperial tanks of all shapes and sizes. One of the largest – and most unusual – is the Malcador Infernus.
The Malcador Infernus is a mobile fortress like its brothers, with an enormous wound count, a strong 3+ save and Toughness 8. The key feature of the Infernus is its Inferno Gun. Automatic hits mean that the reduction in Ballistic Skill the vehicle suffers when taking damage is effectively ignored, while the different fuel types give generals a variety of tactical options. Flammable fuel is going to be lethal for tanks and infantry alike, either in stacking up high-strength, highly damaging hits against lone models or barbequing bulky squads of troops. Chemical fuel is going to be a huge threat against monstrous creatures of all type, capable of combining a huge number of hard-to-save wounds. Finally, the Titanic Explosion ability gives the Malcador a chance of doing considerable damage even when it dies – while this would be a potential risk for tanks that sit in your backline, for a frontal assault vehicle like the Malcador Infernus it’s fantastic.
Some of the more esoteric regiments and units of the Astra Militarum are also included, including the iconic Death Riders:
These guys are going to be a valuable addition to any Imperium player’s tactical toolbox. The Death Korps hunting lace allows the Death Riders to threaten a wide range of targets but will be particularly deadly against multi-wound heavy infantry. The Warstrider ability, meanwhile, means that you’ll be able to reach even entrenched enemies. Even if you miss out on the charge, the Krieg Steed’s savage claws pack a decent punch. With a respectable 10” Move, Death Riders can range ahead of your main force to block any nasty assault units from trying to deploy close to your more fragile units, or keep pace with your tanks and transports and shield their flanks. Your opponents are going to find these guys a nightmare to displace, too – a respectable 4+ Armour Save, Toughness 4, 2 Wounds and the Augmented Mount ability means these guys are going to eat up small arms fire.
Dying isn’t even much of an obstacle for these baleful horsemen – like in the background, Death Korps aren’t so much fazed by death as encouraged by it – The Cult of Sacrifice ability significantly reduces the effect of morale tests, while unique Death Korps Orders like Duty Unto Death! allow any models killed in the Fight phase to immediately make a single attack. We haven’t even begun to get into how these guys work with the rest of the Death Korps army, or Death Rider characters like the Death Rider Squadron Commander.
