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Wargame Rules / Sci-Fi
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Displaying Reviews: 1 - 1
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Average Reviewer Rating:
 
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1
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Too much narrative fluff.
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Reviewed by Witterquick (deaconreb@yahoo.com) July 29, 2003
The codex covers the 13th Crusade of Abaddon the Despoiler (a repetitive name if there ever was one, if you know your Bible). Abaddon and the forces of the Chaos Space Marines pour through the Cadian gate, intent on seizing Terra and control of the Imperium. This campaign will be played out worldwide with people being able to log in their battle results which will then dictate how the campaign goes (see the article on the news page). GW officials swear Up and Down that they have contingencies in place to avoid the statistically probably dead tie that occured with the Armageddon Campaign several years ago.
Now, onto the Codex. My short report is that if you get White Dwarf magazine you have seen most of the art and miniatures in the Codex in what seems to be a sad case of over-exposure. It's like seeing the entire plot of a movie during the previews. In fact, what you don't seen in the Codex are the plastic Cadians, which is surprising given that they are the crown jewel of miniature releases for this book. In fact, without the plastic Cadians, the only new miniatures shown are Typhus, Herald of Nurgle; Ursarkar Creed; Logan Grinmar and the new Wulfen. Oh, and the patched-together mutants that I like but others don't. In fact in a bit of true laziness the new Cadian unit the Youth Army Platoon (the "Whiteshields", proving the GW has no shame) is depicted using metal cadians with white shoulder patches, making them virtually indistinguishable from regular troops, rather than dusting off some Orlock gangers and using them.
Now for the rest of the bad news. The book is dominated by narrative fluff. Fluff about Eldrad, the Cadian Gate, the Cadian military, the Planet Killer of Abaddon, the plague, the earlier Crusades, the Eldar Web, the 13th Crusade, Ahriman and the Black Library, and the dispositions of the forces on Cadia make up the first sixteen pages of the book.
Following that is the color miniature pics. There's the compulsory page telling you that you have to take 1 HQ and 2 Troops with every army list for standard missions (*heaving sigh*); 2 pages on the 13th Company, 1 page on Space Marine chapters on Cadia (nothing you haven't seen before in the SM codex); 1 page that is the same as the prior, only CSM; 2 pages on the Lost and the Damned; 2 pages that show pictures of the planets affected by the Crusade (not detailed photos but those National Geographic "full planet" shots); 2 pages of the Cadians; and 2 pages on the Ulthwe Eldar.
Following all that we get into the "meat" of the Codex: 2 pages on converting minis into mutants, LotD, and 13th Company. There's one page showing the "characters" of the Campaign (Ahriman, Typhus, Creed, etc.) and then 15 pages of rules for the four new army lists: Cadian Shock Troops, The Lost and the Damned, the Ulthwe Strike Force, and the 13th Company. All of these are variants on their "parent" army lists, but I think that those who follow the parents will be pleased with the lists. Rumor has it that the Cadian list is a foreshadowing of the upcoming Imperial Guard codex (and is fully compatible) with their new "customizing" rules for the Imperial Guard.
What's missing? Terrain suggestions. Special scenarios. Ways to incorporate Inquisitor into the campaign (the Black Library fluff seems to scream it). The heavy content that is just narrative fluff just seems lazy to me. Fluff is the easiest thing to compose, compared to rules, art, or painted miniatures.
Also conspicuously missing is the new miniatures, which will be released well into the summer.
In conclusion: if you are seriously considering playing one of the four army lists, you are going to have to pony up the dough for the relevant two or three pages. If you are going to use an existing army in the EoT Campaign: the background has been more than adequately covered in White Dwarf. If you are one of those cynics who believe that the EoT summer campaign will have little impact on the 40K universe barring Eldrad's death, skip it completely.
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14
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18
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