Warhammer 40,000

Listen up, boyz. We’z ‘ad sum right strange types appearin’ in da last few days, and I wanna know what they’z doing in my Waaagh! Last time you lot poked around one of them weird ladz, Bogrot’s ‘ead exploded, so this time we’z got sum captive ‘oomies to find out wot they’z up to in a new regular series on the Waaaghammer Comoonity site: ‘Ere we go!

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As you’ll have no doubt seen in the recent Warhammer Preview Online, followers of a new greenskin ‘subkultur’ have arrived to bring their own brand of krumpin’ to the galaxy. Called the Beast Snaggas, these master squig-breeders ride to war on their ferocious red steeds, kicking, biting, and stabbing anything within their reach.

Just because they eschew the trukks and bikes of their Speed Freek cousins’ armies, doesn’t mean the Beast Snaggas are averse to using some of the local Mekboyz’s creations. Think of them as pro-squig, rather than anti-thinkin’. After all, it’s rare to find an Ork who wouldn’t appreciate how you can make a humble spear louder and killier by adding rocket boosters to it.

Their appreciation for ‘da old ways’, and their disregard for more complex Orky technology, leads many of the Snakebite clan to become Beast Snaggas, although their ilk can be found across the entire spectrum of Ork society. Even a no-nonsense Goff can look at a squighog’s shockingly large teeth and figure out how best to apply them to some poor git’s face.

The Beast Snagga boyz themselves are hulking mountains of muscle even by regular Ork standards – spending a lifetime chasing down and grappling with ravenous beasts breeds particularly hardy individuals. Even their Gretchin underlings are a smidge braver than usual, as those affectionately dubbed ‘saddlegitz’ hold on for dear life and take whatever swings they can.

Stay tuned to learn more about the savage Beast Snaggas and the ingenious ways they use giant, red mouth-monsters. In the meantime, prepare for the Waaagh! by grabbing some of their Speed Freek rivals in a Boomdakka Snazzwagon or Shokkjump Dragsta. You can even bridge the gap between the two subkulturs with a Rukkatrukk Squigbuggy – although knowing the Orks, they’re just as likely to fight both sides.

That’s right, folks – the Battle Sister Bulletin is back! As with our very first series on the Adepta Sororitas, which built up to the launch of their hotly anticipated plastic range, we’ll be bringing you a new instalment every couple of weeks, complete with reveals of upcoming miniatures, artwork, rules, and more.

In this instalment, we’re introducing a new division of the Celestians – the fighting elite of the Orders Militant – known as Celestian Sacresants. Like their Celestian sisters, Sacresants traditionally act as bodyguards to the heads of their Order, but they’re also tasked with another holy duty – purging the impure and driving them from sites of sacred significance on the battlefield.

As a Celestian, each Sacresant is a highly skilled warrior, able to overcome many times her own number in battle. Sacresants wield a variety of blessed polearms and maces with which to smite the unclean, and bear large, ornate shields to ward off the blows of their enemies. Protected in both body and spirit, Celestian Sacresants are the wall against which waves of heretics will break.

So, now you know who they are, take a look at these fearsome new Battle Sisters!◊

Imperious poses? Check.

Cool shields? Check.

Massive, heretic-smiting weapons? Check.

Excellent.

What’s more, the Adepta Sororitas finally has a heavily armoured close combat unit with some serious staying power. The Celestian Sacresants will certainly look great in your collection, as they really stand apart from the crowd.

Speaking of which, this awesome new unit is on its way soon, so if you want to make sure you already have an Adepta Sororitas collection to add them to, grab yourself a Battle Sisters Squad or two today.

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One last thing. Those of you who picked up the Piety and Pain boxed set may have noticed that the points and Power Rating for the Palatine were not in the rulebook you got. They are set to appear in a future publication, but until then we thought you might like to unleash this new Adepta Sororitas commander in your games of Warhammer 40,000◊.

At just 45 points, this pious heroine is quite a bargain and the perfect lieutenant for your Canoness when she’s got other duties to attend to (namely, crushing skulls in the Emperor’s name).

Warhammer 40,000 is full of cool and characterful guns, from the humble lasgun and the iconic bolter to the weird and wonderful weapons used by xenos species and Chaos forces.

Among the armies of the Imperium, the Adeptus Mechanicus have more than their fair share of awesome guns, and their new codex has made many of these deadlier – and more fitting of their tremendous background – than ever before. Let’s take a look at some of the key improvements.

Galvanic Weapons

The galvanic rifles and carbines carried by Skitarii may look like antique flintlock weapons from eras past, but this design choice masks some serious tech, which utilises electricity to burn targets alive from the inside out. At least they’ll die knowing they were killed by beautifully made guns.

With newly improved Armour Penetration on their profiles◊, they’re now even more of a blast to use and make Skitarii Rangers and Serberys Raiders absolutely electrifying.

Arc Weapons

Arc weapons fire coruscating, well, arcs of electricity across the battlefield, frying opponents alive and messing with the systems of vehicles as holy energy courses through them. Just think loud zaps and the smell of burnt metal (and flesh and hair… eww).

Your upgraded arc weapons◊ are now more reliable against enemy vehicles. They increase their damage and always wound on a 4+ if they’re targeting anything from battle tanks to ork buggies. The arc rifle has also received a Range boost, and both it and the pistol have higher AP than previously – perfect for zapping whatever gets in your way.

The melee versions of arc weapons also get the new benefits against vehicles, giving your Kataphron Breachers a punch that will be sure to charge up your force. These aren’t the only close combat weapons to get a boost either. Transonic blades and transonic razors now scythe through armour with wild abandon, having gone to AP -3 for blades and AP -2 for razors. Your Sicarian Ruststalkers are now a major threat to even the most well-protected foes, not to mention that they’re now every bit as awesome in-game as the models are to look at.

Cognis Weapons

Cognis weapons are outwardly similar to those used by other Imperial forces, but through secret rites and prayer, their machine spirits have been permanently awakened with a thirst for war.

The new codex represents this by making cognis weapons improvements that suit their eager machine spirits◊. Flamers? More shots, plus the same range increase as other flamers. Autocannons? More shots. Heavy stubbers? You guessed it – more shots. After all, when in doubt, just fire more shots.

Twin cognis lascannons don’t fire more shots – two is quite enough for heavy laser weapons that can blast a tank apart, really. Instead, they’re now Assault weapons rather than Heavy◊, making them easier to fire on the move, and their damage has gone from D6 to D3+3, meaning they can more reliably bore through those enemy vehicles, doing at least 4 damage per wound. Pew pew!

The torsion cannon that Kataphron Breachers can carry in place of their heavy arc rifles has had a similar upgrade, now doing D3+3 damage – and its range has doubled to a mighty 48”. We don’t know what the Tech-priests did to make this happen, but it’s going to lead to loads more enemies of the Imperium being twisted in half, so we reckon the Omnissiah will be cool with it.

The other Kataphron unit, Destroyers, have also received a handy upgrade – the ability to supercharge their plasma culverins without the risk of instantly blowing themselves up. Now those pesky 1s will only cause a mortal wound, making supercharging less an act of martyrdom and more a valid lifestyle choice.

What changes will these upgraded weapons mean for your Adeptus Mechanicus armies? Head to Facebook and join the discussion, and remember to keep an eye on the Warhammer newsletter to find out when you can pre-order your copy of the new codex.