The Dak here, and today im going to break down the Shadowspear box set going up for pre-order tomorrow, and whether or not you should buy it. Looks like my dark prophesy came true, and much of what i predicted came has come to pass. You can read that article by clicking here. Now, onto the good stuff!
Whats in the box
One of the great things about Shadowspear is that every single mini in the box set is either a completely new unit, or a new sculp of an existing one! in the box you are getting:
Chaos:
- Master of Possessions- New unit
- 2 Greater Possessed- New unit
- Venom Crawler- New unit
- 2 Obliterators- New Sculpts
- 10 Chaos Space Marines- New Sculpts
Space marines
- Captain in Phobos Armor- New unit
- Librarian in Phobos Armor- New unit
- Lieutenant in Phobos Armor- New unit
- 3 Suppressors- New unit
- 3 Eliminators- New unit
- 10 Infiltrators- New unit
The Box set also comes with two Codex’s, a Shadowspear campaign book, and sample chapter from Black Legion. Damn, thats a lot of stuff. Now a closer look at the units themeslevs
Daemonkin
The new Daemonkin are getting their own little codex that comes with new rules, warlord traits and a new psychic discipline. All of this will certainly enable some great synergy with Chaos Daemons as well.
The Master of possessions is a psyker who can cast 2 powers a turn, and causes enemies to suffer perils of the warp on ANY DOUBLES, as opposed to just double ones or sixes. A solid unit that i predict will see tournament play buffing Daemon Princes and the like.
The Greater Possessed are new aura characters that can be taken in pairs much like their loyalist counterparts, Space Marine Lieutenants. the difference Being a profile that lends them to some combat prowess, and an Aura that gives friendly <legion> Daemons +1 strength.
Obliterators got a new sculpt but also some updated rules! The way their guns work remain the same, but each one now puts out 6 shots each! Obliterators also have an actual Melee weapon now so they can actually do some damage in the fight phase as well. you can now take Obliterators in squads of 1, 2, or 3! You will no longer have to commit to a full squad of 3 which makes taking a few to land on an objective and shoot something a very enticing strategy.
Chaos Space marines remain the same rules wise but your getting all new sculpts and they look awesome, enough said.
The Venomcrawler is seriously awesome looking and has degrading profile that doesn’t effect is weapon skill or ballistic skill, which is awesome! As an added bonus it gives +1 to summoning rolls for characters standing next to it, which make summoning a bit better.
Primaris Vanguard
The all new Vanguard units are also getting their own little codex with a new Psychic discipline, and warlord traits. These new new units are going to add a lot to the Primaris range and give them a lot more utility, and adresses one of the Primaris’ biggest weaknesses, Mobility.
The Librarian in Phobos armor gets access to his own table of Psychic powers, one of which makes it so an opponent cant shoot at a unit unless its the closest unit to the firer, which is a nice way to protect your Suppressors. The best part is that he can be set up anywhere thats at least 9 inches away from your opponents deployment zone or enemy units.
The Captain in Phobos armor is jus like any primaris captain, save for his ability to be set up anywhere thats at least 9 inches away from your opponents deployment zone or enemy units. Plus his fancy Bolt Carbine can target characters and does 2 damage.
The Lieutenant in Phobos armor still lets your re-roll 1s to wound but can deploy up with the rest of the Vanguard Marines, and also comes with a 2 damage bolter.
Now lets talk about the Eliminators, these guys come packing new sniper rifles with different firing modes, these guys are looking to replace sniper scouts, and they may actual do just that.
On to the Suppressors, while these guys don’t have the option to deploy up the board, they do have the ability to deep-strike in as needed. These guys come with man portable accelerator auto-cannons which are Strength 7, heavy 2, Ap-2, and 2 Damage. With a movement of 12″ they are pretty fast too.
Finally we move on to the Infiltrators, a new troop unit for the space marines and one I think is particularly sweet. Starting off, Infiltrators are a troops choice so they have objective secured, the big bonus is that they can be set up anywhere thats at least 9 inches away from your opponents deployment zone or enemy units. In addition their bolters auto-wound on a HIT roll of a 6. The cherry on top? your opponent cant deep strike within 12 inches of them. This is huge given the current meta, where you see big Ork blobs using Da Jump, and various Genestealer Cult Shennanigans. Beyond that it just gives you amazing board control potential!
So thats it for the new Shadowspear box and boy was it a big one! Now if your still wondering if you should buy it, the answer is absolutely. If you have Chaos Space Marines, Space Marines , or are looking to start an army of either faction then Shadowspear is the box set for you. Hell, Im actually looking to buy two of them.
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Plus a big thanks to Game workshop for the images in the article
