I have been a very dedicated Daemon player for about 2 years now, and I can honestly say I was very excited for the launch of the new Daemons codex. Emphasis on WAS. I went into this launch with an open mind. I understand that a new edition means changes to the army. I understand that a new codex doesn't just mean the same thing over again with a few new units and some slight upgrades. However I did not think a new codex meant completely changing how an army operates. With this new codex the Daemons have gone from an elite shock army, to a lol-ranDUMB horde army.
Many people are very happy that Daemons lost the army wide eternal warrior rule. While I can say I'm sad about it I can also understand why it had to go. Another change I'm for the most part okay with is the new daemonic instability rule. It is extremely reminiscent of how fearless worked back in 5th edition so it was not a huge change to me. However I am confused by the bizarre addition of the random element of having the unit having a chance to either fully heal or completely disappear. This adds nothing to strategy. You cannot plan it. You cannot make your next move based on what happens. You will either have your day completely ruined by a new random roll, or inexplicably saved "because reasons."
Also the fact that they now have an army-wide 5+ invulnerable save is pretty disappointing. It is just another item on what has proven to be a long laundry list of nerfs that are only there to change the play style of the army which is disappointing.
Another nerf which robs the army of strategy is the way the Daemonic gifts work. Instead of just investing in the upgrades as you like, spending points on upgrading your units in a normal manner you instead spend points on how many times you get to roll on a table at the beginning of each game. This then decides which upgrades your unit has for that match. Again the army suffers from being unable to plan.
My least favorite new change and a nerf that I still do not understand the point of is the warp storm table. Seven of the eleven possible outcomes are either outright terrible for the daemon player, or possibly terrible for them. Having to randomly roll on the wheel of nerfs (my name for the warp storm table) every shooting phase is completely pointless. I do not understand what it adds to the army by being there.
I also find it hilarious that because GW sold more than enough Flamers models in the last edition they decided it would be okay to nerf them into near uselessness for this codex.
I know there will be people who disagree with me, and I'm sure they will be rather vehement about it, but I am simply stating my opinion. I do not believe that what I have said is fact of any kind. I am just putting my two cents in. Some people will probably be happy that they are now a random extremely luck based army where you never know what is gonna happen next. I however fell in love with them when they were an elite shock army who's greatest weapon was their unparallelled element of surprise. However the only person getting surprised by them now is the poor guy playing them.
I will be taking a bit of a break from 40k for a bit. This is a good opportunity for me to shift my focus to Warhammer Fantasy. I do have a burgeoning Warriors of Chaos army and this is a nice chance to give them all of my focus.
This is a painting blog though so have some pictures of some of my more recently completed commissions.
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| Dark Eldar Hecatrix. |
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| Dark Eldar Wych who, for obvious reasons earned the name "Destro." |
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| The Dark Eldar Wyches all together. |
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| Craftworld Ulthwe Avatar of Khaine. |
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| Black Templars sergeant. |
