This newsletter is a touch late, but still exciting to get out! We have the third rebuild of the Squat (Leagues of Votann) Codex prepared in Final Draft mode. We are just needing to confirm with some thorough play testing and it will become available!
We have included their mighty Colossus, Cyclops, Mammoth Land Train, and the Gyrocopter from Epic 40k. The Colossus is pushing the levels of fire power per points that could potentially disrupt a tournament, but at about 2400 points it would exceed most tournament point limits. As always, these extremely powerful war engines are at the height of the point chart. There have not been enough test with Warlord equivalent models such as these yet to confirm if it is ok for competitive settings. This will be confirmed in time.
We do have a Colossus variant confirmed to be acceptable. The Imperial Guard Leviathan Regimental HQ! While terrifying with high armour values, W80, and Void Shields, it was easily crippled by some Tyranid monsters eating it up in Melee. Its fire power is formidable, but easily out maneuvered due to its restrictive pivot rules.
Overall, we are super excited to see the Squats in action and hope to bring them to you soon!
We continue to be at an all time first for Alternate 40k Rules. We are further ahead in paperwork then playtesting. There are only a few of us, and schedules have been difficult to line up for some time. That being said, I am taking advantage of the opportunity to get ahead of the Final Draft format. This does mean some extra editing might be necessary on my end, but regardless it does get the finished product out faster when it is ready.
Dark Eldar have always been one of the toughest armies to balance for GW. In very old editions with build your own rules, the Eldar varieties, Sisters of Battle, and the Orks have pushed the existing formula they were using to the limits. Usually fudgery was involved, which resulted in amazing or poor rule historical edition performance.
Our formula does incorporate them without being fudged! I spent 120 man hours adapting the 7th edition one that I reversed engineered (so many, many hours invested in that) and we have the Ork Codex published as proof it can be done. We are now well over 3100 man hours into Alternate 40k Rules.
Dark Eldar have a very cool and unique play style that has been hit and miss. Mostly misses because GW neglected to give them Codexes in so many editions (you poor souls). I really want to grab that ambushing evil space pirate/slaver feel, but keep the classic lore that sustained battles are difficult for them.
Most units that can Deepstrike have Sudden Descent. This gives them Stealth for one Turn when they arrive via Deepstrike. The sudden arrival of specialized firepower gives them a nasty 3+ Cover Save for the first turn they are out. The downside is if they do not annihilate the target with coordinated fire, they repercussions will be painful. That Cover Save will be the chance they have for redemption, but an extended fight after arriving will leave them very vulnerable.
As is classic Dark Eldar lore, many weapons have Poisoned (3+). This allows them to engage heavy infantry with point efficiency and monsters in a pinch, but does make hordes a potential issue. Using their mobility and cheap but decently available Flame weapon this should be quite reasonable to manage.
Many of the dangerous HQ have Soul Trap, allowing them to force challenges that cannot be denied. These characters are quite dangerous and are not to be underestimated.
Their Transports are Exposed Transports, allowing them to not only shoot in any direction with Embarked units, but to also Melee as well in classic pirate form. Looking at how they man the masts and sides of the ship, this clearly was the intent of the original designers. This raises the cost of the Transports, but makes them very versatile. Most can take a Tesla prow for stunning people to take as slaves and also take a set of flails to gain additional hits to supplement the Melee of the units Embarked.
Due to the units being quite exposed instead of protected, each time the Transport suffers a Glance or Penetrating hit, on a 4+ the Embarked unit suffers 1 Mortal Wound instead as they get caught in the incoming field of fire. While it does not protect the not expendable infantry or monstrous infantry onboard, It does help the very vulnerable Vehicle to survive a few more hits and keep that crucial mobility in play to win the game!
As mentioned before, these Dark Eldar rules are not extensively tested and are subject to change. I am nearly complete compiling it but it is still under works. Regardless, this is the in game feel we want for them. We love and appreciate constructive feedback and encouragement. If you want to assist in play testing, please reach out and you can be setup with the material necessary to do so. As a non profit rule set, this is done entirely for the community and we have limited testers.
Alternate 40k Rules 