Hey everyone! The last Codex is finally live! After a long developmental phase we are fully operational! I will go more into that later this week. We have so many items to cover its best to keep the Eldar, Inquisition, and touch ups as separate newsletters.
The Inquisition is a potent force that dabbles in every single branch of the Imperium. To represent this, they have access to some unique rules.
Rules
Authority of the Inquisition is a 6″ Aura that automatically forces a target to pass its Ld Test. They are so feared that not even a Commissar’s Bolt Pistol is necessary!
By Order of the Inquisition allows the legendary Imperial Assassins to be taken individually as a Lord of War in any Imperial army. This includes Adeptus Mechanicus, Custode, Grey Knights, Imperial Guard, Imperial Knights, Sisters of Battle, Space Marines, and Squats.
Lone Operative is used by the Imperial Assassins. It is not a rule I accepted lightly. I resisted it for many years actually. But it fits the needs and immersions of these murder hobos. They cannot be targeted by any Aura or True Aura, friend of foe. They cannot join any unit. And they cannot be targeted by ranged weapons further than 12″ away, though “accidental” template placement can still hit them (for example, targeting the terrain that they are hiding in).
Quarry allows the Inquisitor to hunt one specific model very effectively. This allows them to reroll all failed To Hit and To Wound rolls against that model. The Quarry is chosen during Deployment.
Requisition Approved allows any Imperial Army (see above) to take an Inquisitor as a HQ choice!
Spells
Spell wise, most Inquisitors are minor casters or stronger and many have access to the following spells:
Terrify – Fear Test
Psychic Pursuit – Target model cannot benefit from Bodyguard or any other ability to divert wounds.
Mental Interrogation – Target Non-Titanic unit suffers -1 To Hit.
Psychic Fortitude – Target unit automatically passes all Ld Tests.
Warding Incantation – Target unit gains a 5+ Invulnerability Save.
Domination – Target Non-Titanic model makes all ranged or all melee attacks against friendlies. Difficulty to cast is based on the remaining Wounds the target has. In the last test game I did, I was facing 288 Grots, 16 characters, and a Stompa with 16 of my own models. I ended up using the Runt Herder to whip Grots to death each turn to help dwindle the numbers.
Ordos
Like the Space Marines, these army rules are only good and have no draw backs. As such, you will notice that Sisters of Battle and Imperial Guard Veterans cost more in this book to reflect that correctly!
Minor Ordo – All models may reroll 1s To Hit. If they already can, they reroll 1s and 2s to Hit!
Ordo Hereticus – All models in your army gain Sniper (4+) against magic casters.
Ordo Malleus – All successful Invulnerability Saves of 6+ made against your attacks must be rerolled.
Ordo Xenos – Your models Overwatch on 5+ instead of 6+, with Pistols doing 5+ instead of 5+. All other forms of Snap Shots are still 6+.
HQ
Inquisitor – The most terrifying authority in all of the Imperium, these individuals literally strike Fear if they take the Lord Inquisitor upgrade. They command Orbital Strikes once per game, which is as much to destroy their enemies as force their movement. Once “fired”, the enemy has a turn to react to it before it strikes in your Command Phase, even if the model that called it in is slain!
The wargear they have access to is lethal, elaborate, and plentiful! Nothing can stand in their way.
Ordo Hereticus gets access to Inquisitor Greyfax. She is a potent character that can keep multiple units under her iron grip thanks to Authority of the Inquisition and Seek Out Corruption. She can also read her opponent’s minds, forcing them to reroll To Hit rolls against her when in a Challenge!
Inquisitor Ostromandeus is another choice they can get. He is an interesting choice that wreaks havoc with the enemy’s nefarious plans. His servo skull marks an enemy unit. While they are marked, they suffer Ld-3 and must reroll all successful Ld Tests!
His servitor, Stentor-I-52, can broadcast on internal networks, allowing itself (which has Objective Secured) to use one Objective Marker to act as if it were present on a different Objective Marker instead! It cannot hold both at once.
Ordo Malleus brings Lord Inquisitor Coteaz. His Spy Network allows you to control Initiative rolls and he is one of the more potent Psykers available.
They also get access to Lord Inquisitor Hector Rex. He is another good caster that can get access to rerolling cast and deny dice. In addition, he is an excellent assassin for taking out psychic models.
Ordo Hereticus gets access to Inquisitor Eisenhorn. He is the most experienced in dealing with Daemonhosts, and can pokeball one onto the field once per game. He is also capable of drastically enhancing their abilities, making him great for delegating his problems elsewhere.
They get access to Inquisitor Kroyle as well, the newest kid on the block. He carries a potent sniper rifle for no reason other than GW gets a hard on for oversized sniper rifles on cavalry. Which is of course, completely pointless in application. Despite this he is one of the few models to carry a potent Heavy 2 sniper rifle, making him quite adept at picking off special and heavy weapon bearers, officers, and injured characters taking hits for their squad.
His special ability as a Xenos Prime Hunter allows him an extra attack with any ranged or Melee weapon he uses so long as the target is an Independent Character, bringing him up to Heavy 3!
Lord Inquisitor Kyria Draxus is another choice. Draxus is a bit more utilitarian, focusing on increased spell range and being superior at Deny the Witch.
Lastly, they get access to Lord Inquisitor Solomon Lok. He is an excellent strategist that allows you to reroll an Objective once per Turn, even if it has already been rerolled! Combined with his Servo Scribe Skull granting Objective Secured, he is excellent to use in the vanguard.
Advisors
I included the Daemonifuge here. I know GW put them in Sisters of Battle because they didn’t know what to do with them, but an exiled Sister and a filthy traitor xenos isn’t going to be welcome in their ranks. They would be affiliated with someone more like the Inquisition, or a Rogue Trader, something like that.
Henchmen have been drastically rebuilt. These are basically your Dark Heresy characters escorting their Inquisitor around. They get access to a wide variety of gear. This Datasheet encompasses several lumped into one. They are all bodyguards and get some serious weaponry. At W4 each, they are going to take some serious shots to chew through!
Jokaero Weaponsmiths are potent force multipliers that enhance a squad immensely! It may take a few rounds to get fully kitted out, so feel free to idle around a bit while the Jokaero does its work.
Troops
Battle Sisters remain as is, with that point cost increase mentioned because of their improved faction ability. This represents their advanced training and experience from accompanying an Inquisitor through the greatest threats the Imperium will likely never know exists.
Deathwatch Veterans remain as is.
Only a pure Inquisition Army can run an Execution Force as a Troop Choice. This is all 4 Assassins, 1 of each, for a total of 1517 points. This lets you hero hammer or play a high stakes game with a strong narrative.
Inquisition Guard Veterans bring the best and most hardened Guardsmen to the table! Like the Sisters, they only gain buffs from their Ordos training and have a bit of a point hike.
Primaris Deathwatch were added because of spirit of the game.
Grey Knight Purifier Squads form a second very strong elite option for purging enemies!
Elites
Dreadnoughts are included. These are your firstborn ones that run in squads of 1-3.
The Incarcerator is used to hunt psychics! Run it into Melee, roll a 6 (or more!) and then boop 1 Psychic Infantry or Monstrous Infantry model for each 6! The 6 is discarded, but the psychic stays in limbo until something destroys the Incarcerator. There is a risk, low Ld models can be injured or completely consumed by the Turbine Purge that acts as a fail safe!
Ironclad Dreadnoughts can come in units of 1-2. These are potent for dealing with extreme threats and have the powerful abilities of the Firstborn to swap weapons during Deployment!
Paladins are your Grey Knight Terminators. When you need something extra dead, you call these guys!
The Primaris Scout Squad was added in spirit of traditional Inquisition lists.
The Redemptor Dreadnought (not ran in a squad) is brought in by spirit of old lists and editions. While not as flexible as the Firstborn Dreadnoughts, it is massively up armoured and capable of taking a severe beating!
The Scout Squad is there to provide recon for the Inquisitor. They are his eyes and ears on the field of battle.
Inquisitorial Stormtroopers come in platoons of 5-35 men, including an optional command squad. Like their Guardsmen brethren, they have a point increase because their Ordos training is superior to that of traditional Imperial Guard Regiments.
Fast Attack
Daemonhosts are very dangerous! There is a risk in each of your Command Phases that it will become Hostile and break its bindings! That being said, they are pretty durable and can cause a lot of chaos.
Death Cult Assassins are another unit listed under Sisters of Battle for no particular reason. Lore wise you are going to run into these running as a gang or under the guidance of an Inquisitor. They are a good screen unit though that has a nasty bite in melee for their points.
Heavy Support
Land Raiders are a classic unit that is a must! Very few rides are as imposing as this ancient Warmachine! It is the Grey Knight version.
Flyers
Corvus Blackstar is the staple Deathwatch transport we know and love! Nothing more to it.
Valkyrie Squadrons are just like the guard, but improved BS and increased cost for their Ordos training.
Dedicated Transports
Chimeras are same as the Valkyrie, improved BS and increase in cost.
Impulsors were added because of the inclusion of Primaris.
Razorbacks are a great alternative transport when you need multiple potent weapons instead of mass small arms like the Chimera.
Rhinos are always a classic.
Lord of War
The Calexus Assassins are the hardest to kill, making them great sandbags. They also cause Mortal Wounds on Casters that roll doubles to Cast, meaning if they roll double 1s they will suffer 4 Mortal Wounds! (1 from each 1 because Perils of the Warp and then another 2 from Psychic Abomination). They also have a -1 To Hit them and a 5+ Feel No Pain. Lastly, they can heal from dealing damage in Melee!
Callidus Assassins are the ultimate infiltrator. Using altered pheromones and secret technology they can confuse and confound foes to accept them as one of their own. As such, this model Deploys in an enemy unit, kicking out an Independent Character if there is not enough room.
She cannot be assigned damage while in the unit. Further more, she won’t fight until Revealed which she can choose to in her Command Phase.
To discover her, in each of their Command Phases they roll a 1d6. On a 6 she is discovered and Ongoing Melee ensues.
Regardless of her being in a unit, she causes a 12″ True Aura that inflicts -2 Ld on enemies and forces them to roll Ld Tests in each of their Command Phases. If they fail, they cannot Move, Advance, or Declare Charges because of the Reign of Confusion.
Eversor Assassins are the murderest murder hobo that ever hoboed while murdering. They go in with an uzi sniper bolt weapon, with underslung chemical dart pistol.
Whatever happens to survive this is then met with a large volume of close quarter attacks, which trigger additional attacks from successful ones. These bonus attacks do not cause more. Him getting an extra +d3 Attacks almost always further enhances this. He designed to clear the hordes for the others to do their job.
Randomly he gets a Meltabomb. Because of course he does.
Vindicares were the most nerve wracking to do. A4R is built to be very theatrical, with Characters, Monstrous Infantry, and big things being slow to die with lots of drama along the way (for example, in a movie a sniper just doesn’t kill the main character. A grenade wounds him, he picks up his bud, gets shot by like 3 different people, looks at the camera, and then the sniper gets him. Sometimes with 2 shots).
So this was a challenge. After much debate and then going to the battlefield, we have his super Exitus Rounds inflicting 1d3 Mortal Wounds on successes. Which it will frequently as it ignores all Saves and Feel No Pains.
This means he cannot one shot a full health HQ character or Monster. Advisors CAN be one shot, but its a lucky roll.
This means that enemies MUST be hyper aggressive to flushing them out. At 387 points, this model is more expensive than most HQ choices (excluding maxed out Chapter Masters and such of course). My Dad dropped a Stompa on mine with Da Jump, shattering his tower, and making him Force Disembarked. This then made him count as moving when he became Unpinned and limited his shooting options severely.
Command Codes are a Non-Model upgrade for any model with Orbital Strike. This removes the One Use Only rule and the limitations for not firing on Turn 1.
Thunderhawk Gunships are of course a symbol of power and influence that MUST be included!
Thunderhawk Transporters go with this of course.
And then all of your standard Imperial Fortifications are included.
This is a very fun, hyper elite army. It is VERY powerful when in control of the battlefield, but the moment they get put back on their heels they struggle to regain momentum. If you are playing as Inquisition, you need to be hyper aggressive to avoid this. If you are fighting the Inquisition, you need to put maximum pressure on them and focus fire on their key units.
Alternate 40k Rules 