More than any other army, the Iron Warriors have a bad rep in the 40k world as a result of the 2002 Codex: Chaos Space Marines. This tome gave you the ability to swap out one of your non-existent Fast Attack Choices and include a fourth Heavy Support choice. When coupled with the six man las-plas squad, the ability to take either a Basilisk or a Vindicator, the ultimate bad-boy was born. Always included was a Daemon Prince (usually with flight and Dark Blade - though I can tell you a funny story from the 2005 Sydney GT where one IW player wished he had spent the extra 5 points on flight rather than speed). Liberal lashings of Oblits finished off the list.
And so a legend was birthed….the 40k world was over-run by IW armies consisting of Boltgun Metal spray, Black Ink wash and black shoulder pads……99% were the ugliest armies you ever saw. Overpowered and underpainted, the Iron Warriors army was really the preserve of the archetypal powergamer.
How the times change. With the current Chaos Codex destroying the Traitor Legions and showing its age on the tabletop, the Iron Warriors army is as rare as a Bloodclaw in a Space Wolves army. Indeed the people who were using IW six or seven years ago are probably all using “Counts as” Space Wolves armies now. Perhaps they call them Iron Fangs!
So as tempting as it is to paint my Iron warriors and then use the Space Wolves codex, I think I’ll resist. I intend building the army using the current Chaos codex and hope that 2012 sees some form of deliverance from its current mediocrity. I have no idea as to my list at the moment but will look to paint units and hope that 6th Edition will still see them functional.
First up is two Rhinos and Predator which I’m going to use the new airbrush on.
Iron Within. Iron Without!
I'm not sure this army will play very different, if at all, than your nurgle - at least for now.
ReplyDeleteWith that in mind, are you positive this is the right move for you?
I thought the same thing. You might run a slightly different list for a while, but you'll end up wanting to go back to the nurgle list.. and then wanting a new codex/army.
ReplyDeletePainting/modeling project - hopefully new Chaos codex by the time I'm finished
ReplyDeleteHopefully no new awesome models that completely invalidate all your hard work coming out with the new codex.
ReplyDeleteWould hate to see a repeat of Alans Dark Eldar, where months upon months upon months are spent converting and painting very tired old miniatures, only for them to look like someone wiped their arse on your army when compared to the breathtakingly good new figures straight out of the box.
All 70 infantry I have are made with the Chapter-specific torsos, heads and Iron Hand bionics....so I think I'm pretty right :-)
ReplyDeleteGW bits service was so good!
Pete,
ReplyDeleteI am in the complete reverse. Had an Iron Warriors army (9 Obliterators, what WAS I thinking) and went to Plague Marines.
Hopefully a new codex bringing back some of the missing fluff will help a lot. Incidentally, I have a HEAP of the old heads and torsos if you need them.
9 Obliterators? Tbh, good start to an army :)
ReplyDeleteSounds good Pete, looking forward to seeing this project go on.
At the end of the day, they can only improve the basic CSM box so much, as it is already quite good. If anything, it will be like the Blood Angels and Wolves, just an addition of flavour, which it sounds your conversions will proovide anyway! :)
Great service by Forgeworld. Ordered Sunday, posted Monday, here today (Friday) for extra set of IW rhino doors.
ReplyDelete