Just like a trip through the Exhibition at Warhammer World it’s also made me want to start a couple of new armies too… If you want the most comprehensive and up to date collection of Warhammer 40k lore, then you cant go wrong with the first half of the 9th Edition Core Book – it collects together all the various threads we have been following so far and sets things up they can expand on over the course of the new edition. I really hope this means what I think it means, and this is in preparation for Angron and the World Eaters returning in 9th Edition and a new War for Armageddon! An Inquisitor is quoted as saying “The Red Angel is coming, I know it in my soul” What I really like about this section however are the War Zones – these pages give a bit of narrative flavour to the worlds of conflict across the galaxy, and some of them point towards some new armies that we may see in the future – one of the most exciting ones is Armageddon, where it is currently raining blood, the Orks have become even more aggressive than usual, and a shockwave of rage is spreading across the entire planet. We also see new stories that bring the factions talked about to life, detailed background about the Imperium, all the races that we currently know, and even some mentions of races that we have not met yet!
The Warhammer 40,000 9th Edition Core Book is chock full of lore, narrative and maps – in fact, the first 191 pages of the book covers this before we even get to the rules themselves! As for new lore most of it revolves around The Silent King and what the Necrons are currently up to in the Pariah Nexus – I don’t want to spoil this for people who want to read this themselves, but what’s happening in this region of space is massive in respect to the 40k storyline, and I’m very interested into how this is going to develop in future supplements and Codexes – depending on how things play out, the results of the War Zone: Pariah conflict may also indirectly affect whatever Abaddon has planned… My first introduction into Warhammer 40,000 was the 2nd edition boxed set back in the 90’s, and some of my fondest memories from that set was paging though the books within and gazing lovingly at the Eavy Metal models in the miniature showcases, and I can see these army showcases inspiring a new generation of players to pick up and paint their first miniature! There’s also a couple of new models shown off such as the Space Marine Hammerfall Drop Turret – Which looks amazing! Cant wait to see the model and rules for it! The book is also filled with some glorious images of miniatures, with all current factions represented. This way you have the points for quick reference during a game, but also the more detailed ruling if you need to refer to them, something that I feel is a massive improvement in how the rules are presented and how they can be interpreted.
This continues into the main rules themselves with really clear text to spell out the sections in both a watertight way explaining everything in detail, but also following each of these segments with a series of bullet points detailing the most important factors that effect that rule. Text blocks are placed pleasingly against dramatic images, and event the small accents and incidental detailings drive down the grim darkness of the far future! Check out this page below with some Geiger style bio-mechanical piping and quotes scribbled on the side of the page! The book itself is filled with fantastic artwork, both old and new, that excites and inspires you delve deeper into the lore and the universe. The first thing you notice when you pick up the new Core Book is how absolutely gorgeous it is! The vivid cover art depicts Abaddon versus Guilliman with a striking blue and red scheme that really captures the spark of hope of the Indomitus Crusade against the horrors that beset humanity Without further ado, on to our review of the new 9th edition Warhammer 40k rulebook!