5th Edition 'Codex Fever': rumours, leaks and downright lies!

23 May 2012 | 5th Edition

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

The 5th Edition Dark Angels Codex is eagerly awaited by many, and rightly so. With so much invested in armies the smallest changes can wreak havoc on playing styles and army composition. As a result the rumours have started to seep out, and it seems sensible to collate them in one place.

The list below shows some of the items we have been informed of so far. Many of these items have only been implied, and NOTHING has been confirmed. All have appeared in the public domain by individuals acting voluntarily. I take no responsibility for their validity, content, any consequential loss or damage, or any copyright infringements that might have been broken by the original authors.

Note that I am not commenting on all of these rumours — some are just too scant to draw much meaningful conclusion as yet. As the release date looms so the list will grow, or maybe it will shrink to what might reasonably be expected to appear in the new Codex.

Classifications

I have sorted these rumours into general rumours; Deathwing, Ravenwing and Force Org slot rumours; and models rumours. Some will overlap. I'm going to classify any new rumours into Good, Bad or Ugly, depending on what I think of them in terms of DA gameplay and fluff adherence/development. Feel free to challenge my own very prejudiced views!

Good: Positive development and probably an obvious one.
Bad: Poor development. Not a good fit for the DA.
Ugly: Retrograde or a forced development. I'd put plasma spam here.

Let the fun begin!

Sources where known

[B+C] = Bolter and Chainsword;
[W] = Warseer;
[BoK] = Blood of Kittens.

General 40K 6th Edition and DA Codex release rumours

Good:

Here's something to get stuck into.

6th Edition to be launched in July 2012.
6th Edition starter box set to be launched in September. This seems very late to me.
Dark Angels to form part of the 6th Edition 40K box starter set with Chaos (Marines). This to be released in August.
Models/units included comprise:
Terminator Captain (or at least a Company Master in Terminator armour)
5 x Deathwing terminators
Tactical Squad
3 x Ravenwing bikes.
Others say Belial as a named HQ will be included. Speculating on an accompanying all terminator-armoured force which makes sense, possibly even some RW jetbikes too. Less rounded as a starter army but more fun I guess.
All models in this set likely to be push-fit.
Dark Angels 5th Edition Codex expected May/June 2012. This is now looking increasingly unlikely.
Preorder DA Codex at the end of May for June release. This is now looking increasingly unlikely.

Bad:

One set of release dates put the DA Codex back until spring 2013 at the earliest.

Deathwing Rumours

[None as of yet.]

Ravenwing Rumours

Good:

A new 'Elite' unit of some kind. My guess is a jetbike Command squadron or similar.
A new speeder variant. Presumed Ravenwing but it might not be of course.

HQ rumours

Good:

More use of Chaplains.
'Wolfguard-style' Chaplains. Wait and see how this one develops I guess. From a fluff-perespective it sounds interesting.
Psychic powers are boosted by a shield power possibly similar to the Mindshackle Scarabs' function in the Necrons book. This forces units targeting the Librariain (presumably in close combat) to hit an allied unit instead.

Elite Rumours

[None as of yet.]

Troop Rumours

[None as of yet.]

Fast Attack Rumours

[None as of yet.]

Transport Rumours

[None as of yet.]

Heavy Support Rumours

Ugly:

Aries Land Raider to be included as an HS choice. I'm not a lover so it's 'Ugly' I'm afraid.
Plasma sponson option on Predators.

New Model Rumours

Tac squad models in the 6th Edition starter box are essentially those used in the new Citadel Painting set. So push fit with a separate left shoulderpad bearing a DA symbol. Right shoulderpad bears a horizontal double-arrow Tac squad icon. Preseumably Deathwing termies and RW bikers will be push-fit too and with separate chapter/company-specific shoulderpads. Would allow the development of other Chapters' pads by GW?

Conclusion

Added February 2014.

Looking back on this from the DA Codex 6th Edition a year old, it's amazing how many of these rumours turned out to be, just plain wrong. The Starter set contents as far as Dark Angels goes wasn't too off target. But the 'Wolfguard-style' Chaplains — if only!

But still overall, the Dark Angels are in a better place than they were with their 4th Edition Codex.