More Warhammer 40,000 Codex Details Announced
July 5, 2017 by brennon
Games Workshop has now announced what Codices will be coming first for those getting into Warhammer 40,000 and give us a few details about what's inside too.
Leading the way we're going to have the Space Marines and as an example, the interior of the book will break down as such...
So, as you can see it brings together background which you didn't get within the Index books as well as some unique special rules to tailor your force. As well as the Space Marines we're also going to see Codices for the Grey Knights, Death Guard and Chaos Space Marines.
You did hear that right as well. Yes, we're seeing more faction specific books tailored towards notable aspects of your force. This is nothing new of course as we've seen books dedicated to the Chaos Gods and more before but it does mean we're going to have some nice books detailing these larger forces in more detail.
Art-wise it looks like we're getting a consolidation of style with Raymond Swanland being the illustrator for the covers across the board. It might also be that they're just cherry picking the best from their library too.
If you're interested in finding out more about the new Codices then you can check out their FAQ HERE.
Which one will you be getting?
"As well as the Space Marines we're also going to see Codices for the Grey Knights, Death Guard and Chaos Space Marines..."
I’m guessing that Primaris is IN the Space Marines Codex, as that’s the picture on the cover, but you’d of thought their inclusion would be in their FAQ. Saw this coming a mile off though – not only do you get to buy up to £60 worth of Indexes, but they’ll be getting replaced by up to 10 new £25 (best guess) codexes by the end of the year! If you’re a 40k completionist, you can spend over £350 on books alone this year! (before you count special editions) I do miss the days of keeping up with 40K, but… Read more »
Bear in mind you don’t need all of the Indices – you just need the one for your faction of choice. And the Codices are coming out in dribs and drabs over the near year or so. With that in mind, the Indices are the stop gap so you don’t feel like your force is left behind completely within the new Edition of the game now they’ve tweaked everything with the new mechanics. Sure you’re going to have to spend another £20 or so on the Codex in the near future but if you’re already invested in the army that’s… Read more »
Know your enemy… It used to be a given that you’d probably pick up every codex eventually. Build some enemy lists and make sure your opponent wasn’t being a Cheaty McCheaterson. Not to mention the fluff you end up missing out on. Absolutely, casually, your upgrade to this edition, uninterrupted play may have only cost you £15 (free rules + Index), £50 (rulebook and Index) or £65+ (rulebook plus you have one of those habits of owning more than one army) – but that’s my point – the indexes should always have been BOB (back of book) and download at… Read more »
For that side of things sure – but I think one of the cool things about playing Warhammer 40,000, at least when I was younger, was learning about armies from your friends rather than buying up the books yourself. Personal preference I suppose. Nowadays you can also get a lot of the fluff and background on specific factions thanks to Wiki-esque sites and forums. Hopefully, as well you’re not playing against people who are asshole enough to cheat…but I get your point for the completionists out there. I am reminded of the time Warhammer Fantasy changed drastically and they bought… Read more »
Until the price started ramping up on them in the late 2000s, I and most of the people I know who played WFB always bought all the army books. Back when I was still playing 40k in the 90s it was also the done thing to buy all the codices. You wanted every army list and rule and you wanted all the fluff. I do tend to think that in this day and age it’s counter-productive to charge people to access the army lists. They’re roadmaps for purchases of minis.
They’ve been pretty up front that indexes were a get-you-by mechanic and the codices would be released shortly. I have absolutely no intention of buying every codex as I’ll get the background from black library novels and the rules from the friends I play with. Therefore the indexes are really good for me as they give an insight into armies without having to fork out for the codices.
If you’re someone that knows you’re going to buy every codex then you really should have just bought the index for your favourite army and waited
@redben – maybe so and I can see why people wanted to know everything when it was cheaper, but nowadays there’s really no reason to have to buy them all – as I mentioned, a lot of the fluff and the background is available online anyway, and you can find most of the artwork if that floats your boat online too. I guess you could make the case for them making all of the stats at least free like with AoS, but then again AoS is a smaller game by a significant margin and it’s better for getting new people… Read more »
I think it’s also worth pointing out that if you only just bought the Index Imperium 1 for your space marine army, there’s no obligation on you at all to buy the new Codex Space Marines. The rules in Index Imperium are still totally valid and you are free to continue just playing with them. You may want the codex but you don’t need the codex. The only people who come close to “needing” it are tournament players and collectors who just like buying the books (the latter probably won’t be bothered because they like buying the books, that’s their… Read more »
I can understand that if GW continues to FAQ and errata the index after Codex Space Marines comes out, but what’s the chance of that? Highly unlikely I’d wager.
Vote with your wallet if you don’t like the prices. Don’t buy books you don’t need. Don’t buy every new release just because you feel you need it. Don’t be a completionist if it makes you annoyed. Lots of people on here whine about GW’s prices and then buy it all anyway. No wonder they’re slow to change their ways. Same goes for stupidly priced character minis. If folks didn’t buy them, they would have to charge more reasonable prices. Instead folk whine about the price and then begrudgingly stump up the cash anyway. GW sales staff will only learn… Read more »
(£75 worth of Indexes – missed one – why do I keep thinking there’s only four?)
Seems good to me. Interesting enough based on those examples least CSM codex is not getting new cover art.
I like that GW is announcing the first lot of codexes and the fact that there will be 10 released this year but…4 of the 10 (so far) are marines of some description. It’s not really surprising but it’d be nice if some xenos was in there.
Also, I would have liked to see a return to soft back codexes both in terms of price and weight 😀
Would they sell more –
1. Current style Hardback Megadexes with all the fluff and full page artworks (£25)
2. Slimmed down “rules only” softback with modicum of fluff – I’m thinking 3rd Edition ‘dexes – super slim. (£10)
3. Give folk the option of either.
Same goes for rulebooks.
More folk playing yer game = more models sold, or so I thought the TT games business went.
I can’t answer the question but I can say that for many people, the hardback books are a worthwhile purchase. All of the additional content – the lore, the painting advice, the photos and artwork – make the book something worth owning.
Looks really good and I like the chapter/craftworld/legion specific rules for sub factions within the codex.
The index was cheap so I don’t feel the economic strain yet. Feels like a solid start to the new edition.
I was hoping they would step away from Codex because they often contain spotty story-telling and power creep; not to mention limiting the release schedules for sculpts a bit – either you’re waiting for models for a particular stat-line or you have models with printed-out stat cards from white-dwarf. I do like that they said there are rule changes from the indexes to help balance the game – that is a great step, balance the game and keep it fun – I’m just hoping the faction specific stratagems are well balanced. Interesting that it doesn’t mention faction specific formations –… Read more »
Having watched Age of Sigmar evolve it was always going to happen. However I think the difference now is that you don’t really need the codices – everything you need comes in the box with the models. Obviously there are reasons to buy the codices such as stratagems for battle forged armies and a few new special rules. However you can just play with the models out the box or use the original Index books if you have them. I suspect that there will be faction specific formations, I believe Age of Sigmar has something similar, but I still think… Read more »
@onlyonepinman : that’s only for the new kits … so unless they intend to add stat cards to ‘old’ kits (like those “start collecting sets”) you may find that you need to buy either the codex or the index.
I predict a gradual re-branding of 40k, similar to AoS, and old kits will be reboxed and probably come with data sheets. It will be a gradual transition though
Yeah, you could see this coming…still, the right thing to do for GW would have been to announce the full index -> codex plan from the get go, AND present a full codex release schedule. In that way, you could choose up front if you wanted to save your cash and wait for your ‘dex. And it seems unclear to me whether or not the indexes will eventually be made entirely redundant. I think they should have kept the indexes as the player’s core investment, one that they would continually update, living rulebook-style. You could then buy codices as addons… Read more »
I think they did announce it from the beginning. Most of the time they were quite clear that they were going to be doing the Indices as a stop gap before releasing Codices down the line.
I doubt the Indices will be redundant completely because it seems a lot of work to change things up drastically from book to book. I imagine they will still be good as a reference guide in the future of the game.
I don’t think it’s fair to say they just went the money route. They provided resources to keep players going, and were very clear there would be new codices coming.
What they are in fact providing is different ways into the game.
The mechanicum player in me is just pleased 30k is staying in seventh. For now at least…
The old system of expensive codex books was very off putting. The heavy rule set and the codex system kept me from getting into the game. I hoped the new GW we’ve all talked about would not just interact more but make some decisions kinder on the wallet. 2 average looking models at £45 and a continuation of the codex system? Need to get kids involved in the hobby and surely you’ll win in the long run with better pricing decisions. What 13 year old child will spend £45 on 2 models when that can get you an A list… Read more »
Shit. I was really niave to think i wouldn’t need two plus codices for a game. I could just work off the index i suppose, but codices trump indices and the collector in me will win in the end and i did enjoy reading about the stuff that would kill my army.
This is all too familiar.. 😉
Oh well, I will buy the Imperial Guard (or whatever they are called now) codex, maybe the Tau one and that’s it for the immediate future. Possibly something Inquisition later on..
No interest in Space Marines, loyal or chaos or other races.
I’m reviving my Cadian army as I still have plenty of stuff in original boxes.
Their home world might have fallen but the 317th fights on!
A completely new set of plastic Guardsmen might be the only way for GW to get more of my money..
LOL, not quite as catchy as “first and only” – the “Cadian 317th one of many”, but not every Guard regiment can come out with ridiculous heroic phrases ALL the time.
“Men of Cadia, do you want to go down the pub once this all blows over?”
(to paraphrase the famous Ciaphas Cain/Gaunt quotes)
“Oh well, I will buy the Imperial Guard (or whatever they are called now) codex”
They’ll always be the Imperial Guard!!
I never understood wanting to spend all that money on books just to play a thousand dollar an army miniatures game. Fortunately the internet has us covered.
I think in many ways it comes from GW still, to a degree, seeing the game as THE only game people play. With that in mind the factor of money for the hobby doesn’t seem so bad. Essentially, if this was the only game you played you probably wouldn’t end up paying much money over the course of a year.
However, nowadays when people are playing a lot more games and diving into new systems the cost can seem prohibitive.
What I don’t like about this is the Codexes will invalidate the Indexes due to changing some rules. If the Codexes were an optional to add whistles and bells, but you could still get by with a vanilla index if you wanted then ok. But when its all the same core rules you playing from seems pretty bad design imo that a SUPPLEMENT next week invalidates the supplement you bought last week, or for some even today before the news broke….
I don’t think they will invalidate the Indices, evenif they contradict; you play with the rules you have. If you own both books, you can build an army from Codex Space Marines or from Index Imperium volume 1 but you can only use the rules in one book.
This isn’t accurate except in friendly games. The FAQ states “Can I choose to use the rules and/or points for units from my index instead of the new ones in the codex once released?
In your own games, if you and your opponent agree, you can, of course, play with whatever rules you like.
In all future publications and official events though, it will be assumed that you’re using the most recent rules and Datasheets. It will also be assumed that you’re using the most up to date points for matched play, in this case, those included in the codex.”
Tournament players take it all very seriously though and they tend to buy the latest rules to get the latest meta. That’s part of their hobby. There’s also something like 10 codices due for release before the end of the year so they’re really speeding through them to get each army their own codex.
That doesn’t mean you need to buy the codexes.
It only means that the codexes will have the latest stats simply due to them being printed at a later date.
When those stats change again then both the Index and Codex owners will have to retrieve the latest stats from their website.
As an Index user the thing you are missing out on are the extra equipment and stratagems.
Stats for new units (like the Primaris Scouts) are supposed to be in the box.
One can only hope that they’re going to include a few extra bits as well.
I’m not sure why people are so surprised, just a quick look at the dark imperium box announcement on warhammer community tells you that there was going to be a codex: “Oh, and don’t worry, this doesn’t mean Orks and Tyranids are now on the same side, it just means they share a book for the moment. In the future, they’ll get their own dedicated codexes. ” From: https://www.warhammer-community.com/2017/05/23/warhammer-40000-launch-date-announced-may22gw-homepage-post-1/ This was posted back in May. I’m very glad that there will be a codex for the factions, whilst its great there were rules for everyone day 1 the armies need… Read more »
I just hope the codexes are up to the GW standard. The Indexes are riddled with errors and the layout can be comical.
Nice to see my Death Guard get their own codex. Not sure if I’ll shell out on Marines though, probably wait for Dark Angels.
I’m sure they will be, I wonder how rushed the indexes were to make sure they had proper rules for every army. I was watching a review of 40k 8th on Miniwargaming.com and they were going through some of the issues with the indices and there’s some pretty bad ones where if you play rules as written certain units are waaaaay too powerful. I can’t say for all of the books though – I only own Index Imperium 2.
I see both sides of the argument. I think for me it will come down to the quality of the Codexes. If they’re nice books to look at and hold, if the army lists are characterful and full of interesting options (and they’re not all named in dull ‘Wolf Fist, Wolf Necklace, Wolf Gun, Wolf Sword’ fashion) and the balance of the army lists stays good and doesn’t fluctuate massively from release to release, then I’ll be happy to pick up the new codexes.
Basically, if they do them well, I’m okay with it.
@onlyonepinman Depending on your play environment then yes actually codexes do invalidate the Indexes, in the same edition they managed to create oldhammer and its only just been released. So whose up for 40K Oldhammer 8th edition? Even if only playing Summer Campaign impacts on Match play games in stores for those players who game there. It also adds back in checking on more than 2 sources for a rule, thats now 3, any ‘WD’ extras that’ll be 4, campaign special rules 5… wasn’t multi manual flipping what they wanted to get away from. From FAQ: Can I choose to… Read more »
It’s never been weird for tournaments to require players to be using the latest versions of the rules …
And when it comes to having a physical version of the stats it is logical that the latest version of the rules are to be found there.
Don’t be surprised if a new model kit that is released after the codexes has a slightly more up to date version of model specific rules as well.
It doesn’t mean checking two sources, you check the rule in the book you’re playing with. If stores are only allowing the most recent codex (which is their prerogative) then yes, the index might be superceded but it’s still only one source
Yes it does mean checking more than 2 sources. If your say playing say a Blood Angel/Space Wolves Force, you have Rule Main Book, Whatever Generic Astartes rules applicable, and still need Indices for the applicable Blood Angel/Space Wolves rules.
Also may still need Indices if that has a datasheet not updated by a codex and therefore still relevant to refer to.
Hopefully they include Generic Marine Rules in the Blood Angels/Space Wolves codex.
It’s only one source per army though. You will need, presumably, Codex Blood Angels to play Blood Angels and Codex Space Wolves for the Space Wolves. You won’t – or shouldn’t – also need Codex Space Marines. That’s not the way it was in 7th and I don’t see any reason why that would change for 8th. I expect that all rules for and applicable to any specific army will be in their own codex This may mean that some rules are printed in multiple books. I also expect the codices will include datasheets for ALL units, the assumption being… Read more »
While the indices were obviously only ever meant to be a stop gap, they appear to be rolling out the proper codices really quickly here. Was it really necessary to charge all that cash for something that might only be relevant for a couple of months?
Free temporary lists really wasn’t much to ask for.
I don’t see what the timing issue with the Indexes is. They were dirt cheap. A few months of gaming for £15? You’d spend it on a takeaway.
The Indexes weren’t perfect (not by a long shot) but they were quick cheap rules to get everybody playing 8th and on the same page. Now the codexes are coming (as promised from the beginning) and while they’re not all arriving at once, we’re getting them much quicker than usual.
That’s how I see it @irredeemable I can game at home for as long as I like, buy the Astra Militarum book at my leisure but, in the meantime I can try out things like inquisition warbands or Assassin kill teams. Index Imperium 2 was well worth the investment
To some of us that’s money they could have saved towards buying something else. Normally one could argue that you should be saving until you got the codex instead, but with the unpredictable nature of GW we weren’t sure how long we’d be waiting for those codexes to arrive. Then there’s the fact that these were announced as a stop gap measure. (IMHO) that meant that the codexes wouldn’t be with us for a rather long time instead of ‘next month’. And finally … with an expected release date *this* close it is kind of weird (from the perspective of… Read more »
I want match play points on the data sheets along with the power points. That alone would encourage me to buy the codexes.
When are GW finally going to go in a more friendly direction and put their rules out for free like many other companies do? And I don’t mean the full rule books with all the lore and hobby stuff in, but just the rules. They should be provided as pdfs on their site to download, and if people want the full lore and hobby sections then they can buy the full books. This should have been expecially true for the indexes, which are temporary stopgaps anyway, and have been created with the sole purpose of being wiped out very soon.… Read more »
Having to pay for new books can get annoying but think from a business perspective how large an income stream their books currently are. To just cut that down to a small percentage overnight could be severely crippling to a company. They are giving rules free with miniatures already and AoS has full free rules. I am sure they will get to full free 40k rules eventually.
A large company like GW is always going to move slowly compared to small games manufacturers.
Basic rules are free to download aren’t they?
http://www.warhammerdigital.com/Downloads/Product/PDF/rules/Warhammer-40k-Battle-Primer-English.pdf
Full Codex for Death Guard is pretty exciting. Hoping they get some sweet new stuff as their list in the Index is sorely light on goodies. Particularly missing heavy support choices like Vindicators & Forgefiends.
I’m eager for the Chaos Space Marine Codex, but with it being available along with a dozen others, somehow leaves me with the feeling this is not THE CSM Codex.
Unless it’s been given full attention on it’s own and comes with fancy new units, etc. still feels like a stop gap unfortunately.
Won’t stop me buying it, but my expectations are low, especially with it having the same cover as the last ‘dex…
Hope for the best. expect the worst. That way you can’t be disappointed… or can you?
Good old fashioned pessimism at its finest.
@timmoth I reckon it’s a full codex. I think that the 10 codices being released between now and the end of the year will have been in development for several months already to make sure they had a packed release schedule. I think the final products will be somewhat akin to the Age of Sigmar battle tomes – hard backed, well produced, packed with background, artwork and painting guides as well as the rules. I know it seems like I am being positive but I just can’t see GW doing anything less than that for what is their flagship product… Read more »
Also, with the fluff having jumped forward so much recently I’m looking forward to reading the background in the new codexes and building up a picture of the new 40k universe. And let’s not forget that within those lovely Death Guard pages are the rules for Mortarion, so we’ll probably be seeing him before the book release or coinciding with it.
From some of the comments here it seems that GW were damned if they do and damned if they don’t. They released a set of index books to make sure people Could play from day one but are now criticised for releasing the first codex too early. Imagine if they hadn’t released the indexes, nobody would have been able to play, or maybe they could have released a load of half arsed free rules for existing armies like they did with Age of Sigmar. Whatever course of action GW took here someone was going to moan. There’s something like 10… Read more »
Personally, I have no problem with them releasing any Codexes so soon. In fact I was surpised none were ready to go at the 8th launch, especially the Marines.
I was more annoyed that the indexes were not available to download for free, when they were always going to be wiped out so soon.
Just leaves a bad taste in the mouth, unless it was the ‘oomie flesh I was just chewing on.
I bought an index, just the one for Astra Militarum and it doesn’t bother me that it may be superceded within 6 months. I knew that real codexes were coming but I got so much more out of the book than just the Astra Militarum rules. There’s loads of other stuff in there that I simply hadn’t considered. I was more than happy to pay £15 for a printed version rather than the pdf.