As an existing Grey Knight player i've been keeping a close eye on the various bits of news. I've read and even played with the 'leaked codex' and today we saw whats in store (to a degree). So here's the summary:
The Good
- Elite army, namely the ability to take an all terminator force and the ability to pick a very specific type of army. (rapid movement, resistant, elite 'monsters')
- Fully integrated with existing space marine and grey knight kits
- Modelling options. Even Drago has 2 head choices
- Different, an army made up of space marines, but not a 'Space Marine Army'
- Inquisition. It might not be called 'Codex Inquisition', but make no mistake Inquisition players are getting what they wanted too.
The Bad
- To cool for its own good. Grey Knights have been the obscure, specialist (beardy?!) choice. They could end up being more popular than Ultramarines.
- Overpowered? I'm one of the few people who genuinely trusts the GW properly balance their armies. However I know the conversation that i'll be having with everyone I beat for the next 6 months!
- 4 new kits. The kits themselves are excellent, but surely a 'wave 2' must be on its way?
Conclusion
Make no mistake, this is the most important 40K release since 5th Edition. By re-establishing Grey Knights as the dominant Space Marine chapter they have put a serious new contender into the mix. To a younger player theres the tangible coolness factor, to the older player the ability to have a small and finely crafted army of wonderful miniatures with a more complex set of rules. Finally for the fluff buffs it plays right into the subject matter they like after all most of the RP elements are DeathWatch or Inquisitor.
At the end of the day though the below picture brings it all together.... even Charlotte wants one for her army and she players Orks!
