Bolter Wars

  Well, isn't that interesting?  Games Workshop recently released a new beta involving my favorite army with my favorite weapon.  And I think this may actually be one of the best 'rules adjustments' that GW has ever done.

  In case you're not sure there's precedent- remember that Space Marines were originally T3 models until a White Dwarf article way back in the Rogue Trader (1st edition) days, and Terminators didn't have an invulnerable save in 3rd edition until a White Dwarf article introduced the Crux Terminatus rule.  Beyond introducing races into the game (what's up, Necrons?), that magazine has contributed some pretty game-changing aspects to the rules.

  Now it should be noted here that this rule is "beta".  That means it is here for the joy of testing and giving feedback to the developers and there is no guarantee that this rule will ever become official.  Some of my favorite batrep sites don't use beta rules and exclusively use what's printed and I can totally understand that.  But we use beta rules around here since they're meant to represent the 'evolution' of the game and we want to be prepared to play other gamers when we ascend into the real world.  Plus, most of the other beta rules were transferred directly into the rules through the Chapter Approved, so it's a safe assumption that this rule will be as well.

Here it is in case you haven't seen it seven thousand times already:

  Basically, this just means that Space Marines (or their heretic ilk) gain some special abilities with their bolters outside the normal Rapid Fire rules.  Like normal, you get double shots if the unit is within half range of the target.  But now, those Astartes get double shots if they stand still (that's out to max range, by the way) or always if they just happen to be a Terminator or biker.  Or vehicle.  Like a Land Raider Crusader.

  Now I'm not the smartest guy and I originally read this to mean that Space Marines get to double their doubled shots.  I forgot the first part of that second sentence "Instead of following the normal rules for Rapid Fire weapons...".  Apparently, I wasn't the only one with reading comprehension issues as this interpretation turned into a debate online for a bit.  I was set straight by a buddy that reads the rules a little too well.  Okay, finally got it.  Not too shabby.

  So I can go on and on about who are the best recipients of this rule and whether it's game-breaking or not.  The first one is a dead horse that I don't really want to beat anymore.  But the second point?  Well, I don't think it's really game-breaking at all.  Let me explain.

  So a regular 13-point Space Marine with a bolter can stand still and put out two S4 shots at 24".  An Intercessor with a bolt rifle, costing 17 points, can put out two S4, AP 1 shots out to 30".  Does this compare to the seven points for an Ork or five for a Guardsman or Cultist (the Guardsman can shoot twice if ordered and the Cultist can get +1 to both hit and wound with a bit of voodoo)?  The problem with Space Marines is that they're pretty good at everything so their points cost has to reflect that.  But the entire game is filled with Space Marine-killers and they pay less points just out of sheer fact that whatever's holding the weapon is cheap (Tau) and the gun is cheap ("That causes how much damage?!").  It's not about the points, it's just how wargaming works.  Hordes have a higher ceiling than elites.

  So I think that this is a great way to give those 'elites' a higher ceiling without having to monkey with points or introducing even more cheesy weapons into the game.  All in all, it just helps narrow that natural gap between hordes and elites.  It's game-changing, but not at all game-breaking (in that negative way, like Castellan Knights...).

  Even then, that's not why I'm such a fan of this rule.  I'd rather waste your time talking about why this was such a fantastic addition to the game.  And just like above, I'll show you how it's as impactful as the previous White Dwarf incidents.

  In the original lore for Space Marines, they weren't yet what they are today.  They were typically just really tough dudes, often criminals of the worst kind, psychoindoctrinated and filled with combat stims to go smash alien face.  Someone, at some point, thought that they could be so much more and the concept of genetically-engineered super soldiers became the focus.  Publish an article that uses this rationale to change that all-too-human T3 to a tougher, meaner T4 and BAM!  You have the entire foundation stat for the game!

  3rd Edition was released when I went off to college and it changed... everything.  While there were some similarities (like most of the stat-line), the game became more 'generalized' and less granular.  Suffering from this was Terminators.  They went from having a unique armor save that kept them alive against even lascannons to having a bog-standard 2+, which was cancelled out by plasma weapons and even power swords.  Thankfully, it wasn't long before someone realized that the invulnerable Tactical Dreadnought armor was quite vulnerable and I came back from college to a 5+ invulnerable save.  BAM!  That became the standard for invulnerable saves and the primary reason to take the 40-point models back in those days.  Chaos Lords seemed to prefer the Terminator armor for some reason after that...

  Now here we are in 8th edition where everything has again changed (except most of the stat-line).  While the game didn't suffer vanillization like 3rd edition did to it, it did lose some of the charm for certain units.  And that natural gap between hordes and elites?  This edition has made that weakness much more glaring.  And here's what it comes down to-

number of shots

  Hordes have a higher ceiling because they come with some sort of specialty (shooting in the case of Guard and attacks in the case of greenskins) which, with numbers, allows them to overwhelm the elites.  Meanwhile, elite armies don't have enough shots or rounds to get off shots to even match the number of models the hordes can bring!  Sure, the elites usually have good armor saves which allow them to survive.  And hordes don't usually have good armor or toughness, so die quickly.  Except that the horde hits with 40 attacks against a 5-man squad of elites with 3+ saves.  Failing a third of those saves by probability means that the elites have to hope that those 40 hits only turn into 12 wounds and that they roll well.  The elites attack the horde with 10 attacks from whatever size unit into a horde and 6 die.  And?  Six down and dozens more to go...

  This means that the elites simply need a way to match that number of shots to that number of models in the target better.  This rules does that great.  

  But there's more.  For me, it's all about the narrative.  One of the things that used to drive me nuts was that the Space Wolves had True Grit and Counter-charge as special rules.  I play Ultramarines- the best armed, trained, and planned warriors in the galaxy.  Yet only the barbaric and not altogether bright Wolves were able to rock their rifles with one hand and help their battle-buddy when charged.  Yeah, that made sense.  There's none of that in this edition anymore, so no big deal.  It just never made sense to me in the fluff.  

  Today, the fluff shows that the average Imperial Guardsman has had two weeks of training en-route to a battlezone with their lasguns.  An Ork rebuilds his shoota at least twice per battle.  Even the Eldar go back to making pottery in between attempting genocide on somebody.  But a Space Marine never puts his bolter down.  It's gene-coded to him so only he can use it.  It's a club as well as a ranged weapon, and it carries the same honorifics as a legendary warrior.  And they've been using it for somewhere around hundreds of years.  They know how to use that bolter a bit better than the Canoness on her best day or the Tallarn Sergeant after killing Orks for a cycle or three.  

  Just like the Space Marines being tougher because they should be tougher and the Terminators are more survivable because they're supposed to be more survivable than regular armor, the ability of a Space Marine to use that boltgun should be represented in the rules.  For me, this rule is fully justified from the fluff and works.  

  Now let's talk about one unit that I would really like to see make its comeback- the Terminators.  I have always been in love with these guys, now having a fully painted 3k Deathwing army and another 3k in Ultramarine Terminators waiting for the paint.  When I really got into this game at the end of 2nd edition, Terminators were the best of the best and were worth every point and penny.  They lost favor as the editions progressed until today, where they're almost never used.  The reasons are obvious- multi-wound weapons and copious amounts of rending makes these models less survivable than before.  And they never really put out a ton of damage, even with assault cannons gaining an extra shot.  

  But this rule means that those storm-bolter-wielding Terminators can really cause some damage to the enemy hordes.  A 175-point squad could be laying down as many as 20 shots, adding re-rolls with some smart play, and BAM!  Damage output doubled.  And here's the best part- they don't have to teleport to take advantage of this!  Ever wanted a 'distraction-carnifex' unit for Space Marines?  Found it!  

  Overall, I couldn't be happier with this beta rule.  It's inclusive, but only to Space Marines of both varieties and all their vehicles.  It's not game-breaking but it does help to close an obvious gap in the meta.  And it fulfills the narrative 'fluff' aspect that got me and keeps me into this game.  I'm excited to use it...

Let me know what you think below and Happy Gaming!