News: Latest on IG and Scions

Charge up your lasguns because the Imperial Guard are a mere days away! Let's check out the latest info:

The new White Dwarf is out and focuses heavily on the new Scions and their already maligned 'Taurox' transport. The internet was abuzz with possible stats and the usual doom and gloom that tends to precede a codex release, perhaps even more so as GW is releasing an expansion codex ahead of the main codex for the first time.

So is it all as bad the internet experts say? Not quite so fast. Let's take a look at the major gripe so far: the Taurox/Taurox Prime.

This is one very light tank.

Rules

Taurox
AV: 11/10/10
BS:3 HP:3
Fire ports:2 per side, Access points: side, rear
Reroll Difficult Terrain tests
Transport Capacity: 10
Twin-Linked Autocannon
May be used by any IG squad who can access a Chimera
50pts

Taurox Prime
AV: 11/10/10
BS:4 HP:3  Fast
Fire ports:2 per side, Access points: side, rear
Reroll Difficult Terrain tests
Transport Capacity: 10
Taurox Battle Cannon (S7 AP4, Blast), Linked Hot-shot Volley gun
Upgrade  Taurox Battle Cannon to:
Taurox Gatling Cannon (S4 AP-- Heavy10) +10pts
Taurox Missile Launcher (same as Cyclone) +20pts
May be used by any Scions or Scions Command Squad
80pts

With only an Armor of 11 on the front and 10 on the sides/rear the Taurox definitely lacks in the resilience department. We will have to hope that both this expansion codex and the main army will still allow you to field enough serous threats so that the Taurox will drop down on the priority target list. The regular Taurox comes with a twin-linked autocannon which isn't all that scary as a Chimera will get you both S6 and S5 shooting in greater quantities. Those two S7 shots just won't be all that impressive. A standard transport capacity means you're at best transport a small Ogryn squad which would seem at odds with how much GW wants to push the new kits. Again, we'll reserve judgment for now, but being able to deliver large quantities of Ogryn/Bullgryn across the board safely would appear to be quite important otherwise their usefulness remains questionable.

With the Taurox Prime things get a bit more interesting (and more expensive). We jump up to 80pts for the base vehicle and get BS4 and Fast standard. The extra speed will certainly help with delivery and getting across the table but when the vehicle as a whole is so fragile one has to wonder if the cost/effectiveness ratio of this new transport will replace Chimeras (assuming Chimeras don't get nerfed in some way...). 

The Prime also has a host of weapon upgrades which give it some more utility but also jump the points up to levels where one has to really struggle to justify taking the unit at all. A small scale battle cannon just isn't going to do enough damage as Guard can already saturate the board with so many large templates. The Hot-shot volley gun is going to be a fun addition to these vehicles and the infantry in particular as S4 AP3 torrent 2/4 will put a dent in some meq squads. 

My personal favorite is the gatling cannon. It's only S4 AP- but at ten shots and BS4 you should be able to soften up some larger units or force a lot of saves on more elite units. The missile launcher gives it plenty of reach across the board but is also the most expensive upgrade. I guess you could park a bunch of these primes on/under a skyshield and blast away across the board while holding an objectives. At 100 points a piece though it remains questionable. 

What do you guys think of the rules so far? As a long time Guard player I'm waiting with both excitement and a bit of trepidation as to how GW will update the main codex.