How to analyse your codex

How do you choose an army and subfaction and how do you

use your codex to create an army list.

How will you play 40k?:

● Narrative Play - you build a list to represent historical armies in the lore of the warhammer 40,000
universe. These could be based on novels, audiobooks, animated series and even video games.
You would research the lore of your army and pick units that fit within that lore. Your priority is to
have a themed army and the outcome of the game is less important.
● Open Play - you just want to put models in your collection together and quickly play games
without having to worry too much about points values and micromanaging your equipment. Open
Play offers a small level of balance as each unit's equipment is not considered when comparing
their ‘power level’. Great for pick up games and just playing 40k with mates or your kids! Not
great for refining competitive lists
● Matched Play - Sometimes called competitive play, competitive just means there is more focus on
playing to win a game and more balance using the points value system. A model's capability and
their equipment are given points values to represent how effective they are in battle. This leads to
balanced and very interesting games where player skill becomes a winning factor. If you want to
micromanage your army and test your mettle as a commander against other players, then this is
for you. This type of play is the focus of the Vanguard Tactics Academy.

Choosing your army:

● Pick a faction and then a subfaction e.g. Space Marines and then Ultramarines. Craftworld Eldar
and then Biel-tan
● Make this choice based on how you want to play and maybe do some research into whether the
army you like the look of, also plays the way you want to play. If you want to play Space Marines
because you like their look or aesthetic but want to play a fast paced shooting and combat army
then you might pick the White Scars Chapter
● It’s important that you like the look of the army you chose as it will inspire you to paint your
models. If you ever go to an event or your local shop, painted models are encouraged and
sometimes mandatory!
● If you want to get a head start in competitive play you can look at the Meta and which units might
be more popular than others. This might give you ideas of what you can expect to face and the
tools you might need to deal with it. It might even make you consider popular units to put in your
own army!
● Try not to ‘Meta chase’. Using only the strongest units and purchasing the latest powerful builds is
certainly one way to play but it won’t build your skills as a player and can lead to you having a
crutch that you need to win. If you can analyse the Meta and adapt your army or playstyle to suit
it then it will save you time and money and also improve your abilities at the table
Analysing your army rules:
● After picking your faction or subfaction, look at the rules associated with them
● Note down your Army wide abilities e.g. Space Marines all have the ‘Angels of Death’ special
rules regardless of their individual Chapter
● Note down your ‘keyword’ abilities. These are associated with your subfaction and can be found
in your codex. E.g. White Scars units have the ‘Lightning Assault’ special rule which allows them
to charge even after advancing or falling back and allows them to fire assault weapons without
penalty if they advance. The Keyword special rule should be what gives away the playstyle of that
subfaction and will likely be why you chose them (other than paint scheme perhaps)
● Many armies also have ‘monofaction’ bonuses which are only gained if your entire army has the
same subfaction keyword. E.g. If your entire army is from the White Scars chapter then your units
gain the ‘Devastating Charge’ ability which boosts the damage characteristic of their melee
weapons by 1 when they’re in the assault doctrine. These bonuses are usually very powerful and
worth sticking to one faction for. Some factions don’t yet have these bonuses and some factions
can mix subfactions and still gain such abilities like Drukhari. These are rare and can be
something that draws interest to a faction.

What can you put in your army?:

Now that you’ve chosen your army and subfaction and know the special rules and abilities
that are applied to the army because of that choice you need to look at what units you can
include in your army. Time to do the following:

Obtain and read the books you need:

● Army Codex
● Codex Supplement
● Forgeworld Index
● Campaign Books containing ‘Armies of Renown’

Read every unit entry:

● Look for specialist units - combat, shooting, movement or psychic?

● Look at unit special abilities - do they synergise with your army special rules?
● Look at unit equipment - which of these do you like the look of?
● Look at special characters - are there any that are specific to your subfaction?

Read Weapon Profiles:

● What weapons do these units have - do any stand out?

● How many shots do they have, what AP and what damage?
● Can you get a mix of weaponry or specialise a unit with its weapon loadout?
Categorising your units:
Time to group your units into their roles in your army and note what specialism or
tactical ability they give you. We recommend the following categories but encourage
you to add your own. These can be based off datasheets or any stratagems you could
use on those units

● Melee Threat
● Shooting Threat
● Psychic Threat or Defence
● Deepstriking Capability
● Infiltrating Capability or pre-game move
● Indirect Fire?
● Ignores Cover
● Objective Secured?
● Bodyguard Rule or Ignore Look Out Sir

It can be really useful to put sticky notes with these categories on in your codex so you get a
general idea of units that can fill multiple roles or units that are your only way to fill certain
roles.

Warlord Traits and Relics:

Look at all the warlord traits and relics in your codex

● Do any synergise well with your faction's special rules or playstyle?

● Do any traits affect friendly units? How many?
● Do they give something you couldn’t get anywhere else?
● Focus on traits that make your other units more effective, rather than trait that buff your character
● Try to combine your traits and character abilities to stack abilities - E.g a Space Marine Captain
allows friendly units to reroll ones to hit within 6” so pick a warlord trait that also affects friendly
units within 6”

What Characters will help your army?:

Examine your character datasheets again. Add a note to each or write down one that
stand out:

● Do any characters have abilities that synergise with your army?

● Do they have any psychic powers you need? How many?
● Do you need more than one of any of these characters?
● Do any characters have abilities that push other units to become better?