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Sunday, August 26, 2012

Back-to-Basics: 6th edition 40k Acronyms

Okay guys, we've updated the Acronym page with everything you've given us and some more we could come up whilst editing the post. Here's all the listed ones currently so let's see if we cannot fill it out a bit more for all the new guys coming through.

General Rule Acronyms



#+ - model's save value
#++ - model's invulnerable save value
ATSKNF - And They Shall Know No Fear
AV - Armor Value
B2B/BTB - Base to base (contact)
BRB/BYB - Big Rule/Yellow Book
Dakka/Torrent - lots of shots
FC - Furious Charge
FNP - Feel No Pain
FMC - Flying Monstrous Creature
GEQ - Guardsmen Equivalent (i.e. T3/5+)
HP - Hull Points
ID - Instant Death
IWND - It Will Not Die
LoS - Line of Sight
LoS! - Look out Sir!
MC - Monstrous Creature
Mech - Vehicles
MEQ - Marine Equivalent statline (i.e. T4/3+)
MSU - Multiple Small Units
RCL - Random Charge Length
RGL - Random Game Length
TL - Twin-linked
TLoS - True Line of Sight
WAAC - Win At All Cost
WYISWYG - What You See Is What You Get

General Acronyms

AC - Autocannon (or Assault Cannons)
Assback - Razorback with Assault Cannons
Asscan - Assault Cannons
Bolterback - Razorback with Heavy Bolters
CML - Cyclone Missile Launcher 
DP, DPod or Pod - Drop Pod 
Flamerback - Razorback with twin heavy flamers 
HB - Heavy Bolter
Lasback - Razorback with Lascannon
LasPlas - Razorback with Lascannon, twin-linked plasma guns OR squad with lascannon and plasmagun
LC - Lightning Claw (commonly written as LClaw)
LC/Las - Lascannon
LR or Godhammer or Land Raider Phobos - Land Raider 
LRC - Land Raider Crusader 
LRR - Land Raider Redeemer 
melta/mgun - meltagun
ML - Missile Launcher
MM - Multimelta
PA - Power Armor
PF - Power Fist
Plasmaback - Razorback with Lascannon, twin-linked plasma guns
plasma/pgun - plasma gun
PW - Power Weapon
RBack - Razorback
SS - Stormshield
TDA - Tactical Dreadnought Armor aka Terminator Armor
TH - Thunder Hammer


Specific Army Acronyms

(BT) Black Templars -

EC - Emperor's Champion
PotMS - Power of the Machine Spirit

(BA) Blood Angels -

AB - Attack Bike
ASM - Assault Space Marine or Assault Squad Marine  
ACLC/Autolas Pred - Predator with autocannon and lascannon sponsons 
BP or Baal - Baal Predator 
Dakka Baal - Baal Predator with twin assault cannons and heavy bolter sponsons 
Dakka Pred - Predator with autocannon and heavy bolter sponsons 
DC - Death Company 
DC Dread or DCD - Death Company Dreadnought 
Devs - Devastators 
GE - Glaive Encarmine 
Flame Baal - Baal with Flamestorm cannon 
Hammernators or TH/SS - Assault Terminators with thunder hammers and storm shields 
IP or Infernus - Infernus Pistol 
JP - Jump Pack 
LS or Speeder – Land Speeder 
Mephy - Mephiston 
MMAB – Attack Bike with Multimelta 
PP - Plasma Pistol 
RAS - Regular Assault Squad (not as commonly used anymore) 
SG - Sanguinary Guard or Sternguard
SP or Priest - Sanguinary Priest 
SR or Raven – Storm Raven 
Tac Squad or Tacticals – Tactical Squad 
Vindi - Vindicator 
VV - Vanguard Vets 
WW or Whirly - Whirlwind 

Chaos Daemons -

Fatecrusher - Build relying on fateweaver and a bunch of bloodcrushers
MoS - Master of Sorcery 
WaL - We are Legion
BoT or Bolt - Bolt of Tzeentch
DP - Daemon Prince 
SG - Soul Grinder 
oT, oK, oN, oS, oC - of Tzeentch, of Khorne, of Nurgle, of Slaanesh and of Chaos respectively 
Flying Circus army based upon lots of Flying Monstrous Creatures


(CSM) Chaos Space Marines - 

DP - Daemon Prince
MoCU  - Mark of Chaos Undivided
MoK - Mark of Khorne
MoN - Mark of Nurgle
MoS - Mark of Slaanesh
MoT - Mark of Tzeentch

(DA) Dark Angels -

DW - Deathwing
RW - Ravenwing

(DE) Dark Eldar -

DL - Dark Lance
FF - Flickerfields
PGL - Phantasm Grenade Launcher
NS - Night Shields

Eldar -

BL - Bright Lance
DA or Avengers - Dire Avengers
DAVU - Dire Avengers Vehicle Upgrade
DR or Reapers - Dark Reapers
EML - Eldar Missile Launcher
Falc - Falcon Grav Tank
FD or Dragons - Fire Dragons
Footdar - Eldar army based on foot
GJB - Guardian Jet Bike
HB or Shees - Howling Banshees
Jetcouncil - Seer Council on Bikes
Jetseer - Farseer on a Jetbike
Mechdar - Eldar army based on vehicles
PL - Phoenix Lord
Prism - Fire Prism
SC - Shuriken Cannon
Seer Council - squad of Warlocks often led by Farseer
SL - Scatter Lasers
Spears - Shining Spears
Spiders - Warp Spiders
SS or Scorps - Striking Scorpions
SW or Hawks - Swooping Hawks
underslung/chin cannon - upgraded Shuriken Cannon on vehicles
WL - Wraithlord
WS or Serpent - Wave Serpent
WW - War Walkers


(GK) Grey Knights -

DH - Nemesis Daemon Hammer
Halb - Nemesis Halberd
Stave - Nemesis Warding Stave
Psyback - Razorback with psybolts and a twin-linked heavy bolter  
Passback - Razorback with twin-linked assault cannons and Psybolts 
Psyfledread - Dread w/two twin-linked autocannons and Psybolts 
GKGM - Grey Knight Grand Master 
GKSS - Grey Knight Strike Squad 
GKT - Grey Knight Terminators 
PAGK - Power Armoured Grey Knight  
Psybolt - Psybolt Ammunition


(IG) Imperial Guard -

BiD - Bring it Down
CCS - Company Command Squad 
PCS - Platoon Command Squad 
MBT - Russ main battle tank (standard variant) 
HWT - Heavy Weapon Team 
SWS - Special Weapon Squad
Chim - Chimera
Detta - Vendetta
Flashlight - Lasgun
FOMT - Fire on my Target
FRFSRF - First Rank, Fire! Second Rank, Fire!
GBITF - Get Back in the Fight
Manti - Manticore
RR - Rough Riders 
ST - Storm Troopers
Vets - Veteran Squad


Necrons -

CCB - Catacomb Cmmand Barge. 
RP - Reanimation Protocols (may still get called WWB, or We'll Be Back, the similar rule from the last codex that was more fun to say). 
somethingTEK - Any of the various Harbringer upgrades to a Cryptek. Cryptek with Harbinger of the Storm shortens to Stormtek, Cryptek with Harbinger of Destruction becomes Lancetek (named after its weapon, the Eldritch Lance), etc. 
RO or Orb - Resurrection Orb. 
PS - Phase Shifter (3++ save) 
SW or Semp Weave - Sempiternal Weave (2+ save) 
ES - Entropic Strike 
WS - Warscythe. 
PS/DS - Phase Sword and Dispersion Shield combination for Lychguard. 
EL - Ever-living 
MSS - Mindshackle scarabs  



Orks -

KFF - Kustom Force Field
PK - Power Klaw

(SoB) Sisters of Battle -

(SM) Space Marines -

TH/SS - Thunderhammer/Stormshield Terminators
Rifleman - Dreadnought with 2x twin-linked autocannons

(SW) Space Wolves -

CotS - Chooser of the Slain
RP - Rune Priest
TW/C - Thunderwolf Cavalry
WL - Wolf Lord 
Thunderlord - Wolf Lord mounted on a Thunderwolf
WG - Wolf Guard 
WGPL - Wolf Guard Pack Leader 
WGBL - Wolf Guard Battle Leader 
LF - Long Fangs 
GH - Grey Hunters 
BC - Blood Claws 
WP - Wolf Priest 
JoWW - Jaws of the world wolf, some times just called jaws. 
LL - Living Lightening 
MH - Murderouse Huricane 
Loganwing - Army built around a solid base of WG and Logan Grimnar. The latter enabling WG to be taken as troops.  




Tyranids -

BS -Bonesword
SC - Syanpse Creature
HG - Hive Guard
SitW - Shadow in the Warp
TS - Toxin Sacs
AG - Adrenal Glands
Dev - Devourer
HT - Hive Tyrant
Devilgaunt - Termagants with Devourers
IB - Instinctive Behaviour
VC - Venom Cannon
HVC - Heavy Venom Cannon
CS - Cluster Spines
LW - Lash Whip 
Terv - Tervigon
Tfex - Tyrannofex


Tau -

ASS - Advanced Stabilisation System 
BSF - Blacksun Filter
BC - Burst Cannon 
BK - Bonding Knife 
DC - Drone Controller 
F - Flamer 
FB - Fusion Blaster
GD - Gun Drone 
HW - Hard Wired 
IA - Iridium Armour 
MD - Marker Drone 
ML - Markerlight
MP - Missile Pod  
MT - Multi Tracker 
PR - Plasma Rifle 
PR - Positional Relay 
TA - Targetting Array 
TL - Target Lock, also Team Leader, these must be figured out contextually 
SD - Shield Drone 
SG - Shield Generator 
Stimms - Stimm Injectors 


Comments (35)

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Orks - MANZ = Mega Armored Nobz

Dakkawagon = Battlewagon with maximum firepower
5 replies · active 661 weeks ago
Also on the Ork abbreviations
DeathWagon: Wagon with a DeffRolla
KillWagon: Wagon with a Kill Kannon.

Not terribly common, but I do see them around.
This is actually the first time I've seen those. You can safely assume that all battlewagons have a deff rolla unless noted otherwise, and none should have a killkannon.
Agree, in addition:
Boomwagon/Boomgun - Looted Weagon with a boomgun
BP - Boss Pole
CB - cybork bodies (though not that common)
MA Warboss - Mega Armoured Warboss
SAG - Big Mek carrying a Shokk Attack Gun

In addition, I'm kind of missing TEQ, referring to 2+/5++/T4 models.
Are... there that many models with terminator defensive stats that aren't... terminators?
Some people toss units wearing Artificer Armor in with them, others even things like Paladins and MANz. It's kind of a "plasma is good at killing these things"-label. I did not invent it, but it does get used commonly.
Besides, there aren't that many MEQ that are not marines either ;)
I was caught out by Lanceteks, always thought they were called Destructeks.

However, 'Icon of Chaos Undivided'? It's Chaos Glory, dammit!
1 reply · active 661 weeks ago
I've never heard Destructek before, probably because its so close to Despairtek, plus it makes it easier to differentiate the only piece of important wargear; I have 4 Lanceteks and 1 Pulsetek in this RC etc.
Brett Favre's avatar

Brett Favre · 661 weeks ago

Passback always makes me think of American football.
Imma keep trying to get Lazorback to catch on. It just sounds cooler.
Auretious Taak's avatar

Auretious Taak · 661 weeks ago

Combi-weapons as:

CbM - Combi-melta
CbPG - Combi-Plasma
CbF - Combi-Flamer

Used a lot with Wolf Guard units especially mixed armament ones in large numbers. Also:

PG - Plasmagun
MG - Meltagun
PC - Plasma Cannon
BP - Bolt Pistol

for Space Wolves, Jaws of the World Wolf is also very commonly abbreviated as:

JotWW - Jaws of the World Wolf
So very, very few of these are actually acronyms...
5 replies · active 661 weeks ago
Um. most of them are, at least according to Wiki's (arguable) definition of an acronym. Blended word fragments (Like "Interpol") are acryonyms.

Apparently.

This means the only ones that aren't are the two saves, and the ones that are just words in their own right. Like "stave". But eh?
Feel free to educate yourself! This link's on the house:
http://www.lyberty.com/encyc/articles/abbr.html
"Acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations formed from the initial components in a phrase or a word. These components may be individual letters (as in CEO) or parts of words (as in Benelux and Ameslan). There is no universal agreement on the precise definition of the various terms (see nomenclature) nor on written usage (see orthographic styling). In English and most other languages, such abbreviations have historically had limited use, but their coinage and use became much more common in the 20th century. As a type of word formation process, acronyms and initialisms are viewed as a subtype of blending."

From Wiki.

Given neither of our sources are any real authority......
Oxford English Dictionary: if it can be pronoun ed as a new word it it is an acronym (NASA, laser) if youhave to pronounce each letter it is an initialism (FBI, UK).
I'm aware.
However, dictionaries run into problems of ACTUAL usage as opposed to Dictionary usage. The common usage of acronym is unagreed. And frankly, given this isn't a formal essay site...I don't think worrying too much about precise dictionary usage over common usage is appropriate.

Worse, that definition falls apart very quickly, because Initialisms become Acryonyms if at all possible (URL is frequently pronounced as a word).

Essentially, while it is techincally correct to say that they are not acronyms, it is SO technical, that the only reasons someone would bring up the difference - a nondifference in real usage - is either pedantry or to try and look superior.
Something tells me TL is not gonna mean Target Lock much longer, unless there's an faq I don't know about
Maybe you want to change the thread name to Abbreviations and Acronyms so the pedantic crew don't get there nickers in a twist again.
2 replies · active 661 weeks ago
I think you mean "their knickers". =p
Auretious Taak's avatar

Auretious Taak · 661 weeks ago

Maybe he actually meant those nickers over there, because getting them in a twist is gonna be bad.
IndigoJack's avatar

IndigoJack · 661 weeks ago

Shouldn't "look out sir!" be abbreviated "LOS!" instead of "Los!"? I don't think "out" is one of those minor words that don't get capitalized. Also:

PP = Plasma Pistol
3 replies · active 661 weeks ago
"Look out, sir!" is a sentence, therefore no capitalization after the first word is where he's coming from, I think.
IndigoJack's avatar

IndigoJack · 661 weeks ago

Doh, I forgot to capitalize the S in "LoS!" Also, in the BYB, Out is capitalized. It's not really a big deal, I just demand consistency!
I think LoutS is funnier, and more diverse from LOS.

:D
PosRel is clearer than PR, which infringes on Plasma Rifle. I know context will probably make it clear, but still
:)

I also write MM for Multi Melta, but Mg for Melta Gun. Likewise for PC and Pg, etc. It just adds another level of distinction.
the dark angel's avatar

the dark angel · 661 weeks ago

You missed a certain Dark Eldar one that makes everyone happy.
THANK YOU! The... 'over use' isn't the right word, the blatant laziness as displayed by the constant reliance on acronyms was driving me to stop reading 3++ for the simple reason that I couldn't understand what the hell you people were talking about!

'the DP IDed the DA before taking a BL.' I'm sorry, are we talking about Black Legion? Dark Angels? Eldar? I'd still prefer that you guys just drop the short hand entirely as it makes you look incredibly lazy, but a list of acronyms is at least a conciliatory bone tossed to those of us that didn't grow up with 1337 speak.
6 replies · active 661 weeks ago
While I kind of agree, most of these aren't really just 3++ terms, though. They're community things that, as a whole, a large chunk of the online 40k fanbase use. Many terms are even semi-official (WYSISYG, TLoS, etc) or legacy from older editions (Devilgaunt), so it's not like they're being made up for this purpose. I would agree to putting this somewhere clear and at the top of the page, though, for those who get confused.

I feel that if we're including WAAC, we should also include 'fluff' as a term, also. It comes up a lot that you've got Fluff vs WAAC games at shops and what not. "Faith", "Exo", "Dom", "Ret", and "Immo" could all conceivably count for SoB terms, but they're really just the name shorter, so I don't know if that counts.

Also, I know your really trying to push BYB, but is it really catching on at all? I think it's more important to push "GI Joe Playset" more... *laugh*
Oh don't misunderstand me, I'm not placing the blame solely on 3++, but at the same time it's not 3++'s fault that other people do it as well. Like if you don't like the writing style of a writer at a newspaper. Does it make a difference that other writers at other newspapers use similar styles? Nope. You still don't like reading the style in question. I have just run across more and more posts on various sites that rely on these short hand acronyms to the point of it becoming txt-speak. If you don't already know the meaning of the phrase, then "the DP IDed the DA before taking a BL" doesn't tell you anything. There's a concept in writing, I've run across it in term paper writing but I've been lead to believe that it prevails in all forms of writing: "Write for your audience, not for yourself." Yeah great. You know what you mean when you say "the DP IDed the DA before taking a BL". Does anyone else who reads that same passage know it?
Do you have a link to where that "the DP IDed the DA before taking a BL" sentence came from?
not right off hand. It was on a battle report I read on a forum. I can try and track it down. I was just using it as an example of my point.
That's bad writing form for an actual article, but keep in mind the reason that many of these are terms that you might type out dozens or hundreds of times. Writing Death Cult Assassins twenty or thirty times is not just a lot of work for the writer, it's repetitive and cluttering for the reader as well- hence why commonly-used phrases are so often shortened into acronyms or jargon.

Admittedly, it does make the terminology obtuse to those less steeped in the culture, but that's where you have to be considering your audience. If you're writing a post about why saturation is a good tactic- yeah, go easy on the jargon. But if you're discussing the relative merits of two narrow lists in reference to a specific format? If someone doesn't get the abbreviations, it's unlikely they have the game knowledge needed to really parse the arguments therein anyways, so it's moot.

See, I read "the DP IDed the DA before taking a BL" and know instantly what it means. How and to what degree you use such shorthand really is a matter of style and audience.
G.I. JOE PLAYSET!!!
Tau
Fireknife xv8- pr mp mt
Deathrain xv8- TL mp ta

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