Unit Reviews: Imperial Armor Aeronautica

I had been relatively impressed with the Badab War 1&2 releases as well as Doom of Mymeara- while not without their flaws (such as the Siege and Tyrant lists), they were a real notch up in terms of rules-writing for Forge World, offering a lot of pretty decent options to players looking to do something unique with their armies without being either over- or underpowered in most cases; it seemed that FW was trending upwards in their understanding of the game and attempts to make their products balanced and usable for everyone. Unfortunately Imperial Armor Aeronautica basically wrecks that trend. Its units vary widely from incredibly broken ("Hi, I'm a flyer with a 2+ cover save!") to utterly worthless (110pts for a twin-linked Burst Cannon and a Markerlight.)

If that were the worst of it, though, it would simply be another early-type Forge World book. However, this time around it really seems that FW simply doesn't know what any of the rules do.

Back to Basics: Valkyries & Vendettas in 6E

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it is a scout-outflanking Flyer gunship with Hover mode that can act as a Fast Skimmer and is an infantry transport.

 

Depending on its mode and speed it can fire four, two, none or all weapons at full ballistic skill, or fire two missiles (but unlike other Flyers, only one at full BS), or fire all weapons at BS1.

And since everybody and their pet-squig is considering allying one into their army, the above should be enough to convince you that it's high time we take a look at the rules and see how they actually work in 6th Edition.

Discussions: Flyers in Warhammer 40,000 6th edition

Dakka

Flyers are one on the really big additions to 6th edition. More than Allies, Fortifcations or Double FoCs, they are something different and new. All of the previously listed items are in some way, reminiscient of something you've dealt with before. Allies are bringing in armies you've played against before. Fortifications are just static tanks/terrain for all intents and purposes. Double FoCs is just more of the same. Flyers though, are new to 40k and are part of the new focus on list building. The issue is, there often aren't many solutions to flyers.