Farsight Codex Supplement Available For Pre-Order

July 13, 2013 1 Comment

Today, Games Workshop opened pre-orders for the digital edition of their second-ever Codex Supplement: Codex Farsight Enclaves.

I am still somewhat puzzled by the idea of “pre-ordering” a digital book, and a bit disappointed by the lack of a paper version. The art-previews look rather good. Rumours have it, a hardback version of the Farsight Codex may be in the works some weeks (or even months) down the line. This may or may not depend on the success of this digital release?

Another interesting rumour originating from Warseer (I believe) is that Chaos Space Marines may see a supplement for the Black Legion (over and above the Crusade of Fire campaign book).

Codex Supplement: Farsight Enclaves

Here is the official description from the Farsight Supplement on iTunes.

Description

Commander Farsight was once hailed by every Tau caste as a genius warrior-leader without compare. As his career blazed a bloody path across the Damocles Gulf and back again, O’Shovah split away from the Tau Empire, doggedly pursuing the Orks that had killed so many of his Fire caste comrades. It was the first overt sign of a rebellion that was to change the course of Tau history. Embittered and vengeful, Commander O’Shovah formed the planetary systems known as the Farsight Enclaves. Out on the fringes of Tau space, O’Shovah’s battlesuit-led armies were to encounter not only Ork warlords, but also the biological horrors of the Tyranid race and a Warp-spawned foe so terrible it redefined reality.

About this Book:
Farsight Enclaves is a digital supplement to Codex: Tau Empire that features rich and expanded background on this breakaway faction, original art, and the story of the Enclaves’ charismatic leader Commander Farsight.

Also included are new missions and rules to use with your Tau Empire collection in games of Warhammer 40,000, so you can re-enact the great victories of the Enclaves, and lead commander Farsight’s elite battlesuit cadres to glory.

The last part shows that new rules will be included. However, ss with the Iyanden Supplement, the emphasis clearly is on the missions and the ability to “re-enact” the various battles that helped shape the Farsight Enclaves as a distinct sub-faction of the Tau.

Those buying this supplement first and foremost “for the rules” will likely (again) be disappointed.

Are The Black Legion Next?

Black Legion Supplement

As Codex Supplements are getting into their own, it’s only prudent to assume that there will be more. A (more or less) fresh rumour has it there will be a Black Legion Codex Supplement to the Chaos Space Marines Codex.

Whether or not those whispers have any truth to them, many people seem confused by the choice of the Black Legion over a more exotic sub-faction of the Chaos Space Marines, which would offer more scope for new units, new rules, new play-styles, etc.. .

I think Black Legion is fairly plausible, more so than… say… Thousand Sons, precisely because it doesn’t require much differentiation in rules from the standard Chaos Space Marines Codex.

Games Workshop’s emphasis with these supplements appear to be the narrative/historic missions that allow players to “re-enact” iconic events from the Warhammer 40K history, not to offer alternative rules for exotic factions.

A Black Legion supplement with a string of missions allowing players to “re-enact”, say, (parts of) a Black Crusade would certainly fit the format pioneered by Iyanden Codex like a T.

Moreover, Aaron Dembski-Bowden has been known to tweet about his thoughts about launching some form of “non-Horus-Heresy” Black Legion trilogy. Maybe Games Workshop will try to go for a “double-splash” there in marketing new Black Legion products.

Thoughts?

Farsight Enclaves to be arriving on your iPad/Android/etc.. soon (and possibly in your bookshelf later). Whispers of the Black Legion.

Codex Supplements are clearly here to stay, even though it seems Games Workshop is still experimenting with the “digital-vs.-hardcopy” format. If the paper-version don’t sell all that well (after the first excitement has worn off), I can see these books heading towards a “digital-only” format quickly. Would that diminish their popularity? Or boost Games Workshop’s digital range?

Let me know what you think!

Michael Dudek

It certainly will be interesting to watch. Games Workshop probably has the position that they are not really sure how well they will sell, so do not want to do a large print run of physical books and perhaps get stuck with them. At the same time, limiting them to digital and direct only is bound to hurt hard copy sales, as you can’t just pick it up on a whim when you are in your friendly local game store. You have to go to the GW website only to order that specific item. And some people I know just will not do that.

Further hurting hard copy sales is the later/maybe release of the hard copy version, too, if we go by what is being said about the Farsight book. It’s almost like they’re setting the hard copy up to fail. Any die hard Tau players who can will probably pick up the digital one ASAP. More casual players might have forgotten it and moved on to thing of the moment months from now, when/if a physical Farsight book even shows up (around Marine codex date?).

And if judging by the standard of the Iyanden book, these supplements will not be very necessary. Slick, well produced, and filled with a lot of already known fluff. But little actual ‘meaty’ rules or gear. The stuff in the Iyanden book is nice, but not essential, as you’ve already covered here. And I agree, as I do have a copy of the book. It’s very nice, but overpriced, too, for what it is.

It seems GW is trying to walk a delicate line by making the books as they are – putting just enough in it to entice people, but not so much that people that can’t or don’t want to get them don’t feel angry at being left out. But then you risk upsetting the hardcore by not having enough in the book….