Storming the void!

The last few months have been tempestuous (pun intended) for Imperial Navy and drop troops fans.

Well, you heard and saw it here first... the leak about the Naval Armsmen in the Rogue Trader game came true, and what magnificent models they are! Although they represent privateer troops rather than standard rank and file Aeronautica personnel, their detailed backstories and their kit has so much Imperial Navy lore that any fan can be proud.

Following fast on the heels of Rogue Trader and the Necromunda style game, we were even treated to Black Fortress, which like Rogue Trader is set in the void itself and naturally has more than a few nods and winks to Imperial Navy fans. For starters we have the fabulous character Rogue Trader Janus Draik, followed by one of the best Games Workshop models of the year, Imperial Navigator Espern Locarno, who would make the ultimate Primaris Psyker in any Imperial Navy drop force.

In less positive news.... The ideal rules for playing Imperial Naval infantry on the tabletop in a Warhammer 40,000 game has always been the Elysian Drop Troops, sadly their line was discontinued a few months ago by Forge World. Although many Imperial Guard and Imperial Navy players were upset about this, it has turned the regiment and the miniatures into something of a cult. Forge World updated their website with a somewhat bitter statement, "ONE FINAL DROP".

Consider, however, that the Elysians began life in the lore as GW designer Dave Taylor's personal experiment back in 3RD EDITION, kids! - and in time was eventually made into a real regiment with a real set of miniatures. (Incidentally, their original lore actually portrays them as something like Imperial Naval Infantry, they conducted boarding actions and were equipped with shotguns!) When this blog began, in its earlier incarnation, there were no shortage of detractors that said the Imperial Navy will never have infantry models because the lore does not have Naval Infantry. Well, this blog is full of evidence to prove that is untrue, and we even saw the addition of more keywords that are Imperial Navy related in the miniature range (ASTRA CARTOGRAPHICA, VOIDSMEN-AT-ARMS, and NAVIS NOBILITE) thanks to last year's releases. My prediction is that next year, 2020, will see a major overhaul of the Imperial Guard infantry miniature range and drop troops miniatures will return. For now, we still have the rules for the regiment.

Interestingly, this year's release of the Vigilus campaign has actually added a new opportunity for Imperial Naval infantry on the tabletop in the form of the Tempestus Drop Force. We simply don't have time to detail the rules in this blog update, suffice it to say it makes Valkyrie-accompanied aerial drop infantry extremely effective. Alas, "Stormtroopers" only come in three units; an officer, a command squad, and a standard 5-10 squad. Which means that if you really want a true "drop force", you are best looking into Arvus Lighters, more Valkyries, or Elysian Drop Troops (whilst those rules are still valid).