If you’re a dedicated Warhammer 40k player who doesn’t have the time to get into another wargame, you may have looked on with longing in your heart when Games Workshop revealed the truly gorgeous forces of Grand Cathay at Adepticon last month. If so, you can stop your pining now – a fan creator has written an entire Codex dedicated to using those models in games of Warhammer 40k.
The premise for translating the army to the Warhammer 40k universe is pretty simple. After the destruction of the Old World by Chaos during the End Times, Miao Ying the Storm Dragon is catapulted through the warp. Instead of ending up in the Age of Sigmar like the other Old World gods and heroes, she lands in the grim darkness of the far future. Disappointed by everything she sees, she sets about creating her own, less awful empire.
Codex Heavenbound Hosts is an unofficial Warhammer 40k Codex, complete with army rules, detachments, datasheets, and even lore for all the recently revealed Cathay units. The book is the work of Firesinger, a prolific Fandex creator, and is available to download from their blog.
We haven’t tested it at all, so we can’t speak to its balance. It seems like it is at least a thematic and interesting Warhammer 40k faction. The Datasheets are divided into Ying and Yang units, and the Army Rule ‘Compliments of the Stars’ gives your forces benefits when they’re within six inches of a complimentary unit. Yin units get +1 BS, and Yang units get +1 WS, when they’re buddied up with a unit of the other type.
It’s nice and simple, and reflects some of the mechanics for the Cathay Total War: Warhammer III faction. It’s also the kind of design that Games Workshop has been putting onto newer Warhammer 40k detachments themed around complimentary unit types, such as the Day of Ascension for Genestealer Cults or Carnival of Excess for the Emperor’s Children.
Speaking of detachments, Firesinger has created four, focusing on different elements of the Cathay model range. The Eternal Bastion is all about the colossal Terracotta Sentinels; Azure Tempest focuses on the many fast-moving and aerial units; The Dragon’s Fang is packed with elite shock troops; and the Argent Accord puts more emphasis onto Cathay’s hugely oversized artillery.
While I’m very tempted by the Cathay miniatures, I happen to like Warhammer: The Old World, so if I get any Cathayan forces that’s the game I’ll use them for. But if you’re a purist Warhammer 40k player, these fan rules give you a reason to consider them – other than the joy of painting miniatures, of course!
Is there a Fandex that you’re particularly fond of? Are you planning to try these rules out? Or do you have some awesome conversions in mind for the Cathay miniature range when it releases? We’d love to hear your stories in the official Wargamer Discord server.