Much Ado About Nothing?

As the new Space Marine Codex looms in the near future, both the internet and game shops seem to be buzzing with opinions.  The gaming community never seems to be short of opinions, which is appropriate given our passion for the hobby.  After all, many of us spend countless amounts of money and time adding to our collections, painting and refining our tactics and it would be strange for us to be apathetic about changes to the game.  But when a particularly extreme rant surfaced on Facebook, I decided to take a step back and look at whether our complaints have merit.

One of the main concerns I see amongst fellow Templar, is the fear that the Templar identity will be lost once we find ourselves brought back into the Codex Astartes.  Truthfully we've come to expect a lot since breaking out onto our own, and these expectations have only grown as the years have passed without an update.  Dedicated Templar players have ridden through the changing editions and FAQs, and I have no reason to believe that this will drastically change.  There will be a few players who pack up their toys and call it a day, there always are, but this update doesn't have to spell the end of an era.  

On the casual side of things, we shouldn't see too much of a change.  Any of the other various chapters out there seem to have no problem maintaining their identity.  In the world of casual gaming, identity isn't threatened here.  What I see as a possible boon here is the potential for list building.  With the overcosted Marines, Templar players were often forced to make choices between fluffy lists and lists that stood a chance against other marine armies (or even xenos armies).  I first became aware of how far the Templar codex had been left behind when running an instructional game against a new Ultramarine player.  In order to focus on the basics, I helped him build a list and then built the same list.  I found my list so outmatched, I doubt the game was even remotely as fun as it could have been.  With updated costs, the Templar players begin to shape a list that fits with the fluff that we all love.  

Further benefits to being rolled into the big Marine book is the amount of new toys.  I have to believe that I'm not the only Templar player salivating when I go to the game store and picture a Thunderfire Cannon in black.  There are a number of options that have come available over the last two editions and in one move the Templar are joining the 41st millennium.  

Now the move is hardly all positive and my biggest disappointments come in three main areas.  First, I am disappointed about having to buy two separate books to run my army, when one would have worked.  I'll look forward to bonus fluff, but it feels a little bit like a cash grab.  Secondly, I feel slightly cheated that another Marine codex received their own codex this year.  I have no problem with the Dark Angel codex, but it strikes me as odd that they would receive an independent codex while the Templar find themselves rolled.  This combined with how long the Templar went without an update, leaves me a little dissatisfied.  Now whether this feeling is justified or just a sense of self entitlement, who can say.  But what I am most sad about is the lack of new models.  With a new codex the Templar would have been guaranteed some special new toys.  I loved the update the Dark Angels received and I hoped to receive my own special sculpts.  With the current rumors, it seems that cool Templar models will stay in the realm of home-brew kit bashing.  

Above all we, and by that I mean "I", need to remember that everything we know is simply rumors.  Many of the rumors we have come from an early play test.  While I believe we have pretty accurate reports from this playtesting, changes occur.  As I was told by a former play tester, the end result can be drastically different.  I, for one, have given over my despair and look forward to forging some new crusades.

What are your thoughts on the upcoming Marine Codex? Are you optimistic or concerned?  And how do you think it will affect how competitive Templars?  Leave a comment below and thanks for reading!