White Dwarf #116 Review + INDEX ASTARTES APOCRYPHA

This week sees White Dwarf massively overshadowed by two releases - the 30th Anniversary Space Marine and Index Astartes Apocrypha, a book so steeped in Beardy knowledge it's a real buzz to read. More on that later!
Personally I would have thought extending the Space Marine theme this week would have been a good idea - maybe some colour scheme guides on some minis, more fluff - but no - Games Workshop have chosen today to launch a brand new game, Imperial Knights: Renegade.
Really not sure how smart this is, BUT, I have to say that this does look like a great value bundle if nothing else.
This issue also sees a demonstration of the new game which seems pretty straight forward but also works nicely with the fluff. Reminds me of a larger game of Epic.
Also in this issue a new Betrayal at Calth mission, Readers Models of Imperial Knights, Total War: Warhammer the PC game and more.
++ More After The Jump ++

Imperial Knights: Renegade is, as I said previously, bloody good value. If you were to buy the components for this separately you would be looking at $381 - but as a bundle you get it all for $245 AUD.
Now that's a bundle I can get behind... Looks like Games Workshop are finally working out that putting things in a box and charging the same price as the individuals is not going to work! 
I am very tempted by this - oh so very very tempted...

Away from the new game, the new Citadel 'Ardcase is the new addition to their troop transport range. This is exactly the same as lots of hardcases on the market that are used for technology at frankly a fraction of the price. Just a cursory search of the internet threw up these and I'm sure you can get them cheaper on ebay. The price for this just doesn't make sense.
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The new Citadel Paint + Build sets are quite a good idea - everything you would need to start the hobby.
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​Meanwhile, The Beast Arises continues faster than I can keep up, with book 5 Throneworld available from next week. Can anyone say "Eldar"?

The Total War franchise is a monster and with Warhammer now being part of it in a proper way, this could be big for Games Workshop and Total War. The graphics on this look very nice, and although Total War can be very fiddly in terms of strategy games, this could be great fun. This is of course pre-Age of $igmar! 

Here's the battle report I mentioned earlier for Imperial Knights: Renegade.
This is pretty well put together and good to read. It only makes me want to buy the game more DAMMIIT!

Betrayal at Calth continues to rumble along with new missions. This is how White Dwarf used to release new Space Hulk missions and it's very cool. It gives added value and with the rules the other week for using Astra Militarum, it opens the game up.

Paint Splatter this week is surprisingly good. If you read the Paint Splatters when the Imperial Knights were released then this is nothing new but the section on aging transfers and battle damage is interesting.

Hey look - it's Imperial Knights!! Lots of nice reader's models in here. The photography isn't very flattering, but there is an Imperial Knight in here with War Hounds Legion iconography, so how could I not enjoy seeing that? People really go to town on their Imperial Knights and they look awesome!

Verdict

As I said earlier, this week's White Dwarf is overshadowed by the Space Marine releases, but it's not a bad issue at all.
The Imperial Knights material is good and well put together, the Battle Report is nice and the Paint Splatter is useful.
Overall a good issue and worth your consideration.
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In the Pot of Paint vs. White Dwarf:
White Dwarf

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A note on Index Astartes Apocrypha:
As a Beardy it's often hard to see the things of the past disappear and be reborn differently. Index Astartes Apocrypha not only shines a light on those things but also pays tribute to those who contributed to that rich history.
Despite already owning much of this material I have so much love for this book! There are glimpses of the past with no caveat about how they differ from the current canon - they are just there.

Here's one example: In the past MKV armour was an actual full Mark of armour. It was made and distributed, but due to it's very modular nature and comparative scarcity it could be used with all the previous armour Marks (and some that came later).
There would have been full suits of MKV, partial suits of MKV and just bits of MKV out there on the battlefields. This is why there were models released and artwork of full MKV clad Space Marines.
However the current mythos is that MKV is a loose term used for armour pieced together and modified. This, as this book points out, was not always the case and having it in writing is just awesome.
There are other things too, including past markings and colour schemes that are now out of fashion and a lot of material from Rogue Trader and the very first mentions of the Horus Heresy from Realm of Chaos.
If you're a Space Marine fan or just a fan of the fluff - get this book.