Aias

Same here. Been saving for a year and more at this point, so I've got plenty to get the big box plus accoutrements, and maybe even some of these other later releases as well.

Alpha Legion and Blood Angels here, though I'm planning on turning the new box into a Shattered Legions force, loyalist Siege of Terra so more BA, Imperial Fists, and White Scars

Yeah, the font is really similar but is distinct. The Heresy one, in particular, has an "old ink damaged in places" feel to it. But in the small image on Sunday, they are similar enough that it's just another knife twist when combined with the color scheme.

Me, to GW:

Most of what I've seen this week has been mostly expected. They've been talking about the Sisters and Beast Snaggas for a while previously; from what I gather the AOS stuff was fairly pedestrian (I don't follow it, so I'm not as sure there), and the specialist games stuff was if not already known at least not entirely unexpected. We all knew that Marines and Eldar would eventually come to AI (though I am glad that it's the Heresy-era planes that they're using instead of the 40k era ones), and the Necromunda and Underworlds stuff wasn't out of left field either. The only real surprises for me so far have been the Ghosts' sculpts (which are amazing and I'm going to have to buy) and the Cadian upgrades. While less than was needed, it's still nice to see the IG get any love at all. So while I don't have high hopes - or really any hopes - for Saturday's preview, I'm still gonna be watching. If nothing else, they can break my heart again.

They already do that. There's the Mechanicum Taghmata list and the Crusade Imperialis list which cover those groups. Like the Astartes army list, though, they need to be updated.

Hang together, or hang separately?

...imma turn this guy into a traitor Ultramarine esoterist...

Yes, but what about my basic Sicaran Battle Tanks? The Punisher and Omega are fine and dandy (though as has been said, the Omega needs an upgrade), but maybe I just want my basic tank to have some friends, too? Do agree, it'd be a bit much for the Arcus, and the Venator is likely best served as a lone tank, but the base MBT could use the ability.

My current list of changes I'd like to see: *Headhunters need a rework; they're just not as good as Seekers, when they really are supposed to be. *Laerneans are decent, but are underwhelming compared to other options. I'd love to see them get a slight boost - maybe a second wound? For their supposed uses in background fluff, they're just not survivable enough. *Angel's Tears, for as much as I love them, are too cheap for what they can do. There's no reason to *not* take them if you have the option. *Breachers need a points reduction. *Can we squadron our Sicarans yet? At least the original version? I wants to run more of them. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten a game in for over six months which makes me sad, so I don't have any more general recommendations. But an FAQ anytime soon would be nice.

I'd argue that the best AL novel was The Serpent Beneath, but I'll grant you Praetorian on the technicality that Serpent was a novella, not a full novel.

That's what I assumed, but wanted to ask for more wisdom than my meager ability score would allow. Thank you!

So, this is more a rules question, I guess, but it is definitely Alpha Legion specific. When you steal a unit for Coils from the Thousand Sons (in this particular instance, I've stolen some Khentani Blade Occult), how does their psychic ability work? There's a note on their Brotherhood of Psykers rule that says "generate psychic powers from one of the Thousand Sons disciplines", but I'm not using the Thousand Sons Legiones Astartes rule. So do I just pick a discipline and generate my power? Or am I actually restricted by the Thousand Sons rules?

I'm in the planning/testing stages for a traitor Ultramarine force, using an Esoterist and allied Ruinstorm Daemons. Picturing caught away from Calth when the Ruinstorm hit, daemon lord gets to their former Librarian, they all get corrupted somewhat, that sort of thing. Should be a fun little project.

Are you using Coils just for the re-roll on Seize and the minus to enemy reserves? Because locking your Mutable Tactics to being Infiltrate is a big cost for having that bonus, especially with Alpharius on the field as well. I would either swap your Laerneans for a more durable Terminator unit from another Legion, or see if you could change Rites. Changing Rites would give you your flexibility back, so you can adapt your special rules to whatever the opponent has, while swapping the Laerneans would let you take, say, a Firedrake squad with shields for extra durability and a hard-hitting squad.