Legion Tactics: Thoughts on the Legion Book

Ok, so there's plenty of reviews of the new Legion book out there, and I have no desire to do another such review. There are plenty of folks smarter about tactics than me. So instead, I'm just going to share some random thoughts about the book having just finished reading it cover to cover.

Things I learned about the world of the Iron Kingdoms:
The fiction was great. Unlike pretty much every other book, I actually read this one entirely, including the military org chart. I have to say that I really enjoyed the story about Bethayne. It was perhaps my favorite fiction since the Apotheosis story. I also enjoyed the explanation of how the Legion manages to raise such a numerous army. The tie in with the Iron Kingdoms history of Morrdh was pretty interesting as well. Lots of little details in it that were just fun to know.

Things I learned about models I already own:
This part is a little embarrassing, but I have to admit that as a matter of reading everything, I discovered some details about models I own that I just hadn't noticed before. Anyway, lesson learned here is that it is worth taking the time to read your stuff a second time to look for abilities that you missed.

Carnivore heals the casting warlock, not the model with the upkeep spell on it - Well, actually I learned this when I was looking up clarifications about rules on the PP forums, but it was still good to find out.

Harriers have Sprint - In all fairness, I've only ever fielded a Harrier once before. Sprint is pretty boss for them to have since they are so fast.

Shredders have Snacking - I probably already knew this, it just never comes up though. Either a Shredder is alive, or dead. Rarely is a Shredder damaged but still alive.

Nephilim don't have Blood Creation - Ok, technically I don't own Nephilim yet, nor have I even proxied them. But this was neat. It follows the fluff about the Nephilim, which I must add was super cool as well.

Angelius has Overtake - Huh. Really? Somehow I never noticed this. I had to double-check my card. Yep, there it is. Really? Seems like something I would have used before.

General Thoughts on Legion:
It's nice that Bethayne bring some troop support to the army, but even then I feel like Legion units are under supported by their warlocks. I'm certain this is a bias I bring from having played Protectorate before. On the flipside, warbeasts of Legion get to rock the house. I love how Legion got more beasts than all the other factions (mostly due to lesser beasts). One final note is that this book brought more variety and tools to the game for Legion, particularly in the form of ranged and magic attacks. I'm very excited about the possibilities going forward.

Thoughts on Models:
One model though eclipses all others at this point: Will Bethayne and Belphagore come with an additional model for the two melded? I'm betting no, in which case I may have to get two of each and bodge together my own melded version. The artwork for Bethayne and Belphagore was very exciting and I'm likely to take the time to shell out the extra bucks to make that melded version.

Well, that's it. To all you painters out there who are confused by this post, take comfort in knowing that I'll be returning to normal painting posts in a couple more days. Sometimes though my gamer enthusiasm breaks from his chains and just has to speak his mind.