My copy of Imperial Armour 11: The Doom of Mymeara finally arrived in the post yesterday.I’ve always been a big eldar fan so I was really looking forward to this book, despite the fact that like all Imperial Armour books, it is a little pricy (just over £48 with shipping).
However, on the plus side, as a book, it is something hobby related that doesn’t need to be painted! Well, that’s my justification anyway…
First Impressions
I already own several Imperial Armour books, including IA3: The Taros Campaign and I have really enjoyed them in the past. The Doom of Mymeara is a little lighter than IA3, however I have to say I am very very impressed with the production values compared to the old books.
To start with, it is almost all colour, even the black and white bits (if that makes sense), and the artwork is absolutely top notch. A big thumbs up here!
It is also a very substantial book; not quite as heavy as the Taros Campaign, but it feels like £40 worth of glossy gaming book. This is very promising…
The Contents
Opening it up, the book is divided into several sections. The first part details the Betalis III campaign, from the initial opening moves through the military campaign, and then tying together the story nicely with an Ordo Xenos report at the end.
I won’t go into the story itself, but suffice to say it gives some interesting insights on how and why the eldar go to war.
The second and third sections of the book detail the Imperial forces involved in the campaign. This includes some new rules for specific special characters and the new Imperial Guard vehicles. Apart from saying the Wolf Lord artwork is incredible, I won’t comment further on these sections because I haven’t read them yet.
Pixies!
And then we get to the Forces of the Eldar… This is the good bit as far as I’m concerned.
To start with, the two eldar craftworlds in the campaign are detailed. As a new (lost) Craftworld Mymeara gets a lot of background and I really enjoyed this.
In short, Mymeara saw the Fall of the Eldar coming and got out of the way before everyone else, and then isolated themselves from the rest of Eldar society for a very long time. This means Mymeara is a bit of mystery and has access to some technologies forgotten by the other craftworlds in the Warhammer 40000 universe.
We also have unit entries for two special characters in this section and a new unit, the Shadow Spectres aspect warriors. For the record, as these are only £33 for five and I’m a little tempted to get some for my army. Anyway, moving swiftly on…
Next up are the Eldar Corsairs and the Corsairs army list. This harks back to the original Eldar in Rogue Trader. The army list gives the opportunity to combine craftworld, dark eldar, Harlequin, and Corsair units. I think this is a stoke of genius and something I hope gets carried into the next Eldar codex.
Section five is all about the Eldar vehicles featured in the campaign, together with rules for some. I’m guessing that as the rules are missing for the Falcon based tanks, Wave Serpents, War Walkers and (pay attention here) the two smaller aircraft, these will all be covered in the main codex when it arrives.
To finish off, we have a section with scenarios to recreate battles from the campaign and three Apocalypse data sheets with some of the signature formations in the conflict.
In summary
After reading about a third of this book last night, I have to say I am dead chuffed with it. The artwork is top notch, it looks beautiful, the background is great, and the rules look interesting (especially the Corsair list).
If anything, it could be a little light on rules for some people because without previous Imperial Armour books, some of the vehicles in the campaign cannot be played. This said, I still occasionally reread IA3 and IA4; and most of the rules in those have been superseded by newer Codexes. So I think from my point of view, more background and less rules is just fine.
Anyway, if you have a spare £42 and you are a Eldar fanboy like me; I reckon it’s a good, entertaining buy. Excellent work Forgeworld.
Now I need to paint some more pixies so I can put the mon-kiegh back in their rightful place…
Anything Worth Doing... 
January 26, 2012 at 5:42 pm
Oooh, I’ve been tempted to get that one for a while now, might have to invest in a copy
January 26, 2012 at 9:12 pm
I’m finding myself considering a Corsair force. Although they really should have the option to have War Walkers. Anyway, dangerous business methinks.
Oh, forgot to mention, Forgeworld have already posted an FAQ and errata for this book. No Falcons with ten pixies on board I’m afraid, however Corsair do get Rangers which seems only right and proper.