On this page:
Forces, datasheets and army lists
Information about how to select your forces.
About the army lists
Unless you are playing some sort of special scenario that says otherwise, you will normally choose your forces from the established army lists. The army lists are designed to work with the range of models produced by Games Workshop for Epic, and will produce a closely balanced game when used along with the tournament game rules.
Although each army list is based on one particular fighting force, they are typical of many other similar armies. As long as you have the right units, feel free to use the army list to represent a force you invent with a unique name, back story and colour scheme. Just make sure your opponent is clear which army list you are using for your force.
Each army list has a unique name and consists of four sections:
- Forces. Tells you which datasheets the army lists uses (depending on the publication you are using, the datasheets may be included with the list or in a separate part of the publication).
- Using the army list. Tells you how to use the army list. Outlines the different types of formation in the army and how you can select them from the list.
- Special rules. The special rules that apply to the army list.
- The list. Describes the formations that you can choose in the army, the units that make up each formation, and the points value for each formation and any optional upgrades. It also includes the army’s Strategy Rating and the Initiative value for formations in the army.
How to find army lists
Here are some resources to help you find army lists.
The original printed rule books by Games Workshop are no longer in production, but you can often find them on auction sites like eBay:
- Epic: Armageddon covers the core Space Marine, Imperial Guard Steel Legion and Ork armies.
- Epic: Swordwind covers Eldar Biel-Tan Craftworld, Imperial Guard Baran Seigemasters and Warlord Snagga-Snagga's Feral Ork Horde.
These books also contain appendices with sections on how to use models that are no longer in production from older versions of Epic in your games.
Fan communities maintain lists that cover all the above and more, and are now your best option (especially if you want to join any related tournaments). They include many updates, refinements and additions to the original lists. They also cover just about all of the models that were available in the Epic range, and more besides.
The main places to look are:
Army list builder tools
There are some convenient tools online that use these army lists as their source. These tools make it much quicker for you to select your army, calculate points totals, and to produce a print-out:
How to use non-standard models or 'proxies'
The Counts As rule below makes it easy for you to use non-standard models or 'proxies' in your games. This is meant to make it as easy as possible for you and your opponent to use all of the models in your collection without gaining an unfair advantage by doing so. As long as you use the rules in this spirit you will find your games all the better for it.
The Counts As rule (1)
You may if you wish decide that certain units in your army count as something else from the army lists that is of roughly the same size and function. This is especially useful if you are using old models that are no longer in the range and therefore not covered in the army lists, or you are using models that are painted differently.
For example, you might have managed to get some of the old metal Ork Squiggoth models that we made many years ago but that are now no longer in the range. Rather than leaving these models languishing on the shelf you could simply decide that they count as Ork Battlewagons, which are roughly the same size as a Squiggoth and have a similar function.
Or, you may decide to use the Steel Legion army list to represent a different Imperial Guard regiment with a very different colour scheme. Again, it would be a great shame not to be able to use your gorgeously painted army, and the counts as rule allows you to do so.
The Counts As rule (2)
However, if you decide to use the Counts As rule, then there are three very important things to bear in mind:
- Before the game starts, tell your opponent that you will use the Counts As rule, and what you will count as what.
- The Counts As rule means to let you find a use for all the models in your collection — not to let you fine-tune your army for every game that you play. So, you may not use the Counts As rule for units that are actually covered in the army lists. This is to prevent confusion and keep game play as even and balanced as possible. Note that you can paint the unit in any way you like, you just can’t count it as a different unit from the list.
- If you decide that any model counts as something in your army, then all of that type of model must count as the same thing in your army.
If you have a model of a Land Speeder and you want to use it, then you must use it as a Land Speeder and pay the points for a Land Speeder — you could not use it as a Land Speeder Tornado, or a Predator, or any other unit.
If you decide that your old Squiggoth model is a Battlewagon, then all the Squiggoth models in your army must be Battlewagons — you can't have one Squiggoth as a Battlewagon and one as a Gunwagon, for example.