In our review of Warhammer 40000 : Armageddon we briefly touched on the fact that the box comes a rule book for the new edition of the rules. (Indeed, the point of the box is to launch those rules.) You can download them here, but the core point is that this latest iteration of the world’s most popular sci-fi skirmish game is still recognisable to players of previous, recent editions.
It’s still a unit focused tabletop wargame, with one player taking their turn, then the other. 6 sided dice and tape measures are used as basic tools of the game, and it’s focused on painted models that vary from a person sized piece to larger models that include large walking robots and big alien monsters. Tanks, bikes, artillery etc also make up a usual army.
Which brings us to the first big change; units are organised by detachments (a thematic collection of units), and you can have multiple detachments in your army list; basically you can swap out various bits of your army in order to optimise special abilities. The rules for the detachments will be available online and in physical form. This might seem a bit involved for those of us who are used to simpler (but more detailed) force organisation. This also affects your potential win conditions, as they vary depending on the way you put your army together.
This also means that gamers aren’t really punished for choosing models because they’re cool rather than optimal; they are a lot of ways to put your horde of Orks together to make them playable, so if you like just collecting and painting models but also like the odd game, this is a solid change; rule of cool is allowed.
Terrain is also now more important. You have to actually interact with the terrain in order to claim it, rather than lurking about near it for a tactical advantage. If you want to hold that ruined temple, you need to be inside it. Which is great, because the new rules make cover much more effective, and much easier to hide in if your unit is good at hiding. Makes for a more cinematic game. (Special abilities will be also updated, to fit in better with the changes.) This includes ‘main character’ style units, who look like they’ll be getting buffed to work with or without their allies.
Melee has been improved, to the delight of Ork and Tyranid players, but also for everyone else. Even Tau. The guidance on rolling all those dice makes for a smoother game also, but older players will probably stick to their bad habits.
Overall, a stronger, more unified system that seems to work for every style of play, and should make tournaments more accessible to players. More importantly; Games Workshop have listened to their players and added in things we’re already doing to make the game more fun. Which is how it should be.
