Why we're excited for 9th Edition Warhammer: 40000

Well, we all had a feeling it was coming, after all, the number of codexes remaining for update was getting pretty low. But now that the folks at Warhammer have released info about the rules adjustments, we're excited for the changes 9th edition is going to bring to the game. Let's run through a few things:

Overwatch has been Overhauled

Look, I have a slight bias against overwatch as I am the Tyranid player in our gaming group here at Vault. Ever since I faced down an Imperial gun line in 5th edition (the edition that introduced Overwatch), my lists dropped nearly every close-combat swarm unit. Hormagants and Genestealers took a back seat to the meatier monsters because they could take a pre-charge barrage of bullets and still be able to fight in combat.

Now that Overwatch is becoming a strategem, meaning you can only use it once per charge phase at the cost of one Command Point, you can look forward to running those swarms again. Though, there is a counter point to those swarms now...

Blast Weapons do things now!

Remember the days of templates? Where you would try to get as many bases under the green circle as you could? Well, with 8th edition the templates went away, and with it, the ability to get the most out of your blast weapons. Now, each of those blast weapons perform D6 hits so there's always a possibility that you roll a 1 and waste your shot. NOT ANYMORE!

That's right. Now, if you are targeting at a unit that consists of 6 or more models, the lowest possible roll to determine hits is a 3, and, if you're firing into a swarm of 10 models or more, that weapon will always do maximum hits allowed on the weapon profile. So now a single frag weapon can have a tactical value in your force, rather than relying on multiple units to whittle down that unit of genestealers making their way to the front line.

Terrain finally makes sense

Look, there's a lot of love for 8th Edition, but the one thing GW ruined was terrain. I've never fully grasped it and ended up just playing similar to older editions (25% obscured) but now, 9th Edition is removing the ambiguity, as well as introducing Terrain Keywords.

Terrain now falls into one of four categories that not only define how the terrain applies its effects, but also who it can be applied to. The Traits then give you what effects the terrain imparts. Do they provide a +1 to Save characteristic? Can INFANTRY climb it? Can units see through it? It provides some distinct effects that the terrain can apply. And it applies based on a direct line drawn from targeting unit to target unit. I can't wait to get these rules to a table.

Command Points are now based on Game Size

Rather than basing the amount of Command Points a player gets on what detachments they build their army with, instead the size determines how many command points you start the game with...

But that's not all. You don't just get those command points straight away. You need to spend them to choose your detachments.

Wait, doesn't that mean the Battallion is free? Yes, only if your Warlord is part of this batallion. But it also means that you will be punished if you take a mixed faction army. No more loyal 32 with your Knights and Custodes for the maximum wargear and command point cheese.

And this is just a taste of what's to come with the new edition. If you want to make sure you get notified once the new box set Indomitus goes live for preorder, make sure you're subscribed to our newsletter here and stay up to date with everything Warhammer over on the Warhammer Community website.