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40k Review – New 7th Edition Rules Set

Time to rejoice? The wait is over, 7th Edition is HERE!

Not even two years has passed since we were graced with 6th Edition 40k, but now we have what many hope is a more balanced rules set.

Only time will tell I suppose.

If you haven’t picked up your copy of the new rules yet, the first thing you’ll notice is that the set contains three separate “codex” sized books that come in one slip cover.

I like just that fact, it’s easier to grab just the rules and throw it in your bag for heading out to the game store.

Sure you may be paying for two other books you won’t read as much, but at least you don’t have to lug them around with you everywhere too like in 6th Edition.

Here’s a summary of the rules set

  • Book 1 – A Galaxy of War – 114 pages – A really, really, big painted miniatures gallery.
  • Book 2 – Dark Millennium – 128 pages – 40k fluff, a must read at least once.
  • Book 3 – The Rules – 208 pages This book is Space Marine codex sized, and has all the rules.
The rule book itself contains a ton of both old and new material as some stuff from 6th edition changed, some did not, and some stuff just disappeared all together! 
As you can see from the Contents picture above, the ebb and flow of the rules didn’t really change much overall as the sections should be somewhat familiar to most players.
About a quarter of the new rules are devoted to the Core Rules from the phases, to the general principles of the game.

Following that we have about another quarter of the book devoted to unit types and then vehicles themselves.  

One section that’s different from 6th is the Battlefield Terrain, this section has been streamlined a lot, and you may want to pick up a copy of Stronghold Assault as a majority of the terrain rules you’ll need are in there now.

From there the last half of the book is the game missions, and the appendix where all the universal special rules are now contained, along with the psychic disciplines etc.

It’s interesting to point out that the special fold out reference card from the Munitorium Collectors Edition is really just the last seven or so pages of the rulebook that make up the reference section, printed on card stock.

I’d recommend to start reading the new rules with the new Universal Special rules section, so you’re not flipping back to there every few minutes to check up if anything changed.  Then I would start with the core rules, then skip ahead to the preparing for battle section, and finish up the book from the unit types section.

It sounds weird, but I think processed far more of the rules changes reading it that way.

But for now checkout our first look video review of the product itself, and check back this week for our 7th Edition rules breakdowns! -MBG

About the Author: Rob Baer

Virginia Restless, Miniature Painter & Cat Dad. I blame LEGOs. There was something about those little-colored blocks that started it all... Twitter @catdaddymbg