fbpx JOIN LOGIN JOIN

Force Org & Faction Rules Revealed for 8th Edition

By Rob Baer | May 26th, 2017 | Categories: Warhammer 40k, Warhammer 40k Rumors

marine 40k 8th edition space wal hor

Don’t miss this big reveal for how the new rules work with army factions, and Force Organization in 8th Edition 40k.

Scanner is at it again with the new Quick Reference card for 8th edition. First we saw the turn structure worked, then the movement phase, and attacking. Now were seeing how Force Organization and faction rules will work for 8th edition.Force Organization

There’s the big Keyword Mechanic that GW had been alluding too over their month of teasers on the new edition. So if there is a restriction on a detachment then that tax must be payed, however it can be paid in several different ways per above.

Battlefield Role SlotsForce Organization

The icons on a Detachment are referred to as slots (see below). Each slot on the Detachment usually specify a single Battlefield Role, and allows you to take one unit. Red slots are compulsory selections and you must take the specified amount. Grey icons represent optional selections, and you can include up to that number of unit with the matching Battlefield Role in your Detachment. If you want to take additional units of the same Battlefield Role you will have to do so in a separate Detachment.

From time to time a Detachment will specify two or more Battlefield Roles, in which case you can use any unit that has at least one of the specified roles to fill that slot. If a slot does not specify a Battlefield Role any type of unit can be taken, or it will specify a particular unit or units, and in that case only those units can be taken.

Below are 2 examples of Detachments to give you a better idea of what all that means:

Force Organization

Certain missions will instruct you to select a Battle-forged army which means that you must organize all the units in your army into Detachments. A unit cannot belong to more than one detachment, and you’ll often need to use additional information from the unit’s datasheet to determine where it fits in a Detachment, such as Faction and Battlefield Role.

Each Detachment may contain the following information: Battlefield Role Slot, Dedicated Transports, Restrictions, and Command Benefits.

Force Organization

Restrictions

This sections of a Detachment’s rules lists any additional restrictions that apply to the units you can include as part of the Detachment. The most common Detachment restriction is all units must be from the same faction (which could be Astartes, or Imperium, etc..).

If they do not meet the requirements under the Restrictions section they cannot be included in the Detachment.

Force Organization

Command Benefits

Under the Command Benefits section on the Detachment it’s going to list any bonuses you receive for including that Detachment into your army. Most of the time it will increase the total number of Command Points your army has to spend on Stratagems.

Command Points & Stratagems

Force Organization

When you build a Battle-forged army it will have a certain number of Command Points, which can then be spent to use Stratagems. All Battle-forged armies start with 3 Command Points, and can easily be increased by taking more Detachments, many of which increase your total number of Command Points.

You can spend Command Points to use a Stratagem before or during a battle. Each Stratagem has a value that deducts from your Command Points every time you use them, so use these wisely. Stratagems can be used multiple times during the course of the battle unless otherwise stated. The different Stratagems available depends on the mission you’re playing.

Dark Imperium marine chaos hor

You can always use the three Stratagems pictured above, but some missions, battlezones, and expansions may give you additional Stratagems to use during your battles.

Hungry for more? Checkout the rest of the pages from the 8th Edition quick reference that were spotted and judge for yourself if they will bring balance to 40k.

What are your thoughts on the new Force Organization rules for 8th Edition? Let us know in the comments below.

Dark ImperiumLatest  8th Edition News & Rumors from Games Workshop

About the Author: Rob Baer

 rob avatar face

Rob Baer

Job Title: Managing Editor

Founded Spikey Bits in 2009

Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X

About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.

Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls. 

Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.

Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.

With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.

While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.