Wow do not miss all these new 9th Edition Warhammer 40k rules reveals from the GW studio development team from their live Q&A.
Warhammer TV went on Twitch and hosted a Q&A session on the new 9th Edition. Exciting changes are ahead. Here are the key talking points section by section as we heard them. Sit back and enjoy the answers on what was asked in case you missed it.
New 40k 9th Edition Rules Reveals From GW
Keeping the jokes rolling, on the billboard behind one Pete Foley, there were notes saying Dark Angels are actually the worst, 40k moving to hexed bases, and 10th Edition replacing dice with coins. Now let’s get into what was really talked about!
Terrain
- Terrain will block line of Sight more in 9th Edition. They’ll also be balancing the amount of terrain for assault and shooting armies to keep things fair. Some tables naturally favor shooting/assault armies. Because of that, they’ve given sources in the core rulebook to help set up a table where it’s the MOST even on both sides.
- Terrain will come with “Obcscuring” keyword which counts as blocking LOS regardless if you can see through it or not.
- They’ve differentiated between woods, swamps, bunkers, buildings, etc. Games should feel different depending on what kind of terrain your board has.
- They’ve fixed interactions between big units not being able to get up to higher levels of buildings.
Missions
- Missions have been balanced for all kinds of armies at different points values.
- There’s a new narrative game mode called Crusade.
- New codexes will involve an in-depth look at Crusade elements, which is a new narrative play system. They mentioned how characters may get wounded and you put them in a Dreadnought. Blood Angels can fall to the Black Rage, etc.
- Different crusade missions will be dependent on the size of the game you’re playing. (i.e you won’t be playing a 3,000 pt game on a 2X2 board). That is to say, Board size will be determined by the size of game for Crusade mission.
- Crusade can be played in a large group of people as a campaign over weeks. This is something great for LGSs to get behind.
Gun & Weapon Mechanics
- Guns will still have random shot output on weapons. Some things may change the “randomness”.
- Mortal Wounds aren’t changing.
- Chainswords for Space Marines are getting an upgrade to be better than a Guardsman using a chain sword. It makes sense…the chainsword is literally the size of a Guardsman.
Core Rules
- Turn mechanics are not changing. No double-turn from AoS.
- Core rules have been expanded. They’ll be longer than 8 pages inside the core rulebook. However, they’ve tried to streamline as many rules as they could without making things overly simple.
- Some weird occurrences may come up and they’ll be included in the appendix section with a list of what to do when certain rules combo with each other.
- Overwatch is going to change. Assault armies will be able to catch a break against armies being able to flat-out fall back.
- Morale phase has changed. It will have a Combat Attrition mechanic. Armies that use LD modifiers like Night Lords, Sanguinary Guard Death Masks will be made even better.
- Power Level is still a thing but they will be adjusting power level on some units over time. They’re no longer static-like before.
Notes on Armies & Units of the Game
- All the new previewed Space Marine models will be playable in any Chapter.
- Deathwatch are getting more support soon after 9th Edition drops.
- Questions were asked about giving Death Company chainswords and said “That would be cool…Don’t worry we’ve got you covered”.
- Some people were worried about blasts from tanks into horde armies. They’ve said “Anything Tanks can do, Monsters can do if not better”.
- Death Korps of Krieg will be getting updated along with all the new Forge World rules support.
- Vigilus books will be usable in 9th Edition…Siegebreaker Cohort, Emperor’s Fist formations, etc. aren’t going anywhere!
- They’ve capped modifiers to (+1/-1). Eldar Flyers won’t be -3 to hit anymore.
- Flyers will be able to go off the table and fly back on the board later in the game. They won’t be destroyed for “leaving”.
- More units are coming to Warhammer Legends.
Command Points
- Some armies had to survive off just a couple of CP while other armies were swimming in them. Command Points are now linked to the size of the game you play. Players will start with the same amount of Command Points in each game.
- Soup armies will still be viable however, they’ll cost CP to add units from different factions.
- You can spend CP to put things in reserves. As the game progresses the game can come on the board from reserves. Different mechanics will be able to bring things in 9″ away and others within a certain distance from the board edge.
There was a lot talked about in the Q&A session but we’ve categorized the details as best as we could! Overall, 9th Edition looks to have fixed a bunch of frustration felt by players encountering “the gamey” mechanics while playing.
With all of these questions now answered, is 9th Edition looking even better than 8th? Will you be starting Necrons as your new army now that all their new hotness was just previewed?
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About the Author: Wesley Floyd
Wesley Floyd
Job Title: Staff Writer
Joined: 2018
Socials: @RealmbrushPainting
About Wesley Floyd: Wes has been in the Warhammer hobby since 2015 and joined the Spikey Bits writing team in 2018. He is known for his satirist takes on trending topics and imaginative yet amazingly affordable hobby solutions to painting Warhammer miniatures.
Imperial fanboy, tabletop fanatic, and the self-proclaimed King of Sprues. He knows for a fact that Mephiston red is the best-tasting paint and is the commission painting equivalent of a Wendy’s 4 for $4. If you like what he writes and want to contact him or have your tabletop minatures painted (to a mostly okayish standard), message him on Instagram.
