Here’s how terrain and are cover going to look in 9th Edition 40k as GW has just given us a better idea with more rules previews! Check out the latest
Coming from Warhammer Community and supplemented by the GW team on Warhammer TV, here are all the latest details on terrain in 9th Edition and how certain units will interact. Let’s jump in.
GW Reveals 9th Edition 40k Cover & Terrain Rules!
When setting up a battlefield, you and your opponent(s) decide which terrain traits will be applied to each piece of scenery. The traits are designed to be stackable, so a single terrain piece can actually be given as many different traits as you wish. For example, you may decide to count a bunker as both Light Cover AND Heavy Cover, offering the benefits of cover at every range.
Interestingly enough, cover has an effect on melee combat now. Light Cover hasn’t changed from standing in ruins in 8th Edition. However, if you have a unit that survives a charge while standing in Heavy Cover, then the next round of combat will have units receive +1 to their armor saves in melee. It makes sense if there’s so much debris and rubble that the warriors can hardly swing a blade properly. Definitely cool.
Terrain Can Have Different Traits Picked
Whether you’re playing a Matched Play or Narrative game, you and your opponent will be able to pick out certain traits that different terrain pieces will have. This will make for much more dynamic games. Especially for terrain fans that make all kinds of cool things like alien jungle boards, etc.
For Obscuring terrain, anything that’s over 5″ tall will block all LOS except for a few certain circumstances. Anything with 18 wounds or more as well as aircraft models can be seen. If you move into the terrain, you can also be targeted, which is interesting to think about. If you have a LOS-blocking building in the middle of the board and move your units inside, you can now technically be shot at. As long as they are on the other side, however, they are fine.
Another important point to note is that, even though Obscuring terrain blocks line of sight from one side to the other, a unit that’s INSIDE the terrain can still be freely targeted (though they will receive the benefit of cover if the terrain also has the Light Cover trait) and can give fire in return. However, the days of drawing line of sight through a gap in the wall and three consecutive windows to a unit on the opposite side of a huge building are over!
Stu Black mentioned there being different Categories of terrain which will have a table in the book of recommended traits to use for fair games. We can see how it’ll be laid out for things like Ruins and Armored Containers. Going back to the days of 7th Edition, there are going to be a few keywords we just have to know.
Keeping the Battlefields Fair
Nobody likes facing a parking lot army in the open just as nobody likes going against a melee CC list in a congested city map. To fix all of the headaches, GW also threw some recommendations for terrain depending on your game sizes.
At the end of the terrain section, there are a number of example battlefields presented, each explaining the thought processes behind the terrain selection and their positioning. This is really useful advice, as getting the quantity and density of terrain right is a key factor in playing a balanced game of Warhammer 40,000 – after all, too little terrain and shooting armies will have a massive advantage, too much and melee armies will likely dominate.
Here are some examples laid out:
Other Notes From Warhammer TV Stream
Of the stuff that was mentioned on-stream that wasn’t talked about in the WHC reveals, Stu mentioned that terrain you pay points for, (Tectonic Fragdrill, Noctolith Crown, Etc.) will still cost points and can still be destroyed in-game. Stu also mentioned there being somewhere between 10-12 different terrain rules to pick from.
Overall, it seems like 40k games are about to get more dynamic than ever with all the variables that these different terrain traits will throw into the game. On top of that, units in melee can now get cover saves!
With all of this on the table, are you pumped to finish building some terrain for 9th Edition games? Do you think terrain is about to add a lot more depth to the game than ever before?
Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group, and make sure you enter the latest monthly giveaway for FREE today!
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.
