GW put out a massive 9th Edition 40k FAQ and points changes today, and they cover basically every army and some big core rule changes!
In a Warhammer Community post today they finally released the changes they had been teasing since last week. We are going to cover some of the big 9th edition 40k FAQ changes, but the total document for just the points is over 52 pages, so you’ll definitely want to go see what’s changed with your favorite armies.
Just to note, they don’t put the points changes in red or throw them in the FAQ, they are just changed. Well, of course, they put the points changes in the FAQs for Space Marines and Necrons, but other factions didn’t get so lucky…
Every other faction won’t know what’s actually changed without doing cross-reference.
On top of that, they released additional FAQs for tons of books, made changes to the actual game, and Crusade stuff as well. They also mentioned that the points changes will be on the app sometime later this week (which would be tomorrow?). Let’s dive into it!
Core Game Rule Changes:
One of the biggest changes is how the first turn works. The player who wins the roll-off will now get the first turn, no matter what. It takes away the decision and will speed up the start of the game. We’ve all been there when a person takes 15 minutes to decide, that is gone now.
The second thing they are doing should help the player going second have a way better chance to actually win. The player going second can now actually score primary objectives in the final turn. This is huge and something we’ve all wanted to happen. Secondary objectives have also changed a bit, the VPs for Bring it Down and Abhor the Witch has dropped in VPs. This will allow people to take those super-cool vehicles/monsters and not worry about them giving your opponent tons of points.
This is also a big buff to armies like Grey Knights and Thousand Sons. You can download all the rulebook changes here.
FAQ & Points Changes:
They made FAQs for tons of factions, so be sure to go check and see what’s changed with your armies. Here’s what they have to say on why they made changes:
The Warhammer 40,000 rules team have taken in feedback for every army in the game and addressed the most pressing concerns. These updates also include the first FAQ doc for the Blood Angels codex supplement, which was the last book to launch in 2020. You won’t find too many big surprises here, but you WILL find some added clarity to help your games run smoothly.
One big thing we have to mention we noticed in the SM FAQ before going on, you can no longer revive the ATV with the Apothecary. It makes sense but a pretty big blow to their efficacy. For the points changes, there are crazy amounts of them, 52 pages worth! Again though, they are just in black and don’t tell you how much they changed or put anything in red, so you’ll just have to cross-reference to really understand the changes.
You can download the new points here. We won’t cover all the changes, but let’s look at some of the big changes.
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Some of the Big Point Changes:
First up are some over-performing Space Marine units. Eradicators and Outrider Bikes have both gone up 5 points. They were both doing pretty well, so this wasn’t super unexpected. The other Marines going up are the Interceptors, they have been bumped up 5 points as well to 45 each. Moving from Marines, Nurglings were becoming a bit too abusive, and they went up 4 points per base. (Note no changes to beast of Nurgle though…)
The Necrons also grabbed a couple of big changes. First, the Canoptek Reanimator went down a giant 30 points to 80. That’s a pretty big drop, but we’ll see if that’s enough for people to actually start fielding it more. Then the C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer went up 20 points, bringing it to 370, so not too crazy but you may have to sacrifice something to keep bringing it to the tabletop.
There is a ton to look at this time around! So be sure to go download all the point changes and see if your favorite faction got an FAQ.
What do you think about all the changes? Did your favorite units get hit hard?
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About the Author: Travis Pasch
Travis Pasch
Job Title: Head Writer & Editor
Socials: @paschbass
About Travis Pasch: Travis has been a Warhammer 40k hobbyist since the 1990s, playing the game since Third Edition. Through extensive traveling, he’s seen a lot of the miniatures hobby from across the world, giving him a unique perspective on the latest gaming topics and trends.
Travis’s brother even owns a commission painting studio, where he’s picked up a lot of good advice and techniques for painting Warhammer and tabletop miniatures over the years, as well. Travis joined the Spikey Bits team in 2019 and has been the lead writer since 2020.
Currently, he’s working on converting all his 40k Adeptus Mechanicus models and becoming a true tech enjoyer, complete with both sad and happy robot noises!
