Less than a week after release, GW has quietly updated the 40k balance Dataslate to be more in line with how the rules should work…
The Dataslate was made to balance out the meta and we’ll have to see how it plays out. Ultimately the idea is decent to help with the power creep from new books. Now it seems though, not only do the codexes grab updates within a couple of weeks of release, but the Dataslates will as well!
Let’s start with some of the things that aren’t changing, then get into all the changes!
Adeptus Custodes NERFS
Adeptus Custodes receive changes so that the Objective Secured rule only applies to Troops, the part of a Shieldhost best suited to capturing Objectives. This means that powerhouse picks like Trajann Valoris or Allarus Terminators will be freed up to dish out the hurt wherever they’re needed.
Also, a handful of their most powerful Stratagems become one use only, with some changing to only affect CORE – so you’ll need to think carefully about how to use these game-changing abilities.
These are some big changes, now taking objectives has just gotten much harder as only Troops have ObSec. Then, two strong Stratagems go to once per game, so you’ll really have to plan on how you actually use them.
Lastly, you can only affect Infantry with Arcane Genetic Alchemy and Emperor’s Auspice. We’ll have to see how they play out, but feel pretty big.
Harlequins NERFS
The top-performing armies all receive tweaks. Harlequins have Mirror Architect and Favour of Cegorach adjusted, needing more care to use due to their powerful nature. Meanwhile, Starweavers and Voidweavers see an increase in points – but retain their lethality and utility.
Right off the bat, they hit them with a points increase. Then, they changed two of the strongest special rules. Again, Harlequins have been performing really well, so we’ll have to see if this is enough to bring them down a little.
Tau NERFS
Finally, Mont’ka has been tweaked to remove bonus AP for the T’au Empire, Broadside Battlesuits have had CORE removed, and specific charge-blunting rules have stopped stacking – so T’au remain a premier shooting faction, but you’ll need to work a little bit harder to protect your gunlines from vicious melee assailants.
Getting rid of some innate AP and then the bonus to Space Marines and other armor really might take a huge toll on the Tau. Then, removing Core from Broadsides is a pretty big blow for buffs. Lastly, getting rid of the cumulative bonuses against charges will hopefully make them easier to actually get into combat with.
GW Quietly Updated the 40k Balance Dataslate Already
They made an adjustment here for the Tyranids. Now the Hive Tyrant units can benefit from the rule, as it’s using the Keyword instead of the unit name (and they bolded it to be sure this time around). So hooray for Swarmlords and Winged Hive Tyrants.
Next up are some wording changes to the Hammer of the Emperor. Unfortunately, this is actually a NERF from before. Now, they made sure to include Scions in the list of units that never gain the rule.
While it means you won’t stop other Guard units from benefiting, it means you won’t be able to use this in a mono-faction Scions army. They seem the most likely to actually benefit, so this is sad news as anything Guard-related needs all the buffs.
This is just a quick change to the wording so that if you’re already worsening the AP of an attack this doesn’t work. This makes sense as it wasn’t meant to be a stacking buff to get a ton of minuses to AP. Obviously, this is good to have clarity as people were probably already thinking of ways to get some stacking.
Lastly, they threw the wording from the previous dataslate back in here to make your knights ObSec. This makes sense as the new book still isn’t out and why NERF them while waiting around for the book to drop?
Download the Updated 40k Balance Dataslate Here!
What do you think about the new changes to the Dataslate?
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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!
