Warhammer 40k: New Balance Dataslate Updates For 10th Edition

By Travis Pasch | April 30th, 2024 | Categories: 10th Edition 40k, 40k News & Articles, Games Workshop, How To Play 40k, Tabletop Gaming News & Rumors, Tournament Coverage, Warhammer Community

GW changed the game again with updates to 10th Edition Warhammer 40k inside the Balance Dataslate and points in the Munitorum Field Manual.

Well, GW is not taking things lightly this time, as nearly all the factions in Warhammer 40k are getting some significant changes! While this new 40k balance dataslate was slightly delayed, it might make sense as GW is changing points, faction rules, core rules commentary, and even more.

Contents

The armies at the top of the meta are getting some severe NERFS, while the underperforming armies are getting some love. If you’ve been underwhelmed with your army lately, these changes might be what you were waiting for.

40k Balance Dataslate & Update Summary

The second Balance Dataslate for Warhammer 40k was released on January 30th, 2024, bringing significant updates to the game.
The latest updates included changes to points, faction rules, core rules commentary, and more, affecting nearly all the factions in the game.
Maybe just as important as the points, GW said they will now only be doing 40k Balance Dataslate updates every other quarter (originally, they said every quarter), and points change every quarter. This means we won’t see the next Dataslate until Q3 of 2024, but the points changes should really shake the game up for now!
Armies at the top of the meta received significant NERFs, while underperforming armies were buffed.
Core rule changes impacted every Warhammer 40k army, including changes to Devastating Wounds, Battle Tactic Stratagems, Insane Bravery, and Overwatch.
The update also introduced a new Drukhari detachment and updated the Rules Commentary to clarify fringe case interactions.

Here’s a link to each section of the Warhammer 40k updates so you can jump to what interests you the most!

New Munitorium 40k Points Changes
New 40k Balance Dataslate Updates
Rules Commentary For 10th Edition 40k

The 10th Edition 40k 2024 Balance Dataslate is Here With Big Winners & Sad Losers!

The new Balance Dataslate update was released on January 30th, 2024, followed by updated points changes in the Munitorum Field Manual on April 25th, 2024. It has revamped the game of Warhammer 40k once again as points adjustments look to shake up the current meta, and rules updates will bring offenders to heel.

Here is a quick rundown of the latest points changes, but we’ll have everything from the balance dataslate broken down more in-depth below:

Buffed Armies:

Adeptus Custodes: They basically received a decrease in points for almost every single unit in the codex.
Adeptus Mechanicus: They received decreases for about eight units and no increases.
Chaos Space Marines: The Dataslate hit them pretty hard, but this time, they exclusively received points drops.
Dark Angels: Got four point decreases this time around
Genestealer Cults: Some key units go down in points.
Leagues of Votann: Very small decreases to Warriors and Uthar.
Orks: Like Custodes, they received huge point decreases across the board, with a couple of increases, but the decreases far outweigh them.
Space Marines: They get a bunch of decreases and a few increases, but the changes should help.
Space Wolves: They received two decreases.
Thousand Sons: They get seven decreases to units, but two enhancements go up in points.
Tyranids: Get deductions across the board, but Gargoyles are going up in points again.
World Eaters: The Dataslate changes really hit them hard, but they are getting a pretty big point buff this time.

NERFED Armies:

Adepta Sororitas: This is almost not a NERF, as they get four decreases, but the five points increases outweigh that
Aeldari: They get some decreases as well, but a lot of popular units are getting increased.
Agents of the Imperium: The agents get only point increases this time.
Astra Militarum: It’s hard to call this a straight-up NERF, but a lot of very popular units are increasing while less-used units are decreasing.
Black Templars: They are getting six increases and no decreases. So, it’s a pretty straightforward NERF.
Blood Angels: Like the Astra Militarum, they are getting key NERFS and a couple of units cheaper to increase their viability.
Grey Knights: Their increases outweigh their decreases, at least to us.
Necrons: Some units get decreased, but the majority are getting big increases.

Warhammer 40k Core Rules Changes

Let’s start with the core rule changes, as they will impact every Warhammer 40k army out there.

Devastating Wounds eliminate all saving throws, but no changes to how they are applied like mortals. The Callidus gets a NERF here, but if you can use a Stratagem twice, you can now only do it if it’s a Battle Tactic Stratagem. Then, Insane Bravery, must be done before you take a Battle-shock test, and you can only use it once in an entire battle. So use it wisely.

Now, you can only use Battle Tactics Stratagems for different CPs, both cheaper and more expensive. When it comes to Overwatch, you have to be able to see the unit. Lastly, Aircraft always draw a line of sight into and out of ruins.

Warhammer 40k Balance Dataslate Updates By Faction:

Custodes are a huge winner here, with many rules reverting to before the last changes, and they finally get a 4+ on Devastating Wounds. Wraithguard gets hit hard again; now they can only target the unit that shot at them. Then, Night Spinners go to -2″, Yncarne goes to once in each of your turns, and lastly, some stratagems get changed as well. Overall, it’s nothing too wild, but it should help bring them down a little. Astra Militarum also got a small orders buff.

CSM gets four big changes now. First, Profane Zeal now only lets you reroll the wound rolls, not the hits. You can only embark on transports with the same mark, so there is no mixing and matching with your transports and units. Accursed cultists get two small changes: first, they only have OC 1, and you only bring models back in your command phase. Lastly, Dark Obscuration is changed to 18″ for Nurgle.

Death Guard lost a little bit of the grenade spam. Drukhari gets two nice buffs, with Archons finally being allowed in Incubi, and now your melee weapons gain an additional AP when they have a pain token. Games Workshop also gave Drukhari a brand-new detachment, but we’ll have that later.

World Eaters get hit the hardest here, with Favoured of Khorne going to once per battle and the Berzerker Glaive changes to add 1 to attacks and damage. Imperial Knights also got some key changes to the way thier bondsman and Oath ability work.

Download all the changes here! Before we get into the point changes, one army did grab a brand new detachment.

New Drukhari Detachment

The new detachment gives you fewer pain tokens but does improve your melee and transports! The detachment comes with all new stratagems and enhancements as well.

Download the full thing here!

Warhammer 40k Rules Commentary

The Rules Commentary was updated to answer questions about fringe case interactions that don’t come up very often. They clarify Arriving from Strategic Reserves in the First Battle Round and ability stacking as things like Nurgles Rot can affect units per instance now and which modifiers are ignored by particular unit abilities.

It’s worth a read if you haven’t looked at it already.

10th Edition Warhammer 40k Points Munitorium Field Manual 1.8 Changes Update From GW!

We’ve all seen the latest datasheets, army rules, codex books, and index cards. Now, with these points changes, you can make new lists, as the balance of the game is in flux once again. Here is our breakdown of all the latest 10th Edition Warhammer 40k Munitorum Field Manual points from April 25th, 2024, that are legal for play right now!

Click Here For All the 10th Edition 40k Munitorum Field Manual Points!

In conclusion, the latest Balance Dataslate and Munitorum Field Manual points change for 2024 have significantly changed Warhammer 40k. With updates to points, faction rules, and core rules commentary, nearly all the factions in the game have been affected.

While some armies at the top of the meta have received significant NERFs, underperforming armies have, in turn, been buffed as well. With these changes in place, the game has been revamped once again, and players will need to adapt their strategies accordingly.

What do you think about GW making so many changes in the new 40k Balance Dataslate? Are you happy with what happened to your faction?

Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group or our new Discord server. Make sure you enter the latest monthly giveaway for FREE today!

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