Here’s what’s new in the 2025 Warhammer 40k Chapter Approved Tournament Companion—your essential guide to scoring, missions, and meta-breaking tactics!
Updated on June 13th with the latest terrain sets to use for Chapter Approved layouts, and the latest competitive Warhammer info.
Think you’re ready for the 2025 tournament season? Think again. The Warhammer 40k Chapter Approved Tournament Companion just dropped, and it’s packing serious changes to scoring, missions, and the tactical dance that defines the top tables.
Whether you’re gunning for podiums or just sick of losing to the same three armies, this guide is your shortcut to staying relevant and razor-sharp in the new meta.
We’ve broken down what actually matters—no fluff, just the mission-critical updates and the tricks that could make or break your next GT. Let’s get you tuned, tooled, and tournament-ready.
The Serious Player’s Guide to a More Fun Game?
Let’s be real. Matched play can get a bit chaotic. Random draws. Sketchy terrain. Debates about what “counts.”
Enter the Chapter Approved Tournament Companion (for June 2025). Games Workshop’s new “hey, let’s stop wasting 30 minutes before the game starts” guide for structured, fair, and actually enjoyable Warhammer 40k tournaments. You can get yours here.
Now we waste 30 minutes before the game, setting up the layouts, and terrain lol.
Fixed Missions, Balanced Games
Out with the shuffle. In with the structure. The Companion introduces a 20-mission pool that’s tested, balanced, and doesn’t need pre-game math gymnastics.
You still use the Chapter Approved Mission Deck, but only part of it. No Twist cards. No Asymmetric War weirdness. Just rock-solid, Strike Force-sized, battle-tested Warhammer 40k tournament missions.
Tactical or Fixed Secondaries?
Grab your dataslates and maybe a snack, ’cause here’s the lowdown on Warhammer secondary missions in the latest Chapter Approved Tournament Companion. No nonsense, just what you need to know about using the new Chapter Approved mission deck.
- Fixed: Lock in two secondaries at the start. No surprises, no pivoting mid-game. If you like steady scoring and zero drama, this is your lane. Just don’t cry when your opponent racks up points off your immobile Dreadnought.
- Tactical: For Warhammer tactical missions, you draw two fresh secondaries every turn. High risk, high reward, high blood pressure. But hey, you do get the New Orders strat—burn 1CP and swap out a lemon. Perfect when you pull “Investigate Signals” and your opponent’s camping mid-board like it’s real estate.
Heads-up: Not everything can be taken as Fixed. Stuff like No Prisoners? Off the table. The cards spell it out, so don’t just skim, lol.
Challenger Cards: For When You’re Getting Flattened
If you’re behind by 6+ points, congrats—you’re the Challenger. It’s not glamorous, but you get to yank your Warhammer Challenger Cards during your Command phase. Think of it like emergency caffeine for your strategy. Each card gives you a one-shot Stratagem or a Mission. Pick one.
Basically, it keeps things interesting and stops your opponent from steamrolling you into the hobby shelf.
Chapter Approved Mission Deck: FAQ Edition
Games Workshop dropped some clarifications, and for once, they’re actually useful. Here’s the juicy stuff:
- Kill a unit more than once? Rack up points each time—unless the card’s a party pooper and says otherwise.
- “Marked for Death”? You gotta take out the Bodyguard and at least one Leader buddy. No slacking.
- Sabotage Actions? Your unit just needs to be outside your deployment zone—not your terrain. Stop overthinking it.
They’ve cleaned up common pain points. Worth a quick read if you’ve been burned by vague rulings before.
All 20 Missions, All Ready to Go
This Companion gives you 20 missions, built from a combo of Primary Missions and deployment maps. GW even tells you which Warhammer 40k terrain layout matches which deployment type.
Here’s how the new 40k mission pool breaks down for 2025.
| Mission | Primary | Deployment | Best Layouts |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Take and Hold | Tipping Point | 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8 |
| B | Supply Drop | Tipping Point | 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8 |
| C | Linchpin | Tipping Point | 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8 |
| D | Scorched Earth | Tipping Point | 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8 |
| E | Take and Hold | Hammer and Anvil | 1, 7, 8 |
| F | Hidden Supplies | Hammer and Anvil | 1, 7, 8 |
| G | Purge the Foe | Hammer and Anvil | 1, 7, 8 |
| H | Supply Drop | Hammer and Anvil | 1, 7, 8 |
| I | Hidden Supplies | Search and Destroy | 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 |
| J | Linchpin | Search and Destroy | 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 |
| K | Scorched Earth | Search and Destroy | 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 |
| L | Take and Hold | Search and Destroy | 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 |
| M | Purge the Foe | Crucible of Battle | 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 |
| N | Hidden Supplies | Crucible of Battle | 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 |
| O | Terraform | Crucible of Battle | 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 |
| P | Scorched Earth | Crucible of Battle | 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 |
| Q | Supply Drop | Sweeping Engagement | 3, 5 |
| R | Terraform | Sweeping Engagement | 3, 5 |
| S | Linchpin | Dawn of War | 5 |
| T | Purge the Foe | Dawn of War | 5 |
Print this table and tape it somewhere important. Saves time. Cuts confusion.
Terrain Layouts 1–8: What’s the Big Deal?
These new Warhammer 40k tournament layouts are built for actual, gritty gameplay. You know, the kind where every inch counts and your plasma squad can’t just sit pretty behind a ruin all match.
From the looks of it, they pretty much match the Pariah Nexus layouts, too, which means all that terrain you bought in the last year is safe!
Here’s the scoop on the latest terrain layout Warhammer 40k. Just like last time, you get three sizes of area terrain bases:
- 6″x4″ (four of these bad boys)
- 10″x5″ (a pair)
- 12″x6″ (half a dozen)
They’re loaded with ruins, obstacles, and blockers. Not decorative nonsense—actual pieces that force smart movement and make lazy gunlines sweat bullets. Or plasma. Or whatever’s fashionable this edition.
Pay attention to the color labels:
- Light blue? That’s under 2 inches high.
- Dark blue? That’s over 4. Big stuff.
These height cues aren’t just for looks—they’re the difference between your unit being seen or staying alive. Don’t treat terrain like background decoration. It shapes the whole match now, so it’s worth getting used to.
terrain layout Warhammer 40K
If you still haven’t gotten a set of terrain for Pariah Nexus or these new Chapter Approved layouts, links to our favorites are below:
- Imperial Fortress Set: Makes all current 40k, WTC terrain layouts, and stores flat! Perfect for home or tournament play
- District 13: FLG’s latest pre-painted modular design makes all Chapter Approved and Pariah Nexus terrain layouts.
- Fabricators Foundry: great looking 3d printed set that also makes all Chapter Approved and Pariah Nexus terrain layouts.
Why This Isn’t Just Another 40k Update
The Warhammer 40k Tournament Companion 2025 isn’t a patch. It’s a toolkit for actually good games. It cuts fluff, boosts fairness, and rewards prep over luck.
It’s the Warhammer equivalent of cleaning your brushes before painting—simple, smart, and long overdue.
No more terrain bingo, no more mission roulette, and fewer arguments about which ruin counts as what. Just a better game of Warhammer 40,000 with faster starts, and a scoring system that doesn’t require an interpretive dance.
40k Chapter Approved Mission Deck Guide
Here are the latest updates from the Warhammer 40k universe and tabletop game!
- Latest Warhammer 40k Rumors
- New Release Roadmap For Warhammer 40k
- Warhammer 40k 10th Edition Balance Dataslate Updates
- Lore & Faction Guides
- New Warhammer 40k Codex Release Order
- Warhammer 40k Combat Patrol Box Set Guide: Pricing & Values
- Best Warhammer 40k Armies
- Exclusive Warhammer Miniatures
- 40k Base Sizes Resource Guide
What do you think about the new Warhammer 40k Chapter Approved 2025 Tournament Companion?
