We saw how Overwatch is getting nerfed in 9th Edition 40k, but Tau players can breathe easy because they are keeping the overwatch rules from before!
Warhammer Community just dropped a rules preview for the Tau in 9th Edition. If you’ve been keeping track of how Overwatch has gotten nerfed, if you’re Tau, you won’t really feel the effects as much. Here are the details.
Tau Keeping Overwatch Rules In 9th Edition 40k
We saw that firing Overwatch is normally a one-time Stratagem you get to pick for a unit. However, it looks like Tau units with For the Greater Good get a free overwatch. In addition, units within 6″ get to overwatch for that unit as well. Of course, after you basically get a free shooting phase, you can’t fire Overwatch again later in the turn.
Unlike other armies that need to use a Stratagem to Overwatch, the entire T’au army can do so for free, and they can use their updated For the Greater Good ability to offer support fire just like they currently do! Enemies will still need to think twice about charging a T’au Empire gun line.
The Way Modifiers Will Work in 9th
GW clarified the way modifiers will work in 9th Edition as well. First off, auto-hitting is exactly what it sounds like. You don’t roll. 1’s always fail to hit and 6’s are always a success. However, specifically, A HIT ROLL can never be modified more than (+1/-1). That means that if there’s a unit with an innate -1 to hit ability in melee range with a squad of power fist Marines, the max that those power fists would be is -1. (In 8th, they’d be -2).
This mechanic alone is going to put down a lot of Aeldari Flyer shenanigan lists!
With these two new rules mechanics revealed, do you still have high hopes for 9th Edition? Have you gone against a list that’s full of -1 to hit tricks? Could the meta be changing from this modifier cap alone?
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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.
