With all the rules leaks lately wouldn’t it be nice if someone just summarized it into a couple pages? Well, someone has and we have it right here for you.
A very dedicated Hobbyist went through and wrote up a summary of all the rules and changes we know so far. If you don’t feel like reading through pages of rules that keep getting spotted this is a nice little tool to give you an all around look at what’s been put out so far.
Remember though folks, always add salt to anything not in print from Games Workshop:
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It has been over a month since Games Workshop started up their 8th edition 40k rules teaser campaign, and there’s been content every day since.
Let’s take a look at the different factions and some of their rules and teasers they’ve put out since the announcement
Dark Eldar
Table of Contents & Article Summary
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- Raiders are nowhere near the paper thin deathtraps they could be in the past. Venoms, as well, are absolutely fantastic vehicles, and due to the changes to the core rules of the game, all of their weapons now have at least a chance to hurt even resilient vehicles on a 6 to wound.
- You can have a dark lance, which will give you serious punch to open other people’s transports or take down large creatures.
- Incubi are now truly frightening combatants. They have a klaive that hits at +1 Strength and AP -3… yikes that’s going to hurt! The leader of a unit is a beast as well, gaining +2 damage if he rolls a 6 to wound.
- Wyches will be seen in greater numbers too. Honestly, this might be one of the top 3 most improved units in all of the new edition! They get the 4+ invulnerable save in the Fight phase, just like before, and can now dish out some damage in combat. Their hydra gauntlets and razorflails are fantastic, giving their attacks -1 AP. But their real talent is in the No Escape special rule.
T’au Empire
- The Anchors currently allow the Stormsurge to shoot twice, but in the new edition, this has been changed to a more reasonable (but still powerful!) +1 to hit in the Shooting phase … The Stormsurge also has the Walking Battleship special rule which allows him to Fall Back from combat and still shoot, while also ignoring the penalty for moving and shooting heavy weapons.
- The XV8 Crisis Battlesuits are next up on the docket. They each can take 3 weapons (which again, you can fire all of them!)
- The flamers give you nasty Overwatch defence, as they auto-hit incoming units that charge within their range. Oh, and did I forget to mention they have the Fly keyword? This allows them to Fall Back from combat and still shoot at full effect.
- When Sniper Drones are paired with the T’au HQ’s such as the Cadre Fireblade they will bring down those pesky support characters with deadly efficiency … The 48″ range on their Sniper weapons, plus their fast movement, means they will be filling those characters with lead (or plasma?) a lot faster than snipers from other factions.
Tyranids
- The Swarmlord is an absolute beast now, as he should be! With a Toughness value of 6, 12 Wounds, a 3+ save and a 5+ invulnerable save (increased to a 4+ invulnerable save in melee) he is not easily taken down.
- This can be further enhanced by casting Catalyst on him (and did I mention he’s a potent Psyker, too?) to give him a 5+ save vs Wounds suffered.
- But it’s not just defence, oh no, Mr. Swarmlord brings the pain in combat as well. With a base of Strength of 8, 7 Attacks, hitting on a 2+, with an AP value of -3 and D6 damage a pop, the Swarmlord can lay low even Titanic units in a single round of combat.
- However, his ability that I have found to be most useful is Hive Commander, which allows a friendly unit to move in the Shooting phase. This is incredibly powerful for the sudden added mobility. For Hormagants, with their blisteringly quick Movement of 8″, this means a potential 16″ move before attempting a charge. Or he could simply use it on himself and move up to 18″…
- Genestealers, who are the iconic Tyranid unit in my eyes, are absolutely lethal. Not only are they incredibly fast with an 8″ Move themselves, they can also charge after advancing. With their shiny new 5+ invulnerable save, they’re also hardy, and I often cast Catalyst on them too.
- But to really crank the power up to 11 with Genestealers, take them in units of 10 or more to trigger their Flurry of Claws special rule, bumping them up to 4 Attacks each. Combo this with the Broodlord (who is also, utterly deadly in melee) to also give them a +1 to hit in the Fight phase.
- Due to the changes in the way damage works, medium sized Tyranids are much more enjoyable to play. A Tyranid Warrior with 3 Wounds and a Toughness value of 4 is so much more durable than he was, that it’s incredible.
Eldar
- Phoenix Lords, especially, will benefit from a nice 2+ armor save. They’ve all been re-pointed to make all of the choices appealing, and they are more well-rounded – not only tearing bloody swathes through enemy combatants but also boosting the abilities of friendly warriors nearby.
- You’ll recognize many of the same elements from your current army as well: high mobility with army-wide special rules such as Battle Focus, and of course the classic powers such as Guide, Doom and Fortune.
- You’ll also be happy to see multiple play styles available to you. From infantry (and you all know I love my “Footdar” army!) to mechanized, to psyker heavy to totally psyker absent. You won’t feel shoehorned into a single build style but can exercise your creativity and field the army you desire.
- Striking Scorpions particularly are just vicious combatants that will strike fear into your opponent and disrupt their battle plans with the Masters of Stealth special rule and their Mandiblasters softening up enemy units at the beginning of the Fight phase by dishing out mortal wounds.
- Howling Banshees are now faster than almost any other Infantry unit in the game, and nearly always get to go first in the Fight phase even if they didn’t charge.
- The Avatar of Khaine has an ability that means he can even ignore some mortal wounds, he’ll be better protected than ever while filling your army with the fighting spirit of Kaela Mensha Khaine! I can tell you, there are few models that can deal as much melee damage as the Avatar can with the Wailing Doom, which allows you to pick the highest of two dice rolls when dealing damage.
There has been a lot of changes made, and a lot of new rules and stats for all factions. Hopefully this was able to give you a good idea on what to expect with the upcoming 8th edition that will be up for pre-order this Saturday.
Make sure to keep checking in with us for the latest updates leading up to the release of 8th edition.
What do you think about the changes we’ve seen so far?
