New 40k rules are here in War Zone Octarius: Critical Mass for the Speed Freeks, Blood Axes, and even Rogue Traders!
With the Warzone Octarius supplement in hobbyists’ hands, we can get a better picture of what all the new rules are looking like for factions focussed on in the book.
These rules are collected from all the following reviews on YouTube, Imgur, and Warhammer Community alike, so be sure to watch your favorite presenters talk about their take on the book at the links below!
Get Your War Zone Octarius Critical Mass Rules Here
Since this is a little different than a standard faction codex or supplement, we’ve included the introduction below in case you are curious about how exactly the rules are applied to each faction.
Now let’s start checking out all the new Warzone Octarius Critical Mass rules!
New Rogue Trader 40k Rules: War Zone Octarius
The Rogue Trader (aka Astra Cartographica) Faction abilities are all focused on being able to splash them with other Imperium models. Well once per detachment that is, which makes complete sense seeing as they are essentially a two-model faction.
New 40k Rogue Trader Warlord Trait Rules:
The actual first new rules we see for Rogue Trader in Octarius are three new Warlord Trait options. In our opinion, there is one clear winner here and that’s Master of High Society. This trait has the chance to get you a ton of extra CP through a game, meaning you will usually get to use more than your opponents!
New 40k Rogue Trader Octarius Rules Stratagems:
The Rogue Traders received quite a few new Stratagem options in the book, with a total of 6 new options landing in players’ arsenals. Voilent Acquisition looks ok, but the requirement to hit something inside an objective makes it arguably worse than most other similar effects.
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A sleeper pick here is Master of the Void, since your probably going to splash Rogue Traders, you probably don’t want to select one as your warlord, however with this Stratagem, you can get that sweet CP engine for just a single CP investment, pretty much guaranteeing to pay for itself.
New 40k Rogue Trader Datasheets:
Without explicitly saying it, the three loadout options are actually just the three main Rogue Trader models that we have from GW. Of the 3, the third looks the best, which is actually Janus Draik (from Blackstone Fortress). His rapier seems pretty decent and his access to Archeotech Grenades make him an inch ahead of the other options.
There’s nothing too special about the Voidsmen-At-Arms, however, their Rotor-cannon does seem pretty decent, and assuming they are similarly costed as Imperial Guardsmen, they’ll probably be decently efficient.
They do have the unique ability to bring a “Canid”, which is actually a dog! Being able to plop down some extra mortals is always nice, but it might not be worth the cost depending on how much it is.
Speaking of points…
New 40k Rogue Trader Point Values:
The Rogue traders are only 60 pts and for a decent character with some special rules that’s not half bad, especially considering the potential to make them a self-paying CP engine in any imperium list! While the Voidsmen aren’t too exciting they are not too expensive and only 5 pts for the dog isn’t bad either, but at the end of the day, it’s realistically only 1 mortal wound for 5pts.
New Blood Axes 40k Rules: War Zone Octarius
Of the three new Traits, Extra Kunnin’ looks to inch ahead. There are plenty of good Strategic Ploy Stratagems, meaning it’s pretty reasonable to get at least 3CP worth of discounts with this trait which isn’t half bad.
However, all of these trait options are in contested slots already available to Orks it seems like.
New 40k Ork Blood Axes Relics:
While new stuff is always exciting the most enticing option here is clearly the Fight Detecta. What this does is let you immediately charge deep striking units within 12″ of this relic bearer, choosing a friendly unit within 6″ of your character and charging in on a +2!
Technically your opponent can easily play around this by being careful with deep strike locations, but if they aren’t you are sure to put some huge holes in their plans.
New 40k Blood Axes Octarius Rules Stratagems:
As for Stratagems, Blood Axes are getting 8 brand new options. Young Bloodz is interesting because it offers up a certain amount of combo-ness to anyone willing to run max squads of Stormboyz.
Blood Axe Warbosses have keen minds, and can pull off brilliant schemes in the heat of battle. Their well-drilled Boyz can surround an enemy unit and hack it apart in a deadly coordinated assault, while Kommandos range out beyond friendly lines to identify targets for their comrades in an unlikely display of discipline.
These rules are looking super fun to play. The Got’ em Trapped Stratagem is extremely helpful for those “smash face” armies. You want hits, and this stratagem helps you do that at the cost of Two CP.
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However, the current meta seems to like the extra flexibility of minimum squads. Additionally, Gloryboyz gives storm boyz even more tools by giving them access to a +2 to charge, making them even more reliable to get into melee.
Our last pick is Taktical Awareness which lets your unit that wants to perform actions do so with much less penalty, such as performing an action after advancing or making ranged attacks without the action failing!
New Speed Freeks 40k Rules: War Zone Octarius
This army of renown starts off a heavy restriction by preventing you from getting any troops. However, seeing some of the more recent Ork lists anyways, that might not be as big of a deal as it seems initially. To help balance the loss of Objective Secured, the Bikers gain it, essentially acting as the troop replacement.
Another huge factor is of course the ability Adrenaline Junkies which adds 1 to attacks after a charge or intervention, can advance and shoot as if it didn’t, AND gain a 6+ invulnerable save that’s upgraded to a 5+ if it advanced that turn! Overall a huge boon for relatively low costs.
But that’s not all, the Army of Renown still has more to offer…
New 40k Speed Mob Jobs and Warlord Trait:
While both Kustom Jobs are certainly good, the Warlord trait is fantastic. Getting Speed King on your character for a re-roll bubble is a huge bonus, especially when the character has a large base like so many Ork Vehicles do, effectively increasing the range vs if it were a simply infantry-sized model.
Don’t get us wrong though, free mortals on Drag Chains and shooting in CQC with Raised Suspenshun are both great new options.
New 40k Speed Mob Octarius Rules Stratagems:
Looking at the six new stratagems for this Army of Renown, two are clear winners to us. CHAAAAARGE! gets you +1 S and an extra AP for all your Warbikers that Charge that turn, which you are mostly running a few of thanks to the addition of Objective Secure to bikers. Additionally, 2CP really isn’t too high of a cost considering just how much extra damage you can get through thanks to it.
Second, there’s Attack Out O’ Da Sun’ which lets you redeploy a Deffkoptas unit at the end of your turn and place them back down during the Reinforcements step of your next turn. This is great because you get to fly in, deal your damage, and go essentially anywhere the following turn while being immune to clap back (since they are in reserves during your opponent’s turn)!
Overall it’s a great time to play 40k as new updates bring renewed life to the game, however with supplement after supplement (not to mention the FAQs, etc.) there is a cost in money and time.
Need more on everything Warhammer? Here are the latest rules updates!
- New Blood Axes 40k Rules: War Zone Octarius
- New Speed Freeks 40k Rules: War Zone Octarius
- New Rogue Trader 40k Rules: War Zone Octarius
- All the New War Zone Octarius: Rising Tide 40k Rules
- All The New Black Templars Warhammer 40k Rules: REVIEW
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What are your thoughts on all these rules? Which is your favorite new option?
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About the Author: Andrew Schrank
Andrew Schrank
Job Title: Miniatures & Warhammer Hobby Staff Writer
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About Andrew Schrank: Over the past 15 years, Andrew has played all the games, including tabletop and video games, and immersed himself in the associated lore. Andrew joined the Spikey Bits team in 2018 and covers the Warhammer hobby and tournament scene, along with the latest in tabletop miniatures, each week.
Aspiring diplomat, Lord of Fluff, and Master of Ice Hammer, He loves Star Wars, Chaos Undivided, and Gundam. During his free time, he hunts Platinum trophies on PS5 and reads international news. On weekends, Andrew plays commander and cEDH games, often with unique strategies that push the limits.
He believes each day presents a new opportunity to grow and be challenged.
