Master the “Hidden” rule & new terrain footprints in 40k 11th Ed. From -1 hit penalties to standardized layouts, here’s how to rule the board.
Another Long War Two-Fer is here: Keep those hobby muscles strong with this week’s webcast and the latest exciting podcast of table-top wargaming awesomeness, mostly centered around Warhammer 40k.
The Long War: Episode 508
Article Table of Contents:
Show Summary:
This week, the crew covers their reflections on Adepticon and hopes for the hobby going forward! Here are the key takeaways, section by section:
- 00:01-15:16 The crew opens with the usual Long War chaos. Rob runs through his AdeptiCon haul: Magnet Baron polarity tools, J15 game aids, Game Envy wet palette gear, Asthmaw Day’s much smoother digital queue for exclusives, Mantic’s pricey Halo Flashpoint Noble Team box, tabletop weapon display accessories, Monument paints, and a portable hobby lamp he liked for travel.
- 15:16-20:37 The “would you rather” bit goes full hobby goblin mode: would they rather assemble models only with chopsticks or paint only with toothpicks? Most land on toothpicks because bad paint is easier to live with than a completely mangled assembly.
- 20:37-24:33 Rob’s news desk covers current hobby releases and product chatter: new Games Workshop drops, likely Armageddon release timing, Army Painter’s Da Vinci-developed Masterclass brushes, Monument’s Pro Acryl Expert Series 2 paints, and LVO ticket timing.
- 24:33-28:07 They spotlight the Dragon Fire Games burglary-and-arson story, calling out how wild it was that a high-end Pokémon card theft escalated into the store being set on fire. The silver lining is that the shop was already moving locations, and community support, like a GoFundMe, helped soften the blow.
- 28:07-36:46 Rob mentions new Primaris Vanguard Veterans, with the crew noting hobbyists can still kitbash their own pretty easily with jump pack bodies and upgrade bits. The middle stretch also detours into hobby chatter, streams, old friends, and Street Fighter nostalgia.
- 36:46-41:24 Wyatt gets into the real meat of the episode: new 11th edition 40k terrain footprints and layouts. The big change is more structured terrain shapes, including long, narrow “lines” and right-angle triangles, plus a large central staging-area-style layout. Initial reaction from the cast is mostly positive because it looks cleaner and potentially better than late-10th-edition GW layouts.
- 41:24-45:22 They explain the new Hidden and Obscuring interactions. Infantry, Beasts, and Swarms inside terrain can stay hidden if they have not shot recently, which should reduce alpha strikes and give action units or staging pieces a safer role on the table. Objective control still looks familiar, but now objective zones tie more directly into terrain areas.
- 45:22-53:28 The biggest rules debate is around cover and plunging fire. Cover shifting to a ballistic-skill penalty instead of an armor-save bonus sounds interesting, but the cast worries it could get messy fast with armies or units that ignore modifiers or ignore cover. They also flag a real tournament concern: plenty of existing terrain collections were built around 10th edition assumptions, so 11th’s vertical play and plunging fire may not function evenly from one event to another.
- 53:49-56:40 They briefly touch on Yarrick’s new rules, and Wyatt thinks they look nasty. The standout combo is order efficiency and strong reactive plays, especially in optimized Guard builds. The general take is that it is fun for the closing stretch of the 10th edition, but it could get ugly fast if it rolls into the new edition without careful tuning.
- 56:40-1:01:39 The episode closes in classic Long War fashion with a totally unhinged detour into Ghostbusters, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the 1986 Transformers movie, including stories about childhood trauma from Optimus Prime dying, before they make their way through the outro.
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🔗 Related Reads From the Show:
- Adepticon 2026 Previews
- Bourbon & Bolters Retreat
- Monument Hobbies Paints
- Get your Warhammer and hobby supplies from Fabricators Forge
- J15 Games Has Your Game Aids, Tokens & Templates!
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