Chapter Approved is one of the most anticipated Warhammer 40k books in a while, as it was rumored to fix multiple armies. So did it?
If you missed our earlier post showing all the points changes be sure to check it out to see what’s changing for your army. We’ll be going off of what’s on those sheets completely.
Keep in mind that these are just our opinions and what things look like TO US. There still needs to be plenty of playtesting done and see all kinds of match-ups with other armies post-Chapter Approved.
Grey Knights- Win…?
Grey Knights were in a remarkably rough spot for the longest time in 8th edition. They were already expensive and got nerfed even more with FAQ after FAQ. However, Chapter Approved was very nice to the Daemon slayers. Most characters got their points reduced by a third (Draigo now costing 60 pts less). They also had plenty of Wargear go down in cost. We know GW puts a little too much value in a 3+ save and WAY too much value in a 2+ as far as points go.
Grey Knights are most definitely not the most competitive by any means. It also looks like their smite didn’t get buffed to a D3 like some rumors around the internet were saying (that we know of). But they aren’t nearly as bad off as they were. Now, we can make a case where you may want to run Draigo and a Strike squad just to have some mid-game disruption in your Imperium list.
SB Conclusion: Draigo is expensive but not over the top like he used to be. They won’t be shaking the meta, but they are at least playable.
Space Marines- Win
Looking at all the other Chapters of Space Marines, it looks like they came out alright as well. Surprisingly enough, Tactical Marines didn’t go down in points and no rules were changed to make the 3+ save a little bit better. With that being said, plenty of other specialized units (Terminators, Centurions, and Dreadnoughts) got their points almost cut in half.
Almost everything in their wargear list also going points reductions. (Chain Fists down to 11pts for example).
Some Chapters will do better than others in the current meta (looking at you Ultramarines) simply because they have a Primarch and the first-ever Primaris Chapter Master.
SB Conclusion: Space Marines as a whole look to be well-rounded and a solid faction you’d expect to see competitively.
Ad Mech- Win
Ad Mech is another one of those factions that weren’t exactly owning the meta. They had some decent units and most definitely weren’t the worst faction to be playing, but they were too expensive.
Cawl dopped in points and Servo Arms are now completely free. When you play a faction that has a Servo Arms on just about every character, they can get expensive.
SB Conclusion: With almost everything in the army getting a points decrease(wargear and unit), we’ll have to see if it was enough to send them over the hump into a competitive army.
Imperial Guard- Were Winning Before & Still Winning
As time goes on, GW is making it more clear that Space Marines are no longer their poster child. Imperial Guard are dirt cheap and can demolish just about any other list if it’s got the right player behind it. 100% Guard lists were still coming in first place around the world and they still got points decreases that make us scratch our heads.
For example, A Guardsman with a 4+ BS is 4pts. Meanwhile, a Veteran Guardsman with a 3+ BS is 5pts. For just one point more, that buys you a better ballistic skill? That doesn’t quite make sense to us.
Another big change was that Tank Commanders went down another 25pts. Most people were running Tank Commanders whenever they ran a Leman Russ anyway simply because they like hitting on a 3+ and have the ability to give orders. But GW decided to make them even cheaper.
SB Conclusion: Tanks are better, nothing got worse. Maybe we’ll see more of what makes 40k a sci-fi property now on the table instead of just waves of Infantry?
Eldar as a Whole- Lose
They may have “lost” in Chapter Approved but we still think they will be a meta Titan. So what made them lose exactly? Simply put, there were hardly any “groundbreaking” changes. The Wraithknight got cheaper which is nice but as a Lord of War with no invulnerable save, we probably still won’t see it pop up all that much.
On top of that, Shining Spears got a little bit more expensive. Dark Eldar didn’t get any updates either. (It was probably for the better that these guys didn’t get any crazy point drops).
SB Conclusion: Nothing to see here…
Orks- Lose
Orks just got their codex and it would make sense that there wouldn’t be any point changes. Of course, you have to think back and realize that they had Chapter Approved finished before the Ork codex even dropped. We can understand why it would be saddening to not see any point changes (at all) for your faction, but Orks DID just get their codex.
Tau- Win
Originally, Tau only had two ways to play. Either Fire Warrior gunline or the good ol’ Y’vharra shake and bake. Chapter Approved previewed points drops for all kinds of Battlesuits as well as weapon systems. Now, people are free to go more mobile/Battlesuit heavy.
One of the biggest ones that stuck out to us was the missile pods. We feel like Broadsides with missile launchers may be making a comeback.
Last but not least, Commander Farsight and his Eight are coming to the 8th edition party as a lord of War detachment. Keep in mind that we have no idea what the rules for his squad will look like, but the Eight is something people were asking for for a while.
SB Conclusion: The bad got better, and the Eight are here. Sight unseen unlikey to make a meaningful impact competively.
Necrons- Lose
As sad as it is to say, Necrons have drawn the short end of the stick in 8th edition. They have a few very good units…but you have to spam those units. (looking at Destroyers). Necrons didn’t have any major changes that put these guys into the competitive scene by any means, but they are better off. Necrons used to be ridiculous in 7th edition.
SB Conclusion: It looks like 40k has not been kind to them in 8th, still.
Daemons- Win
Daemons were one of the earlier armies to get a Codex. They were a force to be reckoned with initially, but that all changed when the power creep attacked… Some Daemon units were clearly overcosted as they were just too squishy for their points.
Prime example, Skarbrand is a walking blender. However, he can be targetted by everyone because he’s so big and only has a 5++ Daemon save. If a player managed to actually connect with him, Skarbrand would basically kill anything. Getting him there was the battle. Now, he costs just over 300pts which is definitely welcomed. All other Daemon Characters went way down as well with Great Unclean Ones costing just over 250.
Oddly enough, the Death Guard Daemon Prince costs 10pts less than a regular CSM Daemon Prince. We’re not exactly sure where their logic in points differentiation comes from, but a cheaper Daemon with a 5+++ Disgustingly Resilient roll is pretty dope now.
SB Conclusion: At this point why not play Daemons, you can use them in AoS as well!
Chaos Space Marines- Lose
Chaos Space Marines had some definite point reductions and are even getting a new Raptor Lord Model (Haarken Worldclaimer), but it looks like all in all, there was nothing too big that changed.
Maulerfiends went down a few points which is very nice, but Chaos Terminators cost more than the Imperium’s Terminators and there were no changes to Abaddon despite Marneus Calgar turning Primaris and getting new rules. Chaos is by no means bad in 8th edition, but it looks like they weren’t under GW’s spotlight.
SB Conclusion: Cultist days are numbered, but other cooler units will see play again. Get ready for a rumored Vigilus book two to potentially take Chaos back to 11 hopefully sooner than later.
Tyranids & GSC- Win
Tyranids and GSC look to both be in a better place. Most of the stuff in the Tyranid army dropped anywhere between 15-40 pts with only the Neurothrope going up by 20.
As for GSC, wargear and unit costs were dropped. There were no crazy changes that say “GSC are back on the menu” but this could be a heads up for what’s to come in their codex. GW has already confirmed that they would be next in line to receive a book so it was a little odd to see some focus on their points changes in Chapter Approved.
SB Conclusion: Tyranids are another army that were meta bruisers when their codex dropped pre-rule of 3. However, power creep knocked them back into being “decent”. With the reductions from Chapter Approved, they might be back on track to being potent once again.
As we’ve said before, we are going off of everything that we saw in the previews. We aren’t sure how things will scale on the table when dice are actually rolling. However, all of the changes look to be fair overall and there don’t seem to be any “knee-jerk” points changes anywhere in the book.
Let us know what you think about Chapter Approved 2018 in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group.
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.
