Don’t miss the top winners and losers from Warhammer 40k’s big September FAQ! Take a look at all the latest updates and changes to the game.
Spotted on Warhammer Community 40k just got a bit of help in terms of rules clarification in the midst of all the beta rules, but overall GW says 40k is in a good place right now!
First off we have the rules updates to the game itself:
September 2019 40k Rules Updates
The good news is that Warhammer 40,000 is in really good shape, so whether you favour using finely honed tournament lists or thematic, narrative-driven armies, you needn’t fear any seismic changes to the game. In addition to formalising many of the tweaks made to the various Adeptus Astartes publications in the recent update, which coincided with the launch of Codex: Space Marines, there are just a handful of minor clarifications to a number of publications in response to your feedback.
Helping to streamline the game even more, below is the latest updates that were made to the game! While some changes were made, note that the foundational rules of the game haven’t really been touched:
As with previous updates, the first thing we have done is to update all of our existing FAQ and Errata documents to take account of any new questions that have been asked since April (if you submitted a question, make sure you check out the Errata and FAQ document for your army’s codex). There are no major changes to any of the core Warhammer 40,000 rules, only some clarifications, such as the ordering of opposed dice rolls and re-rolls. You can find these in the updated Warhammer 40,000 FAQ document.
Editor’s Note, individual 40k FAQs were not updated as of this writing. We will have more updates if/when this happens.
April’s 40k Beta Matched Play Rules Finalized
Starting off, Bolter Discipline was updated and finalized taking away the Bolter rule from things like the Land Raider Crusader (which it had for all of 30 minutes). Keep in mind that this rapid-fire rule is only for bolter keyworded weapons. However, it still works on some Chapter relics, check the fine print.
With the addition of the Aircraft keyword to Prepared Positions, Titanic, Fortifications, and Flyer-battlefield roles (note not unit types) are unaffected by the strat. That being said, most ground vehicles and all infantry still get the benefit of being in cover.
Tactical Restraint is exempt from a few abilities that net you more than 1Cp at a time. However, if you gain 2CP from Trajann’s Moment Shackle rule, for example, you can only gain those 2 for the rest of the battle round regardless if you have something like a Kurov’s Aquilla in play as well. Stratagems that gain the player CP are unaffected by this rule.
Finally, Tactical Reserves is to limit the amount of damage caused by turn-one deepstrikers. GW is keeping the point/unit cap on units that are allowed to be in deepstrike. On top of that, units in reserves still can’t come in on turn one and if they aren’t on the table by the third battle round, they’re destroyed.
Highlights of the September FAQ By Faction:
Here are some of the key changes to 40k by faction/army.
In the first batch of changes, Aggressors got an extra attack with their fists. Tacking on the bonus attack for Shock Assault these guys will be able to pummel things into the ground even more.
GW also made an official statement showing that Drop Pods across the board can come in on turn 1. They get around the Tactical Reserves rule.
Any and all Leman Russ/LOW tanks bringing the Demolisher cannon got its profile updated to D6…shortly after the Vindicator had it’s profile updated to D6. Note that you don’t get any bonuses for firing into larger squads either.
Flamestorm Cannons on all Land Raider Redeemers’ range were updated to 12″ across the board.
Top Xenos Changes & Updates
Tau were reigned back a bit only allowing for a repair once on any turn. This way it can’t be spammed in each phase.
As if Drones weren’t already a problem, they look to have gotten stronger. Weapons that inflict mortal wounds in addition to normal damage have their damage converted into a single mortal wound and one Drone dies. On top of that, if an effect like Tremor Shells slows a target, the unit you shoot at isn’t affected. The Drones take all the debuffs.
The way it’s worded in the book, it looks like you can bring units in this way on turn one. However, they have to come in at the earliest on turn two and you can only use it once per battle.
Top Chaos Changes & Updates
Even though Cultists, Poxwalkers and Tzaangors share the Heretic Astartes keyword, they don’t get the Hateful Assault +1 attack. This is good news as Tzaangors could have gotten a little crazy with the Dark Matter Crystal.
And there you have it! These are the top highlights we pulled from the changes across all of the factions. Again be sure to make sure you check out all of the changes that made their way to your faction.
So with this all covered, what do you think the biggest change is? Did your army get better or worse?
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About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
