Well, the long wait for a sneak peek is over as GW reveals 7 new Drukhari 40k rules, and there are some big changes coming!
Warhammer Community just unveiled some rules that are going to have some serious effects on the Dark Eldar. Mainly, Power from Pain, Combat Drugs, and actual character upgrades are coming! They also seemed to have listened to the people and brought back Trueborn!
If you want to see more about the actual mini releases, you can check that out here. There’s a lot to go over, so buckle up!
GW Previews 7 New Drukhari 40k Rules!
First, let’s look at how the statlines are changing to give you a little more idea of how these new rules will change everything.
Unlike Space Marines, Eldar look to be staying at one wound a pop. This statline doesn’t however bring to light two new changes coming their way. They are getting an additional attack, and +1 to their Save. These two changes are pretty small, so they won’t see too much of a change, however facing two wound troops does hurt, so hopefully, they will be relatively cheap to field.
Splinter Cannon Stat Line
They also showed off the Splinter Cannon which is one of the many ranged options the kit has access to. There are a couple of changes here. The only thing remaining the same are the range and Poisoned Weapon (which might change with the codex). The weapon will now be Heavy 3 instead of Rapid fire 3, with Strength 3 instead of user strength.
It is also up to -1 AP instead of 0 and has 2 Damage instead of 1. Overall these are good changes considering SM has two wounds, these weapons just got a lot better versus them. Interesting to note here, they mention in the new stuff poison weapons can be Poison 4+, 3+, and 2+.
New Wyches Datasheet
There was an Ikea style sheet of their rules spotted recently so let’s compare it to the old sheet and see what’s changed.
Old rules
New Rules
New Bonuses:
- +1 Attack (up from 2, now 3)
- Agonizer -1 AP (was -2, now -3)
- Splinter Pistol flat S2 (was user)
- Hekatarii Blade -1 AP (was 0, now -1)
- Hydra Gauntlets +2 S, -2 AP, 1 Damage (was user, -1 AP, 1 Damage)
- Shardnet and Impaler – 1 AP ( was -1AP, now -2)
What we don’t know:
- Grenade Launcher?
- Poison Weapon?
- Unique Weapon rules?
- Invulnerable Save in Melee?
- Combat Drugs?
Overall, Wyches look like they are coming out on top. Most of their weapons are getting buffed and none of them are nerfed. They staying at 1 wound which may hurt them, but with many of their unique rules still unknown, this may not be that big of a deal.
Buffed across their whole sheet means if they get decent faction rules they will be much better in every way, and if not, they are better in their own right.
7) Archon Upgrades
First up, it looks like instead of bringing back Dracons, you can now upgrade your Archons to Master Archons. For a few extra points they will have access to new abilities and be able to take a relic. They only show one of the relics, but hopefully, there are more. On top of that, they mention there’s a chance you can also upgrade Succubi and Haemonculi. Since they are focusing the new codex on patrol detachments, it would make sense each detachment could have one Master Archon in it.
Since they changed power from pain, now basically giving your Archon a 5+ FNP is going to be helpful, along with the minus one to hit. While the other two focus on their combat efficiency, like attacking again once in a game. or gaining one extra damage on all their weapons. Pretty nice if your Archons find themselves pitted in CC and who knows, maybe those extra attacks can change the tide of battle!
6) Trueborn Return!
We had to evade several bands of elite bodyguards which seemed to be hanging around the aforementioned Master Archons. No doubt the Master Succubi and Haemonculi had their own retinues too, but we were lucky enough not to see any.
Let’s just hope they can have more blasters than normal! Because always hitting on a 2+ (and maybe rerolling ones for Archons) will really let a unit hunt down heavy armor once again. Also, we’ll have to see how many Dark Lances they can have because they ignore all modifiers, so they won’t be getting that -1 to hit, and they could really dish out some pain with the heavy weapons. Lastly, looks like you’ll also be able to upgrade both Wych Cult and Coven units to upgraded versions as well.
5) Raiding Forces
How this reads, is that you can take any number of detachments you want at no additional CP as long as their all Patrol Detachments, and they can all keep their Obsessions. Pretty sweet! Looks like they really want to push the Patrol Detachments of all three types with this book, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
This is just a nice little buff if you want to take all three of the options in one army. You can give different relics from the different keywords to the characters in the list, and your Warlord can make everyone (core Units) reroll ones whenever they attack.
4) Kabal of the Poisoned Tongue
This can really up the efficiency of your Splinter Weaponry, meaning you’ll be hitting and wounding all infantry on 3’s with this. While they don’t have high damage, you’ll at least be getting more wounds through, and when fighting high toughness armies, this could really play a big role. Let’s just hope Space Marines aren’t too good at making their saves!
This is fairly similar to the old rule, but being able to redeploy if you really messed up the placement of your key units could be very helpful. Or just pulling units into reserve for no additional CP could really fake out your opponent.
3) Power From Pain
So, this is quite unfortunate. No longer does the army have an FNP… a 6+ invuln isn’t bad, but there were already units with this, like Scourges, and Shadowfields (at 2+). Also, they basically have no way to stop the Psychic phase and this at least helped from just taking Mortal Wounds with nothing. But, the second one really helps Wych Cult, now you can Advance your Bikers and Hellions on turn two, go insanely far and get off those charges easier.
But, you won’t be able to reroll charges, so your deep striking units will have a far harder time getting this off. Not to mention by turn three you’re at +1 to hit in melee and you don’t suffer minuses for your vehicles and heavy weapons. The Invuln does increase, but not until turn 4. We’ll just have to wait and see how the no FNP plays out.
2) Combat Drugs
They don’t show what the drugs will be, but this is a big buff! Now, when you’re running a big list of just Wych Cult, you won’t have to pick the less desirable ones or spread them throughout. You can just pick whatever drugs you want for whichever unit! If you’ve played Wych Cult in the past, you know how annoying this was. That means you can make all Wych blobs +1 strength and really make use of all those extra attacks! Or give all your bikes that extra toughness. Lastly, if you still want to go random, you’re now rewarded. Where before it was just more for fun, now they get two drugs! Pretty sweet overall.
1) Relics
The Djin Blade doesn’t change too much, but if you combine this now with the attacking again once per game, your Archon can really dish out the punishment.
Hey, nothing wrong with ignoring wounds on a 4+! These aren’t too different from what DE has already, so let’s hope there’s some more variety in the book! That does it for these, but it’s a lot to take in!
What do you think about the rules so far? Are you excited for the codes to finally drop?
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About the Author: Travis Pasch
Travis Pasch
Job Title: Head Writer & Editor
Socials: @paschbass
About Travis Pasch: Travis has been a Warhammer 40k hobbyist since the 1990s, playing the game since Third Edition. Through extensive traveling, he’s seen a lot of the miniatures hobby from across the world, giving him a unique perspective on the latest gaming topics and trends.
Travis’s brother even owns a commission painting studio, where he’s picked up a lot of good advice and techniques for painting Warhammer and tabletop miniatures over the years, as well. Travis joined the Spikey Bits team in 2019 and has been the lead writer since 2020.
Currently, he’s working on converting all his 40k Adeptus Mechanicus models and becoming a true tech enjoyer, complete with both sad and happy robot noises!
