Nothing against the players took them, but here are some good ideas on how to fix the abusive Iron Hands lists that are taking the meta by storm.
Iron Hands have been a meta stomper since the time of their release. In fact, they’re probably the faction that has kept their power the longest.
With the 2020 LVO concluding and multiple copies of the exact same Iron Hands list finishing near the top, there has to be something done.
So what could GW possibly change?
What Are the Problem Units?
We don’t want Iron Hands to become reigned back so much that they aren’t playable. However, there are two units in particular where we see the power spike. Specifically the Leviathan and Chaplain Dreadnought.
The Leviathan is so strong because of its Dreadnought/Vehicle keyword, which allows multiple tricks to synergize with it. The Iron Hands Leviathan is already a T8 mini-Knight with a 2+/4++/6+++. That’s not a statline that’ll just roll over for anybody. But in an iron Hands list with the right gear, it becomes immortal.
Things like reducing damage by 1 from a relic called the Ironstone, halving damage taken with a 1CP Strat, and even healing an additional D3 wounds a turn with a Psychic power called Reforge. These things all stack up to make this beast unkillable.
As for the Chaplain Dreadnought, its power lies in its battlefield role and wargear. Yes, the litanies are good. But if someone wanted to take Chaplains for litany spam, they’d be bringing the cheaper alternative and run little dudes on-foot. As we were saying, the Chaplain Dreadnought really comes in clutch by filling up the vital HQ slot, giving a litany, being protected by the character keyword, and its access to wargear, specifically las cannons.
What lists are doing now, is they are leaving the anti-armor role to characters and bringing three twin-lascannon Chappy Dreads. That gives them six nearly-untargettable lascannon shots a turn. And even if the enemy list is decked-out with Snipers, the fact that they’re T7 makes it so Eliminators can only wound on a 5+ anyway. (And for an extra punch, we’re seeing players bring the Character keyworded Contemptor Mortis Dread with two twin-lascannons for four more high AP shots.
There’s an Easy Fix to Both of These
There’s actually an easy fix to both of these units.
- For the Leviathan, take away the Dreadnought keyword. That way, it can’t half damage, but will still be powerful with a damage-reducing relic/repairing.
It might sound stupid to take “Dreadnought” away from something called a Leviathan Dreadnought, however, we saw that exact thing happen with the Whirlwind Scorpius. GW took the Whirlwind keyword away to nip any busted power spikes in the bud earlier on.
- For the Chaplain Dreadnought, GW could simply make it something like 10+ wounds and make it so only one could be included in your entire battle forged list.
Giving it the minimum amount of wounds to be targetted would be an easy fix that would force most Iron Hands lists back to the drawing board. But if they wanted to keep the wounds exactly where they were, GW could just limit one per army, essentially.
We saw something similar, but not quite as heavy-handed as what we’re proposing with the Tau Commanders in Battlesuits in the earlier days of 8th edition. People were spamming them with fusion and it was wrecking the meta, so GW only allowed one Commander per Detachment.
We Could See These Changes in the new Forge World Book
Tying these things altogether, we could see changes come to these units in the newly announced Forge World rules adjustment book. Both of these units that are “problems” come from Forge World and GW has already announced that they are in the process of rewriting rules for a vast majority of their 40k units.
Now with that said, the Chaplain Dreadnought is a unit that’s been out of production for a while now. And you’ll be hard-pressed to find a legitimate Forge World Chappy Dread on the web. Because of this, the Chappy Dread most definitely isn’t out of the danger zone for being thrown into Warhammer Legends. In fact, because it’s also not Primaris means it’s already got two strikes against it.
On the other hand, we could also see Forge World bring the model back and circulate it into the hobby. We just saw this recently with the Imperial Guard Gorgon, so who really knows!
What do you think GW will do to fix Iron Hands? Is there another fix you think the army needs more? Is the Chaplain Dreadnought going to get thrown into Warhammer Legends?
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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 the Las Vegas Open, each of which attracts thousands of 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 2011 Adepticon 40k Team Tournament. He was even featured for his painting in issue #304 of Games Workshop’s White Dwarf Magazine.
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.
