Don’t get left in the dust? This article contains some pretty good advice IMHO about how the Aegis line can really benefit your army.
Plus at only 50 points to field, I think we all should at least familiarize ourselves with it more as even if we don’t play it, we’ll probably square off against it more and more now.
I had been hearing about some of this stuff via my chats with various Wrecking Crew members lately, and finally found it written up by WC’s very own “Crazy Dave”.
Turns out Crazy Dave along with “TheHod” have their own blog where they muse about modeling and the competitive scene. Judging by the quality of this article I’m sure we’ll be seeing them on here more, and more!
This is the first of our Sixth Edition “Knowledge Bomb” article series, which is designed to help us review parts of the rules we may not be as familiar with.
From Crazy Dave:
We have all heard the internet clamoring that Vehicles have been hit by the NERF bat in 6th. This is both true and false for more reasons than I will describe here.
Today I will describe cover and what it means for vehicles in 6th edition as it has changed in many different ways.
First lets look at the cover rules on pages 74 and 75, most importantly the first bullet:
At least 25% of the facing of the vehicle that is bring targeted (its front, side, or rear) needs to be hidden by intervening terrain or models from the point of view of the firer for the vehicle to be in cover.
Lets take a few looks at 25% being covered:
We see that the Aegis can easily hide 25% of a rhino and it provides a 4+ cover save to boot. So a 50 point investment gets your vehicles good cover. (Editor’s Note: Don’t forget if you go to ground behind a defensive barrier, you get +2 to your cover as well, making it a 2+ behind the Aegis)
Now lets look at my favorite part of the text I referenced above:
At least 25% of the facing of the vehicle that is bring targeted (its front, side, or rear) needs to be hidden by intervening terrain or models from the point of view of the firer for the vehicle to be in cover.
Lets explore this now
In this picture, the Interceptor has a clear view of the side armor. In 5th, this would mean that the tank had no cover, however, this is 6th. All we can consider is the facing being shot.
In this second picture the side armor is is blocked out in blue, giving us a visual aid to show us only the front armor which is clearly 25% obscured.
Next we need to take a look at how Armor Facing works in 6th compared to 5th.
Lets start with the 5th Edition Armor Facing Diagram.
In 5th edition we drew lines from 1 corner to next, or as the INAT ruled, we make a cross at the center and have 90 degree facings from the center point. If you notice, parts of the top of the vehicle are included in each facing.
Now, if we look at the 6th edition diagram we notice one big change other than the fact that it is in color. The lines do not intersect in the middle of the vehicle. Page 73, were the diagram is in the book, does clarify the issue of how to determine which facing is were by drawing the lines through the corners.
However, in the this diagram, none of the top of the vehicle is included in the facing. The reason for this change, I can only guess, is to prevent flyers from completely dominating other vehicles.
Lets take a look at Flyers shooting vehicles
At first glance it would appear that the Aegis is not enough to give the Razorback cover.
From the view of the Storm Raven itself, it again looks like no cover is provided, but that is because we still see things in 5th edition.
When we block the top part of the Razorback out, like in the the other picture, we now see that the Aegis does in fact still cover 25%.
So, the cover rules have changed. Vehicles now get cover almost always. Cover may only be 5+ most of the time, but getting it always gives vehicles back some survivability that was lost from losing 4+ cover and gaining Hull Points.
I hope I enlightened some of you on these rules. Be sure to check out my blog No Turtles Allowed where I write, along with my friend Hod, about all sorts of 40k shenanigans!
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.
