Warhammer 40k keeps struggling with flyers, meanwhile Star Wars: Legion may have cracked the problem, and GW should probably take notes.
GW had a problem with aircraft being a pain to move around the table, so its fix was basically to stop them from being on the table. That’s where the 11th Edition aircraft rules have landed, and now that Atomic Mass Games has shown off starfighters for Star Wars Legion that work pretty much the opposite way, the difference is a little hard to ignore.
Both companies are dealing with the same problem. How do you put a heavily armed jet on a table full of infantry and tanks without letting it take over the game?
GW keeps tightening the movement restrictions with each edition, but AMG is letting the X-wings fly around and putting the limits somewhere else. But while we think that’s worth looking at, there is a pretty big catch: AMG’s flyers aren’t coming until 2027, while GW’s rules already have years of actual games behind them.
So we’re not saying AMG’s rules are better, it’s just a different approach to a problem 40k is still trying to figure out.
- What’s happening: AMG is bringing five starfighters to Star Wars Legion in 2027, with rules that focus on letting them move freely instead of restricting where they can go.
- What we have seen so far: Legion flyers can go almost anywhere and even leave the table, but they can’t hold objectives, standard armies are limited to two, and existing units are getting new anti-air options.
- What’s next: These rules won’t hit the table until 2027, so we’ll have to see whether all that freedom stays fun without starfighters taking over Legion games.
10th Edition Had 40k Aircraft Rules Fighting the Table, Not the Enemy
Remember how aircraft worked in 10th? Half the battle was just figuring out where you could put the model. Aircraft started in Reserves unless they were Hovering. When they moved, they had to go at least 20″ straight forward before making a pivot of up to 90 degrees. Plus, if they crossed the board edge or couldn’t finish that minimum move, back into Strategic Reserves they went.
And they couldn’t Advance, Fall Back, or Remain Stationary, either. So instead of thinking about what your Stormraven was going to shoot next turn, you spent a lot of time just figuring out where the thing could actually end up.
Then you had Hover.
Declare Hover, and your aircraft got a 20″ Move, stopped using the Aircraft rules altogether, and deployed like a normal unit. So yeah, one of the easier ways to use certain 40k aircraft was to stop flying them like aircraft. Obviously, a hovering gunship and a strike fighter aren’t supposed to work the same way, and 40k has both. But when the workaround feels better than the actual rules, you’ve got to wonder about those rules.
11th Edition Took the Flying Out of the Game For the Most Part
Thought 10th was restrictive? Well, 11th takes it even further. Aircraft now start every battle in Strategic Reserves, and their Move characteristic is a “-” that can’t be modified. No Normal moves, Advances, Falling Back, etc. They’re essentially not interacting with the board at all.
Instead, they arrive with an Ingress move on your turn. Then they shoot, stay on the table until the end of your opponent’s next turn, and head right back into Strategic Reserves.
So rather than flying your jet around, you’re basically bringing a gun platform onto the board, firing it, and taking it away again.
Right after launch, players were asking whether something as big as a Tiger Shark could even arrive under the reserve placement restrictions. They also noticed that Rapid Ingress didn’t cover Aircraft either. So while the current rules do account for those oversized models, instead of worrying about flight paths, you’re worrying about reserve placement and base sizes.
AMG is Building the Whole System Around Moving the Model
Meanwhile, Legion is trying something pretty different. In AMG’s flyer video, they showed off five ships for the new edition: the Rebellion gets the X-wing, the Empire gets the TIE fighter, the Republic gets the V-wing, the Separatists get the Vulture Droid, and the Mandalorians get the Fang Fighter.
And here’s the interesting part: they can move as far as they need to. Flyers can even disengage from the battlefield, so you’re looking at strafing runs and repositioning instead of being forced into a 20″ straight-line move or heading back to Reserves. You’re thinking about when and where to hit something, not trying to work out whether your flight path is legal.
AMG also looked at the physical side of things. You know how annoying it is trying to fit a big flyer next to a ruin when the wings, flight stand, and terrain all want to occupy the same space? AMG says its designers did a bunch of testing with a rotating flight base. It lets you turn the support structure around terrain, buildings, and other models without moving the ship from where it’s actually supposed to be.
And honestly, that’s probably our favorite part of the whole thing. GW keeps making rules to deal with aircraft being too big for crowded tables, and AMG went and changed the base to help the model fit. That’s a pretty practical way to handle it if you ask us.
Legion Locks Flyers Out of Scoring Instead of Movement
Of course, AMG isn’t just letting starfighters do whatever they want. Here’s the big restriction: Legion flyers can’t hold objectives. AMG has been clear that starfighters won’t score the objective points you need to win games. So even if your X-wing is blasting everything it sees, you still need troops on the ground to get the job done.
And that makes sense when you think about the problem. If your fastest, hardest-hitting unit can also grab all the points, why bother bringing slower infantry? Now, 40k aircraft don’t take objectives, either, but the difference here is that AMG is making the scoring restriction a major part of its balance plan right from the start.
There are a few other limits, too. Standard armies can take up to two flyers, although Battle Forces might change that, so you won’t be filling a normal army with nothing but starfighters. GW has used aircraft caps in previous editions as well, so it’s not exactly a new idea. AMG is just building that limit into the system from launch.
Existing units are also getting new anti-air upgrades and abilities, which means ground forces will have ways to fight back too.
That’s a pretty important piece of the puzzle. Sure, a flyer might hit hard, but what can your opponent actually do about it? Giving players useful answers to powerful units sounds a lot more fun than making those units frustrating to use in the first place.
Sure, GW Had Reasons, and AMG Hasn’t Proven Anything Yet About Flyers
Look, GW didn’t change aircraft just to annoy everyone who bought a Stormraven. Flyers have always come with some awkward problems. Their movement is weird, targeting them can get complicated, and they have advantages that regular ground units don’t. GW has spent years trying to keep all of that from messing up a normal game of 40k.
And AMG could run into problems of its own. Unlimited movement combined with big guns could get out of hand pretty quickly if those anti-air upgrades aren’t strong enough. Keeping flyers off objectives won’t help much if they’re doing too much damage anyway.
Plus, Legion and 40k aren’t the same game. Just because something works on a Legion table doesn’t mean it’ll work in 40k. So yeah, there are plenty of reasons to be cautious here because we’re comparing a system people are already playing with one that’s still a promise for 2027.
Final Thoughts on 40k Aircraft Rules and Star Wars Legion Starfighters
People buy X-wings, TIE fighters, Valkyries, and Stormravens because they want to put them on the table and actually use them like flying vehicles. And if you’ve spent serious money on a big aircraft kit, wanting it to feel like an aircraft in the game isn’t asking too much.
Right now, 11th Edition’s Ingress system doesn’t really give you that feeling. AMG, at least, is trying to make flying the model part of the fun.
We’re leaning toward the approach that actually lets players fly their ships. If Legion’s anti-air rules and objective restrictions work out in 2027, 40k aircraft are going to feel pretty grounded by comparison. But if they don’t, AMG might find out firsthand why GW kept tightening those aircraft restrictions in the first place.
Either way, only time will tell who is doing it better.
🔗 Related Reads:
- Warhammer 40k 11th Edition Rules Changes & Release Date
- Star Wars Legion Roadmap: New 2026 Releases & Previews
- 11th is 10th Edition 2.0: First Impressions of the New 40k Core Rules
- AMG Kills Off One-Time 40k Rival X-Wing Miniatures
- 10th Edition 40k Core Rules: Stratagems & Reserve Rules
- What Your Warhammer 40k Flyer Says About You
- 28 Top Tabletop Wargames: Best Games Like 40k
Would you rather fly your 40k aircraft across the table like Legion’s new starfighters, or does 11th Edition’s Ingress loop keep games under control?
