I’m shocked I tell you. Shocked. Games Workshop announces Warhammer 40,000 – 11th Edition is coming in June!
Well it wasn’t exactly the best kept secret out there. But now at least everyone can cheer collectively. Warhammer 40,000 11th Edition has been announced and the clock is ticking. And there’s a load of good news to cover with this one, too.
Warhammer 40,000 11th Edition
Games Workshop spent the last chunk of time covering the new edition. And honestly, I’m here for a bunch of these changes and updates. So let’s just go through their slides as best as I can remember.
So the first big thing was the announcement for the game. From the start they really wanted to make it seem like this edition is here to bridge the gap between narrative and matched play.
Lorewise there’s a refocus on Armageddon. And with that, there’s a lot of cool narrative beats to battle out.
Orks are the main antagonist for the Imperium here. And there’s loads of Imperial Forces in the sector to assist. Marines of all flavors. The Steel Legion is coming back (probably a couple of years out though) and the Astra Militarum and Adeptas Sororitas are there to support as well. It’s going to be an absolute blood bath.
We also got a look at the new Launch Box and if that art work seems familiar…
That is entirely intentional! There’s clearly a nod back to 2nd edition and I’m 100% cool with that. But it’s looking like a mostly cosmetic reference to 2nd and not a return to that ruleset. Speaking of which…
Warhammer 40,000 11th Edition Rules Updates
Now, I’m trying to do most of this from memory and the audio for the presentation wasn’t the best. So bear with me here. Plus I’m sure we’ll get more clarifications in the days to come. This wasn’t a full reveal either. This was mostly a recap and sort of a rundown of the high level things to look out for.
Again, this edition is looking to bridge that gap between narrative and matched play. They spoke about how detachments are going to work slightly different and will even influence the missions you’ll be able to play. No details on how exactly but it has more to do with the army-styles you and your opponent are bringing to the tabletop.
This was HUGE news. All the current 10th edition codexes as well as all the current and upcoming books (Wardens of Ultramar, Red Corsairs, Yarrick’s books) will be usable with the new edition! You’ll eventually get a new codex in time but you’re not going to have to go back to using an Index for 11th!
And on day
1 of 11th, there’s going to be a TON of new stuff to play with, too…
There’s 70 new detachments that are going to be added to the game. These will allow you to build the army you want and it should play how you think it should play. If you want to mix bikes and terminators, you can!
The new Modular Detachments seem like a cool way to build out thematic armies without completely breaking the game. We’ll have to see how that all plays out in the new edition but it does sound cool.
Another big change is how Objectives will work. Say goodbye to fighting over circles on the tabletop.
In 11th edition, as part of that move to make things look and feel more narrative-like, the Objective circles are going away and you’ll be fighting over terrain. And I’m personally thrilled about this change! I really hope this is something GW does for AoS as well…but that’s another topic. Anyhow, your units will be charging the ramparts to dislodge enemies from terrain as Objectives. I’m really hoping this also means the end of all those L-Shaped walls. Let’s get some more interesting terrain to play on again!
With these objective changes and the battles shifting to fighting over terrain the battles will develop naturally into cool stories on the tabletop. Now, I think things are still going to feel very matched-play centric at first. But at least narrative players will feel more at home when you’re fighting over cool terrain and “forging a narrative” instead of just shooting folks off circles.
Another big move that drew cheers was the reduction of stratagem stacking.
You will no longer be able to load-up a unit with multiple stratagems by blowing all your CP for one big power play. This is going to add some BIG tactical shifts to how people do things and I’m curious to see how this one pans out as well.
Another big change is how deploying forward units and units that are “hidden” will work.
If I heard them correctly, a unit that’s in terrain or cover will basically be untargetable if they are outside of 15″ for as long as they don’t shoot. So the players might know they are there but the enemy units can’t shoot them off the board until they get much closer. I’m liking the sound of this change but would certainly like to see more info on it before hand.
The Combat Rules have also gotten a clean-up. Things that you’re already doing (fast dice rolling) are now taken into account as the “primary” way to roll dice. There’s also changes to charges and first strike, too.
Additionally, it sounded like all pile-ins and Consolidations moves happened at the same time for their respective part of the combat phase. Now, you’ll want to pile-in to the enemy and not just on an objective. Same with Consolidations.
Finally, Charges got a rework. You’ll be rolling your dice FIRST and then determining which units you’re charging. Ideally, this means you’ll have less failed charges and even some more long-bomb charges that might actually work! There shouldn’t be unit standing around because they tried to charge a unit 8″ away when another unit is 4″ away. Now they can just go to the closer unit if they rolled low.
Combat Disembarking is making a comeback! Now, if you’re transport is locked in combat, the unit inside can just charge out of it and get right into combat! Now, this doesn’t come without danger as the unit disembarking may be taking some casualties during the battleshock phase. But this means transports are now less of a death trap and can actually do their jobs (hopefully).
Another big thing was how leaders will no longer lose all their leadership abilities if the unit they are with got wiped out. They’ll still be swinging until they go down, too.
This is one that the audio was tough for me to understand fully but it sounded like a good change and the crowd seemed to like it! So I’m curious about it and want to hear more.
New Miniatures From The Box
GW didn’t show off a ton of the new miniatures in the box but they did showcase a Primaris Marine. Notice the MK 7 helmet? It seems that the Primaris are battle hardened and are having to salvage older gear as they fight longer and longer in this never ending conflict. If anything this just means new modeling opportunities and some cool conversions. I’m looking forward to see what else GW is packing in the box for marines.
Also, the Marines in the box might be painted like Blood Angels but they don’t have any specific chapter markings on their models. So you can paint them up as whatever chapter you like.
Ork Boyz also got a lovely boost. No longer will you have to choose Shoota or Choppa. It’s just assumed they will be carrying both on them at all times!
And finally, and maybe most importantly:
We’ve got at least ONE squig in the box!
11th Edition is on the way! It’s CONFIRMED!
Don’t Miss:
Writer, Editor, Texas Native, and now Tex-Pat, Adam covers all things Tabletop Gaming. Which includes Warhammer 40,000, Age of Sigmar, D&D, Board Games and everything else that involves dice, boards, cards and a table.
A hobbyist, player, and collector of miniatures and games, Adam’s current obsession are his Death and Chaos Armies for Age of Sigmar, his Blood Angels and Tyranids for 40k, an expanding collection of Marvel: Crisis Protocol minis, and his ever growing Arkham Horror: The Card Game Collection.
Read more at this site