It's here! Finally …
Today saw the launch of the Sixth Edition rulebook of Warhammer 40,000. We managed to get the last copy at our local Games Workshop in Lower Hutt, and with much trepidation opened it up.
The internet has been rife with rumours about what this version would and wouldn't include. We ourselves had mixed feelings about a new rulebook, feeling we'd only just got to grips through play at Wellington Warlords on the Fifth Edition rules.
So here is our first pass through the rules, and our initial impressions on what's most obviously changed. This article is meant to help readers to hunt out the changes rather than as a substitute for players buying the book.
First off the good news – Warhammer 40k is still Warhammer 40k. After some of the rules rumours, it sounded like the new rules would be substantially compromised with much more look-ups etc which promised to slow down gameplay. Thankfully not – it's the same old move, shoot, assault we're all used to, and nothing here really wrecks that.
With that little rumour squashed, lets look into the most obvious differences …
Snap shots
In amongst normal shooting is now the concept of snap shots against unit. This is a reactionary “pot shot” which is taken opportunistically at various points of the game, and is one of the central core to the new rules.
A snap shot is taken at a much lower ballistic skill than normal – it allows you for instance to fire a heavy weapon even though you've moved (useful), and has other uses which I'll come to later.
Overwatch
Now when your unit is assaulted, you get the opportunity to use snap shots against your attackers as they rush you (instead of being dumbfounded and waiting to be attacked). Really handy for units like Tau who don't fare well in assault to even the odds.
Likewise the move for assault has been changed from 6” confirmed to 2D6” … which means you can declare assault and fail to make up the ground, leaving your unit sitting ducks for the next turn (oops).
Special Rules
There are about double the number of special rules covered now compared to Fifth Edition. Perhaps our favourite is the Hammer of Wrath, which fixes a discrepency of previous versions. Certain units like riders, bikers, jet troops get an automatically hitting attack when they charge into assault. This really beefs up the punch on units like the Imperial Guard rough riders, who too often played out like normal guardsmen who can assault over larger distances.
Vehicles now have hit points!
Well they're called Hull Points in the game. Generally flyers have 2, tanks have 3, heavy tanks have 4. You lose a HP after a glancing or penetrating shot. So gone will be the days when my Ironclad dreadnaught took multiple penetrating shots in one turn, which would all (through lucky dice rolls) turn out to be just stunned. On the third such shot my dreaddy would have joined the Emperor's Choir Celestial!
This definitely makes vehicles feel much more vulnerable than they once were!
Sadly though there is still a rule for vehicles – you can only move and fire a single weapon (which seems daft for tanks with dedicated weapons crews). However you get the option to fire additional weapons using the snapshot (reduced BS) rule, which is a step in the right direction.
Psykers
If you own Tau, look away now (Tau get none of this). Without doubt one of the biggest changes has been to psychers.
This felt slightly inevitable. With the rise of Warmachine, which focuses on special characters and abilities, it's always felt that Games Workshop would want to do something to reflect this.
There are in total 32 psychic powers split into 5 “magic disciplines”. Different armies have access to different disciplines (except the formentioned Tau). I've never been too keen on using Librarians with my Storm Wolves, but now I'm wondering about maybe taking two next game and try these new rules out.
Flyers
Yes, we now have flyers in Warhammer. We can't help but feel a bit cynical about these. With the rules changes around flyer, they are now a “must have”. Handy as Games Workshop has released a whole new line of them (odd that).
Yes, tanks are now a thing of the past. Flyers can fly great speeds around the table (typically 18”), whilst still being able to fire up to 4 weapons. Oh, and if you shoot at a flyer, you have to shoot on the snap shot rules (they're much harder to hit). The rules here do feel a little unbalanced.
Oh, and if you have Tau, you don't have anything in your arsenal which counts as a flyer. Which is annoying, as this means that the Tau do not benefit from either of the two new additions to the rulebook. It's no wonder many players at Wellington Warlords are refusing to dust off their Tau army until the new codex comes out and addresses some obvious deficiencies in this army.
Summing up …
Bottom line as said, this still feels like Warhammer. The new book (we won't mention the NZ pricetag as it's a very expensive purchase here) is really a beautiful piece of work, beyond the rules themselves are page after page of background story, artwork (though many will be familiar), and ideas for building your army, game scenarios etc.
As some have said, there is a feeling throughout of Chaos taking more centrestage over the struggles of those valiant souls who fight for the Emperor. As a player since first edition, I hope not, as Warhammer 40k has always been the tale of mankind in the far future hanging on by its nails against the worst scum of the Universe.
There is only war …
