8th edition

I've been rather quiet on the recent daily 8th edition updates. I wanted to see how they came together before posting rather than doing a day to day review. But I'm sure you have all been keeping up to date on them anyway so I'm just going to share my thoughts,


I'm excited for 8th. I wouldn't have made such a sweeping change to the game mechanics especially considering that so many 40K players didn't want the system to go the same way as Age of Sigmar. But most of what has been posted am I pleased about and a few minor niggles that have had me sitting on the fence for a bit.


In general I am happy with the new rules and extremely pleased that at last vehicles may become a lot more survivable rather than be a temporary expensive gun box before exploding. Immediately that is a big yay from me. I'm hoping that what Games Workshop have said about everything being balanced and usable is true. At present there are plenty of units in each codex that never get a look in and few players seem to take named unique HQ's as the generic ones are better mechanically. I'm hoping that GW will fix that and everything gets a decent spot in the limelight.


The new detachments also got me very excited. 14 new detachments! I've always said that the game needs more generic detachments rather than being stuck with the Combined-Arms Detachment and the seige attacker/defender ones from Stronghold Assault. At last we may be truly able to make the list format we want rather than being forced into a HQ plus Troops and then everything else. Although it was interesting to note that the three detachments previews none of them had a slot for Lords of War.


What didn't sit well with me... Summoning (such as it is) has gone the way of Age of Sigmar. In other words rather than just let you try and summon, you have to waste points to bring in what you want. I hate that in AoS and I don't like it here. I don't do it any more in 40K anyway but that's not the point.
More importantly, they have taken the Age of Sigmar alternating unit combat rule which is something that ruins AoS for me. It should be pick a combat and all units fight simultaneously. The AoS way of doing things is not tactical at all and quite frankly just screws over one player or the other.


No system is ever going to please everyone. It's a shame that a couple of my local players are considering dropping the game because of the changes. I can see why they feel that way but I can't see that the changes are going to ruin the game. Even with the elements that we don't like we should be trying to embrace the new direction and see where it takes us in the months ahead.


Right now though, I just wish Games Workshop would just drop the free PDF rules so we can read them for ourselves and get into the new mindset ready for the 8th edition codexes/battle tomes.

More 8th ed info

We have some excellent new info from the bod's over at Games Workshop about how 8th edition is going to work. If you haven't seen it, have a good read here and enjoy.

From what I have read there I am excited once more. Even I, Mr positive for 8th, was beginning to flag a little with the rumours of what was to come. After reading this again and again, I'm fired back up again.

Bring on 8th edition!

8th edition FAQ

We have an 8th edition questions FAQ from Games Workshop. You can read it in it's entirety here.

There are a couple points that I want to make here though.

What happens to my codexes?
The rules in our current range of Warhammer 40,000 codexes aren’t compatible with the new edition of Warhammer 40,000. These books will be going off sale very soon. If you do want to pick any up, now’s the time – as all of the great hobby content and background information will be as valid as ever.

Ok... that's fine, but what does that mean for recent releases such as Traitor Legions and The Gather Storm books? If as I expect they are now going the way of the dodo that's a dick move by GW to do that considering that is a shed load of money that has been spent by players. Although I suppose it depends when the new edition comes out but I'm guessing that Death Guard will be the first codex of the new edition (and that makes me happy).

What do you mean “3 ways to play”?
We realise that people like to play Warhammer 40,000 in different ways. 3 broad systems are covered in the new edition: 1) Open play is the most flexible, and easiest to get started with, allowing you to use any miniatures you like. 2) Narrative play is where you can refight the iconic battles of the 41st Millennium, or create your own campaigns and sagas. 3) Matched play is designed for more balanced and competitive games, ideal for gaming clubs, leagues and tournaments. However you want to enjoy playing Warhammer 40,000, there will be rules for that.

My guess is that Open Play will be the new Unbound much like the default rules for Age of Sigmar. Considering how players didn't like a no points AoS then I don't think that will be played as is.

Narrative Play seems odd. It reads as though you decide what both sides have and throw in some special rules. Doesn't appeal to me.

Matched Play seems the way forward and I can imagine that everyone I know will want this as the default.

Why should I not just stick with current Warhammer 40,000?
This is the version of Warhammer 40,000 you’ve been asking for. We’ve listened to your feedback, and we really believe that this is the best Warhammer 40,000 has ever been.

Actually it's not what we've been asking for. We've been asking for a tidy up of the current rules system not a brand new overhaul. It will be interesting to see how 8th will be accepted. I already know at least one person who is getting ready to drop playing because of the proposed changes. I hope it won't happen but I can see people not being keen on it.

It is an interesting time for the game and we should look to the future with hopeful expectation.

40K League 2017 - round 1

The first round is over and done. The table shows how we stand after that round and who everyone will play next.

Dan (Corsairs) and Ian (Necrons) was a hard played draw right down to the end. The tactical objectives decks working well to keep them neck and neck.

Richard M (Ynnari) and Joel (Dark Eldar) was a really tough game but the dice gods were on Richard's side and he was able to contain Joel's pirates in his deployment zone, limiting his ability to grab the objectives.

Mike (Grey Knights) and Mark (Thousand Sons)... I didn't see a lot of this but everything seemed very much in Mark's favour. He got a couple things wrong as you will with that many psychic powers in effect but the dice were with him over the poor Grey Knights.

Gary (Imperial Fists) and Chris (Skitarii), well, I didn't expect Gary to seize victory. Chris' Skitarii army is tough as nails and should have been more than capable of tearing the Imperial Fists down. I'm guessing it fell again to luck with the cards. As I have Chris next round we'll see how it plays out then.

Colin (Death Guard) and Richard C (Crimson Fists)... this should have been an easy win for me following Richard and I's usual games, but the objectives deck was entirely in his favour not mine. He walked away with 11 VP at the end of turn four and I had just 1. Frustrating game.

Ashleigh (Astra Militarum) and Jon (Khorne Daemonkin) was a big ass game as far as I could see. Ashleigh's table side was just solid with troopers and orange jumpsuit clad penal troops. The firepower he was pouring into those poor chaos forces must have been severe but still Jon pulled an unexpected victory back.

40K League 2017

In the past we've not had the best of luck with our 40K leagues. Too many people dropping out and just too many people wanting in and making it unwieldy. This time around I've narrowed it down to those players who will stay the league and limited it to certain number of players who can commit to it.

2000 points and each round is a month with each of the maelstrom of war missions played in order. Simples. The major difference is you don't play a codex necessarily as you play the faction (yes, this does favour Imperial, Chaos and Eldar but its for fun). Your primary army/codex each round can change providing it stays part of your faction. Players can take allies though as normal. Just a little something to make it different.

The first round starts in a couple weeks. Wish us luck.

Kings of War update

A couple weeks ago I finally managed to get two games of Kings of War down the club. Both small 1000 points. I played my old Tomb Kings as the Empire of Dust and Multch had gone out to buy some models to play as Basilia (think religious kingdom of holy warriors and summoned angels). The game is fast to play, with each game taking no more than an hour including set up and rules referencing. The rules are quite simple and even with my usual dislike of the old movement trays and wheeling, I enjoyed the game a lot. Mantic have made the perfect fantasy war game here I feel. I won't be giving up on Age of Sigmar as it is still fun and we have quite a few players for it but if I have a choice KoW will be the game I'd rather play.

Death Guard

Colour me overjoyed that Death Guard are getting some more love, and hopefully, by that scythe, we'll get Mortarion as a character. Can't wait!!!

On other news, to keep my mind off of Mother's Day, I managed to sit down this afternoon and finally finish the Daemon Prince and Heldrake I started two months ago. That's how long it has been since I last had chance to paint anything.

One Daemon Prince.

 I hated painting the Heldrake. The lightning effect over the wings and body are a real sod to do. Frequently I had to go back and try to recover from uneven strokes of the brush. The second one is going to need a different colour scheme.