The sinister schemes of Abaddon and Vashtorr are affecting more than just this galaxy – they’re also upending the matched play scene for 2023. Next year, the Arks of Omen Grand Tournament Mission Pack arrives, and with it comes updated missions, new secondary objectives, and major changes to how you’ll muster and deploy your forces.
The biggest changes centre around the new Arks of Omen Detachment. This massive combined-arms coalition gives you unprecedented flexibility when building your army – it has to be seen to be believed.
There’s a lot to unpack here. First there are the compulsory slots – rather than picking one or more of the Detachments from the Core Book, each of which feature different roles to fill, the new Detachment simply lets you pick one of five unit types to make up your compulsory choices.
Once you’ve picked out a HQ choice and loaded up on three units of the same Battlefield Role – whether they’re Troops, Elites, Fast Attack, Heavy Support, or even Lords of War – you’re free to flood your roster with extra squads of any type.
This Detachment is incredibly flexible and will work for all factions, though there will be a couple of specific additional rules to it to allow for unusual armies like Drukhari and Dark Angels forces, that would previously have usually been made of multiple smaller detachments.
It’s great news for armies that rely on Vanguard, Outrider, or Spearhead Detachments to maximise a particular Battlefield Role, as they’ll now be able to take more of (almost) everything else alongside their preferred units. You’ll even get some extra Elites slots specifically for CHARACTER units, so a crucial Apothecary, Ork Mek, or Sister Dogmata won’t steal space from your big hitters.
The Arks of Omen Detachment costs 0 Command points, so doesn’t need to refund any CP for having your WARLORD in it. The flexible formation means no more juggling multiple Detachments – just build one! Depleting your precious CP reserves to field varied and thematic armies is a thing of the past.
This one-size-fits-all solution means every army can now include Lords of War and Fortifications at no extra cost. This is especially great news for Imperial Knights and Chaos Knights players, who now don’t require a specific configuration of units to avoid a CP tax.
Free stuff is a big theme in this matched play season. You don’t even have to spend any CP to put your units into Strategic Reserves* – good for armies with ways to boost their Strategic Reserves, like the T’au Commander’s positional relay, the Aeldari Webway Gate, or a tunnelling Tyranid Trygon.
And that’s not all – your free Allied Detachment is a great opportunity to add some diversity to your army.
Allies also don’t cost any CP, but they come with a few caveats – only certain factions and types of Detachments can join your main Arks of Omen Detachment as warzone comrades. It’s all laid out in a new section of Battle Brothers rules, representing iconic partnerships from the 41st Millennium.
The CP you save will go to good use – you’ll still need to pay for your Warlord Traits and Relics, and there’s now a third Requisition Stratagem. Many powerful leaders can only be taken once per Detachment – and with only the one Arks of Omen Detachment available, you’d be unable to take more. Fortunately, Heroic Support lets you double up for only one Command point.
Need a larger re-roll bubble? Take two Captains. A double-dose of scythe-slaughter? Recruit Typhus alongside a Lord of Contagion. Aeldari looking to reignite the War in Heaven? Show them who’s boss with two C’tan Shards.
Some other changes from last season remain in place, too – Fortifications are easier to deploy, the CP regain is the same, and Dedicated Transports must start with a unit inside them, fulfilling their intended role rather than gallivanting off on their own from the get-go.
Several missions have been updated to provide new challenges for experienced commanders – in particular, the timing on when you score Primary Objectives has been tweaked, making for a more even experience regardless of who won the roll to go first.
There’s also a huge collection of new and revised Secondary Objectives to shake up the competitive scene. Along with universal objectives, there are specific goals for each faction – including the new Leagues of Votann and World Eaters. Each of the iconic Space Marine Chapters and Traitor Astartes Legions also get an extra Secondary Objective of their own. For example, Salamanders score by withstanding enemy fire on critical objectives, while the Emperor’s Children aim to display their martial excellence in every facet of war.
What’s more, a new Balance Dataslate and a points update are both also arriving soon. And of course, the Studio will be discussing all the changes here on Warhammer Community. Check back early next year for that, or sign up to the newsletter to get the latest balance bulletins sent straight to your inbox.
* You’ll still need to pay the unit’s points cost, naturally.