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We’ve seen a hero returned from the pages of history, a whole army of celestial lizards and had a peek at the humans of the Mortal Realms - but today’s biggest news is the arrival of a whole new edition of Warhammer 40,000!
Yes! A totally new edition of the world's biggest tabletop wargame is here. That means amazing new models, awesome new rules, and big changes to the galaxy of the 41st Millennium.
Check out this incredible new cinematic trailer to see the fresh horrors that have emerged to destroy the galaxy.
The Lore
Were you foolish enough to believe that Hive Fleet Leviathan had been beaten for good at Baal? That was just the vanguard. Now the rest have arrived – and they’ve evolved.
The Imperium, reeling from multiple existential conflicts on too many fronts, is exposed – and its main forces are on the wrong side of the galaxy. Leviathan, previously thought humbled, is only just getting started.
The largest hive fleet in history has emerged, swarming across the galactic west, laying waste to hundreds of worlds unable to muster a meaningful defence in the face of this living apocalypse.
Without the full weight of the war machine to call upon, Imperial commanders dispatch elite strike teams in a desperate bid to stem this endless tide of Tyranids. Taking out the synapse leaders will buy precious time for the lumbering might of mankind's war machine to mobilise.
And elite for a Space Marine Chapter means the First Company. Terminators are back!
These aren’t Primaris Terminators. Not even Belisarius Cawl is able to improve upon this ancient and holy armour pattern. Any Space Marine Veteran can earn the right to don a sacred suit of Tactical Dreadnought armour, so veterans of the Tyrannic Wars and the Indomitus Crusade alike are clad in these suits of revered ceremite.
The Models
You’d better believe there’ll be new models – there’s a massive new launch set on the way – and we might be biased, but we think it’s the best Warhammer box ever.
Take this absolute unit, for instance:
Leading the assault are the much-improved new Space Marine Terminators. These juggernauts of death have been rescaled and resculpted to look as imposing as the lore demands. If Tyranids could feel fear… they would fear these guys.
This new edition also heralds the biggest refresh and update to the Tyranid army, ever! The Hive Mind has been busy, and alongside familiar monsters getting impressive new sculpts, you can also look forward to some ungodly new abominations.
What would a Tyranid army be without its swarm of lesser creatures though? Even the humble Termagant is getting quite the glow-up:
If you want to get an idea of what else might be included in the new edition’s launch set, we suggest you go back and watch that awesome cinematic again…
The Game
There are some big changes to gameplay, which has been completely overhauled for this edition. We started with what the fans were telling us about the game you play.
You told us that while Warhammer 40,000 is a fun game, there are parts that are overcomplicated, and that the learning curve for new players is pretty steep. In particular, many felt there were too many stratagems and too much complexity in army selection. We’ve listened and the new edition has been simplified – but it’s not simple.
This is still the rich, deep wargame that you know and love – we’ve just doubled down on the best bits. So instead of a huge raft of faction stratagems, you’ll have access to a handful of the best ones. There’re also a few new universal stratagems which anyone can use, that allow you to be reactive in your opponent’s turn.
There are improvements like this everywhere – in turn structure, army selection, morale, terrain, missions, the ways in which characters interact with units, and more. The list goes on, and we’ll explain more about each of these changes in the coming weeks.
What does this mean for my army and my Codex?
Maybe the biggest change in the new edition is to datasheets.
The way core information on a datasheet is presented has changed, and with it we took the opportunity to re-stat every unit in Warhammer 40,000.
Every unit has new and reevaluated rules, so every army will feel new from day one of the new edition.
This huge update has also given us the opportunity to look again at lethality and durability across the entire game, and rebalance it at a stroke – something we could never do outside the launch of a new edition.
This example will show you what we mean:
You also told us that you didn’t want to carry as many books with you to games.
On the first day of the new edition, the rules for every datasheet in 40k will be free to download, or available to buy as convenient and portable card decks. Even your faction and army rules now take up just a couple of pages.
The whole experience is more convenient, compact, and efficient than ever before, and it delivers amazing games with less desperate leafing between pages looking for that one special rule.
Army selection is equally straightforward: pick a faction, a warlord, and the units you like (just no more than three of any one type*), and stay within your points limit. That’s it!
You no longer have to fit your army into a force organisation chart, or compromise on the army you really want. It’s a simple and liberating system, and opens the door to all kinds of fun, thematic or unusual armies.
These big changes to rules and armies mean that the current range of codexes are being retired. The rules in them don’t work with the new edition, but remember that the rules for all your units will be available free online at launch.
Don’t go throwing your codex in the recycling just yet. As well as months of gaming left with the current edition, your codexes remain a rich repository of lore and inspiration on your army, and one that won’t be immediately replaced.
Codexes will return in time to replace the free rules, but when they do the complexity of the game won’t increase, thanks to a one-in-one-out ethos for army and sub-faction rules. Effectively, you will only ever need your unit datasheets, the two pages of rules that govern your chosen army (available in your codex, on cards, or digitally), plus the core rules and whatever mission you’re playing.
There's one exception to note. The Arks of Omen books and Boarding Patrols will persist, so you can keep purging those space hulks into the new edition and beyond.
Likewise, for those Eternal Crusaders out there who have built up a mighty host through their narrative games and want to bring their Crusade army with them into the new edition, there are rules to let you do this too.
Combat Patrol: A Brand New Way to Play
As well as continuing support for Crusade and matched play, the new edition will introduce a brand new way to play the game: Combat Patrol.
This version is designed to be easy to collect and easy to play. Combat Patrol pitches small preset and balanced forces against each other, with the armies made of Combat Patrol boxes!
This simplified version of Warhammer 40,000 that's perfect for beginners, but also means that anyone starting a new force has a game they can begin to play very quickly, without having to build and paint 2,000 points of troops before a dice is even rolled. It's also great for hobby butterflies, who hop from one project to the next and prefer to sample a little of each army’s nectar.
This Summer will be an incredibly exciting time to be a Warhammer 40,000 fan.
There’s so much more to say. From tomorrow, we will begin taking an in-depth look at all the major changes and faction rules exclusively here on Warhammer Community – as well as investigating the units in the absolutely stacked launch box.
Stay tuned and sign up for the newsletter for more information as it comes.
* Units with the Battleline keyword can be taken up to six times, so your dream of a full Space Marine Battle Company army can still be fulfilled…
