Games Workshop is reintroducing Apocalypse to Warhammer 40k and I’m cautiously optimistic. What they say about hope in the Grimdark again?
As you might remember GW announced that the Reign of Iron was on the way. This new book series is going to reintroduce Apocalypse as a format and alternative play option for Warhammer 40k. Now, I’m a fan of Apocalypse games. Specifically the spectacle of seeing massive armies duke it out in that scale. I’m not in it for the comp or meta of the game. It’s certainly in the “beer and pretzels” category for me. It’s fun to bust out your collection with a few friends and just throw dice for a whole day and watch the fireworks. Just be sure to bust out the cameras (on your phones) and shoot some photos.
Anyhow, Eye of Terror: Reign of Iron is bringing us new and update Apocalypse rules. These sounded interesting from the little we got from WarCom about them.
In addition to this narrative, a new set of rules brings classic large-scale Apocalypse games back to Warhammer 40,000 with a system of modular guidelines and adjustments that make it a breeze to run battles of epic proportions. These Apocalypse rules add all sorts of ways to streamline games and account for significantly larger army sizes, with sections designed to be added or removed depending on how you like to play.
I’m curious about the modular rules and how exactly they are streamlining the games. But today, I wanted to talk about some of the things I hope they address in Apocalypse. This is my wish listing for the new version.
40k Apocalypse Wish List
#1 Ditch The Special Dice
First up, I really hope they don’t bring back the special dice or D12 or whatever. I don’t think they are based on the fact that this book series is just that: A book series. We’re not getting a fancy tin or metal box with all the Apocalypse stuff in it. So I really don’t think we’ll see the dice. They were a novelty and I feel like they kind of wore thin after a few turns. Let’s just stick to D6s this time around, okay?
#2 Speed Up The Setup
I don’t know how exactly you can do this but gathering your collection and getting to the table is already a tall order. But then actually placing stuff ON the board could be tricky. Doubly so if people are dropping Titans on the board. I just hope they took a look a deployment again and figured out a way to make it easier and faster for all of us to get in the game. It can already take a while to deploy a 2000 point army. Multiply that out by more players and more points and yeah…it can be a slog.
#3 Avoid the Turn One Alpha Strike
When you’ve got Titans on the tabletop that can reach across a table (long ways) and clear stuff off the board it can be neat…but it can also feel a bit tedious. I get that they have crazy firepower but we literally just spend all that time setting up and now the poor saps that are going second suddenly don’t get to play now. That doesn’t seem fun. It seems like a waste. I hope there’s some sort of limit or penalty to shooting on turn one. I’m not sure but something that was a -1 to hit or no re-rolls to hit or even a limit to all ranges for turn one would be cool. Some kind of damper field effect that applied for the whole first turn. Let’s not just shift the Alpha Strike to the guys going second either!
#4 Let The Units Do Stuff
I don’t know how many times you’ll see this in a game of Apocalypse but a unit gets targeted and gets completely wiped off the board before they can do anything. This happens to infantry a lot. It happens to Titans as well (see #3). And yes, those are big targets and threats so it makes tactical sense. But that also means the folks that brought them don’t get to use their toys for the rest of the game. When that happens turn one, it’s kind of lame. I want to see those Titans at least to get to shoot at SOMETHING first. And then go super nova.
Hopefully GW does something to allow for units to get an epic last stand. At least let them shoot before they get pulled off the tabletop. I don’t know exactly what this would be. Maybe a stratagem so it doesn’t slow the game down too much. Because we all know that’s going to be an issue. Out of sequence stuff is going to be a problem. Speaking of…
#5 Do Something About Out of Sequence Stuff and Re-rolls
It’s already something that happens a lot during regular games. “Oh you shot that unit, well they get to move.” Or “You charged that unit? Well this one gets to counter-charge.” It’s mostly fine for regular games when it’s just 1v1. But again, multiply the time it takes to do that by more players and more points/units and you’ll quickly start to notice how much more it drags the game on. I don’t want to completely do away with those rules either because for many units, it’s what makes them extra useful. But there’s got to be a way to speed that up or limit the reactions and reactions to reactions on a turn. Can we give each player a single “reaction” per 1000 points or something per turn?
The same goes with re-rolls. Maybe this is more of 40k thing in general but there’s a LOT of re-rolls in the game. Maybe folks are okay with them but again I feel like half the combat phases is people re-rolling their dice some games. For Apocalypse I think that’s just going to drag on as well.
#6 Turn Limits And Time Limits
I really hope GW does something to encourage players to play their turns quicker. Maybe this is also more of a gaming group thing, too. But I’ve played in Apocalypse games at conventions and one of the best things I saw was that players had a set amount of time for their entire side of the board. Things can get crazy and de-synced during an Apoc game. I think a time limit on turns does help to keep people (somewhat) focused on their game. If you’re looking for a more relaxed game, make the limits longer. If you’re looking for a more focused game, make them shorter. Shoot, maybe this doesn’t need to be a GW rule in Apocalypse games but rather a group decision. Something to chew on. Also bake in some breaks (bathroom, lunch, etc). A little breathing room goes a long way.
What do you hope to see in the new edition of Apocalypse? Movement trays for 40k again?
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.
Source: Bell of Lost Souls
