Warhammer World Champ shares his top 5 changes in 11th edition and spoils some big new rules!
Just a couple of weeks ago, Warhammer World Champion Richard Siegler played one of the first streamed games of 11th edition at the Warhammer Dallas Open. Today, he shared his thoughts on the state of 40k and what he felt were his five biggest changes to the game. Richard’s thoughts are interesting in and of themselves and well worth reading, but he also dropped a few juicy new tidbits as all-new reveals.
Wargear Points Return
This is a big one! It’s been several editions and the better part of a decade since units had to pay points for access to certain wargear. Historically, this had been the default approach for every unit in the game more-or-less since the earliest days of Warhammer.
It was a huge shakeup when 8th edition introduced datasheets with flat point costs regardless of how you chose to equip them. While this has had some benefits in making list building easy, it’s also seen units become very homogenous. An experienced player is generally going to build their kits with whatever wargear options they believe will be the most advantageous. Even for those of us with a narrative bent it can be hard to justify not taking the biggest gun every time we can.
Now, however, wargear points are returning to some units. So far the only units confirmed to experience this change are Adepta Sororitas Retributors and Adeptus Mechanicus Ironstrider Ballistari. These units will have their base prices lowered but pay additional points for access to some of their optional wargear. It seems safe to expect we’ll see a fair amount of units similarly changed but we won’t know which until the Munitorum Field Manual document is released sometime in the near future.
Stepped Points
Richard has also revealed what may be the biggest change this edition; the introduction of stepped points. I don’t think we’ve seen anything like this in 40k before and it’s going to shake the foundations of list construction.
…a new system of point steppers will typically increase the cost of some datasheets on your third unit. Some extremely powerful datasheets, like the Defiler, may have this additional cost if you take a second and third unit. This change will help with internal diversity for armies and encourage players to consider their other available options.
This is really big, folks. Sure, you can still take the most powerful units in your army but you’re going to pay a premium for every one after the first. You’ll still be able to spam your favorite units, but it’s going to cost you. On paper, at least, this looks like a really positive change to me, especially when combined with the reintroduction of wargear points.
So far, only the Defiler has been called out (surprising literally nobody) and it remains to be see how widespread this change will be. Until the Munitorum Field Manual is released it’s anyone’s guess, but it’s probably safe to assume that whatever unit you currently can’t build a list without three of is on the chopping block.
Those are the big reveals but do yourself a favor and read the whole article. Richard has some interesting thoughts on the changes to terrain and secondary missions. It’s definitely heartening to see one of the best competitive Warhammer players in the world so positive about the new edition.
Which units do you hope will received stepped points and wargear costs?
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Simon Berman has been a wargamer since 1993 and has worked in the tabletop games industry since 2008 as a staff writer for the first three editions of WARMACHINE and HORDES. These days he’s the General President of the Brush Wielders Union, a worldwide organization of miniatures painters of all skill levels, a freelance games writer who has contributed to a number of roleplaying games like Eclipse Phase, Dune: Adventures in the Imperium, and The Hammer and the Stake. He runs his own small-press publishing company, Strix Publishing, and paints more miniatures than he can keep track of. Simon lives with his wife in Tacoma, Washington along with a number of cats and a pack of savage wiener dogs.
Source: Bell of Lost Souls
