Nifty pointers for your first few games of 8th edition
8th edition is here!!!!! *runs around screaming*
*cough*
Yes...now that we've gotten that out of the way...
Today's post focuses on some of the useful reminders I've picked up throughout the 4 games I managed to grab during the preview period, and a handy (hopefully) pre-game and turn phase chart that might help with your first few games.
1. Vehicles prevent your characters from being shot (by being a closer model to the enemy than your character). A bit counter-intuitive for those who might have played previous editions of 40k because characters can no longer join units and can only be targeted during the shooting phase if they are the closest visible enemy unit (excluding characters with 10 wounds or more).
2. Morale is only done as the last phase of the turn and is conducted for both players (as long as a unit has lost models). I've found it handy to simply put slain models to one side till the end of the turn rather than remove them entirely once killed.
3. Command Points (CPs). REMEMBER TO SPEND THEM!!! Liberally, I might add, if you have more than 6 CPs because they don't count for anything at the end of the game. CPs can be spent for various effects (pg 242 of Rulebook) and some missions might have special uses for them as well.
4. Units no longer hit flyers on 6s like they did in the previous edition. Unit entries will have the specifics but generally, a number of the old flyers will have the "hard to hit" rule that makes enemy units shoot at a -1 penalty.
5. All units can charge when disembarking from vehicles and when coming in as reinforcements (no longer called "deepstrike" or in "reserve") now.
6. The to-wound roll has changed. To wound on a 2+, the Strength (S) of the attack must be double or more the Toughness (T) and to need 6+ to wound, the T of the target needs to be double or more of the S of the attack. Pg 181 of the Rulebook has the chart if you require reference.
7. Lastly, remember to have fun and don't worry about getting everything 100% correct through your first few games. The new rules will take awhile to sink in and the important thing is to have fun along the way!
And now for the cheat sheet/turn-phase chart: pdf
Thanks for reading and do let us know in the comments below if there's anything that you find useful as a reminder for yourself or if there's anything that you'd like to see more of at The Crossroads.