Analysis of the state of the game
With all the changes that have been made in this edition of Warhammer 40k, the game has evolved beyond the tweaks to the numbers and phases that we see in the Rulebook. Most people would have gotten their hands on the new rulebook and had the time to briefly familiarise themselves with its contents by now so this article takes you through what these tweaks mean for the game as a whole.
1. The board has gotten smaller
No, not literally as we still play on the regular 4x4' and 6x4' tables. Figuratively smaller. With units getting their own movement speed values instead of the generic 6" for infantry in the previous editions, many units move faster now. Close combat specialists like Genestealers and Harlequins have a base movement of 8" and combined with the ability to advance (previously known as "Run") and charge, their close combat "reach" has gone from 6+2d6 inches in the past to a whopping 8+d6+2d6 inches this edition. That's an average of 18" and a maximum close combat reach of 26", more than half the breadth of an average 6 by 4 feet table!
Not only that, but a number of units, mostly bikes and jetbikes, have had their movement stat increased to 14", making them move faster in the movement phase where they could only move 12" previously. Some armies (looking at you Aeldari) have an almost universal 7" base movement speed for their ground-based infantry units.
Changes to movement in terrain (no more roll 2d6 and choose the highest for movement) also speed up movement across the board as all units get to move their regular movement speed through terrain now. Only woods, craters and obstacles (pg 248 of rulebook) hinder advances and charges through them.
This is great for the game as it allows differentiation between various types of infantry units, and a more realistic representation for fast-moving, lithe infantry as well as more ponderous, walking suits of armour (Scarab Occult Terminators only move 4"). This also allows Games Workshop (GW) to more appropriately attribute points costs to infantry without giving them extra abilities to make up for the shortfall in speed differentiation.
So what does that mean for your games? How does the board getting figuratively smaller affect you? The most obvious change is that gun-line armies might get charged sooner, though that is offset by the ability to Fallback out of combat now.
Some of the deployment zones only have an 18" distance separating both sides and if you deploy exactly at the deployment line, things will get bloody very quickly.
End-game objectives (or mid-game if you're playing missions involving Tactical Objectives) are easier to reach with this increased movement speed of a large number of units. That means you could hold off moving to the objective for a turn to fire that heavy weapon without the -1 penalty or stay in close combat a turn longer before breaking off via Falling Back. It opens up tactical options that might have been unavailable before.
Moving from cover to cover is also easier without the penalty for moving through what was once difficult terrain now. This allows your heavy weapons teams to tactically retreat from an advancing close combat horde and still get cover without losing out in terms of speed. Of course, the drawback is having to fire your heavy weapons at a -1 to hit for moving but that's already better than only firing snapshots in the previous edition.
2. Larger variance in the game
With medium and heavy weapons gaining a damage value (from 2 to d6), killing multi-wound models will be slightly more random than before. While it might have taken 4 shots to bring down a Carnifex in the past, that same monstrosity can now be brought down with just 2 missile (d6 damage) shots now (currently 8 wounds). It could also take 8 missiles to bring it down if you roll really badly on your damage rolls. Similarly, the T'au Riptide that used to possess 5 wounds now has 14.
While vehicles used to have a vehicle damage table, which can be seen as a form of variance, they also had the hull point system that reduced the variance slightly by counting a vehicle as destroyed if its hull points reached 0. That variance for vehicles is still there in this new form. The lightest of vehicles, a Drukhari Venom for example, is only T5 with 6 wounds, making it possible to take it down with only a single missile that has managed to wound it. Or requiring 6 of said missile if your rolls are particularly bad.
This variance requires a bit more planning during your turn as you consider the damage potential of your weapons and allocate your shots. This also means that with all else being equal, you should try to shoot your weapons with a higher damage range first and follow that up with more consistent weapons (those with a fixed damage value) to take down a target of choice. For example, if you have 2 missile launchers in a devastator squad and 2 plasma guns on a command squad left to fire at an enemy rhino that has 9 wounds left, you should fire the 2 missiles at the rhino first and possibly destroy it on a roll of 9 on 2d6 (assuming both hit AND wound). This frees your plasma guns up to target another unit whereas if you fire your plasma first and deal 4 wounds (assuming overcharge), the 2 missiles might be overkill if you hit and wound with both. Conversely, if your 2 missiles only manage 3 wounds between them and you know your 2 plasma guns are not going to be able to destroy the rhino (even if overcharged), you might want to target something else less threatening but where you can deal more impactful damage. There are also implications for building your army around this concept of multi-wounds and damage but that will be covered in a more cohesive list-building article down the road.
It also makes for more cinematic/dramatic moments as you pray for that damage roll of 3 or more to take down an opposing Magnus. On the note of dramatic moments, while unrelated to variance, the new strength to toughness comparison table makes the game more exciting as well (though maybe less realistic but hey...realism in a universe of space orks, the warp and daemons might be a bit tenuous). Lasguns being able to bring down Land Raiders (even though it might take 72 lasgun shots at a 4+ to hit on average to deal 1 wound) makes for awesome moments and clutch rolls that will remain in the memory of witnesses to incredible feats of dice rolling.
*Image of Drukhari Scourges courtesy of Games Workshop Ltd
3. The Board state is both more and less dynamic
With the changes to moving and firing for vehicles carrying heavy weapons, chances are, we won't be seeing a lot of vehicles that will be moving if they want to fire as accurately as possible.
This is good for the more lumbering and heavily armoured (non-fast) vehicles as they can now move their full movement speed and still fire all their weapons (albeit at -1 to hit for heavy weapons) whereas they could only fire 1 weapon at full BS (regardless of weapon type) if they moved up to 6" in the previous edition and only snapshot if they moved more than 6". This makes re-positioning carry less of an opportunity cost than before for them.
The reverse is true for previously "Fast" vehicles that were able to move up to 12" and fire 2 of their weapons at full BS last edition. They suffer the same -1 penalty for firing heavy weapons if they move in this edition which means we might see less re-positioning from these vehicles in 8th ed. Not all is doom and gloom for fast vehicles though. The lighter ones like the Drukhari Ravager have their heavy-classed Dark Lances count as Assault weapons so expect those to be as nimble on the tabletop as before (assuming they don't get shot and go up in flames first with their T6 W10 profile).
With Assault type weapons now able to fire after their wielder advances (8th ed term for run), you might get to see more infantry units wielding assault weapons, scooting about the table at an extra d6 inches, though that does come at a penalty of -1 to hit when advancing and firing assault weapons.
Lastly, the ability to Fallback from close combat will see more units moving around the board as shooty armies will use it to get their units out of close combat so that the rest of the army can focus fire on the opposing assault units. Those with the Fly keyword are even more versatile as they can Fallback and shoot in the shooting phase of the same turn. Dedicated shooting units with Fly such as T'au Crisis Suits, Necron Destroyers and Drukhari Scourges will be harder than ever to pin down in close combat. Speaking of combat...
4. Close Combat (cc) is more devastating
With those who charge almost always going first (with some exceptions, including the usage of Command Points), combined with the lack of weapon skill (ws)comparison in 8th edition, cc has become fast & furious and many units will find themselves caught between a rock (fast & furious =P) and a hard place.
In previous editions, ws comparisons used to make cc between two sets of cc specialists, a more lengthy and drawn out affair as both sides only hit each other on a 4+ if their ws was the same. With the new edition, many cc units hit on a 3+ as we no longer compare weapon skills and have flat to-hit values. These are often boosted with characters that have +1 to-hit or re-roll 1s (or any variation thereof) aura, and make cc more decisive and favourable to those who charge into combat (well, maybe except the majority of T'au who hit on 5+). A unit of 10 Genestealers (without the aura buff from the Broodlord) can kill 9 marines on average on the charge and 10 Assault Marines can kill 4-5 Genestealers on the charge whereas the Genestealers would always strike the Assault Marines first in the previous edition.
A system of counter charging thus becomes a worthy consideration during both army construction as well as deployment in this edition of Warhammer 40k. Screening lines also take on a more significant role in 8th ed, not just for gun-line armies but also for assault oriented ones. If you use a screening unit that keeps a less than 1" unit coherency, enemy models on a base size of 25mm or larger will not be able to pass through them without Fly (or some other way to bypass models) and will have to charge your screening unit first. This gives you the option of having your more dedicated assault units make their own charge to dish out the pain in the subsequent turn if you so wish.
That brings me to a close to this edition of "By the BenCH" and I hope this analysis has brought you some insight and got you thinking of how you can improve both your game and list-building.
If you have any comments or questions, feel free to leave them in the Facebook comments plugin below or email us at th3crossroads@gmail.com. The Crossroads is also open to any suggestions on how we can improve, as well as topic requests.
Until the next time,
the BenCH
p.s: look out for a Drukhari army review/analysis as well as a painting tutorial by Golden Demon Winner Rico Chia (no relation to Benjamin Chia) later this week.