8th Approaches

Hello!

We are fast approaching the 17th and the launch of 40k 8th Edition. Thanks to the Community Team at GW we were lucky enough to get previews of the all the new rules. You may have seen my initial thoughts here. 

I have been able to get in some more games and even managed to play a 3000 point game to see how the new rules scaled up (They scaled up well in my opinion). Overall I have really enjoyed the games I've played. For me it has given 40k a whole new lease of life! My two armies are still similar but have changed enough to give lots of options to explore. A lot of the units that I wanted to use before but just weren't very good, all have a place now as the abilities they get make them more useful. I have found the game is playing well and I like how it is still 40k but with less restrictions. 

I was sceptical of things like first turn reserves and being able to assault from any vehicle. However in practice they work well. Reserves coming in on turn 1 or whatever turn you want gives you some great tactical flexibility. It is balanced out by the more than 9" restriction, which can be a lot more difficult to find the space for some times than you might expect. 

Assaulting out of any vehicle had me concerned but I think the rules handle it well and if you need to be combat with melee units you can now more reliably deliver them where they need to be. This is particularly important given how easily troops can be shot off the table. 

It is really cool to be able to shoot whatever you like and then charge something completely different. I had a great moment in game yesterday where my Orks left 1 Necron Warrior alive in the Necron turn. In the shooting phase of my turn I used my pistols to shoot the unit I was in combat with killing the last 1! I was them able to charge another unit in the charge phase! Brilliant for combat armies and in my opinion much better game play. 

I made use of the matched played points for a 3000 point game. It took a while to work out but part of that is getting use to a new systems of paying for the bare model and then all the wargear separately. It worked well but part of me prefers Power Points as they are so easy to use! I still believe that the regular points will be main stay of the community. 

Characters are really good! They finally feel like they can make big differences on tabletop and the rules allow them act as you would except a hero to act! You will find them crucial to your army building and will be wishing for more space and points to get them in! 

Vehicles are much hardier now, they certainly don't go down easily. They do come with an increase in point cost though. They also have one of the new features I hope gets changed in the future, fire arcs. As it stands a vehicle can fire 360 degrees without worrying about line of sight from the weapon or firing through the vehicle. This is my least favourite change! 

I fully expect to see the minimum number of troops in units as this works out a lot in your favour. Given the benefits that they could open up with more command points potentially. I also think they will make your army survive the shooting phase better and t's very likely they will be riding in transports. It will be interesting to see if this pans out. 

I'm excited to get more games in and try out different combos! Below are some brief thoughts on my Orks and Harlequins. 

Orks have gained back some of the character that they had lost in the 6th Edition codex with some rules that make them feel a bit more orky! I have found Boyz die really easily though and foot slogging will mean going really heavy on the boy front. By that I mean 100 plus to give any of them a hope of making it across the table. Trukks, dreads, kans and gork/mork-anoughts are my early winners.

I have only managed to get 1 game in with the Harlequins and the died quickly! What  few of them did make it to combat kicked some serious Necron butt. They got shot to pieces after killing some stuff though. I am looking forward to trying out some different combos and getting the vehicles in to see if they make a difference. On paper they look better than in 7th however they still are a glass hammer! 

My local club is having a launch day gaming session so I will be getting in even more games! 

Happy hobby! 

Darien