Warhammer 40k has long been Games Workshop’s most iconic title, fueled by a wealth of popular lore and some amazing miniature sculptures. So the recent announcement that the latest 10th edition, with support for an all-new ruleset and starter box, will be released this summer was a shocker of Volcano Cannon proportions. This is an extensive reinvention aimed at speeding up and streamlining a game that many players feel is bloated and overly complicated by years of additional material. Even more surprising, The Game Workshop revealed that the core rules and indexes for all major factions in the game are available for free download.
In yet another development, everything old is new again. The scourge of the Blood Angels and Ultramarines chapters of past editions of Space Marines, the Hive Fleet and his Leviathan, gives the Core Box its name. “We wanted to use the Leviathan, which has become an iconic image of Tyranids,” explained Warhammer 40,000 Studio Manager Stu Black. “It’s also the color scheme that really brings out all the cool details on the new Tyranid miniatures. We’ve introduced diversity, shifting slightly from small creatures to large monsters.”
There are many changes aimed at making the game faster and more accessible. With so many, Stu found it difficult to pick the most influential ones. “It’s like asking who my favorite girl is,” he said. But in the end he opted for a revolution in military construction. “It’s very simple,” he said enthusiastically. “Now the emphasis is back on miniatures and their datasheets.” He also couldn’t help but pick something else. “I’m also really happy with what the team has accomplished with Battle-shock,” he continued. “This new mechanic is very useful for expressing morale, combat readiness, immobilization, and all sorts of other effects, and brings some new challenges for players to tackle.”
The “super simple” army building rules bring new meaning to the old concept of detachments. Instead of additional factions you can add to your army, detachments are now like bags full of special abilities you can use. “It gives players a lot of choice and choice, but it’s done in a more restrained way,” explains Stu. “This gives us better control over the different interactions, allowing us to focus on what creates the right experience for our players.” This is another long-standing problem with the game. , which should also help solve how the complex interactions between factions allowed players to manipulate the system to create imbalanced factions at the same point cost.
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Simplifying the process should improve the situation, but veteran players will have a lot of fun playing around with the flexible rules of troop creation in the current edition to customize their troop. The 10th edition will address them in a number of ways, Stu said. “A large part of my Warhammer hobby is creatively painting, modeling, and customizing my own armies,” he agreed. “Some of the changes we’ve made are designed to help with that. For example, by consolidating certain wargear options, players can choose which weapon loadout they think is the coolest. The detachments included in the Codex give players the ability to build an army and explore various aspects within that faction, such as their signature enhancements and strategies. It offers a variety of ways to lean into a theme or archetype.”
Given that Games Workshop has promised free downloads of army lists, you might think this would eliminate the need for a codex altogether. However, while it’s no longer strictly necessary, it’s still available to die-hard fans. “We wanted to make the step into the new edition super easy for players, so all model rules are free at launch,” Stu explained. “But we will continue to expand and add to this, so there will be a codex for each faction and when the codex is released you will find the datasheets there. “
Of course, that means that every new codex comes with new toys. After all, Warhammer 40k wouldn’t be what it is without his iconic sci-fi figures. But Stu didn’t miss anything that might happen. “You’ll understand,” he laughed. “There’s a lot of cool stuff in the works, some fan-requested, some outlandish that no one expects. But for now, he’s ruled out a whole new faction.” The focus is on providing codexes to existing armies and new units that fans can add to their collections.”
However, he was happy to reveal that Games Workshop will continue its ongoing efforts to create a diverse model range. “This is an ongoing part of the miniature design process,” he said. “We will continue to diversify our cast of characters so that fans and future fans can find characters and heroes they can relate to.”
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Another new aspect of the Tenth Edition rules is Combat Patrol, another play mode that allows players to fight much smaller battles. Stu was keen to stress that this wasn’t an intrusion into his 40k’s smaller sister game, Kill Team. “It’s a very fast-paced action skirmish game with 5-10 miniatures,” he explained. “Think of it as the last 10 minutes of an action movie. Combat Patrol, on the other hand, is a real game of Warhammer 40k with three or four squads, characters, and maybe bigger. We’ve had great plans for Kill Teams over the years and will increasingly focus on more detailed and granular encounters between elite operatives.”
Historically, new editions of Games Workshop’s flagship titles have been supported by organized play events, and Leviathan is no exception. “Actually, we’re going to have a self-contained campaign dedicated to players who pick up the Leviathan Box,” Stu revealed. “It’s called the Battle of Ogram, and it takes place between the Tyranids and the Space Marines. Ogram is one of the key planets in the path of the Leviathan swarm, and each person with a box set will have that box set. Report the results of your first game, help determine the fate of that important planet, and be part of 40,000 history.”
It will also provide new and experienced players the kind of support they would expect from the Games Workshop store, Stu added. For those who have long been seduced by dark, militaristic sci-fi, where game models and lore come to life on your tabletop, this is your chance. It sounds like the dark gloom of the 41st millennium has a bright future.
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For more, check out our picks for the best board and dice games to play in 2023. If you’re looking for something a little different, check out the best Warhammer 40k alternatives.
