6th Edition First Game

Here are the pics from my first game of Warhammer 40,000 6th edition. This isn't going to be a battle report so much as reflections on the changes in the new edition of the game. I brought out my Ultramarines and allied them to my Space Wolves, mainly because I wanted to try out the Thunderwolf Cavalry. They rocked!

The biggest difference to me was the change to the weapon rules. They have become a lot more individualized and complex. We even had to stop mid game to print out the Space Wolves FAQ.

I ran my Ultramarines, mainly so that I could field my two Storm Talons. As I may have mentioned before, flyers are my all time favorite models - ever since I was a kid - so I was very interested to try out the flyer rules. I found them to work pretty easily, flyers are neither dominant nor fragile.

The new vehicle rules have the potential to make vehicles very fragile, however I didn't feel that was necessarily the case. In addition to the two Storm Talons, I also took a Rhino and a Predator. While the Predator did die, it was a quick death; and it was able to deal out a fair share of damage as well.

One thing we did get wrong during the game, was we played that models n your squad can give targeted squads cover, but on rereading the rulebook, I found that your own squad does not grant cover to other squads. I'll be studying the rulebook a lot more in the coming days and weeks now to say the least.

The most interesting change is Snap Fire. While not a huge advantage, the ability to always shoot has big implications. For vehicles, this is the balance to hull points, letting them deal out much more damage than before. For infantry, the ability to fire non-blast heavy weapons is also potent. I also liked that moving is now on a model by model basis, rather than across the whole squad.

The changes to charging are by far the wildest element to the game now. Rolling 2d6 for charge range can make a huge impact on the game. In this one, we saw squads charging three inches and other charge eleven. Sadly, it was not the Thunderwolves.

The allies rules for 6th edition are probably going to end up being the biggest money maker for this edition. Now, unless you play Tyranids, you can pretty much build an army with any other army allied to it. While I already have Guard and Grey Knights, now I have every reason to add an allied force org chart for the other armies. I'm already contemplating Eldar and Tau.

While I know I have been slacking on the blog front lately, this has been a pretty busy month for me. Lots of traveling, lots more work as I recently was promoted too. On the other hand, I have had time to do a good bit of modeling, so expect more regular posts again now.