Talk:Warhammer 40,000/Tactics (9E)

Content from Tactics(9E)

God damn, I cannot even remember how to make a collapsible box, took me 10 minutes, I am way out of editing shape. Angry Pirate (talk) 10:03, 29 August 2020 (UTC)

This is more explaining rules than it is explaining tactics IMO. Open and narrative play ought to be put on a separate page since they don't require tactics and the goal isn't so much winning as it is creating a narrative and learning the core rules of the game. Angry Pirate (talk) 22:10, 8 August 2020 (UTC)

More telling is that we already have a page detailing this stuff out. Though I agree that we might want a separate page for Crusade stuffs.

ThatOneBruvva (talk) 22:54, 8 August 2020 (UTC)

This page is meant to index pages for the Warhammer 40,000 tactics dumps, and also acts as a repository for more general 40k tactics.

Required Reading

Anyone looking to play Warhammer 40,000 9th edition will require a couple things in order to get started:

• Core Rulebook: Provides the Core rules, in addition to all of the rules required to play the different game modes as it contains all the rules for Open, Narrative and Matched play. The usual swath of additional detachment, stratagem, terrain, and mission rules can also be found within, among many other tips and tidbits for new and veteran players alike.. In addition, the following are available (or soon to be available):
• Warhammer 40,000 App: After what feels like an eternity, there will finally be an official app available to anyone with a mobile device. There are two available tiers; the Free version gives users full access to the core rules as well as any codexes/supplements they redeem to their account while the Subscription version (set to $3.99 a month) grants users an army list builder (when released) and a quick rule reference tool, as well as complete access to all 8th edition Codex rules (while valid). Anyone just looking to play the game or cut down on how many books they'll need to haul about can easily just stick to the free tier.
• Core Rules: The core rules are available, free to download as per 8th edition.

In addition, the following are required regardless of which army you play, depending on whether you play Matched Play, Narrative, or Open missions:

• FAQs: Available for free on Warhammer Community's website, these periodic updates are issued roughly biannually to clarify or adjust the rules found in virtually every relevant book used to play the game. Though in many cases these updates are simply minor clarifications, some units get drastically modified rules that can change how they play entirely. Even casual players will want to check in on these when they're released.
• Munitorum Field Manual: Part of the Chapter Approved release, provides the points values for all current models and units. - Used primarily for competitive play.
• Grand Tournament 2020: Part of the Chapter Approved release, this book provides all of the information to play competitive games (aside from points), including mission packs, including secondary objectives for different sizes of games, a rules reference, a painting standards reference and core actions and strategem reference.

Outside of the Core Rules, each player will also simply need to choose which ever faction(s) they want to play and pick up their respective Codex(es). Once done, you will need the following:

• Codexes. This will have the majority of what you need to play each faction in your army, including unit entries, warlord traits, relics, stratagems, and point costs. Our own tactics pages contain some of that information, but for legal reasons we can't give full statlines and points costs for the units. (Certain Russians, however, don't care so much about petty things like 'laws'.)
• Online errata and FAQ Available from the main Games Workshop website. A version comes out shortly after each codex, and the game designers are not afraid to completely rewrite a unit's rules if they realize they fucked something up. GW also schedules a "Big FAQ" to come out twice a year to address balance issues as they come up and make wider, more sweeping changes they want to get feedback for before they're officially added to the core rules.

In addition, the following provides rules, warlord traits, relics, and occasionally new or reworked datasheets for your factions:

• Imperium Nihilus: Vigilus Ablaze/Defiant: Provides specialist detachments, new supplements rules, relics, etc. etc.
• Psychic Awakening: Provides supplementary information for each of your factions.

Note on the above: If you wished to play with a Chaos Daemons, Chaos Space Marines (Heretic Astartes) and Chaos Knights Soup, then in theory you could end up requiring 5 codexes, 1 Imperium Nihilus book, and 4 of the psychic awakening books. Nice!!!

Listbuilding

Now that you've grabbed your rulebook (or PDF), you'll need to pick an army that defines you. What kind of army best suits your playstyle, whose lore interests you the most, or which faction you just think looks cool. Do you want something somewhat beginner friendly, flexible enough to try new things without punishing you for small mistakes? Something specialized that requires a strategic and tactical touch to excel? Do you relish in the anguished cries of your dudes as they're sacrificed by the dozens to achieve minor victories? Or are you in it just for a good scrap? As Warhammer 40k is painfully expensive (and likely to only ever get pricier), you'll want to find the right army for you before you start spending dozens, hundreds or thousands of dollars on any army.

If you're new to the hobby and want a good overview of each faction, check out their respective tactics pages to get a general idea on how they play as well as their strengths and weaknesses.

Detachments

The primary formations a player uses in order to build and field an army. Each detachment has a dedicated number of unit slots in each category and each player will need to choose the best detachment to suit their needs. The biggest change in this edition is that each detachment must now be purchased using the player's available starting Command Points. This means certain armies won't be able to cheaply spam detachments to accrue an unholy pool of Command Points that no other faction could even dream of gathering. To this end, your Detachment(s) should be chosen carefully and additional detachments should only be considered if you already have a clear list in mind or plan on running two allied Factions together (such as a detachment of Space Marines and a secondary Ad Mech detachment).

Core Detachments

These are the primary detachments players will use to build their army list with. The basic restrictions state that no understrength units may be included in any of these detachments and all units taken must be from the same Faction. Additionally, each filled Troop slot unlocks one optional Dedicated Transport slot. The primary perk about these three detachments is that they provide a Command Point refund for the detachment your Warlord is included in. As they say, "the first one is free"!

• Patrol
  • Cost: 2 CP
  • Command Benefits: +2 Command Points if your Warlord is fielded in this detachment.
  • Required Units: 1 HQ, 1 Troop
  • Maximum Unit Capacity: 3 HQs, 3 Troops, 2 Elites, 2 Fast Attacks, 2 Heavy Supports, 2 Flyers

The smallest basic detachment, patrol detachments are designed for smaller games (around 500 points or so on average) or to be used as a supplementary force for a primary detachment. As far as cost is concerned, Patrol detachments are the cheapest out of all Standard and Specialist detachments go and as such are ideal in the event players are looking to expand their lists for more general units.

• Battalion
  • Cost: 3 CP
  • Command Benefits: +3 Command Points if your Warlord is fielded in this detachment.
  • Required Units: 2 HQs, 3 Troops
  • Maximum Unit Capacity: 3 HQs, 6 Troops, 6 Elites, 3 Fast Attacks, 3 Heavy Supports, 2 Flyers

What many would consider the golden standard, Battalions are often used for most typical games (usually ranging from 1000-2000 point lists) and each one hosts a considerable maximum cap for both Troop and Elite units, allowing players to field a considerably sized force. The limited Fast Attack and Heavy Support slots does limit the number of vehicles or heavy weapon platforms a player can include and may require a secondary detachment to compensate, depending on the player's needs. In most cases though, a single Battalion is often enough for most armies within the aforementioned point range.

• Brigade
  • Cost: 4 CP
  • Command Benefits: +4 Command Points if your Warlord is fielded in this detachment.
  • Required Units: 3 HQs, 6 Troops, 3 Elites, 3 Fast Attacks, 3 Heavy Supports
  • Maximum Unit Capacity: 5 HQs, 12 Troops, 8 Elites, 5 Fast Attacks, 3 Heavy Supports, 2 Flyers

The largest single detachment, and potentially the hardest to field, faction dependent. Best reserved for large scale games (2000pts and beyond), Brigades have a frankly staggering unit capacity that enables factions that rely on sheer numbers to really hit their stride. The rather steep unit requirements can make this particular detachment a chore for the more elite or numerically challenged factions to properly accommodate in small-medium games and as such is typically impractical outside big games.

Specialist Detachments

Dedicated detachments designed to supplement your forces, notably because they don't offer any command point refunds for including your Warlord in them. Each one of these costs 3 Command Points to purchase and they follow the same restrictions the standard detachments impose.

• Vanguard
  • Required Units: 1 HQ, 3 Elites
  • Maximum Unit Capacity: 2 HQs, 2 Troops, 6 Elites, 2 Fast Attacks, 2 Heavy Supports, 2 Fliers

Designed for players with particularly elite armies, Vanguard detachments effectively offer players the elite unit capacity of a Brigade without the particularly dense Troop or HQ requirements they would otherwise impose. Great factions to take advantage of a Vanguard detachment would be Space Marines (of all flavors, Chaos or otherwise), Custodes, Eldar (Craftworld or Dark), Necrons, T'au and Orks.

• Spearhead
  • Required Units: 1 HQ, 3 Heavy Supports
  • Maximum Unit Capacity: 2 HQs, 2 Troops, 2 Elites, 2 Fast Attacks, 6 Heavy Supports, 2 Fliers

For anyone looking to blow shit up, look no further than the Spearhead detachment. A Spearhead offers the single highest capacity for Heavy Support units out of any other detachment and as such are ideal for treadheads or anyone with particularly big guns on their shoulders. Factions that can make the most out of a Spearhead would be the Space Marines (again, of every conceivable color visible to the human eye), Imp. Guard, Orks, T'au and Tyranids.

• Outrider
  • Required Units: 1 HQ, 3 Fast Attacks
  • Maximum Unit Capacity: 2 HQs, 2 Troops, 2 Elites, 6 Fast Attacks, 2 Heavy Supports, 2 Fliers

Ideal for armies specializing in speed, deepstriking or outflanking, Outrider detachments offer the highest Fast Attack unit capacity out of all available detachments. Any faction with relatively consistent access to bikes or jump packs can find a notable use for an Outrider detachment, but Space Marines (This time some may yield better results), Eldar and Tyranids can often fill these ranks easily.

Other

Alternative detachments are available for anyone looking for something... extra special. Unlike the Standard or Specialist detachments, there is no understrength restriction for anything allowing multi-model units and other restrictions tend to be very case-by-case.

• Supreme Command
  • Cost: 0 CP
  • Maximum Unit Capacity: 1 Lord of War or 1 HQ
  • Restrictions: Included unit must be your Warlord, and must also be a Primarch, Daemon Primarch, or Supreme Commander. You may only include one Supreme Command Detachment in your army.
  • Command Benefits: Choose one of the following: The player may get +4 CP if their army contains any Brigade detachments, +3 CP if their army contains any Battalion detachments, or +2 CP if their army contains any Patrol detachments.

Having received a bit of a retooling since last edition, your Supreme Command detachment is now a super special place Magnus, Mortarion or Roboute Guilliman can be slotted in without imposing hefty detachment or unit taxes on the rest of your army.

• Super-Heavy
  • Cost: 3 CP or 6 CP
  • Required Units: 3 Super-Heavies
  • Maximum Unit Capacity: 5 Super-Heavies
  • Restrictions: Players may not include any Titanic units unless they spend 6 CP when purchasing this detachment. All units must be of the same Faction.
  • Command Benefits: None

This is where the big boys hang out. Imperial Knights notably get a CP refund Command Benefit, since otherwise they'd be severely gimped compared to every other army in the game. Most factions won't find a realistic use for this detachment in any game mode smaller than Apocalypse however, as nobody else will really be able to afford investing in a Super-Heavy detachment and still remain viable.

• Super-Heavy Auxiliary
  • Cost: 3 CP
  • Required and Maximum Units: 1 Super-Heavy
  • Restrictions and Command Benefits: None

This is where every faction outside pure Imperial Knights will field their titanic tanks and walkers and still maintain a slight semblance of practicality in doing so.

• Fortification Network
  • Cost: 1 CP
  • Required Units: 1 Fortification
  • Maximum Unit Capacity: 3 Fortifications
  • Restrictions: Players may only include one Fortification Network in their army. Your Warlord cannot be in this detachment.
  • Command Benefits: +1 CP if all Fortifications share the same Faction, and are the same Faction as your Warlord's detachment.

Unlike every other detachment that allows more than one unit, you can have literally any mix of Fortifications in this detachment and can pair it with any other Faction in the game. Seeing as how virtually everything in a Fortification Network is literally a stationary building, this makes sense. Suffice to say, players are refunded the cost of the detachment if they keep it thematic, however. In most cases, Fortification Networks aren't necessarily practical in smaller games due to how expensive some of the buildings can get and how limited their usage can be.

• Auxiliary Support
  • Cost: 2 CP
  • Required Units: None
  • Maximum Unit Capacity: 1 HQ, 1 Troop, 1 Elite, 1 Fast Attack, 1 Heavy Support, or 1 Flier
  • Restrictions: This detachment may only include one unit.
  • Command Benefits: None

Need just one more unit to complete your list? Can't afford to just take another Patrol detachment to compensate the missing slot? Lose a couple minis and are forced to take an understrength unit? Welp, spend your CP on this and plug that missing hole. That unlikely string of scenarios is pretty much the only situation any player will take an Auxiliary Support over just purchasing a Patrol detachment, as the only thing this detachment has over a Patrol is the ability to field an understrength unit. That's not necessarily a good thing though, since players are still paying for the unit's default cost regardless.

Game Modes

As with 8th edition, there are three primary ways to play the game, in Open Play, Narrative Play and Matched Play.

Open Play

The pandora's box, Open Play is functionally an "anything goes" game mode where as long as you have the models and have the rules, you're pretty much free to mash anything and everything together into one giant army. There are a few dedicated missions and scenarios available, but they're definitely not the primary focus of people playing this way.

Narrative Play

Originally something of a midway point between Open and Matched Play, Narrative Play has incorporated some of the campaign mechanics from Kill Teams to evolve into something more unique. Now effectively named "Crusade", players utilize Power Levels to build an army that grows and adapts over the course of several games. Units of all shapes and sizes can gain new abilities or tools as a reward for success on the battlefield, or gain crippling battlescars as a consequence of their failures.

Units are considerably more flexible in their loadouts than their Matched Play variants, as most weapon options and upgrades don't increase their Power Level value.

Crusade

Crusades span over a number of connected games; the outcomes of which impact each player's army and how they'll perform in future missions. Each unit in a player's army will earn experience when participating in a game, earning more or less depending on how well they performed over the course of the game. The only major downside of this game mode will be the potential library's worth of book-keeping you'll need to do in order to properly track your army's progress.

Forming a Crusade

When first starting an army for Crusade, players select their units from one of seven primary factions: Imperium, Chaos, Aeldari, Orks, T'au Empire, Tyranids and Necrons to draw their units from. Initially, players are limited to a maximum Power Rating of 50, using the Power Level (PL) of each unit to determine how much of that rating they occupy. This maximum supply limit can be increased over time, allowing the recruitment or reinforcement of new or existing units, respectively.

As players progress through their campaign, they keep track of every single unit (even things like monsters and vehicles) in their Crusade Rosters, letting them jot down any experience, traits or scars they earn over the course of their battles.

Requisition Points

Requisition Points, or RP, are a resource players can use for a variety of purposes, all of which improve their army in some way. Players begin with 5 RP and can never exceed that amount at any time. RP is earned simply by playing games, each player earning 1 RP upon the conclusion of a match.

Battle Scars

The "reward" for failure on the field of battle. After a battle, units that were completely destroyed roll a d6. A roll of a 2-6 causes no long term effects and the unit is reconstituted successfully, but a roll of a 1 requires the player to make a choice. Players can either forfeit d6 existing experience from the unit and that unit gains no experience from the battle it was wiped out in, or they can take a Battle Scar. Battle Scars are determined by the unit type (Characters, Monsters, Vehicles, Any Other Unit) and all incur a permanent penalty to that unit's combat performance.

• Any Other Unit

1. Walking Wounded: This unit subtracts 1" from their movement characteristic. In addition, they must subtract 1" from all advance/charge rolls they make.
2. Fatigued: This unit cannot control any objective markers; when determining who controls an objective, all models in this unit are ignored.
3. Battle-weary: This unit cannot perform any actions or psychic actions. They also cannot receive more than 1 experience point after battle for any reason. Any additional experience points are simply lost.
4. Shell Shock: Subtract 1 from this unit's leadership. In addition, whenever Combat Attrition rolls are made for this unit, subtract 1 for all tests made.
5. Disgraced: You cannot use any stratagems on this unit, nor can you use the Command Re-roll stratagem to affect any rolls made by the unit.
6. Mark of Shame: This unit is unaffected by all aura abilities from friendly units.

Battle Honours

Unlike the former, these are genuine rewards for your soldiers as they gain experience from their battles. The number of Battle Honours a unit can gain is dependent on their rank which in turn is determined by that unit's accumulated experience. Like Battle Scars, there are four different tables units can acquire their battle Honours from (again, for Characters, Monsters, Vehicles, and Any Other Unit) and each provides a permanent boost to that unit's combat performance in some way.

• Any Other Unit

1. Fleet of Foot: This unit adds 1" to their movement characteristic. In addition, they add 1" to all advance/charge rolls they make.
2. Veteran Warriors: Re-roll hit rolls of 1 made by models in this unit.
3. Grizzled: Roll a d6 each time a model in this unit loses a wound. On a 6, that wound is ignored.
4. Headhunters: Add 1 to all hit/wound rolls when models in this unit target a Character.
5. Cool-headed: Re-roll failed Morale tests for this unit. When this unit is targeted by a charge, they may fire overwatch and hit on rolls of a 5+.
6. Battle-tested: This unit has Objective Secured. They may also fire ranged weapons while performing an action without failing that action. Additionally, Combat Attrition tests are automatically passed while it is within range of an objective.

Matched Play

The big leagues, Matched Play is the official format for tournament play and is often used when players want to have the most balanced experience when playing a game. Everything a player fields utilizes their point values as opposed to their Power Level, up to and (usually including) all the gear each particular model is wielding. To this end, players must plan out their lists with greater care than they might in a Narrative or Open Play game, as splurging on vehicle upgrades or special weapons for their troop choices can and will soak up a significant portion of their points that could be better spent on fielding more units (and vice versa).

Many rules and abilities require your army to be Battle-Forged; where all the units within a detachment are from the same primary faction (or have specific rules that state that they can be a part of another faction's detachment and remain Battle-Forged). Most official tournaments worth their salt will also require army lists entered to be Battle-Forged in order to participate at all.