Warhammer 40,000 7th edition

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Warhammer 40,000 7th Edition is the newest edition of everybody's favorite wargame. It's basically an extension of the 3rd edition ruleset, as with every edition of the game since 3rd, and, more specifically, it's an extension of the 6th edition ruleset (which it replaced after only two years). Some rumors have suggested that the community should consider it "6th Revised" or "6.5," but Games Workshop stopped using edition numbers with 6th, so we'll probably never know. It definitely has big game changers and multiple smaller changes that warrant calling it a new edition.

It's launching May 24th, 2014.

Pics for proof: here and here and some more here. A gallery of the Psychic Powers available are here.

It's very Warhammer Fantasy, just like Warhammer 40,000 used to be.

Remember, Traitor Guard is still a thing, just now utterly FUCKED.

Confirmed features

• The rulebook is being written by Jervis Johnson (yay!), Robin Cruddace (fuck...), and Simon Grant (huh? awesome!)
• They're not rewriting any of the codexes they just wrote (Chaos Marines through Astra Militarum) because that would be stupid, even for Games Workshop. It's likely they knew that there was going to be an edition change while they were writing Space Marines, as such Tyranids and Astra Militarum might have been written to the 7th ed rules. *CoughShadowinthewarpCough*
• You can ignore the Force Org chart if you wish, resulting in an "Unbound" army list. However, using the FOC to make a "Battle-Forged" army list allows you to reroll Warlord Traits and lets you control objectives even if an enemy scoring unit is within range of them (unless they also happen to be Battle-Forged). Where Kill-Team lies within this mayhem is yet to be determined.
  • The potential for abuse with Unbound lists is obvious- as long as the units themselves are legal, the allies chart is followed, and the point limit is adhered to, literally anything goes. Like an army made up of nothing but HUNDREDS of cheap troops models (like Grots/Cultists etc) for the tarpit to end all tarpits, or an army consisting entirely of superheavy vehicles. But on the bright side, it also allows you to field fluffy armies legally (e.g. the First Company of a Space Marine Chapter).
• They're redoing the Allies matrix. See pic related.
• Psychic Phase. It's pretty much the Magic Phase from Fantasy, back to use after 2E. First you add up all the Mastery Levels of all your psykers, then add d6 to that; the total is how many Warp Charge dice you get this turn. Feel free to roll as many Warp Charge dice as you want for each psychic power you cast, but rolling more dice runs a higher risk of Perils of the Warp. Deny The Witch now takes place here and requires Warp Charges to work, so having at least one psyker in your army seems like it'll be necessary. (It can now also be used to nullify enemy blessings as well as offensive powers.) Expect Tau and Necrons getting a rule either in errata or core rules to deny.
  • Force Weapon activation now counts as a psychic power. Not sure if this will mean that it is a power taken automatically with the weapon.
  • Your opponent gets d6 warp charge dice during your psychic phase as well (roll once for the both of you).
  • Witchfire/psychic shooting attacks are done in the psychic phase too, and no longer make the psyker count as having fired a weapon.
  • New psychic discipline: Daemonology, which is split into Sanctic and Malefic.
    • Sanctic powers are usable by Grey Knights like normal (but barred from Malefic). Likewise, Daemons (and Sorcerers with the Daemon USR) can use Malefic powers like any other, but can never take Sanctic powers. All other psykers (except for Tyranids, which get neither one) can use both, but get perils when they roll doubles. This means that you can have both Radical Inquisitors who summon Daemons and Chaos Space Marines who can hunt down and kill them.
    • The Sanctic powers are as follows:
      • Primaris: Banishment Warp Charge 3. A Malediction with a 24" range that can only be used on units with the Daemon USR. Will reduce the Daemon's Invul save by 1 (So the basic 5+ Daemon Invul becomes a 6+)
      • 1: Gate of Infinity Warp Charge 1. A benediction that allows a single unit that isn't swooping or zooming can now Deep Strike anywhere.
      • 2: Hammerhand Warp Charge 1. A blessing that grants the caster and unit gain +2S.
      • 3: Sanctuary Warp Charge 1. Caster and his unit gain +1 to their Invul save. Additionally, all Daemons (allies and ememies) within 12" of the caster treat all terrain as Dangerous Terrain.
      • 4: Purge Soul Warp Charge 1. Focused Witchfire power with a range of 24". Both you and your enemy must now roll d6 and add Ld to the roll. If the enemy loses, he must take an unsavable wound.
      • 5: Cleansing Flame Warp Charge 2. Range 9" S5 AP4 Assault 2d6 Nova power with Soulblaze and Ignores Cover.
      • 6: Vortex of Doom Warp Charge 3. Range 12" Strength D AP1 Assault 1 Blast Vortex power. Failing the test to manifest this power automatically causes perils.
    • The Malefic powers are as follows:
      • Primaris: Summoning Warp Charge 3. A conjuration that summons one of the following within 12 inches of the user: 10 Bloodletters, 10 Pink Horrors, 10 Plaguebearers, 10 Daemonettes, 5 Flesh Hounds, 3 Flamers, 3 Nurgling Swarms, 5 Seekers.
      • 1: Cursed Earth Warp Charge 1. All models with the Daemon USR (allied and enemy) within 12 inches of the user gain +1 to their invulnerable save and do not scatter when Deep Striking within range of the user.
      • 2: Dark Flame Warp Charge 1. A Witchfire template power with S4 AP5, Assault 1, and the Soul Blaze and Torrent rules.
      • 3: Infernal Gaze Warp Charge 1. A 18 inch range Beam power with S3 AP 4, Assault 1, and the Armourbane and Fleshbane rules.
      • 4: Sacrifice Warp Charge 1. A conjuration that summons a Herald of your choice (with up to 30 points' worth of wargear options) within 6 inches of the user. However, the user or another friendly unit in range suffers a single wound with no saves allowed.
      • 5: Incursion Warp Charge 3. A conjuration that summons one of the following within 12 inches of the user: 3 Bloodcrushers, 3 Screamers, 3 Plague Drones, 3 Fiends.
      • 6: Possession Warp Charge 3. Summons a Greater Daemon of your choice within 6 inches, and removes the user as a casualty. (If the user was part of a unit with Brotherhood of Psykers/Sorcerers, the whole unit is removed.) If the Psychic test to manifest this power fails, the user automatically suffers Perils of the Warp. (Just imagine the look on your opponent's face when your otherwise useless Wyrdvane Psykers explode into a Bloodthirster. Or your Lord of Change, on his last wound, explodes into a new and fully healed Lord of Change.)
  • Perils of the Warp is now a table to be rolled on to determine what hijinks ensue.
    • 1: Dragged into the Warp Psyker takes a leadership test. If passed, he suffers 1 wound or glancing hit with no saves allowed. If failed, he is removed as a casualty and his unit takes D6 S6 AP1 hits, starting from where he started.
    • 2: Mental Purge Psyker suffers 1 wound/glancing hit with no no saves allowed. Randomly select one power from the psyker. It is lost for the rest of the game.
    • 3: Power Drain Psyker suffers 1 wound/glancing hit with no saves allowed. If it's the psychic phase, both players lose D3 Warp Charge points.
    • 4: Psychic Backlash Psyker suffers 1 wound/glancing hit with no saves allowed
    • 5: Empyric Feedback Psyker takes a leadership test. If failed Psyker suffers 1 wound/glancing hit with no saves allowed. If passed no effect.
    • 6: Warp Surge Psyker takes a leadership test. If failed Psyker suffers 1 wound/glancing hit with no saves allowed. If passed psyker gains 3++, Fleshbane, Armourbane, and Smash until the next friendly psychic phase. Double with Soulblaze for extra lulz.
• Escalation, Stronghold Assault, and that new Altar of War book are included in the new rulebook. Missions might not be, but the force org from the books are included.
• Invulnerable saves can now be taken against strength D weapons, unless the strength D weapon in question rolled a 6 to wound. Strength D weapons that did not roll a 6 are treated as having S10 and the weapon's AP, so T6+ units won't suffer Instant Death from them.
• Introduction of Maelstrom of War, an alternative to the standard set of Eternal War missions. A set of missions (6, to be specific) which revolve around special "Tactical Objectives". Those objectives are drawn from one of 36 cards and award Victory Points for completing them. Example Tactical Objectives that have been mention include "manifest a psychic power", "destroy a flyer", and "kill a Character". Tactical Objectives can be exchanged for another one in the deck at will, and if one is completed it will be replaced with a new one.
• Flying Monstrous Creatures now only take one grounding check, at the end of the shooting phase, rather than one check per shooting attack.
• Wounds taken in challenges now spread to the party. This means that you can't take a challenge just to soak up all the damage from the rest of your unit.
• Shooting attacks from a squad are resolved one weapon type at a time. For example, in a squad of tactical marines you may choose to resolve the flamer first, then the bolters, then the sergeant's plasma pistol, then the missile launcher.
• Vehicle damage chart is changing again; you need a roll of 7 to make tanks Explode.
• The Core Rulebook's gonna be split into three parts: One for the collectible (modeling and painting) part of the hobby, one for the fluff, and one that's just the rules. All together, they cost $85.
• If a psyker manifests all his powers from the same discipline, he also gets the primaris power for free. This has the deliberate side effect of making sure all psykers (except Broodlords) can use at least two powers.
• The Split Fire rule no longer requires a leadership test.
• Vehicles can now use Snap Shots with Ordnance weapons, as long as the weapon itself allows Snap Shots to be fired. Similarly, vehicles can now fire Ordnance weapons normally at Combat Speed, although all other weapons that turn will be fired as Snap Shots.
• ICs can't join units with MCs.
• Precision Shot is a USR, so IG needs 6s to do precision after the order granting it.
• Jump Infantry can now use Jump Packs on movement and assault. They can also Jink.
• Smash is now only one attack.

Rumored features

• The Erratas and FAQs from 6th will be in the rulebook somewhere
• Something about sideboards and being able to swap out parts of your army list at the start of the game (like in Warmachine), but the details were unclear and that was probably false.
• Starter set is one of the following (details are a bit hazy): Imperial Guard versus Eldar, Blood Angels versus Orks, or the same Dark Vengeance box with a slightly different rulebook.
  • We do know that IF they replace Dark Vengeance, it won't be for a few more months.
• All units (including vehicles) will be scoring.
• Unbound armies may not contest objectives.
• If you fail to manifest a psychic power, that power is permanently disabled.
• Taking Jink saves forces snap shots.
• Manifesting psychic powers works as thus: roll some number of Warp Charge dice (roll as many or as few as you want), and for each 4+ you get one point. If you have enough points equal to or greater than the warp charge cost next to the psychic power's name, you manifest it. So for Prescience, which costs 1 warp charge, you only need one 4+.
  • If it wasn't for the d6 bonus warp charges each turn, this would statistically be a lot worse than the old Leadership Test system, since everyone except a couple of Eldar choices had Ld 10.

tl/dr: New rules. It'll be a month or two before the current players either accept the new edition or leave the game. Last edition had the same doom saying as well as well as every edition before it. Expect to see the new uber-tournament lists to solidify in 2-3 months depending on FAQs and new codex releases. Also expect Unbound armies to be viewed the same way as Double Force Org last edition.