40K: List Building Considerations in 8th
When you’re building your army lists for Warhammer 40,000 8th we’ve got some things you might want to consider.
As the community is getting more and more games under their belt we’ve started to notice the same types of questions and themes pop-up. In our own playing of the game we’ve run across some other themes that seem to bubble up again and again as well. We figured it would be a good thing to share this with you all and see if you’re having similar experiences or not.
Now, here at BoLS we do understand our sample size is still limited so these might not be universal for every situation – but again, these are things we’ve notices folks are gravitating towards on the tabletop and in online discussions. We think that these are the things you’re going to have to be able to deal with when playing a game Warhammer 40k 8th.
High Toughness, Multi-Wound Models
The Rhino (and vehicles like it) are back in a big way. Across the board, just about every army has access to things that have between 6-8 Toughness and +10 wounds with a decent armor save. These units are pricier than they were in previous editions but their versatility has good through the roof! If you’re army can’t deal with at least a couple of these models in a game you’re in for a world of hurt.
Suggestions to deal with them:
Don’t forget units can split fire – Mixing in heavy weapons with your infantry is really helpful.
Charge them – If they can’t fly, then forcing them to lose their shooting phase is very helpful. They can either stay in and suffer through a mediocre fight phase or they can fall back. Either way, you’ve effectively tar-pitted them for at least a turn.
Bring on the multi-damage attacks – Weapons that do more than one point of damage against these units are where it’s at. Obviously heavy weapons but don’t forget about your Powerfists, Crushing Claws, Power Klaws and other deadly attacks!
Horde Infantry
Get ready to deal with the return of hordes of infantry. For some armies – they never really went away. For others, they are coming back in a BIG way. I know personally for Tyranids you want to run your Gaunts in squads of +20 so you get the bonus to your attacks/damage. And the more I look around at the other armies, the more you see those type of bonuses. Big blocks of Horde Infantry, from Necron Warriors to Ork Boyz, to Guardsmen, and even Pox Walkers benefit from big units.
Some of those bonuses aren’t as blatant as “Re-roll 1s when wounding.” For example, thanks to the way Necron Warriors Reanimation Protocols works now, a large block of 20 warriors has a lot more staying power because you’re rolling for them to come back at the start of EACH of their turns. The harder the unit is to wipe out the more chances they have to come right back. Think about it: if you could do 10 mortal wounds per turn to that unit, and they get up a 1/3 of the time, then it would take you 3 turns to kill a block of 20 warriors vs 1 turn to kill 10. Things like this aren’t always so explicit and armies will be able to capitalize on those hidden synergies.
Suggestions to deal with them:
Focus Fire – “Never do any enemy a small injury” and that goes double for horde type armies. If they have something that is keeping them around and kicking try to kill that and then go after the horde. If you can remove the things that buff them, do it! But once you start unloading on a squad, kill it. Don’t worry about “wasted” shots – you need that thing dead so it can’t regen/regrow/re-arm/re-buff.
Use your own Tar-pit – Most horde units aren’t the best at something, either shooting or close combat. Figure out where they are weak and go for that. If it’s Ork Boyz, maybe don’t charge them. Screen them with small units, slow them down, shoot them and fall back. Stalling their charge for a round might buy you enough time to get far enough away they can’t charge – or it could be enough time to bring your big guns to bear on them. Or if it’s a unit of Termagants, charge them. If you’ve got a higher toughness or better armor there is no reason to fear their melee attack. Sure, they might drag a model or two down, but stalling them out for a turn could be worth it as well – especially if makes them not shoot for a round.
Taking Objectives
In just about every mission, you’ll need to take objectives. If you’re using the Maelstrom missions then you definitely need some objective takers/holders. And in The Relic in particular, you need something that can take the objective. Lets use The Relic to illustrate this point because it’s the most extreme example. Did you know that the Relic (objective) can only be carried by an Infantry model? And did you know once that model comes into contact it automatically picks it up and cannot drop it unless it is slain? Think about that for a minute – if you are focused on the mission then that should change your target priority. If you’re thinking “Hey, if I can kill all my opponent’s infantry models then they can never claim the Relic” you’re on the right track. That’s just the tip of that tactical iceberg.
Again, that’s an extreme example but having a unit or three of low cost objective grabbers can be a real game changer. In missions where points are cumulative those units can help you establish an early lead and really sway the game in your favor.
Suggestions to deal with Objectives:
Bring some Objective Scorers – you need things in your army that can score objectives or you will lose on points every time.
Target their Objective Takers – Think about the mission and how you can effectively neuter your opponent from gaining points. Is it The Relic and they only brought 1 Infantry unit? I think you know what to do.
Always think about the mission – Look, I enjoy trying to go for the kill as much as you do. If you’re playing for fun with a friend go for the kill! It’s more exciting. But if you want to win games in a competitive environment the mission should always be on your mind.
Speed Kills
I know I keep going back to the Tyranids but that’s because that’s what I’ve been playing the most but, holy crap, units are faster in the game! Underestimating your opponent’s speed will get you killed. But that’s almost as deadly as overestimating your own speed! However, in general, things can move a lot farther than they used to and can still be somewhat combat effective. Units with Assault Weapons can move, advance and still shoot with a -1 penalty. Most of the time, that isn’t even bad. Let’s take a look at Burna Boyz for a moment.
Burna Boyz “only” have a 5″ move. But they get a D6 advance. And their Burnas are Assault with an 8″ range. That means the threat range is 13″-19″ for those models – that’s way more than last edition! Oh and let’s add a truck in the mix. That’s a 12″ move and don’t forget vehicles can ALSO advance. Trukks are open topped so the Burnas can shoot. That means that unit has a 26″ threat range. Get ready for Turn One d3x12 auto-hitting str 4 shots.
Maybe that particular example isn’t that scary for your army – that’s fair. It’s only str 4 shooting, right? But that’s also just one tool in the tool box and I cannot think of an army that doesn’t have the capability to get something in your face from 24″ away turn 1. Games in general are faster, too. Turn one things DIE. Close Combat happens. Speed kills.
Suggestions to deal with Speed:
Bring some speed bumps – Tar-pit units, sacrificial lambs, bait units – whatever you want to call them, you’re going to probably want to bake a unit or two in your list. Now, those could be the same as the objective grabbers from above but that should depend on the mission. Sometimes you do need to cut off the hand to save the arm. Or the arm to save the body… It’s never pretty but if you want to survive then tough decisions have to be made.
Play a LOT of games – Plain and simple “practice makes perfect.” A weird thing happened in 8th in that everyone’s movement profiles got all swapped around. You need to play your army a lot to re-learn their movement and what it looks like on the table top. Yes, you can pre-measure and that helps a ton but, if you can quickly and accurately gauge distance you’ll be all the better for it. After a while, you’ll get a better feel about the “speed” of the game and if you can get comfortable with it, you’ll be just fine.
You’re fast, but not that fast – A lot of the speed comes from that “Advance Move” and the 2d6 charge. This is where you need to see how risky you want to be. Weighing high-risk moves vs low-risk moves is a key concept that I could spend an entire article on. I’m not saying don’t take risks, I’m saying take smarter risks. Is charging a unit 9″ away a risk? Yes. Is charging a unit of Burna Boyz a risk? Yes. Is charging a unit of Burna Boyz 9″ away a risk? No – it’s smart. You’re outside of their Overwatch range. So while it’s a lower probability charge, it’s still a safer charge than you think! And don’t forget your Command Point re-rolls!
Well that’s a wall of text but I hope it’s been helpful. What are some things or themes you’re noticing in your play area? Let us know in the comments below!
