40K: FAQ Changes You Totally Missed
The Big FAQ 1 is out and with it a host of smaller FAQs, lets look at some of the major changes hidden in these other documents.
The Big FAQ 1 has changed the game. I’ve already talked about some of the ways we are all going to have to adjust to the new state of the game. However the Big FAQ 1 wasn’t the only thing that shook things up. Alongside the major update GW released new FAQs to almost every Codex as well as some of the Indeces and the Big Rule Book. Hidden within these scores of pages are a host of changes both large and small. Many of these changes have gone unnoticed as players dissect the Big FAQ 1, or are hidden in odd places. I’ve combed through the FAQs and here are some of the ones that have the biggest impact.
The Undead are Dead
This ruling from the Big Rule Book FAQ was rumored for a while, though some people missed it since it wasn’t in the Big FAQ 1. What this means is that any ability that expands your unit beyond its starting size costs you reinforcement points. The Death Guard Codex FAQ goes on to make it very clear that this applies to Poxwalkers. Sadly this means the days of the army with unlimited models is dead. Looks like another high tier tourney list is killed by this FAQ.
No Extra Movement For Reserves
Another pretty big change up in the big rulebook FAQ is the one above. Not only can units that come in from reserve not set up beyond your deployment zone on turn one, but you now cannot give them any extra movement on the turn they come in, whatever turn that might be. This means the tactic of “deep striking” a unit in and then using Warptime ( or a similar power) to either put them in flamer range or make their charge almost foolproof no longer works. Since this tactic is as old as the edition it’s a pretty big one.
Can’t Keep A Good Daemon Down
Oof, two big nerfs for Chaos, but did they get anything good? Well this nifty tidbit (oddly hidden in the CSM Codex FAQ, not the Daemon or Index one) is a nice buff. According to this if your one per army daemons die no worries, you can just summon another. And it makes a good bit of sense, your daemon was just banished to the Warp, and back they come. Right now this seems mostly useful if a cornerstone unit, like Epidemus, is killed. Still I do wonder if there is some way to really game out this ability?
HAHA You Can’t Charge Me!
This ruling clears up a sort of grey area in the rules. Due to the variety of terrain used its not uncommon to find units in the upper stories of building that enemies have a hard time getting to. Many players have dealt with this using a short of gentleplayers agreement, allowing units to attack from one level to another or the similar. However this ruling makes it pretty clear, if you can’t get your models up there, your charge simply fails. This means careful placement on top floors can make your units impossible to charge.
Everything Old Is New Again
Ever since the last Astra Militarum FAQ changed how Summary Execution worked Commissars across the Imperium has found themselves out of a job. However the latest FAQ once again changed this rule and now Commissars are kind of good again!
The big change to Summary Execution is that it is now optional to use. No longer will you find your unit that can’t pass a morale check but still rolled a one for minimum losses forced to loses a model and re-roll that one. In addition to that change Commissars also got a big points drop. Now paying 15 points for a LD 8 bubble, or 30 for a LD 9 bubble and an optional morale re-roll isn’t a bad deal at all. Couple that with the Rule of Three and AM will be pretty happy to have access to a second cheap HQ choice. I’d expect to see a lot of peaked caps getting dusted off.
The Hellfire Chrub
This is a pretty minor change overall but one that really speaks to me. The Armorium Cherub is a 5pt upgrade for Space Marine Devastators that lets one model once per game reload and fire again in a shooting phase. Overall this was a pretty meh upgrade that I never saw used. However a new, and kind of random, FAQ update states that you can use this second shot to take an additional shot with either the Flakk Missiles or Helfire Shell Stratagems.
Since both of these attacks do d3 mortal wounds on a hit thats pretty good. Paying 5 points for D3 mortal wounds seems like a great trade off. Flakk Missiles and Helfrie Shells, are two of my favorite stratagems in Codex:Space Marines and to see them get even better is big for me. Add to that the additional CPs a lot of armies will be getting, and you might just see me taking Devastators again.
Bonus: No Jumping
I debated adding this one because its not a new change, however other changes have made this ruling suddenly relevant. Now it’s maybe not 100% clear, as the wording is a little different, but this ruling seems to argue that units that are removed and set up again on the first turn would fall under the new Tactical Reserves rule. This would mean no using Da Jump or Gate of Infinity to pull off first turn charges. Did you think your army was immune to that nerf? Think again!
Final Thoughts
There are a lot of changes in the 26 new/updated FAQs that just dropped. I am sure I’ve missed a couple important ones. I’ve chosen to highlight the ones above because I think they are all important in their own way, and might easily get over looked. 40K is a much more complex game that in was 10 months ago, and getting moreso. While this FAQ has cleared up a lot of things, the changes will take a while to really settle in. Until they do, mind your manners and your FAQs and have fun playing out there.
Let us know what you think of all these changes down in the comments!
