Warhammer 40K: One More Thing To ‘Borrow’ From Age of Sigmar
Warhammer 40,000 is basically borrowing the Command Points system from Age of Sigmar. Here’s one more thing they should steal borrow.
Games Workshop is making a big change to Warhammer 40,000 with the new Chapter Approved War Zone Nephilim book. That change is the way Command Points are generated. This new system shares quite a few similarities with Warhammer: Age of Sigmar. While it’s not a 1:1 idea swap it certainly familiar.
There’s one more thing that 40k should probably steal borrow from AoS and it’s not the double turn. It’s the way Auras work.
Within vs Wholly Within
AoS has done a lot to rework the way Auras work in the last and current edition of their Battletomes. The main thing is the addition of the phrase “wholly within” compared to “within” when talking about abilities. Check out the Warscroll of the Knight of Shrouds below and pay close attention to the phrasing of Spectral Overseer:
See how it says “pick 1 friendly Nighthaunt Summonable unit wholly within 12″ of this unit…” That means the entire unit needs to be wholly within 12″ of this unit to be eligible for this ability to work on them. This is just one example of dozens of similarly worded abilities and auras. And it’s a key factor in Age of Sigmar’s tactical position and gameplay.
Now let’s see an example of how 40k does it with a Space Marine Captain:
Rites of Battle applies to any friendly Chapter Core unit within 6″ of this model. What’s the difference there? Just one member of the unit needs to be in position for the entire unit to get the buff. Take a 10 man Primaris Marine Squad. With 2″ coherency and 32mm bases that unit can cover a LOT of ground. This effectively takes that 6″ radius and extends it out the distance the unit is spaced.
The 40k system is a bit more dynamic with it’s Auras and it can really change their effectiveness. That 6″ reach could end up being well over 30″ if you factor in the unit’s spacing. So is it really a 6″ aura? For that one unit…not really. Combine that with the fact you can tag multiple units within that 6″ to get the benefit and you see where I’m going with this.
You could make the case that it’s because of better communication or technology from a lore perspective. I get that. And I’m not suggesting that the Aura be changed to making it only impact units wholly within 6″ as that would be much too short range. However, there should be a happy medium.
When you look at the difference between a fixed ability range of “wholly within 12″ of a unit” vs “within 6″ of a unit” you start to notice the constraints of the constant and consistent distance vs vast amount of tablespace you have to work with the more dynamic system. So why would you want to go to the more constrained version? Because it’s more tactically challenging and rewarding.
Having those more restrictive limits makes the game more thoughtful. It makes positioning matter more. And it makes it more rewarding when you do pull off some big move with stacking Auras. If you’ve played AoS then you know what I’m talking about. In fact, AoS actually moved AWAY from the “within” mechanic and revamped to be “wholly within” starting in the second edition and it’s continued into 3rd. It’s been a net positive change imo and it’s one that 40k should totally look into making as well.
What do you think? Would you want to sacrifice the ability to daisy chain units out to tag a character with a 6″ Aura for the boosts? Or would you trade that easy of use for more rewarding positioning and tactical gameplay?
It would take another revamp of the ranges…but it would be worth it.
