Warhammer 40K: Does The Fall 2023 Balance Dataslate Go Far Enough?

Nerfs and buffs are being handed out like candy from the 40K Fall 2023 Balance Dataslate — are they enough to fix the game?

10th Edition has not been in a good place. Eldar have been wildly dominating the game since it’s release. A handful of other factions have also been doing really hot, while a ton have sunk to the bottom. Now GW has put out the Balance Dataslate to attempt to balance things up. Let’s take a look at what it does and if that is enough.

Core Changes

GW has made a few big changes to some core rules. The biggest of these was to Devastating Wounds. Instead of doing Mortal Wounds, they now do normal wounds that you can’t take any saves against. This is a much needed change. Devastating Wounds were a huge problem. Not only did they do a ton of damage to a single target, but since mortal wounds spill over they allowed for some weapons to be really good vs large groups that they were not supposed to be.

The FAQ also nerfed Towering a bit, another needed change, though we will see if it fixes the big problem units. We also got a few changes to stratagems. Things that let you use free strats or use one twice now normally only let you use Battle Tactics Stratagems. This is a clarification of stratagems I’m not sure most people even knew existed. I think this is a fine change as hopefully it means people will use things they would not normally have used.

Lastly Insane Bravery got nerfed. Now you can only use it once a game and you have to use it before making any rolls. This is a fine change but not nearly enough to make Battleshock matter. It’s a start but GW needs to do more here.

Eldar Changes

After the past few months, and especially post-NOVA, everyone knew another Eldar nerf was needed, and it’s here. Well kind of. Eldar only actually get one targeted nerf. Phantom, their fire and move stratagem, can only target infantry now. Now the core rule nerfs also hit Eldar fairly bad. Devastating Wounds is a huge part of their play style so it getting worse hurts them. In addition they abuse Towering a ton, and that getting nerfed hurts them. Combined with some point hikes to their meta-dominating units like the Wraithknight, it’s going to take them down a notch. I’m not convinced it’s enough to dethrone them and would have liked to see a bit more done here, but we will see over the next couple months.

Genestealer Cult

GSC got a huge hit and it might have taken them out of competitive play. The key change is to cult ambush. Units now only come back on a 5+, instead of a 4+, and battleline only gives you a +1 to the roll. You also get a +1 in the first and second round of the game. So no more infinite units and all yours units are harder to get back. Going from getting battleline back automatically to only getting them back on a 4+ is a massive nerf. On top of that the army is seeing some price hikes. The infinite units was really what made the army work and I kind of think this may have just killed them as a competitive army.

Golden Boys

Custodes, the last of the three armies that have really been doing extra well also got hit. In this case they had the max unit sizes of some of their best units cut in half. Now this will make them less effective. Big blocks of Custodes with leaders going around the table was a big issue. On the other hand I feel really bad for players who just saw half their models become illegal. It’s not a great precedent to set. If you bought 18 Jetbikes, you can now only field 9. Having that come in an FAQ after years of it being legal to play just feels bad.

Buffs

While a few other armies are getting small tweaks as well, the two worst armies in the game are getting some buffs. Votann now get to the start the game with tokens on four units instead of one. I honestly don’t think it’s going to fix them. At least it’s nice for them? Death Guard meanwhile have a larger rework. Their Nurgle’s Gift aura now gives out some big debuffs to enemy units. You have to pick from a set of three options before the game and these can serious handicap enemy units. It’s an interesting mechanic and could be OK but honestly just doesn’t feel right. I mean it’s very Nurgle, but not super Death Guard. It doesn’t really make them any more durable, which is what people want. It also doesn’t fix the issue with them being super slow.

Did It Go Far Enough?

Overall I think the Dateslate will help, but not fix the game. The changes to GSC and Custodes, and Towering are pretty good at cutting down their power, even if I don’t love some of the side effects. I don’t think GW has done enough to nerf Eldar, though it’s a balancing act to make sure they aren’t hobbled. I think GW has done far too little to help the armies that are struggling. Even if the low-tier armies get some point drops, that rarely fixes all that much. Hopefully I am wrong, but we will see in a few months if Eldar are still the top dogs, or if this time the nerfs worked.

Let us know what you think of the changes, down in the comments! 

Author: Abe Apfel

Abe is that rare thing, an Austin local born and raised here. Though he keeps on moving around, DC, Japan, ETC., he always seems to find his way back eventually. Abe has decades of experience with a wide range of tabletop and RPG games, from historicals, to Star Wars to D&D and 40K. He has been contributing to BOLS since almost the start, back when he worked at and then owned a local gaming store. He used to be big into the competitive Warhammer tournament scene but age has mellowed him and he now appreciates a good casual match. He currently covers 40K tactics and lore, as well as all things Star Wars, with occasional dabbling in other topics. Abe remains in mourning over the loss of WFB to this day.