Warhammer 40K: New Balance Dataslate Coming This Week
Games Workshop has announced that a new Balance Dataslate for Warhammer 40,000. What could possibly be in store for the game?
Warhammer 40,000: 10th Edition has been out for a couple months now and it’s been long enough that the data junkies have managed to pull together come compelling information. That info has also been seen by Games Workshop and it’s very clear that change is ahead. How do we know? Because GW announced that a Balance Dataslate is on the way:
We also know that it’s dropping this Thursday (September 7, 2023) and will roll out across the app. These changes will also be up for download in the Warhammer Downloads section for Warhammer 40k as well.
This was the last Metawatch win rate data we saw from GW. And while it might be a little old at this point, you can bet these numbers were factored into the decisions that were being made by GW moving forward for Warhammer 40,000. With the NOVA Open happening last week it’s not a surprise they were waiting until this week to make those changes as you wouldn’t want to rock the boat the week of a major GW hosted event.
But that was last week. And we’ve already seen hints at what changes are coming:
“Factions that began the new edition with a spring in their step – such as the Imperial Knights and Genestealer Cults – continue to overperform, even after balance adjustments to the Aeldari Strands of Fate ability and Towering units. “
Warhammer 40,000: Changes Ahead
Towers And Fate
The first two changes have already been spelled out by Games Workshop:
- Aeldari Strands of Fate
- Towering Units
I’m willing to bet you’re going to see some changes/nerfs if not outright redesigns for these abilities. Strands of Fate already got tweaked once but it’s still proving to be very powerful. Combined with all the ways to further manipulate dice and replace those dice it’s unsurprising at how effective Strands of Fate can be on the tabletop. And judging by the top tables at NOVA this past weekend (with Aeldari dominating those spots) it’s safe to say it’s going to be more than just a points increase headed their way…
Towering is also a bit of a problem in 40k. It’s going to be interesting to see what tweak GW makes to the units that have the Towering keyword as well. Will they get a points increase or will Towering get a complete rework? Are the designers going to go after a core rule change for this edition or will they be opt for a different route? I’m VERY curious to see how this update plays out.
Other Changes?
While these two changes are the ones GW called out specifically, there are still others that are being looked at with the stated goal from GW to “lift struggling factions just as much as it reels in the top performers.” As we’ve already written about for 40k, there’s quite a few that are on the bottom that need some help. There’s also and troubling amount of the armies in the “Goldilocks Zone” of win rates that are on the bottom half (ie, under 50%) win rate. So even the armies that aren’t doing as bad as the bottom still aren’t doing great.
Expect points changes across the board is what we’re saying. For the bottom of the barrel I hope GW takes a hard look at those armies and decided to update their army rules to make them more viable. Leagues of Votann in particular seems to have gotten a really raw deal as that army never even got the chance to be amazing and is now paying for the crimes it didn’t commit.
The missions might also be a big factor that needs to get a look as well. 10th Edition introduced some major changes for the missions and also the deployments for the game. It’s clear that this has really impacted some armies a lot more than others. Again, the question is if GW is going to go in and fundamentally change some core concepts within 10th edition or not with the Balance Dataslate. I could see them announcing that a new deck of mission cards is coming sooner rather than later…but we’ll have to wait and see.
I’ll be frank here: Warhammer 40,000 feels like it’s in a troubling spot. In previous editions when everyone had Indexes instead of Codexes the game felt more even than it does now in 10th. And now we’ve got they Tyranids getting their new codex (which is up for pre-order now and will be in stores this weekend) and the Space Marines are getting the next one. Will we see those two armies shoot-up to dominance? And do we really want that cycle again? I’m not sure what changes GW has planned but it’s going to have to be some pretty major ones. I guess we’ll all find out Thursday!
What sort of changes are you hoping to see this Thursday for Warhammer 40,000?
