Warhammer 40K: Balance Dataslate Arrives To Reset The Scales
The new Warhammer 40k Balance Dataslate is looking to restore a bit of balance between the haves and the have-nots.
Get ready for some major changes and adjustments (some would say nerfs) to Deepstrike, AP Stratagems, and a few more targeted at specific armies. Additionally, there’s a quite a few Index Updates to go along with this round of Balance Dataslate changes in general.
“This year we released four updates to the game: two Balance Dataslate updates and four points updates. This was the plan we have kept throughout the year – but moving forward we will be updating this plan after seeing your feedback and trying to navigate the challenges of points-only updates.”
Download the Balance Dataslate for Decemeber 2024 Here
Balance Dataslate Overview
The two largest overarching changes are to Deepstrike and AP Stratagems. For Deepstrike, any Stratagems that allowed for a distance of more than 3″ horizontally away has been updated to now be 6″ away. Games Workshop wanted to make this rule change because it didn’t seems like a very “interactive rule” as there’s not really a good option for counters here. Additionally, there were instances of some armies having one version over the other and this disparity was noted by the design team.
Stratagems that reduced the strength of AP for incoming attacks for a full phase have also been adjusted to only impact ONE attacking unit. This is another BIG hit to the defensive side of things.
Army Specific Updates Called Out
Adeptas Sororitas
The Adepta Sororitas have gotten a big change to their Miracle Dice generation:
“We have adjusted the rate at which players can generate Miracle Dice to make them a more precious resource, and one to be spent only at the most critical moments.”
Personally, I dislike these dice-swap/replacement army rules in general. That goes for Aeldari Fate Dice in 40k and the Destiny Dice for the Disciples of Tzeentch in AoS. But that’s another topic. Anyhow, for the Sisters, they also had their Bringers of Flames Detachement tweaked, too.
Space Marines
The Space Marines got a few buffs for the armies who don’t have any of the following chapter specific units:
- Black Templars
- Blood Angels
- Dark Angels
- Deathwatch
- Space Wolves
Basically the “generic” (ie ‘Codex Compliant’) Space Marines are getting an updated version of Oath of Moment.
The idea here to is to help those non-specific chapters get a little something to even the playing field a bit between chapters. There’s also been a TON of tweaks to other units. Here’s just a few examples:
If you’re playing Space Marines you’re REALLY going to want to check these out.
Genestealer Cults
The GSC got a massive update to the way their Cult Ambush rules work.
“Alongside a few stat adjustments and datasheet abilities, the big change here has been to rework Cult Ambush to remove the random nature of how units return. Now players will get a set number of Resurgence Points to spend based on their game size, which they can use to pick which units return, as long as they have the sufficient amount left.”
There’s a lot more to this update so if you’re playing GSC you need to read this section in particular. There are also quite a few other tweaks to the detachments available to the GSC as well.
More Army Updates
These are not the only armies that got updates. I highly encourage all 40k players to check the Balance Dataslate and give it a quick scan for your particular army. The Blood Angels, Deathwatch, and T’au were the only armies that had “none” under their sections.
Additionally, there has also been a points update as well. You can download the latest Munitorum Field Manual Here.
Balance Dataslate In 2025
Games Workshop has also heard the feedback about the pace of the updates. There will be more rules adjustments in 2025.
“In 2025 we will plan to make four updates again, and each time we will potentially make changes to the Munitorum Field Manual, Army Rules, Datasheets, Detachments, FAQs and Erratas. We believe this is the best way for each update to improve the game experience for all players.”
Index Updates
One final note is that many of the Indexes have been updated. If you’re playing one of following armies you really should check out your Index linked below:
- Leagues of Votann
- Imperial Knights
- Aeldari
- Grey Knights
- Thousand Sons
- Death Guard
- Deathwatch
- Chaos Knights
- Astra Militarum
- World Eaters
- Black Templars
- Space Wolves
- Chaos Daemons
- Drukhari
It’s a BIG batch of tweaks. So get out there and start reading up on your army.
