40K Apocalypse: Bring On The Mega-Battles
Warhammer 40,000 is getting a new version of Apocalypse – are you ready for a war on a whole new scale? Bring on the movement trays!
Games Workshop announced that Apocalypse is coming back to the tabletop with a brand new rule-set. Now, I know some folks are probably thinking “but we already have Lords of War in ‘standard’ 40k – what else is Apocalypse going to be?” And I get that – heck, that was the first thing that jumped to my mind, too. But it looks like GW is taking this to a whole new level.
Movement Trays?!
First and foremost, Apocalypse battles are meant to be LARGE scale conflicts. It makes sense that GW is introducing some type of movement tray system for 40k models just to help speed things up. Having organized and played in many Apoc-sized battles, movement is always a tricky part of the game – ESPECIALLY when you get multiple hundreds of models on the board. Anyone who’s ever had to face a real Green Tide of 300 boys knows what I’m talking about.
This would be 1/30th of a green tide.
I’m strangely looking forward to their version of 40k movement trays. I’ve seen lots of folks come up with their own solutions and I know they can help speed-up ‘standard’ 40k games. I wouldn’t be shocked if 40k players of horde armies started to adopt these same trays on a wider scale – even for non-Apoc games.
It’s not like blast templates are a thing any more…
New Rules From The Ground-Up
The new ruleset does sound promising. GW had these few tidbits to say:
“The new Apocalypse is a ground-up reimagining of mass battles in the 41st Millennium – a totally new ruleset designed to capture the spectacular carnage, grand strategy and high drama of Warhammer 40,000’s biggest battles. With this system, you’ll be able to fight in the kinds of conflicts once confined to art and lore, brought to life on your tabletop, all in an evening after work or school.
This is a totally new game, on a new scale, giving you a new way to use your existing collection. At this size of battle, the focus is not on the actions of units, but on entire formations, with the game feeling tight and reactive even with hundreds of models on each side.”
We’re getting essentially a new game – or so it appears. Frankly, I’m thrilled at the prospect of getting in an Apoc-sized game in a typical gaming evening. If the new Apoc can deliver a faster experience and still allow us to recreated the massive carnage that goes along with it then I’m all for that!
Looking at the screen-shots, there are a lot of dice on the tabletop along with lots of tokens, too. I’m wondering how all the extras will play a part in these size games. If the focus is more on formations of units vs the individual units/models themselves, the are the movement trays of models essentially going to act as a single “units” for game purposes? What about vehicles or other units like canifexes? Will those be able to group-up, too?
One concern I do have is for the hordes of Infantry that will be used in this game. I wonder if GW has found a way to make the lowly infantry unit matter to a titanic model or not. Are they just going to be chaff that must be removed or will they pose a threat? What’s the point of having lots of infantry if they are just going to get bombed off the table in a turn anyhow?
Just bring 3 of these. Problem solved.
I’m also curious about some of the other logistics of this format – I’m assuming we’re going to have datasheets of sometype for all the different units, but if this IS a new game, then where will those be found? Are we getting all the different points/unit info in the core Apocalypse book or will we have to use our codexes for reference? I have so many more questions! But most importantly – when can I get my hands on it!
Are you excited about the return of Apoc? What questions do you have about this “new” game mode? Drop them in the comments and when we get answers, we can fill you in!
