Warhammer 40K: All Stratagems Should Be One Use Only
Tired of seeing the same couple stratagems get spammed in an army over and over again? What if they were one use only?
Stratagems in Warhammer 40,000 are a big part of the game. But after taking the survey and talking with some other players, we came to some interesting conclusions. One thing that kept getting brought up were the stratagems and how they just make the game more complex and bloated than they need to. So, that got us thinking about them and how to tweak them. One suggestion that popped-up was “what if they were one use only?”
So, as a thought experiment, let’s take a look at that idea, how it could be implemented, and how it would impact play. And we’re not changing Command Points, either. You can still have to spend those resources, too. The only thing that changes is that the stratagems all become one use only.
All Stratagems, All The Time
In the this scenario, let’s say we made ALL of them one use only. Even the generic ones in the core rules. No more multiple re-rolls per game or things like that. Even the Stratagems you spend CP on before the game are one shot. That means less extra relics and other in game effects.
Just one extra relic, please.
This would be a pretty large change obviously. There are armies that can spend all their CP on these types of things before the game even starts. That’s a massive rework for them — but it’s an overall toned down power level for the rest of the game. Maybe that’s not such a bad thing.
Having all stratagems go to one use only also makes using them that much more important and dramatic. That 1 CP re-roll? Yeah…suddenly you REALLY have to check if you want to use it on this to hit roll or do you need it for an armor save later? Got a crazy Multi-stratagem combo that uses a bunch of CP? Oh, you can still do it…just once per game now as opposed to every turn.
How important IS that unit?
Again, you’ll still have to manage your CP. But this limitation also has the added benefit of forcing players to use stratagems they’ve never bother with before. It might make folks uncomfortable at first, but you won’t be able to use your stratagems like a crutch all game — you’ll actually have to play more tactically.
Not The Core Stratagems, Just Army Stratagems
This seems like a nice compromise. You’ll still have the generic stratagems that you can use as much as you like (or as currently allowed). But your army specific stratagems are limited to once per game. Again, we get all the benefits as before — players will have to be more careful how they use their stratagems and will have to play more tactically when they are gone. And you’ll have these generic ones to fall back on when you’ve got a pile of CP to spend because you’ve already used the 5 good ones from your book on the first turn.
I may be a CP hog, but at least I’m the only CP hog now.
Not As Crazy As You Think
Armies in 40k are incredibly deadly in the game right now. The Alpha Strike is still a thing. We saw it happen time and time again at the Austin GT this past weekend. When you got to the top tables, games were being decided by the end of round two — sometimes before that. Making these stratagems go to one use only wouldn’t even change the game for them that much because the games are over before you can use the crazy stratagem combo for a second or third time.
So even if you are looking for a way to make the games more “nail-biters” instead of “complete blowouts” this change to stratagems might not make a huge difference. If anything, it might make some of the less enticing stratagems more used but you’d still see the same 5 stratagems get used over and over. But just once per game now vs every turn…if you survived that long.
I still think it’s worth trying. Why? Because it changes things up! Seriously, there are so many OTHER things you can try to pull off when you look at the OTHER stratagems and don’t use the same thing over and over again. Variety of gameplay helps to keep things from going stale. And I don’t know about you but I’m getting bored seeing the same silly rotation of CPs get spent to “uber-fy” a unit every turn.
If stratagems in 40k were one shot how would you adjust your playstyle?
