GW Explains New Army Rules For Warhammer 40k 10th Edition

Back at Adepticon, Games Workshop announced Warhammer 40k 10 Edition, which will feature brand new rules for the game. Now, in a new preview, they have shown how army building will work.


Published: March 30, 2023 3:29 PM /

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An army of Space Marine and Tyranid models from Warhammer 40k.

Recently at Adepticon, Games Workshop announced Warhammer 40k 10th Edition. While a brand new edition of the iconic grimdark sci-fi miniature wargame is not unsurprising for this 35-year-old franchise, this latest iteration will attempt to streamline the rules. Under the adage, "simplified, not simple," Games Workshop is attempting to make everything from building an army to playing the game more approachable to new players while still maintaining the tactical crunch the fanbase enjoys. Now, we have gotten a sneak peek at these new changes with a preview of the new army recruitment rules.

Warhammer 40k 10th Edition army recruitment rules

The new army recruitment rules for Warhammer 40k 10th Edition were shown in a Warhammer-Community post. In the post, GW reiterates that the game's Detachment system will continue to be a mainstay for the series, but that the restrictive Battlefield Roles will be out. In its place is a much more flexible system. Instead of various troops just being a "tax" to unlock more useful units, every single unit in an army will have a unique ability while on the battlefield. This is meant to encourage more variety in your army deployment, while still allowing for more "classic" setups. The only restrictions are as follows:

  1. You must include at least one Character. This Character is now your Warlord.
  2. You can only include one of each named Epic Hero
  3. You can only include up to three units of each datasheet
  4. You can include up to six units of each datasheet with the Battleline or Dedicated Transport keywords
  5. Each Character can only have one Enhancement. You can’t include more than three Enhancements in total, and they must all be different.
A screenshot of Ork units and vehicles from Warhammer 40k
Wait, does that mean we can have more grot tanks?

Furthermore, battle sizes and detachment rules have changed. There are now three main army sizes: Incursion (1,000 points), Strike Force (2,000 points), and Onslaught (3,000). 500-point games are still perfectly possible at home, but GW does state that the core rules work best at a 1,000-point minimum. Also, Power Levels are out; there are just points. As for Detachments, instead of choosing a subfaction or constructing your own, you just pick a single set of Detachment rules for your whole army. These include special abilities, Enhancements, Stratagems, and unit restrictions. Alternatively, these Detachment rules will rarely be tied to any army color scheme. This means that theoretically, any Space Marine chapter can use the Gladius Task Force detachment, regardless if they are Ultramarines, White Scars, or Blood Angels.

These new recruitment rules are just the beginning for Warhammer 40k 10th Edition. In addition to these new recruitment rules being available for free online and on the Warhammer App for all armies, Games Workshop has also confirmed that new packs of datacards will be produced, providing quick references for the new Detachments.

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Ever since he was small, Tyler Chancey has had a deep, abiding love for video games and a tendency to think and overanalyze everything he enjoyed. This… More about Tyler