Integral Changes to Warhammer 40k Chapter Approved Matched Play

With the announcement of Warzone: Nephilim recently, GW have given us some things to think about in regards to how Matched Play games of Warhammer 40,000 will operate for at least the next 6 months. In an article over on the Warhammer Community, GW unveiled a short preview of the new Matched Play rules and what we can expect going forward. Here at Fistful of Beans, I've worked my way through them to hopefully shed some light on just how they'll work and what we can expect. So, let's get into it.

Secondary Objectives Overhaul

In my opinion, the most welcome change, Games Workshop has consolidated all Secondary Objectives into the new Warzone: Nephilim book. This also includes faction-specific secondaries found in each of the different codices which means "No more flipping between books". In addition to this, we even have some faction-specific secondaries for factions that are yet to receive a codex, such as World Eaters and Astra Militarum. Whether or not these are the ones we will get in each respective codex, or simply there just to tide us over until those books release is up for speculation.

Additionally, instead of beginning with no objectives and then selecting them, players will begin with one 'default' from each category and then be able to swap them out. While this is functionally the same, the choice to make the defaults Assassination, Grind Them Down, and Behind Enemy Lines, allows for a sense of uniformity and should hopefully speed up pre-game shenanigans since these are all very commonly picked. It's far easier to say, "Instead of Behind Enemy Lines I'll take Engage" and be done with it with the assumption that the other two will be the defaults than it is to list all three. Again, a very minor change but certainly not a bad one. You're seemingly still welcome to swap out all three if you wish.  

In addition, there are now no limits to how many faction-specific secondaries you can choose to take at any one time. I should say, as someone who rarely takes faction secondaries besides Oaths of Moment, I didn't even know there was a limit of one. Either way, that limit is now done away with. You'll be able to take all three secondaries as faction-specifics if you wish. 

Command Points Halved! (And also Doubled..)

The main change, and one I personally am not particularly fond of but I understand why they did it, is the upcoming alterations to Command Points. Players will now begin each game with half as much CP as they would usually. Additionally, Warlords must now pay combined 2CP to get their Relic and Warlord trait by making use of two new core pre-game requisitions. Since this now means that Incursion (1000pt) games will now start each player with 1 CP assuming they build their list traditionally. Now, thankfully, players will still receive 1 CP at the beginning of their Command phase, and now additionally at the beginning of their Opponent's as well, so in some ways it balances out. However, for pre-game CP-hungry armies like my own Black Templars, this is still less than ideal.

In addition to these alterations, Warzone: Nephilim will feature nine missions for both Incursion and Strike Force games, hopefully designed with these alterations in mind. Furthermore, it also includes the Warhammer 40,000 core rules, doubling it up as a rule book and pretty much rendering the existing BRB obsolete other than lore. Either way, if you're looking to drop £30 on GW's bi-annual flavour, you'll be able to pre-order this Saturday. 

Conclusion

So what do you think of these changes? Are they a welcome addition of should GW have left well enough alone?  Let me know over on the Fistful of Beans socials. You can find them at the bottom of the page :)

Cheers,

Ryan