Games Workshop have published the latest FAQ & Errata to the game and boy, is it a doozey. After the previous few FAQs have been light touches to the game, answering only pressing questions (Falcon: and some perhaps less pressing ones) this certainly has a single strong underlying tone to it, that Games Workshop have been listening and this is their attempt to made big strides to improve their game. Even though I was already really enjoying my games, the Old World was definitely not without its issues, specifically at the upper levels of the game.
Anyway, let’s not beat about the bush, let’s just get into it.
Errata
Close Order: Now only applies to US10+ units, which is a big removal of Combat Resolution for most monsters in the game, helping to shift a little of their combat potential when going up against ranked units, or each other. Falcon: While I am not sure this is the death knell for monsters it does make it easier to run infantry blocks and not get completely railroaded, especially when combined with the other changes later in the document.
Magical Vortices have had sweeping changes, they no longer keep moving in a straight line once they touch a target, instead bouncing out by the shortest possible distance in any direction. In addition, most of the Vortex spells in the game will now damage an enemy unit that moves through them rather than only the other way around. Falcon:Â And Pillar of Fire randomly now randomly scatters! If only they’d revert the changes to Sisters of the Thorn now because of this.
Wizards have some of the biggest changes that will shake up the game. For starters, wizards are now being limited to casting the number of spells equal to their wizard level, in effect meaning spell familiars and the like now just give you more spells to pick from each turn, not increasing the amount you can fire out a turn. They also have had their ability to reach casting levels amended, now only getting +1/+2 to casting base (Lv1/2 or Lv3/4), meaning all spells have become slightly harder to cast. To offset this there have been a lot of changes to spell casting values, with a lot of the harder to reach spells having their casting value reduced by 1-2 points. Falcon: This is a massive change and makes any of the static casting modifiers in the game even more powerful (like the Herdstone or Casket of Souls for example). And Bound Spells with a power level of 3 (here’s looking at you Cathay) gain a lot of strength. Not to mention how much this does to lower the divide between a level 1 and level 4 caster in terms of dispelling, etc.
Miscasts have been slightly toned down as well with miscasts of a 8/9 no longer removing your ability to cast with other wizards for the remainder of the turn, just the wizard in question. A fantastic change to magic heavy armies. Additionally Wizards in combat may now attempt to dispel any spell that targets their unit. Narratively good for those assailment spell fights, but also useful when being targeted by things like Plague of Rust. In addition you can no longer dispel when fleeing, which you could previously do before (not that I think I ever did), but it’s a nice thematic tidy up. Finally, dispelling remains in play spells or vortexes only needs you to be in range of the spell template itself, not the caster, meaning they can’t hide in the back corner anymore. Falcon: I am kinda saddened by this one as it further lowers the value of Remains in Play spells but I get why it was done as it often lead to a lot of confusion amongst newer players. Additionally, with the lowered dispel bonuses for most casters this probably evens things out a bit.
Ward Saves are now locked at a (X+) value, this just helps amend a lot previous questions around armour value modifiers.
The definition of the Fighting Rank has seen several changes to help tone down some of the linehammer which was out there (not that it was everywhere, but it was around) and now only models within their movement value of the enemy models in a fighting rank get to make attacks, rather than the full rank or file. This doesn’t replace who gets to make their full amount of attacks, that remains for only those in base contact. This also has a knock on to supporting attacks which just makes sense.
Charge bonuses are now capped for the combat phase, limiting/improving some of initiative based shenanigans some armies could do.
Fly Movement has had a big change, it can no longer be used when following up or pursing. Once you land to kill things you have to stay on the ground until you’re sure they’re dead. For anyone who’s seen any of the Games of Thrones shows this just makes sense with how long it takes the Dragons to build up speed to take off. Falcon: Do note that you may still use the Fly special rule should you flee.
Next up we have Frenzy which has been amended to only provide +1A on the turn you charge (or follow up, etcetera) meaning they’re slightly less great at grinding combats unless they’ve built up a head of steam.
Impact Hits now happen before anything else in the combat phase, meaning chariots, especially character chariots, are really improved. Now they can slam into a unit and tear up a handful of models before getting locked into a challenge, letting them rack up additional combat resolution with actual attacks, etc. Falcon: This is a great buff to chariot characters and just makes thematic sense. Now we just need a special character that is allowed to take the impact hits for their unit (think Gor-Rok if GW weren’t cowards and let us use our legacy armies).
Impetuous has been amended so that rather than being a 50:50 chance for them to have charge enemy units it’s now based on the units Leadership value, great change. Falcon: It should be noted that in addition to this, Warband was also amended so that the leadership modifier cannot be used when doing this impetuous check, on top of any attempts to Restrain and Reform which is a nice narrative change and fits with the concept of the rule.
Shooting at Large Targets has been amended to state that when shooting at large targets you get an additional rank, not all of your ranks as was previously stated. This means that some of the Death Star Poison shooting blobs out there are getting their amount of firepower really reduced. When combined with Poison now being a flat +2 to wound rather than auto wounding, these units lose half or more of their damage abilities. Falcon: I’m not sure we needed the compounding changes to the poison bricks here, it may be too much. The massed poison units were a solution to a problem that had cascading effects and I’m not sure enough was done to the scary monsters in the game to warrant doubling down on this.
Regeneration has had a major change, in that it’s now rolled after each individual wound is removed from a unit, so firing a cannon at a monster (or similar) isn’t now all or nothing on a single save, it’s now more likely to do some damage, less likely to do all the damage and I like that. Falcon: Unfortunately, this does have perhaps an unintended side effect. The new wording means it works any time a unit loses a wound unless it specifies Regeneration saves are not allowed, meaning Unstable units like Vampire Counts and Tomb Kings will get a chance to save themselves from crumbling as well as from Dangerous Terrain tests. An extremely powerful buff.
Stomp Attacks now happen after everything else instead of at Initiative 1. Falcon: This will have some small impact on combats with Great Weapon wielding units though it mostly just aligns with how previous editions did things and how I think some people actually thought they were supposed to play.
Stupidity has has a total rework and means that you’re now not doing anything remotely exciting when you fail that test. Falcon: Specifically, when you fail a leadership test you no longer move at all, you cannot cast or dispel spells, you cannot shoot, and you must hold when charged a far cry from what Stupidity originally did as written. This is a pretty significant nerf to a few things in the game right now, like the Crown of the Damned Necromancers in Vampire Counts, and it makes all of the stupidity causing spells and runes a little bit better.
Vanguard has been changed so that you can no longer make a T1 charge should you do so, similar to scouting. Quick Turn now only works in the remaining moves phase of the game and can no longer be done after marching, while Skirmishers now split up back into skirmish formation once they’re out of combat. In addition, skirmishing units can only charge a target if more than 50% of the unit can see the target, no more hiding behind something to get cover while having one dude sticking his head around the corner looking for your targets. This was even worse when they could fly, so it does have a direct impact on Pegasus knights. In addition the FAQ clarifies on what happens when you can’t rank up correctly, causing mass casualties to those models who couldn’t. Falcon: While this is a minor nerf to skirmishers and will come up in games, I think when combined with how skirmishers determine line of sight it will just cause headaches and doesn’t go far enough to alleviate the pain well-run Pegasus Knights will put you through.
Falcon: Perhaps the biggest changes to the game are in the way Infantry (Regular & Heavy) both work. These unit types have acquired three new special rules: Press of Battle which treats these units as having Fighting Ranks that are 2 ranks deep, Massed Infantry which grants these units an additional +1 to combat resolution should they have a higher unit strength than their opponents in combat and Parry. Parry gives any of these wee infantry units using a hand weapon and shield a +1 to their Armour Save to a maximum of 3+ (Liam: allowing them to shrug off 1/3rd of Dragon attacks if you make that magic number). These are a huge lift for the better infantry units in the game and makes many of the ‘almost takeable’ ones immensely playable. My first thought will always turn to the Jade Warriors in Cathay as they will now be sitting on a 3+ armour save, rerolling 1s with a potential 6+ Ward and Weapon Skill 5 should you bring Miao Ying along for the ride. I know they can’t hurt anything in return, but they aren’t going to move any time soon.
Warmachines are now allowed to pivot to face their targets but only once they’ve selected their targets, so no more spinning machines into woods to get LoS.
Characters in units now have to be the same unit type as the unit you are hiding in them, if not, then they can be picked out with any shooting attack and they lose Look Out Sir. This makes all those light chariots in the Tomb King Royal Cohort far less safe.
In Challenges, mounts no longer get to attack if the rider killed the killed their opponent first (and the other way around) reducing their chances of reaching the overkill cap. Falcon: This is a pretty significant change, particularly when combined with the changes to massed infantry as you now have a much higher chance of beating out a dragon lord on combat res and potentially forcing them to break and flee.
Flails, Halberds, Lancers and Morning Stars all saw minor changes. Lances, Flails and Morning Stars now only gain their bonuses against units they charged this turn, meaning you no longer get to gain those lance bonuses against units that charged into you in subsequent rounds. In addition they’ve made it so units can now swap weapons between rounds of combat making those who pay for Gt Weapons or similar able to absorb the charge easier with their shields before swinging back firmly with their bigger weapons once the Lances of the enemy Cav have lost their impact and the grind is on.
Armour Saves have been capped at 3+ for Chariots/Monsters/Warmachines while Infantry and Cav are still allowed a 2+.
We have seen amendments to Victory Point scoring as well. No you gain 50% of a unit’s points should you bring them to 25% or below (instead of below 25%) AND single model units give these points if brought down to 25% or less of their starting wounds. Falcon: This is another great change. I cannot tell you how many times I have left a dragon or other large monster on 1-2 wounds at the end of the game and been frustrated to get nothing for it.
The Ruby Ring of Ruin has also seen a small change dropping to to Bound Level 1.
FAQs
In terms of the FAQs we have a few things answered so I’m going to quickly try and get through these as well.
Templates which scatter any part off the table now totally remove themselves from the game, no hanging on for dear life.
They’ve clarified that using your own Leadership means using your own Leadership, which no one could have seen coming and makes perfect sense. In addition single use items count as being used even if you fail a test to make them work. Also, you can’t combine ward saves to make some kind of elaborate chimera save. Sometimes I wonder who’s actually sending in some of these questions.
Clarification follows on casting multiple damage spells and that remains in play spells always use the lower casting value when removing them in future turns, even if it was cast at a higher value. Additionally, wizards can have multiple remains in play spells up at once.
This one I’ll give them as I was doing it wrong until recently, models in split arcs still go to the majority of the model when deciding where they charge and you only resort to the worst possible result when it’s 100% not clear which it is. It’s also made clear that bound spell magic missiles can’t be cast after marching (which I thought was already clear). It’s answered (in a nice way) about how you direct attacks around a challenge to avoid models not attacking and everything has been amended to reflect the new changes to close order bonuses in combat.
Counter Charge is now clearly not an actual charge roll so it cannot be modified by rules that do that and brought in line with the changes to how the fighting rank rule works. Fly (X) also isn’t used when working this out.
Terror has been clarified to state that you don’t get the -1 to your leadership if you cause fear when taking break tests which has been a source of consternation for some for a long time.
In a move which will affect some army list archetypes, your BSB can’t be upgraded to a BSB if they’re the highest Ld character in your army. This makes those Sisters of Avelorn deathstars that pop up now and then a much more difficult army to build around. They’ve doubled down on shooting characters which are in units of the wrong type and made sure the it’s clear characters gain the benefit of a magic standard in units. Falcon: Unless they are in a challenge, in which case the two models involved only get to use what they have on their persons.
Deployment zone (shockingly) means the zone you can deploy in (not outside of) and the Arcane Urgency/Random move question has been answered to allow Random Movers to be double moved despite the core rulebook’s wording, however they cannot make contact with an enemy unit. Lastly, Earthen Ramparts does indeed work as a fully functional Low Linear Obstacle, which I wasn’t expecting but at least it’s clear now so I’m going to have to get my head around that.
Ravening Hordes
Greenskins: Fanatics get hit with the nerf bat yet again and can no longer come out if their unit is running away or in marching column (clearly too busy doing other stuff). Trolls get to pick weapons on a model by model basis now by gaining Motley Crew. Porko’s Pigstikka now works like nearly every other magical lance/spear in the game to bring it in line as it only functions on the charge and Casting Values have been amended for some spells to line them up with the new changes.
As far as their arcane journal is concerned, Kiknik can switch his weapon profile between combat rounds (yay) while the Foetid Whirlpool has been amended to be in line with other magical vortexes. A couple of the Troll Magic spells have had their Casting Values lowered and Da Akrit Axe’s strength modifier now only applies on turns in which you charge.
Finally, Black Orc Chariots are Nomadic Waaagh! only, which breaks everyone’s hearts. Falcon: Not me! I knew it all along! VINDICATION. But also, this is dumb. Let us use our toys.
Chaos: Everyone can now ride a Daemonic Mount and Exalted Champions now get access to both Manticores and Chaos Dragons (which I love). Chaos Trolls get the same Motley Crew changes as the Greenskin variety and Chaos Knights gain Counter Charge (Falcon: This is huge) while the Chaos Dragon is now Impetuous.
In another hit to the Chaos Lord on Dragon, both Diabolic Splendor and Enchanting Aura have been modified so that they may only be given to Infantry and Cavalry models. The Infernal Puppet has had it’s range reduced to 15″ but can now be used against enemy bound spells (Falcon: I hate this ruling as it is in direct opposition to other things they have ruled about bound spells, but also whatever, people will be happy with the massive range reduction for sure). Finally, Dragon Ogres see their points increased by 3.
As far as their Arcane Journal goes, Frydaal’s weapon Storm’s Wrath has been modified to be in line with a lot of the other weapons in the game and has had it’s Strength modifier adjusted to only work on the charge rather than ‘the first round of combat’. Skin Wolves (clearly) don’t provide their mutations to characters which join their units (THANK GOD).
Tomb Kings: Chariots have increased in points while the Casket has had it’s Power Level decreased to 2 in line with the other changes. Flail of Skulls now works like a flail and they’ve had one minor casting value change.
Falcon: In terms of their Arcane Journal, Mortuary Cults have seen a huge hit to their casting bonuses. Whereas before they were capable of boosting their spells by up to a +3 ad nauseum so long as they had a helpful Tomb Swarm nearby, they may now only do so once per turn and they may only increase their casting value by +1. This is a great change for the health of the game, even if it removes a bit of the narrative whimsy of the army of infamy itself. Additionally, the Flail of Conquered Kings has been given the ‘only when charging’ treatment, and the Stone Shaper rule for Arch Necrotects has been adjusted to indicate it can only increase a model’s regeneration value by 1.
Beastmen: No errata in Ravening Hordes for the beasts, but their Dark Coven has been changed along the same lines as the Tomb Kings. Now instead of providing a potential bonus on any spell cast equal to all of the wizards in their command range, Dark Coven gives it a flat +1 to cast, and instead of always causing a miscast on all effected Bray Shamans on any doubles to cast it now only does this on the standard double 1s. This is much more powerful in some ways as the risks are easier to eat. Strangleroot has had it’s casting value lowered and the Banner of the Warped Moon that shuts down fly is now single use like the others of its ilk, effectively making it far less likely to ever be used at its current point value and low leadership check.
Forces of Fantasy
Dwarfs:Â Casting Values have been changed for the Anvil while Hammerers gain Gromril Armour (they are the guards after all). The Trollhammer Torpedo has also been hit firmly, dropping from Strength 8 to Strength 5 and gaining Cumbersome so you won’t see loads of those anymore. Dwarfs now Dispel like the short kings they are however, with the Anvil now dispelling at a +3 and 24 inches, the Lord on a +2 at 21 and the Priest a +1 at 18.
Empire: Generals and Captains now actually have the Leadership to reflect their positions at 10 and 9 respectively and State Troops see a boost by gaining the Horde special rule making them more likely to hit those high combat res heights. Greatswords move to S4 base, though I am not sure if this is what they needed to see play.
Teutogen Guard lose their Guardians of the Temple special rule by default which just makes sense as their unit entry indicates they have to pay for it to get it.
Bretonnia: The Royal Pegasus gets a small points increase going up by 10 as do Pegasus Knights jumping up 4 points per model while also losing Lance Formation. The Falcon Horn is now single use like the Banner of the Warped Moon while Burning Gaze gets it’s casting value lowered. Falcon: I think given how massive the other changes are, that Bretonnia comes out of this FAQ looking absolutely incredible. Their lists effectively lose 1 pegasus knight, their Men at Arms combat res bricks get significantly better and much of the scary stuff from other armies sees significant nerfs/changes by comparison. I think everyone in the world is ecstatic that the Falcon Horn isn’t an autotake destroy entire army lists item any longer which is probably the only saving grace here.
Wood Elves:Â Woods now actually have to look like woods and not be small strips of planted trees (yay) while Forest Walker and Flock of Doom have had amendments to casting values.
In terms of the Arcane Journal, 3 Spells have had their casting values dropped and the Vortex has been updated to match all the others in the game.
High Elves: White Lions getting furious charge is great for them if more Infantry are going to be a thing, while Hand of Khaine has had it’s casting value lowered. In the AJ, Chrace now get an actual wood (following the amended wood elf rules) instead of an area of Difficult Ground and the Ring of Fury has had it’s Power Level reduced making it slightly harder to cast.
Summary
So how do I sum that up? Games Workshop were certainly right calling this v1.5.1 on the document as it’s changed up a lot of the game. I think the key take away here is Games Workshop and the SDS knew what they wanted to do, have listened to the community and have taken steps to try and address what we’ve all been shouting about for the last 6-12 months. Time will tell if it works out, but I’m really optimistic that we’ve got a better game than the one we were playing yesterday and hopefully we’re on the right track here and it plays out how we all hope it will. I do think this this needs taking hand in hand with the Matched Play Guide and things which some people might have wanted here (unit size caps etc) are addressed through scenario play in the Matched Play Guide. So go forward, use this, pick up that when it’s out and go enjoy Warhammer!
Falcon: Overall, I am very excited by all of these changes and am very interested to see what new brews people come up with. When combined with the recently revealed army composition changes in the Matched Play Guide I think there will be a lot of shake up happening in the game. That said, I really wish they’d given a heavier hand to Bretonnia. Nothing done to the Green Knight in particular is an actual travesty given how game-warping that model can be and the light touch given to their Barons on pegs and pegasus knights in general isn’t really enough to shake their lists in the slightest. Warriors of Chaos and Tomb Kings see some pretty significant changes here as well and I just feel terrible for Wood Elves as things stand as another one of their tools takes a hit (Though Oaken Stave is even better and Warhawks are back on the menu so all hope may not be lost). Vampire Counts lose some strength in one of their builds but gain a ton if Regeneration is now supposed to work on the Unstable mechanic as Grave Guard become undisputed kings of the infantry game. Still, this is an incredibly comprehensive document and I am so so glad to see that they’re taking the time to try and adjust the game for the better.
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