The big fall FAQ(s) are out. Be sure to check out the codex specific FAQ's, as well as core book FAQ and Errata's for all the changes.
FAQs - Warhammer CommunityMost notable changes.
1) No deepstrike turn 1 at all. Strategems which allowed reserve deployment turn 1 (like which Ravenguard and Alpha legion have), are changed to a free move before the game begins instead.
TACTICAL RESERVES
Instead of being set up on the battlefield during Deployment, many units have the ability to be set up on teleportariums, in high orbit, in ambush, etc., in order to arrive on the battlefield mid-game as reinforcements. When setting up your army during Deployment for a matched play game, at least half the total number of units in your army must be set up on the battlefield, and the combined points value of all the units you set up on the battlefield during Deployment (including those that are embarked within Transports that are set up on the battlefield) must be at least half of your army’s total points value, even if every unit in your army has an ability that would allow them to be set up elsewhere.
Furthermore, in matched play games, units that are not placed on the battlefield during deployment in order to arrive on the battle mid-game as reinforcements cannot arrive on the battlefield during the first battle round.
Finally, any unit that has not arrived on the battlefield by the end of the third battle round in a matched play game counts as having been destroyed.
2) You can only gain 1 CP per turn, so CP farm is gone (thank goodness). If you have an artifact, or warlord trait, which lets you gain more than 1 CP at once (like Harlequins Twilight Warlord Trait), you get all those CP, but the ability only works once per turn.
There are several Warlord Traits, Relics and abilities that give you a chance to gain or refund Command Points when you or your opponent either use a Stratagem or spend Command Points to use a Stratagem. In matched play games, each player can only gain or have refunded a total of one Command Point per battle round as the result of such rules, regardless of the source.
This does not apply to the Moment Shackle or the Seven-fold Chant abilities, or to or the Player of the Twilight Warlord Trait – in these cases, the ability/Warlord Trait can refund or gain the player more than 1 Command Point if the Stratagem used cost 2 or more Command Points to use, but once any Command Points have been gained as a result of the rule neither it, nor any similar rule, can be used to gain any more Command Points until the next battle round. Also note that this does not apply to Command Points that are gained or refunded as specifically instructed on Stratagems (e.g. Feeder Tendrils, Agents of Vect, etc.).
3) Units which can fly, or have fly-like abilities, can only use that ability in the movement phase. Units can no longer ignore models and terrain when charging.
4) Psychic Focus, Battle Brothers, and Targeting Characters are no longer Beta Rules, t1 deepstrike still is, with the new changes.
5) New Beta Rule strategem for players going second.
PREPARED POSITIONS
Stratagem 2CP
Use this Stratagem at the start of the first battle round, before the first turn begins. Until the end of the first turn, all units from your army that are wholly within your Deployment Zone, other than Titanic units, receive the benefit of cover, even while they are not entirely on or in a terrain feature. A unit that is already receiving the benefit of cover gains no additional benefit from this Stratagem.
6) a number of Strategems had their CP cost increased, to make them harder to pull off as often.
Codex: Chaos Daemons, page 126 – Warp Surge Change the rules text of this Stratagem to read: ‘Use this Stratagem at the start of any phase. Select a unit of Daemons from your army; until the end of the phase, you cannot re-roll saving throws for this unit, but its invulnerable save is improved by 1 (to a maximum of 4+).’
The following Stratagems appear to be too effective. As a result, we are increasing their Command Point cost by 1 each. These changes appear in the respective errata documents, but are shown below for convenience.
Codex: Blood Angels, Page 136 – Upon Wings of Fire Change the Command Point cost of this Stratagem to 2CP.
Codex: Imperial Knights, Page 109 – Oathbreaker Guidance System Change the Command Point cost of this Stratagem to 3CP.
Codex: Imperial Knights, Page 111 – Order of Companions Change the Command Point cost of this Stratagem to 3CP.
Codex: Imperial Knights, Page 111 – Our Darkest Hour Change the Command Point cost of this Stratagem to 3CP.
Codex: Drukhari, Page 120 – Agents of Vect Change the Command Point cost of this Stratagem to 4CP.
Note also that the Agents of Vect Stratagem has received an errata. This change appears in the Codex: Drukhari errata document, but is shown below for convenience.
Codex: Drukhari, Page 120 – Agents of Vect Change the final sentence of this Stratagem to read: ‘This Stratagem cannot be used if there are no Kabal of the Black Heart units from your army on the battlefield, and cannot be used to affect Stratagems used ‘before the battle’ or ‘during deployment’.’
These are pretty much the biggest changes. In my opionion, I think they are all healthy changes to the game. CP battery and the strategems which made a lot of Imperial armies super powerful are addressed, as well as Vect, which is probably the strongest strategem in the game.
The new Beta rule for going second helps prevent Alpha Strikes, which the game needs too. Overall, I am very happy with this!
What do yo folks think?