Courtesy of BoLS, we have some new rumors and even this close to release, they’re still confusing and conflicting.
Here are the rumors, commentary to follow in red.
Whitehat:
-Random Charges are 2D6 pick the highest (unless going through Difficult Terrain where its 3D6 and you drop the highest.) Move through cover I believe adds an extra D6
-Vehicles are WS0 if stationary, and WS1 if they move, no matter how far they go.
-Vehicles go the same distance in the movement phase (I believe 6″ and fire everything regardless if fast or not) but in the shooting phase can make an extra move (apparently some kept forgetting what vehicles moved to fast to fire…
-Vehicles cannot contest (unsure if scoring units in transports can
-6 Missions and 3 deployment types (2 of the deployments are the same as current, Spearhead & Pitched Battle.)
-Troops are the only ones that can score (including of course ‘scoring units’)
-5+ Cover save for most things (ruins are 4+).
-Allies rules are in, but its meant to be for team games (ie separate force org chart, distrusted ally rules similar to Fantasy)
-Percentages are *not* in
-Wound Allocation is closest to furthest.
-Dueling is similar to challenges in fantasy but contrary to earlier rumors, they don’t replace Combat res, just add to sides. A IC can challenge another IC in the same combat even if not in base to base. If the defending IC refuses, he simply cannot attack that turn, if he does he counts as being in b2b and no one else can hurt him apart from the attacking IC. I’m guessing this is to offset the Wound Allocation rules
-Preferred Enemy is including shooting and you may reroll wound rolls of a 1 (either shooting or combat)
-Rapid Fire weapons may now can shoot at long range while moving. restriction on assaulting after rapid firing remains.
-Jump Infantry get a free strike at I10 when they charge into combat
-Psychic Power Decks using a dice system similar to Fantasy.
-Flyers are in.
-FNP drops to 5+ Save.
Darnok:
-AP are on ccw but he says power weapons are ap 2, not 3.
-When you charge it’s double your move, infantry move 6, bikes 8 cav 7 etc.
-It’s move assault then shooting now!
-Fnp is 5+. Master crafted ccw give you a 5+ invuln save
-When you shoot you roll to hit depending on the speed of your target. Fast vehicles you always need a 6.
-A unit can’t claim a object while inside a vehicle.
-There’s new kinds of instance death. If your say strengh 8 vs a space marine captain toughness 4
you only do 2 wounds! Strengh (9?) or more would do 3 wounds & kill him.
-In kill point missions you get kill points based on what the units points cost, so for example a
landraider would be worth 5 kill points & a unit of marines 3pts.
So, which to believe?
The first set of rumors is more in line with what we’ve been hearing from Beasts of War, the 40K Fantasy edition.
The second set is closer the the leaked PDF we got that I have had confirmation did in fact come from GW but that may have been nothing more than an experiment or early play test rule set.
Both sources above have proven to be reliable. So what to make of it?
Not much, honestly. Even if these are right they are taken out of context, may refer to rules that have their definitions changed, etc. It is hard to know what to make of these without the overall rule set to place them in.
We just have to be patient and wait. I will throw in my two cents here though as to what these rumors mean to me.
-Random Charges are 2D6 pick the highest (unless going through Difficult Terrain where its 3D6 and you drop the highest.) Move through cover I believe adds an extra D6
Noooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!! Why, GW, why?!?!?! This would suck so hard, IMO. I don’t want to fail a charge in the open, I loathe random effects for the most part and this just rubs me wrong in places that require therapy to fix!
-Vehicles are WS0 if stationary, and WS1 if they move, no matter how far they go.
I can get into this for some vehicles, but not all. Big giant vehicles should be easy to hit, but not so much with a fast vehicle hauling but over the field. I think this is an incomplete rule at best.
-Vehicles go the same distance in the movement phase (I believe 6″ and fire everything regardless if fast or not) but in the shooting phase can make an extra move (apparently some kept forgetting what vehicles moved to fast to fire…
I like this. Vehicles SHOULD be maneuverable, and not the static pill boxes they are in 5th. The second move is really interesting as it means vehicles can “strafe” to speak (think Tau suits and Eldar Jet Bikes JSJ moves), and really increases mobility which for me, makes games a lot more fun.
-Vehicles cannot contest (unsure if scoring units in transports can
This would be interesting, but I can get into it. A larger emphasis on infantry is a good thing IMO, but we’ll see what the entire rule states and what contesting means in 6th ed before passing judgement.
-6 Missions and 3 deployment types (2 of the deployments are the same as current, Spearhead & Pitched Battle.)
Great, more missions (so long as they are simple and balanced) is only a good thing. No more Dawn of War is a bummer but I know a lot of folks won’t miss it.
-Troops are the only ones that can score (including of course ‘scoring units’)
No change from present.
-5+ Cover save for most things (ruins are 4+).
Good! I think this is a change almost everyone wants to see. Too much 4+ everywhere makes heavy weapons a liability and slows the game down.
-Allies rules are in, but its meant to be for team games (ie separate force org chart, distrusted ally rules similar to Fantasy)
Cool, that alleviates a lot of the fear I had about returning to 2nd ed ridiculousness with Orks riding in Rhinos, and I don’t mean the looted kind!
-Percentages are *not* in
Good. The FOC is just fine, IMO.
-Wound Allocation is closest to furthest.
AWFUL!!!!!!!!!! TERRIBLE!!!!!!!! This is the worst of the bunch by a long shot. This opens the game to gamesmanship in a HUGE way. Sniping of important characters, heroic leaders leading form the back, etc. will all become a reality as well as pointless bookkeeping and making movement take way longer than it needs to due to having to worry about model placement. This is a terribad rule and I sincerely hope it doesn’t make it into the game.
-Dueling is similar to challenges in fantasy but contrary to earlier rumors, they don’t replace Combat res, just add to sides. A IC can challenge another IC in the same combat even if not in base to base. If the defending IC refuses, he simply cannot attack that turn, if he does he counts as being in b2b and no one else can hurt him apart from the attacking IC. I’m guessing this is to offset the Wound Allocation rules
I will reserve judgement on this. Some armies simply don’t have characters oriented toward combat, while some dominate. There may be some tricks to it that I am not seeing now, so I will wait and see how it plays out before forming an opinion.
-Preferred Enemy is including shooting and you may reroll wound rolls of a 1 (either shooting or combat)
Holy Black Templars, Batman! Wow. Destroyers and Heavy Destroyers just became amazing. This is a game changer of a rule, assuming of course Preferred Enemy means in 6th ed what it means now (in 4th, it means you always hit on a 3+, so we’ll see).
-Rapid Fire weapons may now can shoot at long range while moving. restriction on assaulting after rapid firing remains.
About time. About flipping time. This makes infantry so much better, and I love this rule.
-Jump Infantry get a free strike at I10 when they charge into combat
Awesome and characterful! I like this a great deal and it gives a benefit to the player that takes the initiative and plays aggressively which is a good thing, IMO.
-Psychic Power Decks using a dice system similar to Fantasy.
Sounds like shite, but we’ll see. If this means random powers, FU GW. No one likes that. At least no one I know.
-Flyers are in.
Cool! No surprise though.
-FNP drops to 5+ Save.
I like it! FNP is so ubiquitous right now that it slows game play down and makes some troops way too resilient. I am glad to see this as it will speed things up a ton.
-AP are on ccw but he says power weapons are ap 2, not 3.
I like this a LOT. It reminds me of some of the cooler aspects of 2nd ed that I miss. Plus, it means a Chainsword will actually be better than a knife, as it should be. Big fan of this rule.
-When you charge it’s double your move, infantry move 6, bikes 8 cav 7 etc.
PLEASE let this be true! This was one of the best aspects of the leaked PDF as it differentiates different movement types and it makes assaults so much more predictable (in a good way) and precise. This type of movement means the game will be more enjoyable (IMO) as you don’t have unfun situations where you are 2″ from a target, roll snake eyes to charge and lose the game. I am a BIG fan of this rule and hope to see it.
-It’s move assault then shooting now!
Straight form the leaked PDF, Frankie and I played it a few times and it was a marked improvement, IMO. Now, instead of moving models int he movement phase, possibly shooting phase, again in the assault and consolidation, you only move once, then in consolidation. That TREMENDOUSLY speeds up the game. I liked it a lot.
-Fnp is 5+. Master crafted ccw give you a 5+ invuln save
As above, but the MC giving a 5++ is a nice touch and think what that does for some units like Sanguinary Guard!
-When you shoot you roll to hit depending on the speed of your target. Fast vehicles you always need a 6.
I like this a lot, and it makes sense. Speeders, Bikes and Ork Trukks hauling ass up the field should be harder to hit, and this helps to compensate for their paper thin armor.
-A unit can’t claim a object while inside a vehicle.
I am neutral on this. I know a lot of players want to see it, but I don’t care either way. I feel a smart player will be able to open cans to get at the boys inside, but either way I can adjust with no qualms.
-There’s new kinds of instance death. If your say strengh 8 vs a space marine captain toughness 4
Sweet! I hate the huge discrepancies between characters with EW and those without. This helps to make the difference less pronounced.
you only do 2 wounds! Strengh (9?) or more would do 3 wounds & kill him.
-In kill point missions you get kill points based on what the units points cost, so for example a
landraider would be worth 5 kill points & a unit of marines 3pts.
Great rule. It makes sense and bridges the gap between KP and VP. I like this rule.
The second set of rumors is straight up from the leaked ruleset. Which I (like you) absolutely loved but have been pretty universally debunked. As to the other changes, I’ll have to agree to disagee with you on the closest to furthest rule. I like the ability to position myself to pull off a shot on the model I want to hit. if it’s random charge ranges as listed then assault got nerfed hard. As for master crafted weapons granting a 5++ Invul….this just smacks of so much xenos hate I just can’t take it. As far as I know the only armies that get master crafted anything are Imperial. Now I don’t know eldar as well as I should but I do know Nids, Orks, Crons and Chaos definitely don’t have them. But hey GW loves the Empire, we all knew that. That being said, put me down for a pre-order with a pickup date of the apocalypse game 🙂
You are very right about master crafted being imperial only, but I made the assumption the rule would change to incorporate Xenos somehow (possibly wrongly!).
As for range sniping, that was in 4th, and I hated that stinking rule! Haha, it creates situations where crafty players can just kick n00bs in the dingus and it pisses people off. It also cause movement to take a lot longer than it needed to as people were trying to position models to avoid sniping. Also, this means that often, you have to put good models ni the back, such as Sarges, special weapons, etc. which can really screw up they way these models play.
Time will tell though, perhaps in practice it will not play out that way. Never know till you try.
And we will gladly hook you up with a Rule Book, sir! See you at the Apoc Game.
I believe at this point we’re seeing deliberate misinformation. I don’t think we’ll know ANYTHING until they give us a few more tidbits on Friday.
I agree. I think GW is deliberately trying to mislead us on some points.
what i am wondering is how 6th will effect tyranids. ther has been no mentio of how MC’s will work, or fleet sinse the phases may go, move assault shoot.
I agree. I do keep hearing though, that Nids will get a big boost and that GK will be reigned in, I just haven’t seen how, exactly.
Just want to throw this out there on your response to the wound allocation closest to furthest business.
I agree that if this is implemented word for word as we have heard it it will be a bad thing. However, I think in all likeliness to balance it out we will see two things from GW.
1. A look out sir type roll for independent characters. Watching your character lead from the back is very uninspiring and it seems to be that the game is trending towards more super awesome badassery in the character department.
2. Concerning special weapons in a squad/squad leaders I bet we see a return of sorts to the older editions where it is assumed models in the squad have the initiative to pick up special weapons from their dead comrades keeping us from having put the melta gun in the back.
If those two caveats are handled I think it could be a fine rule and cut down on cover shenanigans that exist in 5th edition. (i.e. 4 of my guys are 8 inches out of the forrest but the other 6 are in the forrest therefore my psycannons get a cover save and are in range). But we will have to see how everything pans out looks like the game is in for a big change.
That is a really, really good point. If they bring back the rule that someone else picks up the special/heavy weapon, then it could actually be a cool rule as it means that if you kill the front row, you may take the weapon out of range (cool) but perhaps not destroy it outright. I had not thought of that, actually, and it makes a lot of sense. If that is the case, I will actually like this rule.
The look-out sir angle is cool too, but if there is a chance of failure, a prudent player will still almost always put his leaders in the back, if not, it will be cool.
We’ll see, but I have to say, I appreciate your much more positive attitude than I had.
i still think the first thing i’m going to do when i get 6th, is sit down and read the “fake” 6th next to the real 6th and see what is and isn’t there…… magic mushrooms till it’s released is what i say….
ttfn
I hope to open the book and get a polished version of the leaked PDF! Probably wont happen, but we’ll see.