Well, with the release of a new edition of 40k coming sometime in 2023 (we think) GW has released some wild rules and points changes to start off the new year. In the time honored tradition of mixing things up before an edition change GW has dropped a substantial rules and points FAQ along with a completely new mission pack that will be in some players hands as early as January 14th. For this article we will take a look at some of the more insane points changes that came with this most recent Munitorum Field Manual.
Space Marines: The Adeptus Astartes got the most changes, and some players will argue that they needed it. Some players were making some very specific Marine Chapters work, like Blood Angels, but some other Chapters were just a bad memory from the past. GW may have done enough here to make all the Space Marine Chapters relevant again, but I sure don’t like the way they did it. Giving an entire faction free wargear options is not a good thing for game balance. It is doubly bad for game balance when that faction has one of the largest wargear selections available to any army in the game. With the loss of Armor of Contempt it is hard to argue Marine players won’t need all the extra points they can get. However, when things like Plasma Inceptors go from 300pts for 5 to 200pts, Sternguard Veterans can now pack a huge punch coming in from a Drop Pod at just 20 points per model armed with basically any combi-weapon you can think of, and Centurian Devestators are a mere 70pts the Marine gunline might not need Armor of Contempt in 2023.
Necrons: I would say Necron players should be happy about 11 point Warriors, but I think with all of the extra firepower coming into army lists in Arks of Omen those Warrior squads will die even faster than before. Hilariously, the Necron basic Lords still have not dropped in points, but the news is not all bad for Necrons. The Arks of Omen changes to their Secondaries are basically a light tap on the wrist that will leave plenty of Necron players still dropping 100s on their opponents.
Tyranids: My first thought after seeing some of the Tyranid points changes was: ouch. Almost everything that would be included in a 2022 competitive Tyranid list received some kind of points hike, but I honestly think the Tyranid Codex is deep enough it can survive this hit. There are some builds inside of the Codex that just haven’t been touched due to how insanely good Leviathan continued to be throughout all of the Tyranid adjustments of 2022. I’m still waiting for someone to put 120 Hormagaunts on the table and laugh as their opponent never leaves their deployment zone. Admittingly, this plan could go horribly wrong with all the new shiny shooting Marine armies, only try this if you go first or have the terrain to hide those Gaunts!
Genestealer Cults: Let’s pile on the 2023 gunline train my four-armed brothers! Some GSC diehards were already performing incredibly well using Industrial Affinity gunlines, but now they get to take those same lists with extra points to spare. Those big blocks of Neophytes now get free Webbers. FREE MORTAL WOUNDS. They also get the benefit of an Iconward and Primus at 10 points cheaper. It took you all year GW, but thanks.
Once I get the Arks of Omen mission book in my hands I will definitely be playing some test games with my Blood Angels, GSC, and Necrons. While I don’t think for a single second that these new rules changes give players a balanced 40k, I do believe that the next few months a competitive 40k will at least be interesting. Some part of me fears that we will see some devastating Marine gunlines hit the table again, but if it is really 8th Edition Iron Hands bad there isn’t long to wait until a new Edition.