BREAKING NEWS: 8th Edition 40K Vehicles and Transports Explained!

The latest hit of 40K hype is all about vehicles, and what they can do. Here's the data sheet for the Necron Annihalation Barge, as revealed from Warhammer Community:






Right away the vehicle is made tougher, by giving it more wounds and an armour save. The Toughness value assigned is roughly equivalent to old AV10, but the armour save deflects a good chunk of firepower (about half for the Barge!), and the extra wounds give a buffer against Bad Dice Days.


Just like the Dreadnought, and just like I predicted back in the charge phase reveal, vehicles now have WS values and can fight in combat. They have a strength and toughness, and may have weapons attached. These would be the standard issue Dreadnought power fist, or the non-standard issue Ork wrecking ball!


The WS of a vehicle will generally be low, to represent the difficulty in trying to manouver a tank tread over someone running around, and have been advertised as "high strength". Looking at the above barge, it doesn't look all that high to me, but it's still hitting harder than a Space Marine.


Vehicles function in the exact same way as any other model. No more separate flat-out or tank shock rules... they Advance and Charge just like anyone else. Meaning that, yes, this has come true:






You can imagine why this was done. A good chunk of the 7th Edition rule book is devoted to talking about how to push tanks around the table top, and I'm going to be honest and say I never fully read that part of the book myself. Tank Shock is still somewhat of a mystery to me, and this just streamlines the whole process of getting vehicles into combat.


This also leads to some nice combination tactics... like assault Rhinos.


Imagine your unit of fragile assault troops, say Harlequins. If they were to charge at a Tau gun line, they would be shot to ribbons before they ever got there. Now, their transport ship can do the charging for them, acting as a heavy shock trooper to absorb Overwatch.


Furthermore, some reveals from the Dark Eldar faction spot light (post on that coming later), tell us that units armed with pistols can fire them from inside the transport in combat! Think on that... you don't even need to get off the tank to do close combat assault!


A debuff for vehicles in general is the loss of the Relentless rule, meaning that unless specificed tanks will no longer get to fire Heavy weapons whilst moving without penalty. It's not that big a penalty, being a -1 To Hit, but I'm sure Vyper (notreally) Jetbikes* and Land Speeders will be feeling that sting.


A change I'm somewhat sad to see is the loss of armour facings. Whilst I understand removing them for the sake of getting increasingly weird model designs and simple speed of play, having weak rear armour gave a good amount of tactical positions gameplay that I will miss. Probably not too much though, as I remember arguing over what was consider front armour for a Raider.


Nothing more to add, other that I think these are good changes, and I'm giddy with excitement for the new Edition!


Until next time!


*You know what? They are actually bigger jet bikes now. Huh. Well played Games Workshop... well played.


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Comments

  1. You missed the most important rules change to vehicles and that is now they are just infantry with a lot of wounds and poor close combat abilities. They have no rules of their own, like flying. The biggest hit to vehicles is now they are subject to being immobilized by a single troop. Before a vehicle could drive through enemy units and ignore them or fire its guns with enemies in front of them. Troops didn't matter to vehicles in 7th edition. Although I will miss relentless. The idea of a single troop alone can attack a vehicle and keep it from firing its weapons at another target or event that one troop is pure frustration. Now vehicles are forced to fall back and a advancing unit that then charges has a good chance to keep up. I just experienced this with a vindicator. I had a vindicator and a squad of marines and a vindicator fighting some grey wolfs. All my infantry was destroyed along with my leader. He had his leader and one marine left and it was turn 4. His one marine charged my vindicator and I missed over-watch (3 rolls) and close combat (3 rolls) due to needing a 6. His leader was near but I couldn't fire at his leader or his trooper. I was forced to fall back or stand and close combat at a 6. Turn 5 I fell back. He closed over-watch (3 rolls) close combat (3 rolls). Turn 6 game ends. Yes I had horrible luck, but in 7th edition vehicles that were not transports had rules. many of them to complex, but just making vehicles unaffected by troops would give them the one benefit they need to be considered vehicles.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for commenting! I sympathise with what happened to you there... it sucks when the game goes down to a stalemate. But in this edition your tank has a chance to hit back in combat, and the infantry will still be hard pushed to wound you.

      I also think that's probably what should happen to an unsupported Vindicator. It would be difficult for what is essentially an artillery piece to escape from an infantry group, and even harder for it to point it's fixed position canon at them whilst running away.

      If your infantry were still alive, once you fell back the first time, they would have counter-charged that same turn. Then in your next turn, you would have fallen back with the infantry, and dropped a shell on the wolves. That's a really neat little tactical interaction!

      So a lesson we can all learn from your experience... keep your tanks supported with infantry.

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    2. It is basically Tienanmen square on guy stopping a tank only lasts as long as a tank drive is patent. That one guy should not be able to stop a crew firing a distant enemies. Also what good is having antipersonnel weapons ie. a crewed storm bolter ,and not be able to use it for what it is meant for sweeping up troops that come to close. They broke the rules, now an infanty unit with a jump pack is more effective in combat than any vehicle. this is the only issue I have with the new system, it screws people using vehicles.

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    3. I get where you're coming from, but I'd argue any tank would be hard pushed to use it's main weaponry on infantry moving around next to it.

      However, I think you're dead on about that stormbolter. How about this fix as a house rule:

      Pintle-Stormbolter: Range 12" Str 4 AP 0 Pistol 4

      That way you get 4 attacks for your vehicle in close combat. What do you think?

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    4. WAAAGHHH
      ORKS

      I like the pistol fix, but once you start down that road we basically start playing Gorkamorka. Drivers, and gunners, are all going to need to be characters in their own right, and players will want to customize them. I mean: why can't my ork trukk driver and gunner get out and fight, or have sluggas and choppas? I've got them on the models (just in case :P)

      Overall I think the edition is just going to favour Infantry on this. Which, as an old ork boss makes me happy. No more imperial tank lines bunkering up and being basically a static wall of tanks that I can't break except with one overworked powerklaw nob who, turns out, is also the closest model when the tank explodes.

      Yeah, you're dang right tanks could ignore infantry in 7th. There was no beneficial outcome for the infantry unit. Best case scenario it was an even trade up... yay.

      Whereas now my 30 boyz can wash over and overwhelm. Jump on top, crawl underneath, set off stikkbombs in the treadz, break off your arial, and pry open any hatches or covers.... which is precisely what would happen to any stationary tank.
      All those fancy gizmos on top are just more stuff for a guy with a club to smash to bits.

      Even your fancy grav tanks can't gravitate with 30 boyz on top.
      Fly some kind of flying nonsense over this way? Well I got 30 stormboyz for ya!

      My stormboyz will jump down your spaceship engine intake, while carrying a backpack made of metal and ork brew rokkit fuel while praising Gork and Mork. Is there some reason this *shouldn't* kill anything?

      Orks was made to fight n win. We'ze the best.

      WAAAGHHH. ORKS!

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    5. WAAAAGGHHHH!!!!

      *ahem* Actually 8th Edition does allow for ork drivers to melee a little. The trukk, for example, has slightly beter WS than other vehicles, and a decent number of attacks. It's abstracted out a bit, but it's there.

      Thanks for commenting, and hope you enjoy the green horde krumpin' land raiders wiv nuffin' but a big choppa!

      Delete

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