Warhammer 40,000’s upcoming edition is set to offer players a new experience with an updated mission system that includes the Chapter Approved mission system. While having a massive army with the biggest guns, sharpest swords, and roomiest transports is essential, completing the mission is the primary objective.
The new edition features Only War, a perfectly balanced pitched battle where two players fight for control of four objective markers. The objectives are scattered across a battlefield of different sizes, making it the perfect theatre for a thrilling battle. The Chapter Approved mission system is flexible enough to generate anything from a casual pick-up game to the entire mission framework for a top-tier tournament.
To play the game, players first choose their game size and muster their armies as usual. Then, they divide the cards into their respective decks: Deployment, Mission Rules, Primary Missions, Secondary Missions, and Gambits. At competitive events, these combinations may sometimes be defined ahead of time, but players usually generate them fresh each time they play.
Once the players set up the battlefield and determine who’s the Attacker or Defender, they select and reveal their Secondary Missions. These are personal goals they’re trying to achieve, allowing them to score additional VP.
Finally, there are the Gambits, which are an innovation for the new edition. At the end of the third battle round, either or both players may choose to play a Gambit card, chosen in secret from two identical decks. Once a player reveals a Gambit, their original goal is thrown completely out of the window, replacing their Primary Mission with a completely fresh – and intensely challenging – new mission objective.
While Gambits are hard to pull off, they ensure that any player who has fallen behind still has a meaningful longshot at winning even in the face of overwhelming odds.
The new edition of Warhammer 40,000 offers plenty more to discover. Players can tune into Warhammer Community for a huge preview event beamed live from Warhammer Fest, which includes an in-depth examination of what they’re getting in the launch box and plenty more besides.