Warhammer 40,000 8th Edition – What You Need To Know
May 31, 2017 by brennon
So Warhammer 40,000 8th Edition is around the corner and that means that we've got a lot of stuff to look forward to from Games Workshop. The pre-orders for this begin on June 3rd with the release of the game coming on June 17th.
This piece therefore is ready to bring together all of the awesomeness you need to know about the new Edition so far and what you can look forward to with the new boxed set.
Getting Started & Prices
The main thing you're going to need to know is how to get started in the new Edition and Games Workshop are planning that Dark Imperium is going to be your way into this universe.
The new boxed game that you see here is going to retail for £95 which seems reasonably priced considering a number of plastic soldiers you get in the set as well as the rulebook to boot. These Starter Sets have always been a great entry point and while it might seem like a steep cost to begin playing, splitting a box or sharing the contents is a good way to go.
As well as the new Dark Imperium box which you see above they are also going to be bringing out a range of other products to supplement the release.
The full costings are here in Pound Sterling...
- Dark Imperium Starter Set £95
- Warhammer 40,000 8th Edition Rulebook £35
- Tactical Objective Cards £8
- Sector Imperialis Objectives £20
- Command Dice £12.50
- Wound Trackers £8
- Combat Gauge £6
- Indices £15 each
- Dark Imperium Novel £18
...so hopefully, this gives you a good starting point to get stuck into the game. Important to remember, if you have an existing army, or you're buying into the game for the first time the rules for your force will be included in one of these new Index Books which focus on the Xenos, Chaos and Imperium.
Make sure to find out which book contains your army rules and then you can get playing with the models you already own.
New Miniatures
If you'd like to get a better look at the models which are going to be included with this set then you can find our article HERE all about the new models where we took a look at each of the units. However, for a taster here's some of our favourites with the Captain in Gravis Armour...
...and the Lord Of Contagion which we thought was a fantastic new direction for the Death Guard to go in.
One of the big hitters of the new Edition, however, are the Primaris Space Marines. As mentioned above there some more images over on the link above but here we have the Primaris Space Marines in all their glory for the Intercessor Squad.
The Chaos Space Marines are not to be left out however as they are also matching their Loyalist Brothers in stature with some new models. Here are some examples from the upcoming Death Guard set in Dark Imperium.
We also got to see some more previews of some additional units coming out way over the last few days thanks to Warhammer Fest. One such model was the new Redemptor Dreadnought which will be coming out later this year.
This was quite a hit and really did seem to get people interested in the Primaris Space Marines if they weren't already! All of these new Space Marines are certainly interesting for new players and old veterans but there might be a little bit of a gap in your knowledge, or maybe you'd like to know more about the fluff of this new Edition.
Rules & Background
Well, the Warhammer Community website has been trying to keep us filled in on the new rules, new tactics, and some of the fluff behind 8th Edition and the current storyline. The key to remember firstly is that the Core Rules will be FREE to download but you will have to buy your race specific Indices and such.
Interesting in this you will see the great rift which has split the Imperium in two. This makes for quite the dividing line between allies and enemies and forces us into an entirely new battlefield.
Helping you understand the background and such of the new Edition the Warhammer Community Website has pulled together all manner of links to guide you and get you up to speed.
- Warhammer 40,000 Website - This is a key resource talking about the different factions.
- The Crusade & The Imperium
- Three Ways To Play
- Cities Of Death
- Choosing Your Army
- Missions In Warhammer 40,000
- The Ultima Founding
The last link there, The Ultima Founding, might be one of the key articles to look at from the folks at Games Workshop as it goes into detail about the way the new Space Marines came to be and how they fit into existing Space Marine Chapters. Plus, they talk about some of the new Chapters being formed as seen below...
This also gives you a link through to a downloadable sheet which will allow you to begin planning out your colour schemes for your new Space Marine chapter. As we've said in the past this new Edition of the game does give you a lot of chances to start gaming in the gaps.
When it comes to Rules the folks at Games Workshop have also been talking about the different aspects of this across the last month or so. You can find all of the articles throughout the...
Warhammer 40,000 Warhammer Community Site
There are also ways for you to find the links to the Core Rules and more online if you can find them. Rules for some of the new models have also appeared via various outlets including those for the Captain In Gravis Armour you saw above...
...and the Inceptor Assault Squad which come with some rather snazzy looking new Bolters.
You can find more over on the Community Site we linked above as they tend to show off snippets of the stats and rules on a daily basis as well as keeping you informed as to the new direction for the background and fluff too.
So, if you want to keep up to date with everything on Warhammer 40,000 8th Edition there are plenty of ways to do so. With a full list of prices for the pre-orders to this should give you a nice way to plan ahead and think about the different armies you want to explore.
A Note On Forge World...
You will need to get your hands on some new Index Books for Forge World models too in the near future. As you can see they are collecting rules together for you to use your Horus Heresy Era models and the like in new books...
...for the Imperial forces of the Adeptus Astartes and the Forces Of Chaos.
So, make sure to keep that in mind as you're looking at the new Edition.
Drop your thoughts on the new Edition so far in the comments below and help each other out with links and more to what you think is helpful.
Are you going to be starting a new army?
"Games Workshop are planning that Dark Imperium is going to be your way into this universe..."
"As we've said in the past this new Edition of the game does give you a lot of chances to start gaming in the gaps..."
As much as I want to like it..I’m not excited at all tbh. Might grab a squad of the new Marines at some stage. They will turn up eBay soon enough 😉
I’ll pass I reckon
I’m torn by all this.. I haven’t played GW games in over a decade at this point… but I did pick up some Age of Sigmar to paint, and I did assemble 2 Kill Teams for Shadow Wars: Armageddon… so now I’m completely unsure if I should just stick with smaller scale games (AOS Skirmish, SWA) or if I want to paint up some small 40K armies… argh… shiny syndrome… I’m currently playing Infinity and trying to get more people in my area to play Guild Ball.. there is a small group of 40K players so I suspect I’d be… Read more »
Definitely picking up a box. This edition has got people around me excited to enough to get back into 40K. I’ll still be doing horus heresy but I really like what I’ve seen so far in terms of models and rules.
Still undecided on how to paint the primaris marines though, I think they’ll look a bit odd mixed in with a ‘normal’ marine army so may do a dark angel successor chapter.
I will pas as I don’t like GW rules and chaos is meh for me.
After years of ignoring 40k (*bloody dwarf murderers) I am back to the fold with this release. Across the board it is a step in the right direction from what I have seen so far and, while not reasonably priced (in Australian dollars) GW have reduced the price point for this box over here. (On normal GW UK to GW Aust. prices it should be priced at A$ 260 instead it is A$ 225 …. I’ll take that as a win and a step in the right direction). and at long last the story moves forward…… keen to see how… Read more »
You didn’t stick it out in 2nd ed? Man, that was when we had Squats, Genestealer Cults, Chaos Cults Harlequins, Necrons, and Demon World armies.
I miss being able to field Doombreed. He was a boss.
No I “became adult” around 2nd edition ….. (don’t worry I got better … it was over rated) and quit the hobby for about 8 or so years.
I hadn’t seen the stats on the Primaris Marines before. With their toughness 5 and 2 wounds each, I think they might play as loyalist plague marines.
Are those new Plague Marines really as large as the Primaris Marines? That makes me wonder if the old space marines are going to fade away to the new scale creep.
Either way, I think it is a good move for them to shake up 40k so much.
the new dread looks tempting.
Still undecided on this, ideally would like to try the rules throughly first. Overall seems positive, but still some reservations.
Models are very nice, I have a few plague marines lying around already. I do like the new marine stuff. So maybe the box. Possibly just an index book or two.
Okay. I officially despise this Dreadnought concept. It’s really lacking punch and even is looking a bit silly. Goofy, actually, but not in an intended way.
I love dreadnoughts more than anything else in the 40k universe but this is the first dreadnought GW have ever made that I didn’t like tbh. Not sure what it is I don’t like about it though. Just doesn’t look right to me. Maybe it looks better in the flesh.
I’ll pick up the rules but that’s about it for me.
My brother’s birthday and a friend’s wedding both occurring on the 17th means I’ll be late to the party. But I will be getting the set towards the end of the month. I might grab a few of the smaller bits on release.
I’ll be getting the rulebook and the Xenos book that contains eldar. I’m really looking forward to faster more simple games rulewise.
This is my jump off point for my first foray into 40K so I’m all in on this one.
You mean “jump on”?
I know enough to say i’m back into 40k after about an edition and a half not playing ( 6th got me down and 7th was a mess imho ). Planning a road trip to my flgs on Saturday to get a few bits pre-ordered ( splitting the box with a chaos playing friend plus an Index or two and an extra BRB ).
I’m a bit meh about the whole Prinaris Marines and although I do like the Death Guard models I don’t particularly want to collect an army of them so I will most likely plumb for the rulebook and Index Imperium 2, that’s pretty much all I need. I haven’t played 40k in nearly 20 years though and I am looking forward to trying it out. I do wonder though; in what way are the new Death Guard models a “new direction”? Isn’t that what Nurgle Plague Marines always looked like? They’re great models with a nice modern look and quality… Read more »
I’ve been playing 40k since 2nd Ed came out, and I’m really struggling to get excited about 8th Ed….
I’ll take 2 please.
8th edition is like fighting the tide – I now have to take the boys to the GW midnight launch….
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I really love that Lord of Contagion and really want to paint one up! Reckon this will be sold separately or only in the starter set?
He’ll sell separately on ebay – if he comes out separately that would be months later I’d imagine assuming they have him on his own sprue.
Seems like Imperium 1 is all Space Marines and Imperium 2 is all other Imperial armies so from those two Index Books Imperium 1 is one that I am going to need to get besides of Rule Book. I might pick up starter set for those Primaris Marines if I manage to buy it in half with some Death Guard player.
I’m getting everything even tho i’m still 50/50 on some of the rules but what I have read of the Narrative way to play I really like. Also I get the best of both worlds as Heresy is staying with 7th for awhile as they are going to release their own 7th ed rulebook. With a few tweaks I think i’ll be able to bring some xenos into it so i’ll really have both things I want, for awhile atleast. I really want to do a campaign based around the Great Crusade using Heresy rules but its going to take… Read more »
I’ll probably pick up the Sector Imperialis Objectives, and have a flick through the new free rules. Some pretty sweet objectives that I couldn’t be bothered to make myself in there. Might have to wait and see a bit more of the BG/Fluff – everything except the Cawl/Seagullman/Primaris thing has been pretty interesting so far – but like most 40K stalwarts – I reckon “Super Space Marines” is a slightly annoying spin on what shoulda been “new look, truer scale” Marines, and apart from the “obvious oncoming schism due to connotations of chaos that kick them all in the ass”… Read more »
I am looking forward to getting back into the game after years of absence. Lokking forward to less seriousness and more fun in what is a “Game”. Chaos may once again be the greatest threat in the galaxy….
While I do like a lot about this, it does not feel at all like the Imperium of Mankind was at the brink of demise by outside forces when you consider this seemingly boundless new breed of super Space Sigmarines and all their new toys of destruction popping up like it was the most normal thing ever. Then again, fluffwise this would almost guarantee major rifts within the Imperium itself. How would Marine Chapters feel when these externally engeneered guys were suddenly forced upon them? I can not see the most venerable Chapters go easy with this meddling of their… Read more »