I’ve seen this topic crop up a few times over the last couple of months. Players asking if we’re getting one, waxing lyrical about the need for one, noting the community perceived issues that demand FAQ ‘correcting’ and so we need a new edition. Right?

Do We?

Straight away I’m going to say no. Age of Darkness / Horus Heresy 2.0 was released in 2022. It is currently 2024. We’re not 40k or Age of Sigmar, we’re not at the end of a Codex or Army Book release cycle and are now clammering for a new edition to reset everything. We’ve not been in a 3 year release cycle like those main game, our first edition of the game survived through the 5th, 6th and 7th edition changes of 40k¹. A 3 year release cycle is something that is used within those other game systems as a way to continually release new models and books onto the community. But for us, a campaign book every 6 months with a semi-regular model release or plastic update to various factions kind of works. A yearly FAQ clears up most of the functional problems with the game and doesn’t invalidate collections or books.

But What About These Problems That Need Changing?

This, I think, is where the demand for a new edition is coming from. There’s a few issues picked upon by the community that need to be ‘fixed’². Most of these issues aren’t mechanical problems with the game, but are specific unit entries or wargear options or Psychic Powers. And it’s an ever growing list, but let’s go through each of these in turn.

Dreadnoughts Are OP!

No, they’re really not. If you say this, you probably don’t have a problem with Leviathan and Deredeo Dreadnoughts or even the classic box-naught. And you certainly don’t have a problem with Blood Slaughterers, which also have the Dreadnought unit type. The problem is the Contemptor Dreadnought being so efficient for its cost in the current game. But even then, if someone plays one Contemptor in an average size game of 3,000 points that’s also not really a problem. The problem is the skew of playing 6, 7, or more Contemptor Dreadnoughts in that average sized game. And the community, by and large, doesn’t do this even at events where there are no restrictions on what you can play. There will be one or two out of 70 players that do, but this is usually fewer than the number of players that will turn up with Stone Gauntlet, or Eskaton Imperative, or Terror Assault. A Contemptor or two in a list though? There are lots of answers to that.

How To Beat Dreadnoughts

Tangent time. Most Dreadnoughts are T7, with Leviathans being T8 (the same as the Thanatar for those paying attention). Most have a 2+ armour save, with a 5++ Invulnerable save. With that in mind:

• Most Plasma weapons are 24"+ range, S7, Breach/Rend 4+. Each wound with a Plasma weapon will force an Invulnerable save. And if they’re Rending 4+ the T8 of a Leviathan doesn’t matter. No, ten marines with plasma guns isn’t cheaper than a Contemptor, but it can put out 20 rapid fire shots at that short range (assuming no casualties and that you’ve dropped them out a rhino nearby). Sicaran Omegas are a personal favourite for blowing chunks out of Dreadnoughts.
• Melta Weapons might be shorter range, but S8 mean you’re wounding on 3s and Armourbane gives you re-rolls to wounds vs Dreadnoughts while in Melta range.
• Nemesis Bolters might be a bit of a last ditch choice, but they also Rend on 5+ and have a far longer range than that Dreadnought.
• Poison Weapons. Dreadnoughts force you to re-roll poison wounds, but if you’re rolling a fistful of dice from a unit of Militia Grenadiers or Grave Wardens you’re going to force enough saves due to sheer weight of dice alone.
• Haywire. Especially if you’re a Mechanicum player who has easier access to this.
• Thunder Hammers, Chainfists, Terranic Greatswords, Axes of Perdition, Biomatic Rage, etc. With or without Rad Grenades are all good options, Legion depending. Even on WS4 Terminators³.
• Melta-bombs. See the line about melta weapons above.
• The ‘obligatory’ Lascannon Squad if you’re a Legion player. This will put the hurt on a Dreadnought. But we’ll come back to these.
• A Dreadnought. Might I suggest the humble Deredeo with Plasma Cannonade.

In short there are a lot of tools available to fight a Dreadnought with. You might not find one that’s cheaper (and thus ’efficient’) but let’s not act like there’s no way to beat them.

You Just Said Lascannons

I know, and I already regret it. The complaint is they’re too cheap on a Heavy Support Squad. Note that the SA and Cults players aren’t complaining that Lascannons exist, though they may say ‘we want more please’. 5 Lascannons on a Spartan or Land Raider and most players won’t bat an eye to it. 20 over two Heavy Support squads while playing the Reaping Rite of War for Death Guard and you’re going to be called ‘That Guy’.
Is the Lascannon itself a problem? Not really, a canny opponent is going to restrict your ability to use that squad or counter it with units like Sniper Recons or the Scorpius. Taking 20 of them is. Behold, the problem is skew. Does it need a new edition to points re-balance the unit? No. Could it be an FAQ? Sure. But in an edition where AV 14 can be fairly common with multiple Land Raiders and Flare Shielded Spartans there’s almost a need for the Lascannon Squads to be ‘viable’ to be able to interact with these units. They’re also a great way of keeping Dreadnoughts (and equivalent units) in check. ‘But they one-shot my Terminator Death Star models’. Look, if that Lascannon squad is shooting your Terminators or T4 infantry it probably didn’t have good enough targets left.

Yes an FAQ to increase the cost on the Heavy Support squad is an option, but we don’t need a new edition for that. And I’m not sure that change will have the impact some players want, since the people playing 20 or 30 of them are still going to try and skew into that anyway. Not without making them so expensive that players look and think ‘it’s too much for me to give up a HS sot for’. Which can then have the knock-on effect of removing a tool to counter the AV14 and Flare Shielded Spartan’s from the players that aren’t skewing into them.

Reactions

This has been a contentious addition to the game since first previewed in 2022. Everyone has differing takes on what is good or bad about them, with two big problems often coming up:

Intercepts Shouldn’t Be Free

Firstly, they’re not. You’re only looking at Legion lists and you’re looking at the Augury scanner upgrade that costs points per unit to take. In this edition I can Deep Strike or Outflank a significant chunk of my army and it is allowed to charge on the same turn it arrives on the table. I can protect a powerful unit, something like Inner Circle Knights Cenobium, just by adding a Warmonger as a Legion player. You as my opponent should be allowed to do something to this unit. Interceptor is fine.

But the issue isn’t really the Interceptor rule or that a piece of Wargear gives you an extra use of it without spending the Reaction allotment. It’s that you can go over 3 Reactions in a phase with this, and players will put it on the ’efficient’ units like Dreadoughts, Lascannons/Volkite Heavy Support Squads, Plasma Squads, etc. And then if you Deep Strike one unit it gets blown off the table ‘for free’. Counterpoint - the Drop Pod Assault Rite of War. This Rite can effectively be immune to a player’s turn of shooting, Arrive, pin, then tie down or neuter units with ease. Disallowing Augury Scanners or restricting their uses to the reaction allotment might not allow you to interact with the game against a Reserve / Deep Strike / Outflank heavy force. And it still costs the player for every unit that might be able to Intercept. These tools (wargear and reactions) help to keep these kinds of armies honest.

I Get Shot Three Times by my Opponent’s Lascannon Squad in My Turn

Sighs
Only if you make the conscious decision to cause this. Deep Strike next to them with a melee threat, of course they’re going to Intercept you. Shoot at them with a unit that might have better choices, and you’ve not baited out Return Fire already? Of course they’re going to shoot at you. Charge them with the aforementioned Deep Striking unit and it’s your only charge that turn? Of course they’re going to Overwatch you. You need to pick and choose your targets better, you need to bait out those reactions. This edition is not one where you can sit and say ‘I do my thing and you can’t interact with me apart from rolling saves if I allow them’.

WS4 is Bad Now

One of the things I honestly hated about the 1st Edition of the game was that melee combat was not interesting. A WS3 unit could fight up to and including WS6 on 4+. That WS6 model could only hit on 3+ against said unit. In fact if you were higher WS the best you could on was 3+ no matter how much better you were. Melee didn’t have an impact on the game, a Militia dude with a rock having a 50/50 chance to slap that rock into the side of most characters not named Sigismund just doesn’t work right. The new chart, where being Higher WS matters not just on being able to hit slightly better but it also shows that skill difference is good for the game at large. A Militia dude with a rock should be outclassed by a Legionary as should that basic legionary be outclassed when trying to fight a Dreadnought.

My Legion Rule/Thing Doesn’t Work Because of Reasons

Please, please read the rule. Most of the Legion traits do work even when making a disordered charge. Honestly I can’t find one that doesn’t. Sanguinius’ Sire of the Blood Angels granting the +1WS may not, but if you send that boy into something like the Lion with Companions, he’s absolutely bracing for that charge. This is another one of those, and I hate to say it, ‘skill issues’ where you as the Legion player need to consider what it is you’re trying to do with these units, and if you send one thing in by itself it might not have the best of times.
Thousand Sons players, narratively your rules revolve around how the Squad Leaders focus the psychic might of your warriors. Lean into it and accept that a canny opponent is going to snipe out these targets for the same reason they’d snipe the Sergeant of a Space Wolves unit.

Artificer Armour Tanking is bad for the Game

I generally agree with this, and I normally don’t play it that way. I’m not going to waste time slow-rolling 13 bolter armour saves on an Artificer Armour Sergeant. I might against the AP3 weapons, but generally the Leadership bonus is worth more than losing three or four models from a unit. There are some clunky community fixes for this where you can only ’tank’ up to the models Initiative value. Counterpoint - Precision Strike/Shot and Sniper exists as a rule to allow you to cherry pick these targets out of a unit. Consider bringing a single Vigilator or Vindicare Assassin along to go Sergeant sniping so they can’t tank the 13 bolter wounds you want to pour into that squad. Is this really a big problem that needs a fix, or is it one where players can work around it if they want?⁴

Telepathy is Not Fair

Out of everything listed here this is the one I can agree does need an FAQ change to it. Shutting down Reactions is an amazing tool, but also being able to almost guarantee you Pin a unit in both players turns is a bit far. I’m not sure what the ‘fix’ is, I think it deserves to stay in the game. But GW have reworded how Return Fire and Assault Phase reactions functions in some major ways. Making this a less ‘feels bad’ for people would be a good thing.

All These Things Need Changes to Restrict Use or Make them Viable

Artificer Armour, Augury scanners, Legion Equipment⁵ should be available to Veterans/Command Squads and all characters, Lascannons (again), Mechanicum army list is ‘bad’, Cults and Militia don’t have good ways to fight Legion Elites, Daemons need a buff, Custodes shouldn’t get Meridian Swords on an Elite unit for free, Dreadnoughts are not fair (again), all-Character units like Suzerain are not fair. Oh and Make Artillery Great Again⁶.
There might be one or two things here that are deserving of a tweak, but a lot of these are things that aren’t as bad as we make them out to be. Daemons are amazingly strong… for a couple of turns. Cults and Militia probably shouldn’t have an efficient or good way of fighting Legion Elites⁷.

What About Community Options?

The Community is fairly self-policing. There was a phrase that was mentioned last year at an event, ‘Just because you can doesn’t mean you should’ when talking about options for Heresy players. The attitude and mindset for most of us is ‘Rule of Cool First’. If you go to an event, or turn up at your local store or club to play a game, you probably wont see the 20 Lascannon teams, or the 9 Contemptors, or the 10 Armiger filled lists that are going to give you a bad time. Event at events most people aren’t playing these kinds of things. Sure, you will run into Artificer tanking, you might find that one in twenty players at Warhammer World that only has Dreadnoughts for his World Eaters army⁸ but like I’ve mentioned, you’re probably going to see the same amount of other ‘harsh’ lists at the same rate. One Dreadnought per 1000 points has been a thing for a while now.⁹

Liber Panoptica, and the varying supplements by the same team, are all there and available. They’ve made changes to Reactions, Core Rules wording, Equipment, Points costs, Unit entries, etc. You might find that this massive tome¹⁰ and the matching Libers that make changes to the other core books have what you want from the game.

The other option is talk with your opponent when you arrange games, or at the start of them. A longstanding thing with some groups would be asking ‘hey, I’m bringing my Primarch to the game, that cool with you?’ and going from there. There is nothing stopping you asking for people not to play 30 Lascannons, or 6 Contemptors or choose a Psychic power other than Telepathy.

Closing Notes

I’m going to go back to my starting thought as I wrote this. No, we don’t need a new edition of the game. I can see justification for a 2.5 if it is simply reprinting the core book with the included FAQ’s, however there would be an expected FAQ of that book. Nothing would really change in that case. A couple of bits could be changed within an FAQ but we’re talking minor specific changes (i.e. number of shots in the Telepathy power) and not rewrites to unit entries to make them ‘fair’. The game is in a really good place, there is more diversity in what people are playing now than there was in the past and we have more moving to plastic to increase on that.

The game is fine as it is, flaws and all. Update the current FAQ with some of the pain points and we’re good. Re-launch the Edition and rewrite multiple unit entries because players don’t want to adapt or try out the tools available to them? I don’t see that being a good option for any of us.

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1. If you’re new, Horus Heresy used to be a supplement / expansion that was built on top of the main 40K game system. This changed during the release of 8th Edition when the Horus Heresy split and continued to use a modified version of 7th Edition 40K up until the Age of Darkness release of 2022 ↩︎

2. And by ‘fixed’ we mean ‘changed to the way someone likes it so it doesn’t do what it currently does’ ↩︎

3. From experience, a Non-World Eaters Dreadnought might kill 2 Terminators a turn in melee even with the higher WS. ↩︎

4. Of course I’d be quite happy to remove Artificer upgrades from Squad Sergeants, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t already a solution to the problem available now. ↩︎

5. This is just to appease the 3 Thousand Sons players that haven’t sold off their Guard of the Crimson King Armies from 1st Edition ↩︎

6. I really enjoy games crossing the entire table being shelled with little counterplay available to me, but I never had a good experience playing against these lists myself - The Casual ↩︎

7. Let’s be honest, you’re the equivalent of Halfling players in Blood Bowl. You’re not meant to be good. ↩︎

8. Yes it’s narrative, but we also know it’s because you melted your army after leaving it in biostrip for a week. ↩︎

9. I know why the community does this, and it’s the counter-argument to my list above on how to combat Dreadnoughts. ‘But they’re too good, I want to take 6 of them because they’re good, Dreadnoughts need to be nerfed so I don’t feel I have to take them’ are all valid arguments. ↩︎

10. At time of writing Liber Panoptica is near 180 pages long with nearly 60 pages of community driven errata and changes in addition to adding new missions and other game modes. ↩︎