Review: The New 40k Apocalypse

So it has been a few weeks since the recent Apocalypse edition came out, and since it's release I have managed to get in almost a dozen Apocalypse games! All of them have built up an idea in my mind of the new 40k Apocalypse, and I wanted to share it with you. As a forewarning, I have a slight bias on the subject as I have 12000pts of both Chaos Marines and Eldar, so I naturally enjoy being able to field it all at once. Know that this will be a little lengthy, so I will try to break it up as much as possible with some pictures :)

Before I go any further, I feel it is needed to discuss how holding objectives has changed. Before you start your game, you must decide when "breaks" will take place. This is usually 10-15 minutes, and can be longer to allow for a meal(So if you have a huge all-day Apocalypse game, you would likely want a break at 12:00 and 5:00 etc). During each break, you gain a point for each objective you hold. On the first break, you gain one point per objective, on the second break, you gain 2 points per objective etc. The end of the game is considered a break for the purposes of totaling up Victory Points. So if first break you hold 2 objectives, second break you hold 1, and at the end of the game you hold 3 you end the game with 13 points. Additionally you gain 1 Victory Point for each Super Heavy/Gargantuan Creature killed. Lastly, you gain one point for each Warlord killed, and an additional point if the Warmaster was killed.

1. Losing Isn't So Easy

In the old Apocalypse edition, there were many games when, in a single turn, often the third, the game was decided, and the one who fared worse was often just fighting for survival after that. In the new rules this has changed in 3 major ways:

Finest Hour - This rule lets you, once per game, let your Warlord roll on the Finest Hour table. The table is alot like the Warlord table from the big rulebook, but on steroids (much like Apocalypse is like 40k, but on steroids). The personal traits are meh, as often your warlord will not be in the thick of it in a game-breaking manner (unless he is in CC with the enemy Warmaster...). The benefits include Temporarily Unkillable, which bestows T10 and a 2++ Invuln to your Warmaster, one that allows reroll to Hit, one that allows reroll to Wound, and some others. Strategic, however, can do things like allow one unit to come back into play without expending a Victory point. In short, go for Strategic.

Lastly, during a break you can "spend" a strategic point in order to bring back a unit from reserves after a break.

The old Apocalypse was often dominated by one of three things: An entire Ork army outflanking and assaulting everything, Eldar last minute contesting every objective, and other armies relying on shooting...lots of shooting. While the last point hasn't changed a bit, the outflank stratagem now only works for one Formation in your army. With points for objectives being accrued throughout the game, last ditch contests are doable but not as reliable. It is far more important to hold an objective throughout the game then simply contest last minute. And now the one who holds the objective is the closest, or if equidistant the one with the most points holding the objective(So if a Phoenix Lord is holding an objective and a Guardsmen squad runs to contest, the Eldar would still hold the objective as a Phoenix Lord costs more points than a Guardsmen). The changes to how objectives are controlled changes the basic element of how to win the game. Add in the new Victory Points accrued from slaying Warlords, Warmasters, Gargantuan Creatures and Super Heavies and suddenly there are many ways to gain points throughout the game that makes last ditch efforts not as brutal as they were before. In the old apoc anyone with Fast Skimmers would be able to last-minute easily, nullifying a game-long struggle for the objective. All in all, the changes allow for the earlier turns of a game to mean alot more in a game than ever before.
Previously formations were super important and gave key bonuses(such as the Dark Eldar Ravager formation which allowed their shooting to bypass void shields, power fields, and power fields!). Now, formations are free! This allows for larger battles with even more formations, so if you can field more formations than your opponent you have more free bonuses, and therefore a natural advantage
As previously discussed, you get an additional Victory Point for slaying enemy Warlords, and a further point for slaying their Warmaster. This means that by slaying the Warmaster you get 2 Victory Points, as much as holding 2 Objectives first turn! Protect your Warmaster or you will find yourself handing your opponent a pretty comfortable cushion of Victory Points. Either hide him in a very durable transport, or stick him with a deathstar that won't die easily. Or literally hide him so that he can't be shot in the first place.
Space Marines in Apoc fair better with consistent Finest Hours

Finest Hour is a once per game thing that can be triggered to evoke a random benefit. Unless your Adeptus Astartes(loyal or not). Each chapter has their own fixed Finest Hour they can use depending on their Primarch(If the Primarch is unknown you choose which Primarch to use). This adds a great level of knowing what to expect, and therefore knowing when to use it. For example, as an Ork player you might use your Finest Hour super early, roll on the Strategic table, and get Reinforcements, allowing you to bring on a destroyed unit. However, if you had not lost anything super valuable, you may find your Finest Hour used to bring back a 120pt Battlewagon.

On the other hand, if you were Dark Angels for instance, you would know that when you called your Finest Hour, all Bolters, Bolt Pistols, and Heavy Bolters used by Dark Angels become Twin-Linked. You then wait for a turn that is most advantageous, and use it to the best effect possible. As you can see, the knowing of what you get allows for far better results.


Divine Intervention

Divine Intervention is somewhat like Finest Hours, except that they have conditions that must be met first. For instance, for Eldar and Dark Eldar you must have lost a certain number of models, for Orks you must have a certain number of Orks that are on the table engaged in combat. If the conditions are met, you are able to invoke Divine Intervention, where your men ask for aid from their deity. The bonuses granted here are often USR's, and can greatly help your fight for victory. If at any point you meet the conditions for Divine Intervention I would do so immediately, because if it is something like Orks who require a certain majority to be in combat, that condition can change. Take advantage of it while you can!

Closing Thoughts

Apocalypse has changed, but having played nearly a dozen games since its release I have found myself loving it way more than the old edition. I have not discussed any strategies or tricks in this article, but will be doing so in the coming weeks. I apologise for the lengthy article, but the changes were long and I felt they deserved a larger amount of attention. Next time will be a look at Strategic Assets as a whole

What armies do you have that are Apocalypse worthy? For those who have played the new edition of Apoc, have you enjoyed it or loathed it?