Games Workshop just handed Warhammer 40,000 fans some rare good news for the wallet. In its latest new-edition Q&A over on Warhammer Community, the studio confirmed that the next generation of codexes is moving to softcover at prices about a third lower than the current hardbacks. On top of that, the first of the new monthly rules updates lands July 22nd, and it's bringing a Combat Patrol refresh with it.
The Q&A pegged the softcover discount at roughly a third across the board, with the exact figure varying by currency. Collector's editions aren't going anywhere, either. Those keep the hardback treatment, complete with a slipcase, green foil, and a fold-out cover that clasps shut, with the same contents inside.
Codex: Orks leads the new line, and it's a monster: 178 pages, the thickest book the greenskins have ever gotten. It arrives alongside the wave of new greenskin kits GW previewed last month, including a customizable Trukk, a crane-armed Mek, and a new Warboss with 16 head options.
GW hasn't posted actual prices yet, so here's some napkin math. Current hardback codexes run about $60 in the US, and a third off would put the new softcovers somewhere around the $40 mark. If you picked up one of the new starter sets after our starter-set buyer's guide, a codex is usually the very next purchase on the list, and that drop takes a real bite out of the cost of building toward a full army.
Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon kicked off the new edition earlier this summer, pitting Space Marines against Orks, with over 70 detachments supported from launch. Pre-orders for the smaller starter sets went live earlier this month, and we broke down what's in each box when they were announced.
The Q&A also confirmed the rebuilt Ork Boyz datasheet, and the full rules are already up as a free download on Warhammer Community. Every Boy now carries a slugga, a shoota, AND a choppa, so you're not choosing between shootin' and choppin' anymore. Mobs can take one Nob for every nine Boyz, meaning bigger squads pack multiple Nobs, plus one of each special weapon per 10 models. A 20-strong mob can roll out with two big shootas, two rokkit launchas, and two burnas.
Then there's the ability players zeroed in on: "Get da Good Bitz". At the end of your Command phase, if the Boyz control an objective, it stays secured by your army even after the mob moves on. Sticky objectives on a cheap Battleline unit you can flood the board with is a big deal for horde armies!
The new Boyz kit backs all that up with all three classic special weapons in one box, a grot ammo runt, and Boss Nob options including a power klaw, a kombi-skorcha, and a two-handed big choppa. One catch: the rules aren't in the official app yet. That integration arrives with the next rules update.
Which brings us back to July 22nd. That's the scheduled date for the first monthly balance and rules update of the new edition, alongside the Combat Patrol refresh, and clarifications to the much-debated healing rules are expected in the same drop. The last edition ran on balance dataslates roughly every three months, so a broken combo could sit on top of the meta for a full season before anything changed. Monthly updates mean fixes can ship while the problem is still fresh.
Put it all together and the on-ramp into this hobby hasn't looked this friendly in years. Cheaper codexes, free datasheet downloads ahead of release, starter sets at multiple price points, and a rules team committing to monthly upkeep. Sticker shock keeps a LOT of curious players on the sidelines, and GW just knocked a real chunk off it.
The price cut will grab the headlines, but the monthly updates are what we'd keep an eye on. GW hasn't committed to this pace of upkeep for its flagship game before, and July 22nd is the first test of whether they can hold it.
Does the softcover price cut put codexes back on your shopping list? What's at the top of your wish list for that first monthly update?
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