H1: Warhammer 40,000: What's New in 11th Edition?
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After 3 years at the helm, the 10th Edition of Warhammer 40,000 is drawing to a close. June 2026 will mark the arrival of 11th Edition, ushering in a new era focused on narrative play, faster-paced combat, and a greater variety in army expression on the tabletop.
Many hobbyists have put their dice down at some point during the current edition, waiting patiently for a major update to rebalance rules, shake up the gameplay formula, and recapture their attention. If that sounds familiar, this article is written with you in mind!
In this handy guide, we’ll cover some of the most significant changes coming in 11th Edition. This list is non-exhaustive, and you’ll need to read through the Core Rules for the full scoop.
And if you’re a brand new player, you might want to check out our Warhammer Starter Guide instead of skimming the patch notes.
Key Takeaways
- 11th Edition is debuting with a new conflict on Armageddon, featuring Orks as the start-of-edition enemy.
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Existing codexes remain useable.
- Detachments are now modular and can be mixed together.
- Primary missions change depending on both players’ detachments.
- Objective markers are now terrain pieces instead of circles.
- The Fight Phase has been heavily streamlined.
- Engagement range has increased, and new ‘Hidden’ rules give units a more conditional version of Lone Operative.
- Models must now be within 9 inches of all other models in their unit, shrinking coherency range and eliminating ‘conga lines’.
- Keywords have gotten revamped, and Psychic is actually useful now.
A Return to Armageddon
The Imperial Guard battling Orks on the war world of Armageddon
Image credit: Games Workshop
As is customary, the newest edition of Warhammer 40,000 begins with the Adeptus Astartes (Space Marines) clashing against a major threat to the galaxy. 10th Edition opened with the Fourth Tyrannic War, as humanity struggled to stem the advance of the all-devouring Tyranids. This time, however, the Orks step into the spotlight.
Everyone’s favourite boyz are back in 11th Edition, and they’re greener, meaner, and spoiling for a fight like never before. And a fight they’ll get, for we’re seeing a return to Armageddon, the legendary war world where endless oceans of blood have been spilled. Some older players may recognise the long and violent history of this place, while others may recognise returning characters like the legendary Commissar Yarrick, who’s tied inextricably to the planet.
The new Armageddon box set
Image credit: Games Workshop
The latest battle, known as Operation Imperator, features several different Space Marine chapters battling against the WAAAGH!, including the Blood Angels, Salamanders, Black Templars, Space Wolves, Ultramarines, and White Scars. Returning players can expect plenty of lore content in the release box, detailing how exactly the war is going.
For more information about the setting change, you can check out Games Workshop’s official article on Armageddon.
Mix-and-Match Detachments and List Building Changes
Blood Angels battle against an Ork warband
Image credit: Games Workshop
The biggest shake-up for returning players starts before a single dice is rolled: army construction. Instead of making just one choice, you now get Detachment Points to spend on army abilities.
Each faction is getting a set of one-point detachments on release day, which vary in what they offer. The detachment rules typically benefit a specific category of unit, such as Custodes Terminators, Ork Bikers, Tyranid Lictor subspecies, or Space Marine Speeders.
These new detachments also come with a varying amount of Stratagems and Enhancements, allowing you to mix and match them!
An example of an 11th Edition Detachment, where you have 7 Stratagems and 5 Enhancement Choices!
Most of the current detachments from 10th Edition are worth two points, meaning that you’ll get a new set of rules to integrate into your Strike Force lists. And since you can pick up to three different detachments, you might end up with a grab bag of new choices. You might start your games with no Stratagems at all, or have a dizzying nine to choose from—but no Enhancements.
And speaking of Enhancements, they’re also getting a new sub-category: Upgrades, which can go on certain non-character units. You might be able to turn your favourite tank or roaring monster into an even greater menace for your opponent.
Additionally, there are some minor changes, such as Leader units being attached during the list building phase, rather than when you declare battle formations.
Lastly, detachments provide something called a Force Disposition. At the start of the game, you can compare these dispositions with your opponent to decide on the mission you’ll be playing, rather than drawing from a fixed mission pack.
New Primary Mission Choices and Smoother Secondary Scoring
An example of Force Dispositions, reflecting what your army wants to achieve
Image credit: Games Workshop
A key goal of 11th Edition is to encourage more narrative play and emergent storytelling. To accomplish this, your army-building now influences your primary mission. No longer is your pack of hulking monsters or battalion of crazed murderers forced to stand around on circular mats all day.
As mentioned earlier, the Force Disposition for each detachment will describe what your army should reasonably be trying to accomplish. A detachment focused on sneaky assassins would want to achieve a different outcome than a squad of World Eaters Berzerkers, after all.
Disruption vs Take and Hold
Image credit: Games Workshop
Before the match, you and your opponent each select one of these dispositions. You then refer to a chart to determine how your armies interact. For example, one army’s disposition is Take and Hold. Since they want to hold objectives, the ideal mission for a Disruption army would be booby trapping said objectives. This creates a set of distinct goals for each army, which naturally forms a story. You’ll no longer have to pull up to a game wondering what arbitrary target your forces are even fighting over.
The second most important change is to Secondary Missions. You’ll still be choosing between Fixed and Tactical objectives, as before. However, instead of being limited to two Tactical cards at once, you keep all unscored objectives. If you draw an objective that requires entering the enemy deployment zone on turn one, you can simply keep it and score it later, instead of feeling the pain of a wasted draw.
Terrain as Objectives
In 11th Edition, your army will have to capture buildings instead of circles
Eagle-eyed players might have spied something about ‘terrain areas’ in the earlier pictures. True enough, this new mechanic is replacing the circular objective markers that have reigned supreme for the last couple of editions.
The familiar layouts and footprints from 10th Edition are now called terrain areas. At the start of the game, several of these areas will be assigned as objectives. As long as models are touching the footprint of these areas, they’re considered to be on the objective, contributing their OC to your control of it.
Your units are now meant to secure buildings, capture bunkers and reinforce fencelines, instead of standing out in the open. These areas also allow units to hunker down and evade enemy fire, with a new rule known as Hidden.
Sneakier Shooting
Units can remain hidden before they shoot
A major change to the flow of battle is the new Hidden mechanic. As long as a unit hasn’t shot, they are Hidden, and cannot be detected unless the enemy is within 15 inches of them. This can change depending on various abilities, enhancements or stratagems, but the general intent is that you can advance further on turn 1 without being blasted off the board. This will definitely have a huge impact on your strategy, allowing you to move your key pieces into safer positions, but also leaving you unable to snipe the enemy from all the way across the map.
Additionally, cover no longer provides you with an improved save. Instead, cover makes it harder for your unit to be shot in the first place by giving the enemy -1 to hit. You receive cover by having every model in a unit touch a terrain footprint.
Scarier Melee
With a greater engagement range, more units can make it into melee combat
There are several major changes to charging, piling in, and fighting, all intended to speed up the flow of combat. Melee armies will be overjoyed with the sheer amount of quality of life changes they’re getting.
Firstly, engagement range has been increased to 2 inches. You must end your moves further than 2 inches from the enemy, but you can usually move within engagement range during the Movement Phase.
However, large hordes will find themselves clustering closer together due to the new coherency rules. In addition to the existing rules, a model in a unit must be within 9 inches of all other models, meaning that the classic conga line strat is no longer legal.
Charging has also been changed. Previously, you’d select one or more targets, then roll to see if you could reach them. In 11th Edition, you make your charge roll before picking a target, allowing you to choose from more available options.
However, the number you rolled must allow you to get fully base to base with the charging unit. This means that there’s no such thing as an unfailable charge anymore (not accounting for buffs). Because of the change to engagement range, rolling a 2 on your charge dice means that you always fail.
Next up, Deep Strike is now 8 inches by default. You’ll still need to charge a minimum of 9 inches due to the base to base rule, but you’ll have more space to put your units down.
An Overrun Fight
Image credit: Games Workshop
Lastly for melee combat, Pile-In moves now happen all at once. After your charges, you’ll perform a Pile In with all your engaged models, allowing them up to 3 inches of further adjustment. Then your opponent will do the same.
There’s also something called an Overrun fight. This allows a unit to Pile In a second time if they were previously engaged, but were forced out of engagement range by an opponent dying or escaping through special rules.
With these changes, the Fight Phase is sped up significantly.
Major Changes to Keywords and Stratagems
A Land Raider preparing to activate Smoke
If you’re coming back after a long hiatus, you’ll definitely want to reread the Keywords and Core Stratagems thoroughly.
Space Marine players have long-since become fond of the classic Smoke + Armour of Contempt combo. Unfortunately, this two-part defensive wall is meeting its end in 11th Edition. Stratagems can no longer be stacked on the same unit in the same phase, meaning that you’ll have to pick your buffs carefully.
The core stratagems have been rewritten. Tank Shock now has a possibility of recoil damage, the rules for Fire Overwatch have been tightened, and Heroic Intervention now has two different functions, depending on how many Command Points you spend on a single activation.
Keywords are all also going through revisions. Some examples of major changes are:
- Stealth now gives units permanent cover
- Blast (X) now has a number behind it, reflecting the amount of additional attacks it gets per 5 models
- Cleave (X) has been introduced, serving as a melee equivalent to Blast
- There are versions of Lethal Hits and Sustained Hits that only activate against specific unit types, with Lethal Hits: Infantry being an example of this
Returning to the Front Lines at HammerHouse
While many of the finer details are still waiting to be revealed, one thing is already clear: 11th Edition is a major shake-up in how the game is played, all the way from the list building phase to the underlying narratives behind each battle. You can check out the Core Rules here, on the official Warhammer site!
For returning hobbyists, release day serves as a prime opportunity to jump back into the game. All existing codexes remain useable, letting you play with familiar army rules and datasheets for now, while adapting to the changes alongside new friends and allies. Whether you’re eager to get your army back on the table, start a new hobby project, or immerse yourself in the Armageddon campaign narrative, there’ll be plenty to explore this June.
If you're ready to return to the front lines, feel free to pay a visit to HammerHouse, or pre-order your Armageddon launch box on our webstore today!