It’s Q4 2024 and that means it’s time for a major shakeup to the meta with the Q4 balance update for Warhammer 40k! This time around we’re dataslate-free, instead looking at a series of points update for every faction in the game, plus some errata and FAQ items. In this article we’re looking at the changes to the game’s Imperium factions, excepting Space Marines, who get an entire article of their own. In this article we’ll talk about who won, who lost, and how these changes impact each army.
Thanks, as always, to Games Workshop for providing us with a review copy of the balance update.
Adepta Sororitas
TwoHorse: The Adepta Sororitas were one of the game’s best factions coming into this update, being one of the most over-represented factions in terms of top 4 showings and logging the most event wins since Pariah Nexus dropped (it is no coincidence that other top performers like Drukhari and Space Wolves were excellent matchups for Sisters, while powerhouses like Thousand Sons and Imperial Guard were merely challenging).
As such, they were due for some nerfs heading into this update, however their internal balance has also been poor, with the meta quickly coalescing around an “objectively correct” core of the Triumph, 2x Immolators with Dominions, 2x Castigators, then building from there (often with…more Castigators, Immolators, and Dominions). When we see lots of event wins with lists that all look similar, it’s time for a change. Let’s see how GW has decided to address the challenge:
Points Changes
Units:
- Triumph +60
- Castigator +10
- Immolator +10
- Dialogus +10
- Seraphim +5/+20
- Dominions +10
- Morvenn Vahl +10
- Paragon Warsuits +10
- Battle Sisters Squad -10
- Zephyrim -5/-10
Enhancements:
- BoF: Fire and Fury +10
- BoF: Iron Surplice +5
- BoF: Manual of Saint Griselda +5
- BoF: Righteous Rage +5
Rules Changes
Units with the Cherub ability that get split by Immolators (Dominions and BSS) now have to choose one half of the squad to get the Cherub. Making cherubs into wargear would be a more elegant solution than ad-hoc’ing the effect into an FAQ, but the effect isn’t crippling. Top Sisters players will lose out on the early miracle power that comes from demeching to cycle poor miracle dice with stationary advances, and most players will continue using their Cherub when their unit actually uses a miracle. A small change that trims some of the Sisters’ power without making the faction harder to play.
Impact
Status: Loser
TheChirurgeon: We expected to see point hikes, and that’s what we got.
Thoughts
TwoHorse: This is all stick, minimal carrot, and GW has taken a hammer to Bringers of Flame in particular. All three of the other detachments have either won GTs or made the top cut at super-majors despite a comically small playrate, so GW clearly has faith that if they hit the best units (and the detachment that best uses those units) the Sisters community will innovate using the rest of the roster. For those that still want to go fast and set the world on fire, Bringers will have several flex options with or without the Triumph to keep it viable.
Broadly this is a welcome change, as Sisters had become a bit stale to play without deliberately gimping yourself for variety, and for those Sisters die-hards who were valiantly banging out 3-3 performances with fun lists it should cut down on some of the eye-rolling they encounter from their round 6 opponents convinced the reason they’re about to go 2-4 is that Sisters are overpowered. In the context of points hits to other top performers, Sisters will likely remain a top contender, although they may have acquired some unfavorable matchups.
Addressing some of the internal balance issues, the absence of the Triumph or the presence of Battle Sisters in a Sisters list was a clear sign that the pilot was either:
- Not good at list-building, or
- About to flex on you with a suboptimal list.
GW has attempted to remedy this by making the Triumph a considered choice rather than a windmill slam, and differentiating the Battle Sisters Squad from Dominions corrects an oversight when the Dominions datasheet is so blatantly superior to their battleline siblings. Swapping Dominions for Battle Sisters in an Immolator is points-neutral with the previous costs, so expect to see more basic sisters on the field on a tighter points budget.
Separating the cost of ten-model Seraphim from five-model Seraphim is a welcome acknowledgement that they will always be better in Bringers of Flame than in any other detachment unless their datasheet changes, and this hits their output potential in large units without ruining them as smaller utility pieces.
The Exorcist remains untouched, which will unfortunately remind Sisters players that they still have access to the game’s best indirect platform, and remind everyone else why indirect fire was always a mistake. For players who were hoping for cuts to melee mainstays like Repentia or Sacresants, the solace here is that most of the other top armies have also taken massive hits, so the relative power of Sisters melee has gone up even without cuts (whether it’s enough to outperform Bringers remains to be seen).
Sisters are still quite good, but after these changes I expect the bandwagon fans and overperformance will dissipate as successful lists will run on a knife-edge balance between output and board presence that requires more faction knowledge than the current point-and-delete style. Or maybe I’m wrong and you should just max out on tanks with Vahl; it’s still going to work.
Adeptus Custodes
Adeptus Custodes were firmly in the bottom third of factions heading into this update, though they’ve managed to deliver some event wins despite being under-represented in top 4s. They were a faction which could stand to use a small boost, though with a faction this elite, it’s hard to make changes which actually make enough impact to result in additional models on the table.
Points Changes
- Trajann Valoris -10pts
- Venerable Contemptor -10pts
- Vertus Praetors -5pts/model
- Contemptor-Achillus Dreadnought -10pts
- Contemptor-Galatus Dreadnought -10pts
Rules Changes/FAQs
- Radiant Mantle clarified to measure the 12” to the whole unit, not just the Character
- Assemblage of Might stops working for you if you somehow get your Leader killed.
- Transports are intangible nether space where you can’t select targets for Assemblage of Might.
Impact
Status: Mild Loser
These changes are buffs but well, see our note in the faction intro about making changes.
Thoughts
Wings: Look, technically all their changes are buffs, but they’re not really changes that matter, and the faction could have used something to spice them up far more than this. It’s possible that the net effect of all the reductions here creates a ninth edition style “whoops all Dreadnoughts” list, but for most builds the fact that the improved Dreads don’t either benefit from the synergies of Infantry or give the long-ranged killing power of the Caladius means you don’t want them.
Adeptus Mechanicus
The Adeptus Mechanicus have been on the upswing since their dataslate overhaul, and are far from the punching bag they used to be. They’re in the top half of the game’s factions and even a bit over-represented in top 4 showings, though not necessarily logging event wins. This update could have gone either way for them.
Points Changes
- Corpuscarii Electro-Priests -5pts/5
- Fulgurite Electro-Priests -5pts/5
- Onager Dunecrawler -5pts
- Serberys Sulphurhounds -5pts/3
- Sydonian Skatros -10pts
- Tech-Priest Dominus -5pts
- Tech-Priest Enginseer -5pts
- Tech-Priest Manipulus -5pts
- Irontriders Ballistarii +5pts/model
- Pteraxii Sterylizors +5pts/5
- Pteraxii Skystalkers +5pts/5
- Skitarii Vanguard +5pts/10
Rules Changes/FAQs
- Auto-Divinatory Targeting in the Cohort Cybernetica stacks with the Dataslate version of Protector Imperative to set BS to 2+.
Impact
Status: Neutral
TheChirurgeon: There are a lot of changes here, mostly tinkering around the edges, with lots of small hits and small drops which may offset in the long run. Most of this doesn’t make much sense – the Dunecrawler didn’t go down enough, and Ironstriders went up despite largely being dropped from top competitive lists recently. Cawl not getting a drop is also really weird here. That said, the factions above Admech all saw drops, so it’s hard to tell how this will shake out, particularly in the context of other faction changes.
Thoughts
Wings: Honestly this could go either way, partially because the changes here are so gradual. The units that are being spammed in the successful Skitarii Hunter Cohort lists all get minor increases in cost, while various units that have synergy with the other detachments get minor decreases. This probably does mean those will get another look (a few people have done okay with the Explorator Maniple already), but in the aggregate it seems likely that the weakening of Hunter Cohort does more to hurt the faction than the boosts elsewhere do to help them. However, they’re saved back to “Neutral” via the only change bigger than 10pts, which is the Skatros dropping down to 50pts, making them a decent Lone Operative utility pick.
Astra Militarum
The Astra Militarum were firmly in the second tier of armies in the current meta, hitting solid win rates, decent faction representation, and one of the highest counts of event wins. They’re a faction which can do lots of things well – particularly scoring – and they’ve recently been bolstered by a stellar datasheet with the Tempestus Aquilons. That said, there were certainly armies they’d struggle into, though coming into this we expected to see some specific unit nerfs to the faction.
Points Changes
- Tank Commander: +20
- Bullgryn: +20/+40
- Field Ordnance Battery: -10
- Heavy Weapons Squad:-10
- Scout Sentinel: -5
- Ogryn:-5/-10
Scott Horras: Two absolutely key units hit with major points increases, though this is somewhat offset by a quality of life improvement on the Tank Commander. The Bullgryn increase is expected, but this may have been a bit aggressive. Bullgryn being more expensive than Grey Knights Terminators drives the faction to take more Imperial Agents to fill that same role in a way that wasn’t justifiable before – I don’t love the direction when allies become competitive staples in general. The Scout Sentinel reduction is basically giving some small change back as they were still pretty staple inclusions in lists, though I’m skeptical that points cuts to the Field Ordnance Battery, Heavy Weapons Squad, and Ogryn will be enough to justify their inclusion in lists.
Rules Changes
Scott: The biggest change here is the Tank Commander gaining the SQUADRON keyword, which allows it to issue orders to itself and other tank commanders, which was previously not possible. All OFFICERs are limited by Battle Round to avoid issuing more than the intended amount of orders via mechanics like Chimera’s ability + disembark. Another big change from the FAQ/Errata is that Battle-shocked units are no longer eligible for orders; they were clearly never intended to be, but previously the rules text was such that orders would “fall off” when a unit became battle-shocked with no provision preventing new orders from being issued, and that loophole has now been closed.
Impact
Status: Loser
Scott: I’m going with Loser, just because I’m not a fence-sitting coward.
Thoughts
Scott: There’s a big W for Tank Commanders (though it comes at a price), and sensible rules clarification for orders. The situation that allowed battle-shocked units to take order was fairly rare, but clearly never intended; nice to have it cleaned up. On the other hand this is big L for Bullgryn, but an understandable change; you should have never seen 18 Bullgryn in a list. Unfortunately this is probably going to drive the inclusion of more GK Terminators in Guard lists, and I just generally don’t love to have players driven into allies land.
Grey Knights
Grey Knights were sitting in the upper half of factions in the meta, with some solid datasheets and guns following dataslate updates this year and the ability to move around the battlefield at will – a powerful ability for scoring VP in Pariah Nexus. Although they’ve been over-represented in top 4s they’ve been under-performing with event wins, making them a bit of a gatekeeper faction and potentially very dangerous if the top meta armies get hit hard.
Points Changes
- Brotherhood Terminators -10pts (5-model squads only)
- Paladins -10pts (5-model squads only)
- Purgation Squads -10pts/5
Rules Changes
None.
Impact
Status: Winner
Grey Knights didn’t really need point drops, but here they are.
Thoughts
Wings: Grey Knights are probably in contention with T’au for this dataslate’s lurking threat – they were nipping far too closely at the heels of the top dogs prior to this update to come out of this with minor buffs and no hits on their best stuff. Two of the three buffs are genuinely useful too – Brotherhood Terminator MSUs see plenty of use, and Purgation Squads already see some. I will never be free of the Dreadknight curse. Genuine contenders for top tier now.
Imperial Agents
TheChirurgeon: Imperial Agents aren’t really a faction and you can’t convince me otherwise.
Points Changes
- Subductor Squad +15pts as allies.
Rules Changes
- The Rhino can no longer transport other Vehicles. Sorry to anyone surprised or devastated by this news.
Impact
Status: Mild Losers
They needed more help than this, but we aren’t sure points were enough to make that happen. We also aren’t sure how much the game really needs a fully playable Agents faction as opposed to say, “reasonable point costs for Allied units.”
Thoughts
Wings: Main faction still needs help, but it’s not hugely surprising to see them left alone this soon after the release just in case someone finds a busted combo. As allies, someone has spotted that Subductors were wildly better than all other infantry ally options and re-pointed them, which probably makes Sisters the default choice for sticky objectives.
In lighter news, the Callidus somehow dodges points increases again, despite still being in like 50% of Imperium lists. I’d say she can’t keep getting away with this, but at this point she can, has and will.
Imperial Knights
The more fun-to-play cousins of Chaos Knights, Imperial Knights didn’t really need much help coming into this update – they sit in the middle of the pack and because they rely more on big knights they risk becoming a “gatekeeper” faction if they get too good. They’re also a very elite, low model-count army, making it difficult to give them point drops which are actually meaningful – most of the time they just mean adding another allied unit.
Points Changes
- Canis Rex up 15 points to 450
- Knight Castellan down 15 points to 510
- Knight Valiant down 20 points to 510
- Knight Errant down 15 points to 390
- Knight Gallant down 20 points to 380
Rules Changes
None
Impact
Status: Slight Winner
Hard to argue that point drops are anything but a buff for the faction.
Thoughts
Norman: The changes here help the internal balance of the Index a bit while giving a light tap to Canis Rex which is fair considering he’s in every single IK list. The Errant particularly is an underrepresented big knight considering its datasheet and dipping below 400 might finally push him into the spotlight. I’ve long been a proponent of the Castellan and seeing it go down a bit is great to see as well. Overall the game plan of Canis, 1-2 other bigs, some armigers and light Agent support is still the primary way to go, but this definitely shakes things up a bit.
Final Thoughts
It’s a mixed bag for the Imperium, but that was always going to be the case when so many of these factions were good coming into the update. Sisters take a big hit, Astra Militarum take a smaller hit, and Grey Knights and Imperial Knights get a bit better. We’re not as sure on AdMech, though it seems like they’ll be slightly better following this, if only because the top factions coming down is good for them.
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