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 Xenos factions – 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.
Aeldari
The main Aeldari forces have been paying for the sins of some insanely overpowered indexes for a while now, and it’s gotten to the point that we’re now seeing the pendulum swing back in the other direction. Coming into this dataslate Aeldari were sitting on a sub-50% win rate with few event wins despite average representation and so we were potentially due for some buffs.
Points Changes
Aeldari points are down, down, down. Falcons, Fire Prisms, and Wave Serpents all drop, as do smaller squads of Wraithblades and Wraithguard. Both types of Corsairs, Shining Spears, both types of Warlocks and (whisper it) the Wraithknight also go down. It probably doesn’t change much overall, though it frees up a few points for anyone already using Falcons and Prisms which have been decently popular.
Rules Changes
Just the one badged as an actual change, as the Autarch’s Superlative Strategist rule turns into a reduce by 1CP thing instead of the previous ability to double up on a Stratagem with no impact on costs. This does make them quite the Stratagem engine given they can also give you the +1CP per turn as Warlord, but only being able to lead Guardians limits how good that is. You might still see one tried with Storm Guardians occasionally.
There’s also an “FAQ” on the Yncarne which is functionally a change to how it was played – when placing it over a dead model, you now have to centre its base directly over the centre of the model that was removed, not just touch it with any part of the base (at which point you are “as close as possible”). This definitely weakens the unit a bit, and it’s a shame not to see it get a few points cut off to account for this.
Finally, one more actual FAQ – no you can’t use War Construct while you’re in Engagement Range.
Impact
Status: Slight Winner
Lots of small point adjustments combined with nerfs to the game’s best factions work in the Aeldari’s favor.
Thoughts
You might have 30-50 more points to work with than you did before. Elsewhere in the MFM there’s nerfs to Space Wolves, Thousand Sons, and Adepta Sororitas, all armies which Aeldari weren’t great at beating, so the overall meta may become a little more favourable.
Wings: I’d also highlight that Corsairs down to 60pts for a minimum-sized unit is somewhat interesting just because of the versatility, cheap Scout Battleline does quite a bit for you in Pariah.
Drukhari
Coming into this update Drukhari were sneakily one of the game’s top factions, holding pace with the upper trio of Space Wolves/Adepta Sororitas/Thousand Sons in terms of win rate, and with a ton of event wins to show for it. Turns out the combination of fast movement with cheap units and deadly melee make for good hunting in Pariah Nexus.
Points Changes
Brutal stuff for the Dark Kin – Archons up 10, Beastmasters up 15, the Court of the Archon up 10, Drazhar up 10, Incubi up 10/20, Lelith up 10, Mandrakes up 5 for the five-model version, Reavers up 5 for the three-model version. The slight trade-off is Hellions going down 10, which you probably don’t care about.
Drukhari have been chugging along at a decently high win rate and good faction placings for a while now, so it’s not surprising to see them go up, but as always with a thin index getting points nerfs on all the good sheets mostly just leaves you with the same list with a little less stuff in it – in this case between 75 and 100pts depending exactly what you were running, so you probably lose five models from an Incubi unit or drop a unit of Mandrakes or something along those lines. Weirdly, Scourges are untouched, which for something people were taking doubles or triples of in every list is an interesting choice.
Rules Changes
The Archon’s Devious Mastermind ability is errata’d to only work for your Warlord, which is how many people were ruling it anyway but wasn’t strictly correct RAW after the previous dataslate change.
In addition, there’s two FAQs – if you use the Alliance of Agony Stratagem only one of the models needs to be within range of a Cronos to try and get a Pain token back, and a handy clarification that Pain tokens gained from a Cronos can immediately be used to Empower further units.
Impact
Status: Moderate Loser
The point hikes here are substantial, but they could have been worse and the Drukhari aren’t a super-elite force, so they made out a bit better than the game’s other three top factions. That’s particularly true because these seem targeted to the very Character/Incubi heavy builds that dominated a few months back, whereas more recent lists have dialed that back a bit in favour of Talos and more Battleline. They still get hit, but have options to pivot.
Thoughts
The points nerfs are real, but your lists can probably absorb dropping a single unit to pay for them. Much like Aeldari, there’s advantages to be gained from your weaker match-ups getting nerfed elsewhere in the MFM.
Genestealer Cults
The Genestealer Cults had been sneakily gaining some steam thanks to one particular Scottish pervert but ultimately were one of the game’s factions most in need of help, sitting on an abysmal win rate, few event wins, and being one of the factions singled out by Games Workshop as “in need of help.”
Points Changes
Death by a thousand cuts points changes for a death by a thousand cuts army! On theme at least. Aberrants get the headline drop, going down 15 in five mans to 135 and staying the same as before in tens. Five man squads with an Abominant are legit in Biosanctic Broodsurge, and now more so than ever! There are small drops on the infantry Acolytes and Neophytes, 5 off each squad, the Patriarch goes down ten to 75, which is good as he is decidedly lacklustre in most detachments.
Atalan Jackals go down ten to 80, and the Jackal Alphus is also cheaper (you can ignore him the same as before). Finally, there are ten point drops for the Primus and Benefictus, of particular note to anybody looking to make Host of Ascension work. By my reckoning almost every GSC list out in the wild gains at least one unit from this, and in an army of threat saturation and regeneration, that’s no bad thing at all.
Rules Changes
As an army that can exploit the secret missions with lots of Battleline and OC, GSC lose out on the adjustments there too but hey, they’re not going to get done by Angron or Be’lakor in quite the same way either. Metamorphs pay for Accursed sins with the changes to Blood Surge but remain a solid unit and realistically not one that was surviving multiple shooting activations to surge multiple times anyway! So nothing too impactful here and probably a net boost to an army that likes to boss the primary early.
Impact
Status: Sneaky, Devious Winners
The Cults see a lot of good point drops here which give them more to work with on the table, which in turn translates to more they can bring back.
Thoughts
Look, GSC were on a sneaky little rise before this, albeit in a very exploratory manner mostly driven by bored faction experts looking for something new to do. What they found was a couple of promising archetypes, and a playstyle that can smooth out Cult Ambush and hang in the Pariah meta, and there may be more builds to come. Straight up gaining units as others lose them is a plus for GSC, and the go-wide, Cult Ambush provoking versions we have seen gaining more assets for the fight is a definite boon. Whether that gives them enough to become a meta defining force we shall see, but this slate should encourage the recent insurgency to redouble their efforts, and I’m here for it!
Leagues of Votann
The Leagues of Votann had settled into the middle of the pack, bolstered by the late arrival of Hernkyn Yaegirs. They’ve been doing just fine in terms of win rate, event wins, and representation and as a result there wasn’t much change here.
Points Changes
Nothing crazy for Votann – Yaegirs cop a ten point hike up to the still very good value price point of 90, and Hearthguard five-mans go down ten to 150. Hearthguard have been dropping out of lists and this might help bring back the Dwarven Terminator party bus, and Yaegirs are an auto-take so consider that a tiny tax on existing lists.
Rules Changes
The other rules changes suit Votann just fine – they’re not massive on secret missions, they play standard primary well so that change is a net positive I’d say, and nothing else in the rules shifts really bother them.
Impact
Status: Slight Winner
Yaegirs are a tax but Votann can weather it and they gain quite a bit just by standing still as the top players take a hit.
Thoughts
Votann stay more or less where they are, well balanced and competitive in a steady, unglamorous fashion. Many of the sneakier armies with better cooler rules are copping nerfs, and that is a big plus for the Kyn. Scout moves, lots of guns, and plenty of pluck remains a solid game plan in Pariah, so expect Votann to keep on keeping on.
Orks
Along with Genestealer Cults, the Orks were one of the game’s most dire armies – they haven’t seen a proper event win since Pariah Nexus dropped, and their most promising finishes were both marred by misplay issues. Regardless of the detachment you prefer, nothing was clicking for the army, and they’ve arguably been sitting on the game’s lowest win rate since the new tournament pack dropped.
Points Changes
So many discounts. It’s a good time to be green.
- Beast Snaggas -10pts/10
- All Big Meks -10pts
- Boyz -5pts/10
- Deff Dread -10pts
- Deffkoptas -10pts/3
- Gorkanaut -15pts
- Hunta Rig -15pts
- Kill Rig -15pts
- Kommandos -15pts
- Meganobz -5pts/model
- Morkanaut -15pts
- Tankbustas -20pts
Rules Changes
All abilities that key off the Waaagh are re-templated to “While the Waaagh! Is active for your army” instead of keying off having called a Waaagh!, which helps reduce some potential ambiguities in how they work, and fixes the weird interaction with Warbosses where calling a Waaagh! didn’t buff them if they were in a Transport at the time. It is also reinforced that the Bully Boyz extra Waaagh! does trigger all these effects for units that can benefit. It is also clarified that a Leader attached to Meganobz loses the Feel No Pain if all the Nobz get killed and it’s no longer an attached unit.
Elsewhere, it is clarified that Snikrot leaving the battlefield does not trigger Overwatch, but arriving does (though if he’s leading Kommandos, it doesn’t matter).
Impact
Status: Big Winners
Orks needed big point drops to make up for their insanely rough detachment and rule nerfs back in the Q3 dataslate, and these help substantially.
Thoughts
Wings: Da Boyz is back in town – there’s something for everyone here. Mechanised War Horde lists feel like the biggest winners here, as they were already in a decent spot and get more points to play with, and may well choose to explore the package of Snaggas in Kill Rigs thanks to a net cut of 25pts for the package. Brian Seipp’s 2nd place LGT list gets an extra 60pts to play with, which is a whole extra utility unit of some scattered upgrades, which is very nice.
Other detachments get some stuff to play with as well – Deff Dreads are genuinely decent at 120pts in the Dread Mob (who also like cheaper Shokk Attack Guns), and cheaper Snaggas also appeals to Da Big Hunt. Cheaper Tankbustas could have some occasional uses too, now they’re closer in price to MSUs of Flash Gitz, as they can do some decent burst damage on a turn they pop out, particularly into light vehicles. Great stuff for Orks, pulling back from the over-done nerfs last time around.
Necrons
The Necrons were one of the “next tier” of factions in competitive play, sitting just under the top four alongside the likes of Blood Angels, Chaos Daemons, Astra Militarum, Grey Knights, and World Eaters as a potential threat if those top four factions took a hit. Well, those top four factions have taken a big hit this time around and judging by the results, Necrons may be primed to leap to the front of the pack.
Points Changes
- Annihilation Barge -10pts
- Catacomb Command Barge -10pts
- Doomsday Ark -10pts (???)
- Obelisk -25pts
- Triarch Praetorians -20pts/5
- Triarch Stalker -15pts
- Deathmarks +5pts/5
- Lokhust Destroyers +5pts (single model only)
- Lokhust Heavy Destroyers +5pts/model
- Monolith +25pts
- Tesseract Vault +25pts
Rules Changes/FAQs
Rules change wise, they mostly affect the Obeisance Phalanx:
- The Obeisance Phalanx Detachment Ability is changed to affect NOBLE units rather than OVERLORD, so Imotekh and Trazyn can benefit. Hurray!
- The Silent King finally gets the Triarch keyword, allowing him to benefit from various parts of the Obeisance Phalanx, notably getting to use the Detachment rule, and being able to crank the OC of his unit into the stratosphere with Territorial Obsession.
- The Plasmancer can no longer snipe Lone Operatives better than anyone else.
For FAQs:
- Yes, abilities that boost reanimation work with Protocol of the Undying Legions, please stop asking.
- Yes, objective markers have to exist in a location for Canoptek Court to turn on their Power Matrix
It’s also worth highlighting that the Pariah Tournament Companion change to Secret Missions is particularly impactful for Hypercrypt Legion.
Impact
Status: Neutral to maybe even minor winners but I’m still mad about it.
Necrons really didn’t need any help, but with the top factions getting nerfed and some of these point drops, it looks like they’ve received it, albeit still with some uneven performance across detachments.
Thoughts
Wings: If I had a dollar for every edition where Necrons balance has been warped around one busted Detachment Rule, I’d have two dollars, which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it’s happened twice. In a row.
Hypercrypt Legion has been putting up results on the edge of top tier, often using Monoliths and Tesseract Vaults, so they catch a big nerf that probably takes them out of contention for any other detachment, but one Monolith is still fine in Hypercrypt, especially because Doomsday Arks come down by 10pts, arguably the strangest choice in the entire update. The Doomsday change also means there are some event-winning non-Monolith Hypercrypt builds that don’t change at all with this update, as the discount there wipes out the impact of a few tweaks on Deathmarks and Heavy Destroyers. The biggest impact on Hypercrypt may be the change to Secret Missions, as it reduces their ability to guarantee Primary points going second, but because other top armies got hit harder, they may net out on top, especially as the Triarch Stalker has been gaining momentum in Hypercrypt and is now bargain priced.
I am, of course, big mad about the fact that my precious Monolith is now overpriced in non-Hypercrypt lists, but there are some other fun things to play with here. Triarch Stalkers at 110pts whip in many builds, as they do a huge amount to support massed AP-1 firepower, while Triarch Praetorians might finally be worthwhile as a flex pick at 100pts (and a full squad with the volume kit is serious business at 200pts). Catacomb Command Barges also seem fine at 120pts as a mobile platform for a Resurrection Orb that can stuff that’s normally out of bounds. Also, fixing Imotekh and Szarekh to work properly with the Obeisance Phalanx could legitimately push it over the top to serious playability. There’s lots to like alongside the hits, but I’m just bored of the faction’s balance warping around Hypercrypt – Legends it and give us a new detachment please.
T’au Empire
The T’au were on the lower end of the competitive spectrum coming into this update, though still sitting within what we’d consider the middle of the pack. Their performance tends to rely more heavily on terrain and layouts than other factions, but they’ve been able to put up a solid number of event wins. They were due for some minor buffs.
Points Changes
- Commander Farsight -10pts
- Kroot Carnivores -10pts/10
- All three Kroot Leaders -10pts
- Krootox Rampagers -15pts/3
- Krootox Riders +5pts for a solo, -5pts per model for ⅔
- Piranhas +5pts/model
- Riptides +10pts
Rules Changes
The Puretide Engram Chip does something now! It gives you a CP back on a 4+ when you target the unit with a Stratagem. You may well consider taking it!
There are also some largely irrelevant FAQs, though if your locals were assholes and told you that putting Crisis on a flying stand gave them a pivot cost, it doesn’t.
Impact
Status: Winner
Riptides going up 10 points hardly matters in an army which can just put so much stuff on the table, and the change to Karnivores helps offset it slightly. Meanwhile, most of the threats in the meta drop in power.
Thoughts
Wings: T’au join Grey Knights in the bucket of factions that should not have come through this update with so few changes. +10pts on Riptides is a drop in the ocean compared to how much stuff they get on the table, and you can claw some of it back via the aggressive drop on Kroot Carnivores in many builds. That drop plus the discount on Kroot Characters should encourage a bit more experimentation with the Hunting Pack too, and the variants spamming Rampagers are laughing at -30pts per full squad. These have also seen a bit of play as a one-of counterpunch piece, something which there’s bound to be more of now they’re cheaper. Loyal subjects of the Greater Good rejoice, everyone else get ready to get shot at a lot.
TheChirurgeon: The real loser here is all of us, having to live in a world where the Tiger Shark wasn’t moved to Legends.
Wings: Don’t remind me.
Tyranids
Tyranids were sitting in an interesting spot heading into this update, ostensibly in the middle of the pack, but with a stealthy large number of event wins and over-representation in the top 4, bolstered by some strong list options. They’re a faction which didn’t necessarily need buffs, but could stand to gain by standing still.
Points Changes
- Carnifex -10pts/model
- Winged Hive Tyrant -10pts
- Von Ryan’s Leapers -5pts/3
- Pyrovores +5pts (single model only)
- Lictor +5pts
- Old One-Eye +10pts
Rules Changes/FAQs
- The Swarmlord gets a special version of Lord of Deceit to ensure that it only works if it’s your Warlord. This does not massively hurt you.
- The Surprise Assault Stratagem now happens after you choose your targets, and you have to pick one of those targets, so you can’t no-scope it across the table.
- Unseen Lurkers is clarified to still provide 6” protection to Lone Operatives with the Balance Dataslate in effect.
- The Hunting Grounds enhancement triggers on any Reposition effects, even ones that don’t specify that the unit goes via Reserves.
- The Rapid Regeneration Stratagem only triggers when you are selected as a target for attacks, not other effects like Doombolt.
- The Psychostatic Disruption Enhancement’s ability to block arriving Reserves trumps effects that say a unit “must” arrive the next turn – they still get affected and then have to stay in Strategic Reserves till the next turn.
- Giving a unit of Neurogaunts a Neuroloid does not make them Synapse – we assume because they’re in Synapse range of your army, but the condition is they need to be in range of a unit.
Impact
Status: Slight Winner
Only small changes here, though again the Tyranids win by standing still and were already quietly doing well enough to not merit more buffs.
Thoughts
Wings: Very limited changes here, but they likely net out to mildly positive, and when top factions are getting hit, standing still is fine. Slightly cheaper Flyrants and Leapers is good for Vanguard Onslaught, and the OOE/double Dakkafex unit going down by a net of 10pts is good for everyone. Minor hits on Lictors and Pyrovores aren’t enough to change that.
Wrap Up
Make sure to check out our reviews of the other factions so you’re fully equipped to conquer the tables at your next tournament.
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