APOCALYPSE NOW

Hello gamers and welcome to this week’s post where I review the Warhammer 40k Apocalypse rule book. For those unfamiliar with what the Apocalypse expansion is all about here is a brief overview. Apocalypse is about gamers having the opportunity to field their entire collection without being restricted by the force organisation chart in the core rules. The Apocalypse rules also allow for huge battles to take place with specialised ‘formations’ that can be put together which have bonus rules that apply. Or another way of putting it, and the way I like to look at it, Apocalypse lets you do what you want and gives 40k fans the tools to fight the battles and campaigns they have also wanted too with the models they want too.

 

RULES

Some very narrative driven rules get introduced for games of Apocalypse as well as rules that add another layer of tactical texture to a game of 40k -

• Divine Intervention
• Finest Hour 
• Sons of The Primarch
• Strategic Assets
• Strategic Reserves
• Unnatural Disasters

Divine Intervention – Drawing from the superstitious elements of each faction in the 40k cannon, each army gets its own special rule from the Divine Intervention chart. For example, any Imperium based army can call upon the entity of The God-Emperor of Mankind if at least half the units in its army have been removed as casualties. As soon as that criteria is met all units left gain the Furious Charge and Fearless special rules. ‘The Emperor Protects’ after all.

Finest Hour – This rule represents one of your Warlords, or you’re Warmaster, having a defining moment in the battle and forging his or her own legend. Players can declare when their warlord will have their Finest Hour at any point in the game and the effects last a whole game turn. The Warlord in question receives a host of special rules for that turn, one of them being a 3+ invulnerable save, and gets to roll on 1 of 3 Exemplar tables.

Sons of The Primarch – Instead of rolling on the Exemplar tables, Space Marine and Chaos Space Marine characters can opt to draw from the Sons of The Primarch chart. For example, a World Eaters Warlord would gain the ‘Lord of Wrath’ special rule.

Strategic Assets- Each side starts with a number of Strategic Assets equal to the number of players in the largest side. The book comes with 54 strategic asset cards for you to photocopy from the book and make you own Strategic Asset decks. These cards grant players special rules and abilities for their army to wield during the course of the game. Each card tells you when you can play the card and its effects.

Strategic Reserves – Unlike a normal game of 40k where reserves are only allowed to come in on certain turns and on a roll of a dice, Apocalypse gives players the role of ‘higher-level Generals’ and have full control over their forces on and off the table. So in short your reserves arrive exactly when you want them too.

Unnatural Disasters – This gives players the option of 6 tables to roll on with each table offering different disasters. These range from a Magma Storm to a Zombie Apocalypse (yes I just said Zombie Apocalypse)  

All the above special rules are all optional. Players now have the freedom to pick and choose what rules they want to apply to their games and which ones they don’t. And for me that is what makes this expansion a winner, it’s the flexibility and choice this gaming system offers 40k players. I want to get something off my chest here regarding GW. GW comes under a lot of criticism, some of it justified, for not giving players enough choice or freedom for their games of 40k. Those complaints really have to end now with the release of this book. Let me stress something to all 40k fans here, you do not have to have massive armies for this expansion to work. You could easily apply this to 2000 point games and 3000 point games and see a totally new element to playing 40k. I myself will be doing that and I am looking forward to throwing the force organisation chart out the window and fielding more than 2 HQ choices. I am looking forward to my Imperial Fists using the Son of Dorn special rule from the Sons of The Primarch table. And most of all I am looking forward to having fun with my hobby. Don’t get me wrong I am not saying GW are perfect they are not but credit where credit is due for this release please folks.

Formations

Also included in the book is a list of Data Sheets that detail specialised formations that players can field for their army. For example a Tau player can choose to field a Counterstrike Cadre formation consisting of 1 Pathfinder team and 2-4 Fire Warrior Teams with each unit in the formation taking a Devilfish. Each formation has special rules and these are detailed on the Data Sheets. Apocalypse also gives players the option of fielding Forgeworld products designed especially for larger or more custom-made games of 40k. Tyranid players can choose filed a Hierophant Bio-titan and likewise Imperium players can call upon the fire power of Battle Titans.

New Range of Models

In addition to the release of the rule book a host of new models and scenery have been released with an Apocalypse feel to them but can also be fielded in normal games of 40k too. I am impressed with all of them, my favourite being the Space Marine Lord Executioner model, with the exception of the Khorne Lord of Skulls which looks like a massive lawnmower.  

KHORNE LORD OF SKULLS - ARE YOU A FAN OF THIS MODEL?
 

So in conclusion I am very happy with this release and would urge 40k fans to embrace it. I think it opens up the 40k game system to a lot more freedom and interesting army projects. I am already debating over which Grey Knight formation to go for and I also want to start a new Space Marine army. I think the Red Hunters chapter would be the perfect allies for my Grey Knights, besides there is only so many times I can mind scrub my Imperial Fists.

So now is the bit where I want to hear from you. What do you think about Apocalypse? Has this article made you want to explore bigger games of 40k? Do you think this release is bad or good? Get in touch and tell us by either leaving a comment below or contact us directly at contactgamesknight@gmail.com. Till next time gamers, take care and happy gaming. Ciaran.