For years, Warhammer 40,000 armies have had a habit of getting bigger. More models, more units and, naturally, more money spent on plastic. But that trend might finally be reversing! With the arrival of 11th Edition, Warhammer 40K armies are looking set to shrink, with Games Workshop increasing the points costs of a huge number of units. That means players could be taking fewer models to battle, while also spending less time trying to squeeze an entire galaxy onto the tabletop.
The Orks are paying more!
The latest changes came with the updated points costs for the Orks, and they aren't exactly cheap! Ork Boyz, one of the army's most recognisable units, now cost 90 points for 10 models. That's a 20% increase, making the basic greenskin infantry noticeably more expensive when building an army. Things get even more dramatic with the Beastboss on Squigosaur, which has jumped to 140 points. That's almost a 50% increase! Not everything has gone up, though. The Painboy has received a massive reduction, dropping by 50% to just 45 points. Still, the overall trend is pretty clear. Most Ork units are now more expensive, meaning a typical 2,000-point army could contain two or three fewer units than it did in 10th Edition.
And the Orks aren't alone!
Space Marines are joining in!
Games Workshop has also announced points increases for Space Marines and their various variants. With both Space Marines and Orks getting more expensive, a sizeable chunk of the Warhammer 40K factions could be fielding smaller armies when 11th Edition gets properly underway. It could even mean that every faction ends up with slightly fewer models on the battlefield. For anyone who has spent hours painting a massive army, that might actually sound pretty appealing!
Smaller armies, faster games?
A smaller army doesn't just mean fewer models to buy. It could also change how Warhammer 40K feels to play. The tabletop was already made smaller back in 9th Edition, and having fewer units competing for space could make the battlefield feel much more open. That could give players more room to manoeuvre and make it easier for larger threats to move around the battlefield. At the same time, armies will have fewer cheap units available to throw in front of an opponent's biggest threats. That could make every unit feel a little more important. Games might also become quicker. With fewer units to move, fewer decisions to make and fewer models to keep track of, getting through a game could become slightly less of an evening-long commitment.
And let's be honest, anything that makes it easier to finish a game before bedtime is probably worth investigating!
Is Warhammer 40K finally shrinking?
The really interesting part is that this isn't something we've seen much before. Warhammer 40K has traditionally encouraged players to build impressive, sprawling armies. More models have often meant more collecting, more painting and more money going into the hobby. Now, Games Workshop appears to be moving in the opposite direction. The Ork changes are particularly interesting because some of the biggest points increases are hitting powerful, tough units that can pack a lot of damage into a single model. So while these units might have more space to move around the battlefield, they could have fewer supporting units around them. Whether you're excited about smaller armies or think 40K needs to keep its massive model counts, 11th Edition could be bringing a pretty significant change to the tabletop. For players, that could mean cheaper armies, faster games and a battlefield with a little more breathing room.
Not bad for a game set in a galaxy where absolutely everything is supposed to be at war!
