7th Edition?

With the new edition of Warhammer 40,000 approaching, most of us tend to hit forums or blogs for the latest rumours and leaks. Why? Because Games Workshop have a habit of covering up new releases to the point where it's fan base start to go crazy. Is this their plan? Most likely. The hype generated from discussions and arguments about how new rules are going to change the game is what drives us a consumer base. Admittedly it is annoying, but it appears to work.

There are many things being debated at the time of writing, across multiple forums and websites regarding things that have leaked from the new edition (if we're calling it 6.1/6.5/7 at this time is even being debated). Snippets from white dwarf, people speaking to GW staff, 6th edition rulebooks being recalled, we know it's coming - but when?

24th May 2014 release, according to most internet sources. With a preorder date of 17th May 2014. (And a Blood Angels - Orks! starter set to follow.) So with pre order only being a week away, what is it that has many of us worried? Remember, everything is speculation at this point:

Psykers!

We're expecting a Psychic phase to appear in the new edition, amongst the already existing Movement, Shooting and Assault phases. This phase is intended to be used when you cast psyker abilities. Rumour has it, during this phase your psyker power will equal 1d6+your psykers mastery level. Equally, allowing you to use your 'power' to counter your opponent's spells within this phase.

The next part is more intriguing; Daemonology. Screenshots of a recent play testing article in White Dwarf have raced around the internet at an alarming rate. Our loyalist Librarians (amongst most of the other psykers - except Tyranids) are going to have the ability to summon(or transform into) a daemon. How this will work and what penalities will incurr are at this time unclear. This has sparked conflict with many imperial purists!

Force Organization Charts.

According to leaks, we are to expect changes to the way we build an army. The 'list' building we know and understand will be changing. We are likely to be looking at a list that includes percentages similar to WHFB. This is apparently to be known as 'Battleforged' - and following this structure is going to give bonuses. Alternatively there is going to be the option to not follow the structure of the force organization, known as an 'Unbound' list - These lists are likely to give players the freedom to put whatever they like into their army. This has proven to be a controversial move amongst the player base, as structure and balance seems like it is out of the window.

So, what does this all mean?

Understandably some people are upset about the changes mentioned, I for one am not. I'm looking forward to finding out more. Why? At this point in time we do not have enough information to formulate an idea how the game will work. We're looking at these new rules and judging them based on how 6th edition currently works. In truth 6th edition is a mess, there are too many books, dataslates and other things that have split this game into a confusing state. This new edition will most likely have more things to compliment the changes mentioned above. Changes that might make these newer features fit in. They might balance the game out a bit, or they might not! We cannot be sure either way. It could be worse, I had a friend who bought the big 6th edition rulebook just a few weeks back, before hearing these rumours. (Ouch!)

I would like to hear your opinions regarding this but I'd also like to make one final point.

In short, stop worrying. Strap yourself in and hold on tight. We need to see it before we decide how it impacts us, so let's just wait and see. Just know that it is coming, sooner than we ever thought.