Warhammer 40K: Be’lakor’s New Rules Preview

Turns out Games Workshop IS updating the rules for Be’lakor for 40k after all. Check out the First Daemon Prince’s New Rules!

We had a funny feeling that Be’lakor would be getting a Grimdark Update. You can’t have an amazing model like the new Be’lakor and keep the same old rules for one that isn’t anywhere near the same stature. So what will the new one do? Let’s dive in.

Weapon Upgrades

Kicking things off, Be’lakor’s Blade now has two different modes of attack. Sweeping Strikes are there for those larger units and it doubles the number of attacks you get. Or Piercing Strike allows you to do a bucket load of damage to a target. Not only does it have +4 strength, -4 AP and the coveted D3+3 damage profile, it ALSO ignores Invulnerable saves! YIKES!!!

New Defensive Buffs

According to GW:

via Warhammer Community

“As if being a proper close-combat monster wasn’t enough, he’s deceptively hard to hit for a massive winged Daemon. Enemy fire seems to pass right through his shadowy body, which could almost make you think he wasn’t real if not for that giant sword cutting your mates in half.”

Alright this is some serious staying power. It does appear that Be’lakor is losing his 5++ with a re-roll ability. However, he’s now got a 4++, a -1 to be hit, a -1 to be wounded AND the attacker can’t re-roll the hit roll using other abilities! Overall, that’s seems like a pretty good trade-off. I do wonder what the rest of his stat block will look like. Will he get any improvements to his strength or toughness or wounds? Those could have a serious impact on his survivability odds.

Last but not least, GW also mentioned that Be’lakor will get access to his very own Psychic Discipline: the Noctic Discipline. For now, all we have is a name. We’ll have to wait for a future supplement to explain those features.

With these changes and the new model, we are going to have to wonder if we’ll see a points update for him as well. Although it might not be that drastic of a change. Currently, he’s a little over priced IMO at 280 points (vs a Daemon Prince who you can basically get for 100 points cheaper and almost does the same thing). We’ll have to wait to see the entire datasheet now to determine if he’s worth the points swap or not.

What do you think of Be’lakor’s new rules?

Author: Adam Harrison

Writer, Editor, Texas Native, and Austinite for 15+ years, Adam covers all things Tabletop Gaming. Which includes Warhammer 40,000, Age of Sigmar, D&D, Board Games and everything else that involves dice, boards, cards and a table. A hobbyist, player, and collector of miniatures and games, Adam's current obsession are his Death Armies for Age of Sigmar, his Blood Angels and Tyranids for 40k, and his ever growing Arkham Horror: The Card Game Collection.