Warhammer 40K: Is Warzone Nephilim Good For The Game?

War Zone: Nephilm shakes up the game in major ways. But sometimes change can be good… or bad.

This week GW previewed some major changes coming in War Zone Nephilim. In a clear attempt to rebalance the game and fix some issues, they’ve changed core parts of it. Let’s dig into these changes and see it they really manage to fix what’s wrong with the game.

What’s Changing?

The big core change I’m talking about here was made to CP. Under the new changes in a standard strike force game you will start with only 6 CP. That’s half what you had before. However each turn you will generate 2 CP (one on each player’s turn) instead of just one. In addition you no longer get a free warlord trait and relic. Those are optional and you have to pay a CP for each. This is a pretty big change for the game. But is it good?

The CP Generation Changes Are Good

Overall I think the basic change to command points is good. With less command points to spend up front it will make playeers have some really hard choices when building a list. You can’t just buy all the CP upgrades around. Taking a Warlord Trait, a single relic and one extra detachment basically burns all you CP. It also helps a bit with alpha strikes. It’s now going to be much harder to spend a ton of CP on some crazy combo right off the bat. Players might actually have to build up over several turns to pulling off combos.

Maybe…not so much…

This has the end effect of stretching out CPs and stratagem use over a whole game. This seem good to me and allows for more interesting late game moves. It’s also not really a new idea. Plenty of people have long argued for less up front CP but more generation during a game. Likely we will fewer stratagems used per turn, and the big 3 CP ones will now be major investments/gambles. This all seems good.

The Warlord and Relic Changes Aren’t Great

While I like the change to CP generation, I don’t think the changes to relics and traits aren’t great. My worries come in a couple forms. The first one is about customization. I really like being able to super customize my armies. Building a unique list is something I enjoy.  8th and 9th Edition removed a fair amount of customization from armies. Many units and characters went from being able to pick from a huge range of options, to a few preset choices. Normally this matches the models. It does however limit customization and flexibility. Units overall in 9th Edition are more… same-y.

Relics and traits however really help change this. They give you a whole host of options. To not just give you characters different weapons, but also explore roles and builds you can’t normally. Putting more limiters on how many traits or relics you can afford means you’ll see less customization. I don’t think that’s a good thing.

What’s next? Having to buy a whole board game to get a relic?  

Internal Balance

The second issue I see is with internal balance. The truth is that a lot of relics and warlord traits aren’t good. Most books have a couple good traits and handful of relics. We already see the others mostly getting ignored. But they do see some play. Maybe if you don’t have any need or plan for one you’ll burn your free trait/relic on a random fun thing. Now you won’t. I think the vast majority of options will just never get taken.

In the past taking a bad relic or trait just meant you were losing out on a better choice. Now it means players might actually end up paying for something bad. In a more casual setting this is especially bad as it discourages players from trying to take fun or off kilter options. Overall you’ll just see less warlord traits and relics around, which leads to more boring and less innovative lists. I’d rather they just charged points for relics and traits and used that way to balance it out.

Final Thoughts

Overall I am excited for the new Warzone. I think one of the CP changes is great. The other not so much. It will be interesting to see how it all stacks up along with point changes. The meta seems poised for a big shake up. Lets see what ends up on top.

Let us know what you think of the new CP changes, down in the comments! 

Author: Abe Apfel

Abe is that rare thing, an Austin local born and raised here. Though he keeps on moving around, DC, Japan, ETC., he always seems to find his way back eventually. Abe has decades of experience with a wide range of tabletop and RPG games, from historicals, to Star Wars to D&D and 40K. He has been contributing to BOLS since almost the start, back when he worked at and then owned a local gaming store. He used to be big into the competitive Warhammer tournament scene but age has mellowed him and he now appreciates a good casual match. He currently covers 40K tactics and lore, as well as all things Star Wars, with occasional dabbling in other topics. Abe remains in mourning over the loss of WFB to this day.