Warhammer 40K: Grotmas Caledar Day 18 – Space Marine Vs Tyranid Cooperative Operations
Games Workshop is giving away the Cooperative Missions previously published in White Dwarf for free. Grab a buddy and slay out!
Warhammer 40,000 is traditionally a 1v1 game. That means at its core, there’s inherently a competition between the two players. One will win, and one will lose. Or I guess if you really work at it, you could technically draw — but that feels rare. ANYHOW, that built-in competition can be a bit of a barrier to entry for folks. That’s why I’m glad to see Games Workshop leaning into these Cooperative Operations. Sure, these are just reprints from White Dwarf, but I think they are a good way to teach newer players the basics. That’s how you get folks interested in more!
“Today’s entry for the Grotmas Calendar is free rules for the Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine Operations game previously published in White Dwarf. If you know someone who is into Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, but hasn’t enjoyed a tabletop game yet, you can use this to tempt them into getting cool miniatures on the table and rolling dice. “
You can download these rules right HERE and HERE (there are two sets)
Cooperative Operations For Grotmas
The first batch of rules is really more of a “how to” with the core concepts and basic stats/rules for the game. There’s a basic mission included as well as a map layout. Additionally, there are also cards for all the units that will be used in the game.
Honestly, these feel perfect for someone who’s played the Space Marine 2 Video Game. Suppose they’d already have a passing understanding of the characters and setting. This will allow them to take the same characters from the digital battlefield to the tabletop and understand their role quite well.
That said, having a veteran 40k player to guide them isn’t a bad thing, either! You’ll probably want someone with the miniatures anyhow. There are six different marine options and four different Tyranids. The Space Marines can only take up to three Marines in, and you can’t repeat choices. You’ll likely need a lot more Tyranid miniatures, however…
Looking over the mission layout, this really does feel like a slightly tweaked hybrid of the core 40k rules and Kill Team. That’s not a bad thing! The Tyranids really play themselves, and that lets the Players focus on their own choices and actions.
The second batch of rules adds more missions and introduces some new enemies. This is where things can get pretty rough for the Space Marines. They’ll be facing off against Zoanthropes, Raveners, Lictors, and even Hive Tyrant! If you want to really push it, there are even rules for Neurothropes and Carnifexes later on, also. Good luck, Marines… you’ll need it.
Personally, I’m excited about this particular batch of rules. I have a massive Tyranid collection, so this won’t be an issue for me to field. And it’s a good way to get a buddy of mine to try his dice rolling hand at taking on these missions. If you’re looking for a pretty chill gaming evening where you get to blast bugs with your buddy, this is it!
More Co-op Modes, Please?
I know Games Workshop has dabbled with the Joint Operations in Kill Team and even released a whole cooperative game mode for the BIG tabletop before. (The Hunt For Fellwyrm rules need to be re-released, GW! Thankfully, I took some screenshots.) While it’s nice to see them lean into these co-op modes, I do think we could use MORE of them. While getting together for a 2v2 is a nice way to introduce players to the game, I’ve always found teaching games in a co-op setting is waaaay more engaging.
Both the teacher and the new player have a shared goal to “beat the bad guys,” and it’s pretty low stakes. You can take your time to explain things or go over options together. Then you can walk them through dice rolls and explain the results. And the whole time you’re rooting for each other to win instead of hoping your buddy’s rolls go poorly against you.
Maybe we’ll get Hunt for the Fellwyrm Redux one day. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go organize my Tyranids for some co-op missions over the holiday break…
Cooperative modes are the gateway to competitive modes…
