Rules and FAQ

Sportsmanship

We want everyone to have an enjoyable time during this league. As this league is meant to bring people together to learn and play Warhammer 40K in a fun atmosphere, so we ask that all players live by this rule. Come to every game with the idea of playing a ‘beer and pretzels game’ mindset.

Being rude, unfriendly, unkind, annoying, playing with a WAAC (win at all cost) mindset, or bringing tailored lists to cause maximum damage will not be in your best interest and may result in you being banned from the league with no refund.

Remember that your assigned opponent may not know your army or even 40K in general as well as you do. Be friendly and willing to explain things to them.

Also, remember to be gracious in loss.

Losing a game does not necessarily mean your opponent was WAAC, cheated, or otherwise played unfairly. Your opponent may have a better list, better tactics, or have the dice gods on their side. Bad match-ups and bad dice happen. Please remember, it’s only a game. Your win lose ratio does not factor into the leagues prizes. So take a deep breath, stay friendly, and keep playing. =)

Missed Matches & Byes

All games must be played within the two weeks of the league round, exceptions may be made on approval from a league organizer.

If your opponent does not get in contact with you, and does not reply to your numerous attempts to communicate, then they are assumed to be forfeiting the game for the round. But please give them a day or two to respond as people may be busy.

If you know you’ll be unavailable during a short time within a league round, let your opponent know and try to schedule around it. If you need to miss a full round or more, let organizers know as soon as possible, so we can exclude you from pairings for the round.

We will try our best to avoid bye weeks, weeks where a player may not have a game, but this might be necessary.

Team Games

Players are welcome to organize team games with other pairs of league players. These games can take the place of the determined game if the teams are keeping to the designated pairs of opponents. Modifications to the mission, battlefield size, etc may be necessary and should be agreed upon by all players involved in the team game.

In-Game Rules

Base Rules In Play

League games will use the Matched Play rules as defined in Warhammer 40K Core Rule Book and associated official sources, like FAQ’s and General Handbooks. We know the league is more of a narrative style but players should feel that each game is a somewhat fair fight.

Edition & FAQ’s In-Use

We will be using the latest Warhammer 40K 8th Edition, including codexes and FAQs as of the start of the league. Players are expected to have the rules for the game and their army present during games, either via digital or physical format.

Any new Codexes, FAQ’s or rule changes released after that point will be put into place at the next league round after they are released.

Beta Rules

Beta rules will be used in league game unless all parties involved in a game agree to not do so.

Unofficial Rules

We ask that players do not use any unofficial rules, such as ITC’s terrain rules. Plenty of players in this league will be new to the game and adding unofficial rules will only confuse them (and may confuse veterans of the game 😉 )

WYSIWYG / Proxy Models / 3rd Party Models

Players should strive to always maintain WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) if at all possible. This helps keep the game go smoothly and provides fewer things for players to track.

If you must proxy (we understand it’s going to happen), ensure your opponent knows exactly what model(s) represent what. Ensure proxy models are unique / easy to discern from other members of the same unit.

If using a proxy, try to represent the intended model as closely as possible. A WWII tank representing a Leman Russ is fairly clear. A can of Pepsi representing a Carnafex is not (those darn Can-a-fexes are annoying to pop open).

Army Composition

Each player must select a single Faction as their League Faction. This faction is chosen when joining the league and can’t change without discussing it with the League Admins. This faction cannot be Chaos, Imperium, or Aeldari. The player’s largest detachment by point value must contain only units from the League Faction.

Feel free to select as specific of League Faction as you wish. If you know you will be running nothing but Emperor’s Children as your League Faction, put
Emperor’s Children as your League Faction. But if you want to try out various legions within the Chaos Space Marines, put Chaos Space Marines as your League Faction.

You will only be allowed to use detachments matching their League Faction for the first few league rounds. You can introduce a 2nd and 3rd faction to your forces in later rounds.

You will have to build their armies using detachments from the core rule book (aka BRB, big rule book) for most of the league. In the later league rounds, you’ll be allowed to use detachments from other official sources.

Custom Factions

Some players have gone through the work of developing their own Chapters of Space Marines, Craftworld of Aeldari, or Dynasty of Necrons. We applaud these people and want them to feel welcomed in our league!

If you are one of these talented people, let us know which Faction your custom faction belongs to. We can’t always decipher exactly what your faction truly is from you saying your League Faction is “Purple People Eaters”; that could be a Tyranid Hive Fleet, perhaps a vampire like subfaction of Drukhari, or maybe some twisted group of Slaanesh Demons. Here is an example of how to provide your League Faction: if you’ve come up with a cool color scheme and fluff for a custom chapter of Space Marines called Astral Tigers, and you wish to use the Blood Angels codex in the game, your League Faction would be “Astral Tigers – Blood Angels”.

The Ynnari

The Ynnari are handled rather oddly in the rules. In the fluff, they are a separate faction of Aeldari yet in the rules they do not get their own Ynnari detachments and are not even a widely spread Faction Keyword. We want people to play Ynnari themed armies while sticking to the rules given by GW so here’s our proposal: You should decide what source book your primary Ynnari forces will be from, either Craftworld, Drukhari, or Harlequins. Then put your League Faction as “Ynnari – <Chosen Source>”. If you are just dabbling in Ynnari and are not sure which source your main forces will be from, you can put Ynnari (with no source) as your League Faction.

Forge World & Beta Units

Units with datasheets found on the Warhammer Community Downloads page are allowed from the beginning of the league, even if they are beta and even if the model originates from Forge World.

Units with datasheets only found on Forge World’s website or via Forge World released printed material are not allowed in the earlier rounds though factions that originate from Forge World are allowed from the beginning of the league, even if they are entirely made up of Forge World datasheets; examples: XV107 R’Varna Battlesuits in a T’au Empire army are not allowed in the early rounds. But an army of Death Korps of Krieg is allowed from the start of the league.

Forge World Factions

Factions that originate from Forge World are allowed from the beginning of the league, even if they consist entirely of models from Forge World. This includes armies such as such as Death Korps of Krieg, Renegades And Heretics, and Elysians.

Organized Events Table

We will be using the Organized Events table found in the FAQ for the Warhammer 40K Rulebook for our league; the table is included below for ease of reference. The only change will be round 1 where we are limiting people to 1 detachment as that’s only 500 points; though the number of times each datasheet can be included remains at 2 per army and the battlefield size remains at 4′ x 4′.

FAQ and Notes

Q: Will there be an Apoc game?

A: At the end of the league, we plan on scheduling an Apocalypse game for all the players. Also, during the Apoc game, we will be handing out the gifts and prizes. The games you play during the leagues will have an effect on the Apoc game. Giving different advantages or stratagems.

Q: Can we play other game types?

A: Kill Team and Titanicus can be played as part of the league. Though only as side games. Feel free to schedule these games with any other league participant. When played with another league player, these games can have an effect on the final Apoc game. After playing one of these extra games, be sure to fill out the special form for it to be recorded in the halls of the Imperium.

Q: Can I use Forge World army lists?

A: All Forge World army lists are approved. And ignore the “No Forge World” restriction in the earlier rounds. As Forge World models are the only way to play these armies. (Armies such as Death Korps of Krieg, Renegades And Heretics, and Elysians)

Q: Why can I not pick Yvarri as my League Faction?

A: You can, kind of. The Yvarri are a weird faction in the rules as they to not operate as a traditional faction does in 40k. But they truly are a separate faction in the fluff of 40K. See the Ynnari section under Army Composition for further details.