Note: This is a work in progress.
7th Edition List Building in 40k
The change from how armies were built in previous editions to 7th edition causes a lot of confusion. The aim of this article is to clear up some of that confusion.
Definitions
List of Factions
- Prior to 6th Edition, all of the basic codices represented a single faction, now there are several products that may all be part of the same faction. These products include codices, supplements, and detachments from campaign supplements like Sanctus Reach.
- Adepta Sororitas
- Astra Militarum
- Blood Angels
- Chaos Daemons
- Chaos Space Marines
- Dark Angels
- Dark Eldar
- Eldar
- Grey Knights
- Harlequins
- Imperial Knights
- Inquisition
- Militarum Tempestus
- Necrons
- Officio Assassinorum
- Orks
- Space Marines
- Space Wolves
- Tau Empire
- Tyranids
Source
- Ignore the idea of Source
FOC
- Ignore the idea of FOC... it doesn't exist anymore.
Detachment
- Detachments are now the basic building block of armies. They can be as small as a single unit or model, or may encompass your whole army.
Primary Detachment
- The Detachment that contains your warlord.
Formation
- Formations are a type of detachment, albeit one with a fixed composition.
Unit
- Units are the smallest units of organization in 40k. Aside from the discussion about Warlords, we'll make no distinction between models and units in this article.
Dataslates
- Dataslates are the old 'Unit Entries'. They have a Battlefield Role (see below) and can be used in their Battlefield roll within a Detachment that uses Battlefield Roles. They are not detachments themselves, and would not apply to a detachment limit. Examples include, Cypher, Bel'akor, or Grukk Face-Rippa.
Battlefield Role
- most commonly used in the Combined Arms and Allied Detachments, roles include Headquarters (HQ), Troop, Elite, Fast Attack, Heavy Support, Lord of War, and Fortification. A unit's battlefield Role is designated by the symbol in the upper left corner of their datasheet.
Unbound
Unbound armies do not follow any list construction rules. You can choose any unit without regard to the faction that unit comes from.
On the table top, however... units and models are still subject to the ally behavior chart in the 40k Rulebook.
Battleforged
Being Battleforged is just saying "every model on the table is part of a Detachment". If you have a model on the table that is not part of a Detachment, you're Unbound. Simple as that. Being Battleforged also grants you the benefit of having a warlord.
Common Detachments
Combined Arms Detachment
- The combined arms detachment is from the main 40k rulebook, and is the detachment that most old-school players are most familiar with.It requires one HQ and two Troop choices, and has options to include up to one more HQ, four more Troops, three Elite, three Fast Attack, three Heavy Support, one Lord of War, and one Fortification. Troops within this detachment have the Objective Secured Special Rule.
Allied Detachment
- The allied Detachment was introduced in 6th edition and its rules are found in the main 40k rulebook. It requires one HQ choice and one Troop. Optionally, it can include up to one more Troop choice, one Elite, one Fast Attack, and one Heavy Support. Troops within this detachment have the Objective Secured Special Rule. This cannot be your primary detachment and it cannot be from the same source as your primary detachment.
Faction Specific Detachments
- Several codices, supplements and campaign books have released Faction Specific Detachments. Examples of this include The Green Tide from the Ork codex, and the Realspace Raiders from the Dark Eldar Codex. Each of these have their own required and optional Battlefield Roles, and give benefits to the units within the Detachment. They may have separate formations within the main Detachment.
"Short" Codex Detachments
- "Short' Detachments are detachments like Imperial Knights, Imperials Assassins, and Inquisition. These are from factions that do not have enough battlefield rolls to fill out either a CAD or a AD. They can still be your primary detachment.
Formation
- A Formation is a detachment other than a CAD, AD, or Faction Specific Detachment. Examples include Bully Boyz from the Waaagh! Ghazghkull Supplement, or the Living Artillery Node from Shield of Baal: Leviathan. You can choose your warlord from these detachments.
Things that are not separate Detachments
Dataslates
- Dataslates are the old 'Unit Entries'. They have a Battlefield Role and can be used in their Battlefield roll within a Detachment from their Faction that uses Battlefield Roles. They are not detachments themselves. An example is that you can take Grukk Face-Rippa from Sanctus Reach:Stormclaw as a HQ choice for an Ork CAD or Allied Detachment, but not in a Great WAAAAGH! or Green Tide formation (as those detachments call for specific units... not battlefield roles).
Example Armies
Battleforged Armies
Imperial Faction: Grey Knights, Inquisition, Sisters, and Assasins
4 Detachments and 1 Dataslate
Primary Detachment: Grey Knights CAD
HQ: Cypher (Cypher Data Slate)
HQ: Grey Knight Librarian
Troop: Terminator Squad
Troop: Strike Squad
Detachment #2. Inquisition
HQ: Coteaz
Elite: Henchmen Squad
Elite: Henchmen Squad
Elite: Henchmen Squad
Detachment #3. Officio Assassinorum
Elite: Callidus Assasin
Detachment #4. Sisters Allied Detachment
HQ: Saint Celestine
Troop: Battle Sister squad
Elite: Repentia Squad
Tau Faction
3 Detachments
Primary Detachment: Farsight Enclave Supplement
HQ: Commander (Warlord)
HQ: Commander
Troops: Crisis Team
Elite: Riptide (Earth Caste)
Elite: Riptide (Earth Caste)
Elite: Riptide (Earth Caste)
Fast Attack: Drone Squadron
Detachment #2: Firebase Support Cadre
Riptide
Broadside Team
Broadside Team
Detachment #3: Firebase Support Cadre
Riptide
Broadside Team
Broadside Team
Necron Faction
4 Detachments
Primary Detachment: Destroyer Cult Formation
Destroyer Lord (Warlord)
2x Destroyer and 1x Heavy Destroyer
2x Destroyer and 1x Heavy Destroyer
2x Destroyer and 1x Heavy Destroyer
3x Heavy Destroyer
Detachment #2: Destroyer Cult Formation
Destroyer Lord
2x Destroyer and 1x Heavy Destroyer
2x Destroyer and 1x Heavy Destroyer
2x Destroyer and 1x Heavy Destroyer
3x Heavy Destroyer
Detachment #3: Destroyer Cult Formation
Destroyer Lord
2x Destroyer and 1x Heavy Destroyer
2x Destroyer and 1x Heavy Destroyer
2x Destroyer and 1x Heavy Destroyer
3x Heavy Destroyer
Detachment #4: Destroyer Cult Formation
Destroyer Lord
2x Destroyer and 1x Heavy Destroyer
2x Destroyer and 1x Heavy Destroyer
2x Destroyer and 1x Heavy Destroyer
3x Heavy Destroyer
Necron Faction
1 Detachment
Primary Detachment: Decurion Detachment
Core #1
Overlord
Immortals
Warriors
Warriors
Tomb Blades
Tomb Blades
Core #2
Overlord
Immortals
Warriors
Warriors
Tomb Blades
Tomb Blades
Required Auxiliary #1 Canoptek Harvest
Scarabs
Spyder
Wraiths
Required Auxiliary #2 Canoptek Harvest
Scarabs
Spyder
Wraiths
Frequently Asked Questions
