In this section we will have a look at the missions printed in the Warhammer 40k Rulebook. The Warhammer 40k Rulebook comes with 36 missions. There are 12 different mission types, and 3 different Deployment Maps.

It is well worth studying the Warhammer 40k Rulebook missions. If you play at a Wargame convections then these are the mission you will be playing 95% of the time.

These missions appear in the hard cover Warhammer 40k Rulebook, and the cut down 40k Rulebook that comes with the starter box set. The mission rule start at page 129.

The Deployment Maps

There are three deployment maps in the rule book, The Dawn of War, Hammer and Anvil, and Vanguard.

The Dawn of War that deploys along the long edge. This will give you the widest deployment area and the shortest maximum distance between deployed armies.

Hammer and Anvil that deploys along the short table edge ( so no different if you are playing on a square table ). However is is possible for a defensive army to set up on the back table edge. This will create a larger distance between the two deployed armies. This is great if you want to create a static gun line as assaulting armies will need to travel further to attack you.

Vanguard Strike that deploys from corner to corner. Small defensive armies can really pull back in to the corners, however larger armies will quickly run out of deployment space. If you can not deploy units when you set up your army then they will be held in reserve. This means that you will not be at full strength on turn 1 and may put you at an disadvantage.

Out of all the Deployment Maps in a convention you normally play along the long edge as it is easier for Wargame conventions where you may have rows of tables.

Maelstrom Of War Missions

The 2nd 6 missions use the Tactical Objectives list. You can find this list on p137 of the rule book. Personally I like what Games Workshop have done here as it has given the players a reason to get off the gun lines and move around the board.

The best way to play a 40k game with the Tactical Objectives is to purchase the Tactical Objectives card pack from GW. One pack per player works best. One pack between platers works nearly as well.

If you do not have the means to get the Tactical Objectives cards, or you left home without them, you can roll against the D66 table on the rule book. The down side of this is that you could roll for the same objective twice or more ( so re-roll). Another option would be to use a pack of playing cards, remove the aces and face cards and assign an objective to each card. This work specially well if you are just tying out the use of Tactical Objectives in a game before you invest in the GW printed cards.

Playing Card – Result – Type

The following list is for personal use only. All right belong to Games Workshop.

Spades
2 – Secure Objective 1 – Capture & Control
3 – Secure Objective 2 – Capture & Control
4 – Secure Objective 3 – Capture & Control
5 – Secure Objective 4 – Capture & Control
6 – Secure Objective 5 – Capture & Control
7 – Secure Objective 6 – Capture & Control
8 – Secure Objective 1 – Take & Hold
9 – Secure Objective 2 – Take & Hold
10 – Secure Objective 3 – Take & Hold

Harts
2 – Secure Objective 4 – Take & Hold
3 – Secure Objective 5 – Take & Hold
4 – Secure Objective 6 – Take & Hold
5 – Secure Objective 1 – Storm & Defend
6 – Secure Objective 2 – Storm & Defend
7 – Secure Objective 3 – Storm & Defend
8 – Secure Objective 4 – Storm & Defend
9 – Secure Objective 5 – Storm & Defend
10 – Secure Objective 6 – Storm & Defend

Clubs
2 – Recon – Seize Ground
3 – Behind Enemy Lines – Seize Ground
4 – Hold The Line – Seize Ground
5 – Ascendency – Seize Ground
6 – Supremacy – Seize Ground
7 – Domination – Seize Ground
8 – Overwhelming Firepower – Purge
9 – Blood and Guts – Purge
10 – No Prisoners – Purge

Diamonds
2 – Hungry for Glory – Purge
3 – Psychological Warfare – Purge
4 – Harness the Warp – Purge
5 – Kingslayer – Annihilation
6 – Witch Hunter – Annihilation
7 – Scour the Skies – Annihilation
8 – Assassinate – Annihilation
9 – Demolitions – Annihilation
10 – Big Game Hunter – Annihilation

Strategic Markers and Objectives

The Meastrom of war makes extensive use of Strategic Markers. these are tokens that are placed on the gaming table. As these are usually placed on the gaming table after you have set out the terrain, and before the players decide on deployment type, it is recommended that the objectives are placed around the centre of the battlefield. This will give you the best chance of snatching objectives as required regardless of deployment type, or which side you end up with.

Ifyou do find that the objective markers are being placed in the centre of the gaming table, then this changes the dynamics of the game considerably, this is because the center of the table becomes much more valuable and it becomes more important to design army lists that can capture, control and hold central objectives.

House Rules

In the 7th edition of Warhammer 40000, just about any unit can hold objectives. In earlier versions of the Rulebook only Troop choices could hold objectives. Only allowing Troop choice units objectives created a need for much more rounded ( less cheesy ) armies. If you are setting rules for up coming games, then I highly recommend keeping the ‘only Troops can hold objectives ( unless the units special rules say otherwise)’ rule.

The Dark Vengeance Box Set Missions

The Warhammer 40k Dark Vengeance starter box set

In the Dark Vengeance box set there are two missions to get new players in to the game.

These are smaller missions using a limited set of the models from the Dark Vengeance box set to help new players get use to the Warhammer 40000 rules. Despite the smaller scale of the missions, the two Dark Vengeance Missions are still challenging. The also include solo play options that help if you are practising using the Warhammer 40k rules on your own.

I have also added an additional scenario ‘ Secure the Helbrute ‘ written by myself in the same style as the two Dark Vengeance box set missions.

Also see: Dark Vengeance Box Set review
Also see: Dark Angels Tactics
Also see: Chaos Marine Tactics
Also buy: Discount Warhammer 40000 Starter Box Set, including rule book from Element Games