Games Workshop previews 11th edition terrain rules and points changes

Games Workshop has made terrain one of the first big pressure points for 11th edition, and the change reaches far beyond scenery placement. The studio has now split the battlefield into terrain features and terrain areas, then tied visibility, cover, and mission layout into a system that will shape how armies move, hide, and trade shots from the opening turn.

The new Hidden rule is the headline for competitive play. Infantry, Beast, and Swarm models inside terrain areas can now be Hidden if they did not shoot in the current or preceding player turn, and hidden models are only visible to enemy units within detection range, usually 15 inches. That makes positioning inside ruins and woods far more consequential, especially for units built to hold midboard objectives without exposing themselves to return fire. Games Workshop has also kept most terrain Obscuring, but cover now works differently: instead of giving the defender a +1 bonus to armour saves, it imposes a -1 penalty to the attacker’s Ballistic Skill.

Mission design is moving with it. Each mission will suggest three terrain layouts, including setups such as Crucible of Battle and Hammer & Anvil, giving players a clearer baseline for event prep and casual table setup. For tournament organisers, that is a major tell. Table balance will matter more if the new edition expects players to lean on named layouts rather than improvising terrain footprints from scratch.

The points picture is changing at the same time. Games Workshop has moved points handling into a refreshed Warhammer 40,000 app and a new interactive Munitorum Field Manual, with the latest updates going live on Wednesday, June 17, 2026. Those updates include full unit points changes, Detachment Points, and Force Dispositions. In faction packs released ahead of the full manual, players were told to expect 2 Detachment Points in 1,000-point games and 3 Detachment Points in 2,000-point games, with those costs feeding into the updated system.

That matters because Armageddon is not just a launch box, but the 11th edition launch box, and Games Workshop has called it its biggest 40k launch box yet. The set includes an 88-page Core Rules booklet, while the Chapter Approved Mission Deck 2026-27 brings mission cards, deployment cards, and six terrain objective tokens. Pre-orders opened on Saturday, June 6, 2026, and the box hit stores on Saturday, June 20, 2026.

Taken together, the terrain overhaul and live points refresh point to a cleaner, faster rules reset for 11th edition, with army lists and table layouts both being pulled into the same release cadence. For players building, buying, and practicing ahead of events, the message is clear: the next edition will reward lists that can work inside the new terrain system, not around it.