Core rules
A plain-English quick-reference to the Warhammer 40,000 11th-edition core rules (edition launched June 2026), in our own words and checked against Games Workshop's free 11th-edition Core Rules. Items marked “11th-ed change” differ from 10th edition. Army-building and mission scoring (battle sizes, Detachments, Enhancements, objectives) live in the army rules and mission pack rather than the Core Rules. For exact wording and edge cases, always consult the official Core Rules.
The Battle Round
Turn structureEach battle round both players take a full turn (sequential, not interleaved — one player does everything, then the other; the same player goes first every round). A turn has five phases in a fixed order: Command, Movement, Shooting, Charge, Fight. There is no Morale phase and no Psychic phase. The mission sets how many battle rounds you play — usually five.
WinningThe winner is whoever has the most Victory Points (VP) at the end of the game — not whoever kills the most. VP come from primary and secondary objectives set by the mission, so positioning and scoring matter more than raw damage.
Command phase
Phase stepsThe Command phase runs in order: gain Command Points, take any Battle-shock tests, then use Command abilities. After that you move on to the Movement phase.
Command Points 11th-ed changeBoth players gain 1 CP at the start of every Command phase — including the player whose turn it isn't, so each side always has CP for reactive Stratagems on the opponent's turn.
One Stratagem at a timeA unit can be affected by no more than one Stratagem per phase. You can still use many Stratagems each phase — just not stack several on the same unit.
Battle-shock test 11th-ed changeIn your Command phase, take a Battle-shock test for each of your units that is at or below half strength (11th lowered this from below half) or is already Battle-shocked: roll 2D6 and pass if the result is equal to or greater than at least one of the unit's Leadership characteristics.
Battle-shocked effectsWhile Battle-shocked, a unit's Objective Control becomes “–” (it can't hold objectives at all), you can't target it with Stratagems, and it can't start or finish Actions. If it Falls Back it must use the Desperate Escape mode.
Sticky Battle-shock 11th-ed changeBattle-shock no longer clears automatically. A Battle-shocked unit stays Battle-shocked until it passes a Battle-shock test in a later Command phase — it keeps testing each turn (even after climbing back above half strength) until it passes.
Movement phase
Engagement Range 11th-ed changeA model is in Engagement Range of an enemy when it is within 2" horizontally and 5" vertically (11th widened the horizontal band from 1"). Engagement Range defines being “in combat” — it gates charging, pile-in, consolidating, falling back, and most shooting.
Move typesChoose one per unit: Remain Stationary; a Normal move (up to M"); Advance (M" + D6", but the unit then can't shoot non-Assault weapons or charge this turn); or Fall Back (leave Engagement Range — the unit can't shoot or charge unless a rule allows).
Falling backWhen a unit Falls Back, pick a mode: Ordered Retreat (only if it isn't Battle-shocked — a clean withdrawal, after which it takes a Battle-shock test) or Desperate Escape (required if Battle-shocked — it may move through enemy models, but makes a hazard roll for each model: on a 1–2 the unit suffers a mortal wound, or 3 if every model is a Monster or Vehicle).
Rotating 11th-ed changeModels rotate freely around the centre of their base — rotating never counts toward the distance moved, even for large Monsters and Vehicles (10th made big bases pay a pivot cost).
Unit coherency 11th-ed changeEvery model must be within 2" horizontally and 5" vertically of at least one other model in its unit, and within 9" horizontally and 5" vertically of every model in the unit — which curbs long “conga line” chains.
FlyingA unit with the Fly keyword can “take to the skies” when it moves: subtract 2" from its move (a Hover ability removes the penalty), but it then ignores vertical distances and can move over all models — including enemy Monsters and Vehicles — and over terrain.
Surge movesSome rules let a unit make an out-of-sequence “surge” move when triggered (e.g. after it is shot at). It must move toward the closest enemy unit, ending engaged with it if it can, and can't move again that phase.
Shooting phase
EligibilityA unit that Advanced can only shoot Assault weapons; a unit that Fell Back can't shoot unless a rule allows. A unit within Engagement Range can only make Close-Quarters Shooting — firing [CLOSE-QUARTERS] weapons (11th's renamed Pistols) at the enemies it is engaged with.
Making attacksPick target unit(s) — each must have at least one model visible and in range — then for each weapon resolve the sequence: Hit roll (vs Ballistic Skill), Wound roll (Strength vs Toughness), allocate the wound to a model, saving throw, then inflict Damage.
Critical rolls & modifier capAn unmodified 6 always hits/wounds and counts as a Critical Hit / Critical Wound (triggering abilities like Sustained Hits, Lethal Hits or Devastating Wounds); an unmodified 1 always fails. Modifiers to the hit roll and to the wound roll are each capped at ±1.
Damage & no spilloverEach failed save inflicts the weapon's Damage in wounds. A model is destroyed at 0 wounds, and any excess damage on that single model is wasted — it does not spill over onto other models, and once a unit is wiped any leftover attacks are lost.
Cover 11th-ed changeBenefit of Cover worsens the attacking model's Ballistic Skill characteristic by 1 for ranged attacks, instead of 10th's +1 to the target's save. Because it hits BS rather than the save, cover works regardless of the weapon's AP and now helps models that only have an Invulnerable Save (e.g. many Daemons); and as a characteristic modifier it is separate from the ±1 hit-roll cap. Cover is judged per attacking model.
Overwatch 11th-ed changeFire Overwatch (a core Stratagem, 1CP) lets one of your unengaged, non-Titanic units shoot at the end of your opponent's Movement phase, at one visible enemy unit within 24". It uses Snap Shooting — each attack hits only on an unmodified 6 (whatever the BS or any modifiers), with no re-rolls.
Indirect Fire[INDIRECT FIRE] weapons can target units the firer can't see. The target gets the Benefit of Cover, you can't re-roll the hit rolls, and an unmodified 1–5 fails (only 6s hit) — unless your unit Remained Stationary this turn and a friendly unit can see the target, in which case 1–3 fails (5+ hits).
Charge phase
Charging 11th-ed changeChoose a unit with an enemy within 12", roll 2D6" for the charge distance first, then pick which target(s) to charge based on the roll (10th made you declare the target before rolling). The charge succeeds only if the unit can end within Engagement Range (2") of every declared target while staying in coherency, and it can't end within Engagement Range of a unit it didn't declare.
Fights FirstA unit that successfully charges gains the Fights First ability until the end of the turn, so it fights before normal units in the Fight phase.
Heroic InterventionHeroic Intervention (a core Stratagem, 1CP) is used at the end of your opponent's Charge phase: a friendly unengaged unit within 12" of an enemy makes a full charge. Pick a mode — Leap to Defend (it can only charge units that charged this phase) or Into the Fray (+1CP; the charge roll is capped at 6" but it may target any enemy within 6").
Fight phase
Fights First step 11th-ed changeUnits that charged this turn or otherwise have Fights First fight first. Starting with the player whose turn it is, the players alternate selecting one Fights First unit at a time to fight.
Alternating activations 11th-ed changeOnce Fights First units are done, the players alternate activating one eligible unit at a time, starting with the player whose turn it is — rather than one player fighting all of their units and then the other. Having more units left to activate becomes a real advantage.
Pile in, fight, consolidate 11th-ed changeThe Fight phase resolves at the phase level: first both players make all their Pile-In moves (up to 3" toward the closest enemy, active player first), then units alternate fighting, then both players make all their Consolidation moves. On a consolidate a unit moves up to 3": if engaged it stays engaged, otherwise it must move to engage an enemy within 3" (which then becomes able to fight) or move into range of an objective within 3". In 10th each unit piled in and consolidated during its own activation.
Overrun 11th-ed changeA unit that is unengaged when it's selected (for example because its charge target was already destroyed) can make an Overrun fight: one extra pile-in move and then it fights — letting it drag previously-unengaged enemies into combat, who then become able to fight this phase.
Melee attacksResolve melee like shooting but using Weapon Skill (WS) in place of Ballistic Skill, and only against enemy units within Engagement Range.
Counter-OffensiveCounter-Offensive is a core Stratagem (2CP) that lets one of your units fight out of sequence, immediately after an enemy unit has finished fighting.
Wound & save sequence
Wound rollCompare the weapon's Strength (S) to the target's Toughness (T): S ≥ 2×T wounds on 2+, S > T on 3+, S = T on 4+, S < T on 5+, and S ≤ ½T on 6+. An unmodified 6 is always a Critical Wound.
SavesFor each wounding hit, roll one D6. If the model has an Invulnerable Save and the unmodified roll meets it, the save is made; otherwise the roll is modified by the weapon's AP and compared to the Armour Save — so the better save is used automatically. Saves are rolled together and the results resolved from the lowest up.
Damage & Feel No PainEach failed save inflicts the weapon's Damage. If the model has Feel No Pain X+, roll 1D6 for each wound it would lose and ignore that wound on a result of X or higher.
Mortal woundsMortal wounds bypass saves entirely and are applied one at a time; like normal damage they don't spill over when a model is destroyed. Feel No Pain still works against them.
Devastating WoundsA Critical Wound (unmodified 6 to wound) from a weapon with [DEVASTATING WOUNDS] ends the attack sequence and deals mortal wounds equal to the weapon's Damage — so no normal or invulnerable save can be taken (Feel No Pain still applies). These can damage at most one model per critical wound.
Hazardous 11th-ed changeAfter a unit shoots or fights with a Hazardous weapon, make one hazard roll for it per such weapon: on a 1–2 the unit suffers 1 mortal wound — or 3 mortal wounds instead if every model in the unit is a Monster or Vehicle.
Leaders & attached units
AttachingBefore the battle, a Character with the Leader ability (and optionally a Support unit) can join one of its listed Bodyguard units to form a single Attached unit. While Bodyguard models remain, attacks against the unit use the Bodyguards' highest Toughness and must allocate wounds to non-Character models first — so the Character is shielded, though not untargetable. A weapon with Precision can override this and put wounds on a visible Character.
Leaders persist 11th-ed changeWhen the Bodyguard models are all destroyed, the Leader continues as its own unit and its own “while leading” abilities keep working — in 11th a Leader's buffs no longer switch off just because the unit it joined has been wiped out.
Lone OperativeUnless it is part of an Attached unit, a unit with Lone Operative is not visible to enemy models more than 12" away, and can't be targeted by Indirect Fire weapons unless the attacking model is within 12" — letting small characters operate safely at range.
Objectives & scoring
Controlling objectivesTotal the Objective Control (OC) of your models within range of an objective (for a terrain objective, that means within the terrain area); the side with the higher total controls it, and a tie leaves it uncontrolled. Battle-shocked models contribute OC “–”, so a shocked unit can't help hold ground.
Terrain as objectives 11th-ed changeIn 11th, objectives are usually placed on terrain areas rather than the old 40mm circular markers — you hold an objective by having the higher total OC of models within that terrain area, which also means objectives tend to sit in cover.
Secured objectivesSome rules let you “secure” an objective: once secured it stays under your control even after you have no models in range, until your opponent's control there beats yours at the end of a phase.
Primary & secondaryThe mission you're playing sets how Victory Points are earned: a primary objective (usually holding objectives each turn) plus secondary objectives — extra goals, often scored by performing Actions — worth additional VP. The exact scoring lives in the mission pack, not the core rules.
Army construction
Battle sizeAgree a points level: Combat Patrol (a fixed boxed roster), Incursion (1,000 pts), Strike Force (2,000 pts — the standard), or Onslaught (3,000 pts). Points are unit-based — gear within a datasheet's allowances is free, and only Enhancements add to a unit's cost.
DetachmentsChoose one Detachment for your army from your faction's options. It grants a Detachment rule plus a set of Stratagems and Enhancements that define how that force plays. 11th refreshed many Detachments and added new ones, but you still build around a single chosen Detachment.
EnhancementsGive Enhancements from your Detachment to your Characters to customise them — one per Character, each Enhancement only once per army, and never on Epic Heroes. The number you can include scales with battle size (more at larger games).
Warlord & Epic HeroesPick one Character to be your Warlord. Named Epic Hero characters are unique — you may include only one of each per army, and they never take Enhancements.
Datasheet limitsYou can include at most 3 of any one datasheet, rising to 6 for units with the Battleline or Dedicated Transport keyword.
Transports
Capacity & keywordsA Transport lists which keywords it can carry and a maximum model count; more than one unit can ride inside if there's room. Some bulky models (Terminators, Jump Pack, Gravis) count as 2 or more toward capacity per their datasheet. Units with the wrong keyword, or that would exceed capacity, can't embark.
Embarking 11th-ed changeA unit embarks if, after a Normal, Advance or Fall Back move, every model ends within 3" of a friendly Transport that has room; embarked models are set aside (not destroyed) and act only via special rules. A unit can't embark on the same turn it was set up from Reserves.
Disembarking 11th-ed change11th uses three forced disembark modes (you don't freely choose): Tactical — if the Transport stayed still or hasn't moved yet, the unit disembarks within 3" and then makes a Normal or Advance move; Rapid — if the Transport already made a normal/ingress move, the unit is set up within 3" but can't charge; and Combat — the fallback, set up within 6" with a hazard roll for each model, arriving Battle-shocked and unable to charge.
Firing Deck XWhen the transport shoots, you can pick up to X embarked models (whose units haven't shot) and fire one ranged weapon each from the transport's hull; those embarked units can't then shoot themselves.
Dedicated TransportsA Dedicated Transport is bought for one specific eligible unit (roughly one transport per unit) as its own roster entry; it costs points and counts toward the Dedicated Transport datasheet limit.
Destroyed transport 11th-ed changeWhen a Transport is destroyed the passengers first make an Emergency Disembark move — set up wholly within 6", as close as possible, and any model that can't be placed is destroyed — with a hazard roll for each model, leaving the unit Battle-shocked. Only then does any Deadly Demise explosion resolve, so 11th can catch the freshly-disembarked models in the blast.
Monsters & Vehicles
Shooting while engaged 11th-ed change11th has no “Big Guns Never Tire.” You can still shoot an enemy Monster or Vehicle even while engaged with it, but at -1 to the hit roll (except for [CLOSE-QUARTERS] attacks by an engaged model); and a unit engaged with an enemy Monster/Vehicle can only shoot using Close-Quarters Shooting. Monsters and Vehicles can't shoot after Falling Back.
Degrading profilesMany large models have bracketed stat lines whose Movement, Ballistic/Weapon Skill and Attacks worsen as the model's remaining Wounds drop into lower brackets.
Deadly Demise XWhen the model is destroyed (after any passengers make their emergency disembark), roll 1D6; on a 6 each unit within 6" suffers X mortal wounds (X is often a die roll such as D3 or D6).
Crushing Impact 11th-ed changeCrushing Impact (a core Stratagem, 1CP, replacing 10th's Vehicle-only Tank Shock) is used in your Charge phase after a friendly Monster or Vehicle ends a charge: pick an engaged enemy unit and one of your engaged models, then roll a number of D6 equal to that model's Toughness — each 5+ deals a mortal wound to the enemy (up to 6), and each 1 deals a mortal wound back to your own model.
Movement 11th-ed changeMonsters and Vehicles rotate freely (no pivot cost in 11th) and can move through any other friendly or enemy models except other Monsters and Vehicles, as long as they end their move somewhere legal.
Strategic Reserves & Rapid Ingress
Reserves vs Deep Strike 11th-ed changeBoth start off the table. Strategic Reserves can hold any unit and arrive with an Ingress move from a battlefield edge; Deep Strike is a unit ability that instead lets the unit arrive anywhere more than 8" horizontally from all enemy units (11th shortened this from more than 9"), ignoring the edge restriction.
Arrival timing 11th-ed changeNothing arrives from Reserves on Battle Round 1; units come in from round 2 onward. After arriving, a unit can't make another move until your next Charge phase (it can still shoot and charge). Any Strategic Reserves units that haven't arrived by the end of the third battle round are destroyed.
Placement & edgesStrategic Reserves are set up wholly within 6" of a battlefield edge and more than 8" from enemy units, and may not be set up within the enemy deployment zone until Battle Round 3.
Half-points capNo more than half (50%) of your army's total points may be placed in Strategic Reserves, including units embarked in transports that are themselves in Reserves.
Rapid Ingress 11th-ed changeRapid Ingress (a core Stratagem, 1CP) is used at the end of your opponent's Movement phase to bring one of your Strategic Reserves units on early via its ingress move. It can't be used on Battle Round 1, and Aircraft are excluded.
Terrain & Line of Sight
Terrain categories 11th-ed changeEach terrain feature is one of three categories: Exposed (craters, debris — crossed freely but can still grant cover), Light (barricades, low walls, statues — Obscuring, but won't slow an advance), or Dense (ruins, buildings, woods — Obscuring, and models other than Infantry/Beast/Swarm must go around taller sections). Every feature creates a terrain area, so the old “within 3" of the barricade” proximity rules are gone.
Obscuring 11th-ed changeTerrain areas with a Light or Dense feature are Obscuring. If every line of sight between two models crosses one or more Obscuring areas — ignoring any Obscuring area a model is standing in — those two models can't see each other.
Solid 11th-ed changeDense features are also Solid: line of sight can't be drawn across an enclosed gap 3" or less from ground level, so you can't shoot through ground-floor windows or see a model parked half-inside a wall.
True line of sight40k uses model's-eye view: if any part of the target is visible from any part of the observing model, it can be seen. A model's base counts as part of it, and you can always see through other models in your own unit.
Benefit of Cover 11th-ed changeCover is checked per attacking model and worsens that model's Ballistic Skill characteristic by 1. Infantry, Beast and Swarm models within a terrain area get cover, as does any model not fully visible behind intervening terrain; Monsters and Vehicles get it only from blocked sight, not just from standing in a footprint. A single fully-visible model denies the whole unit cover from that attacker. Cover no longer touches saves, so AP can't cancel it.
Plunging Fire 11th-ed changeA model shooting from a terrain section 3" or more in height (or a Towering model targeting a unit with ground-level models within 12") improves its Ballistic Skill by 1 — enough to cancel the cover penalty.
Hidden 11th-ed changeAn Infantry, Beast or Swarm unit standing in a terrain area that has a Dense feature, and which hasn't made a ranged attack this turn or last turn, is Hidden — enemy models more than 15" away (its detection range) can't see it. Shooting breaks the Hidden status.
Actions
What they areAn Action is a job a unit does instead of acting normally, usually to score a secondary objective. It's declared at a stated step (often the start of the Shooting phase) and completed later (e.g. at the end of your turn or in your next Command phase) to score.
Can't start one ifA unit can't begin an Action if it is an Aircraft or Fortification, is Battle-shocked, has Objective Control 0 or “–”, is within Engagement Range of an enemy (unless it's Titanic), Advanced or Fell Back this turn, or has already started an Action this turn.
While performingA unit performing an Action can't shoot (unless it's Titanic) or declare a charge until the end of the turn.
FailureAn Action fails if, before it completes, the unit makes a move other than Pile In / Consolidate, or leaves the battlefield. (Because Battle-shock is sticky in 11th and blocks starting Actions, a shocked unit can be locked out of Actions for several turns.)
Psychic
KeywordsThere is no Psychic phase — psychic powers are ordinary abilities or weapons used in their relevant phase. PSYKER is a unit keyword that anti-psyker rules key off; [PSYCHIC] is a weapon/ability keyword carried by a psychic power's profile.
Powers & defenceSpecific psychic attacks (such as Smite) and any way to resist them come from individual datasheets and detachments — the core rules add no universal psychic power and no universal Deny-the-Witch dice-off.
Psychic accuracy 11th-ed changeWhen attacking with a [PSYCHIC] weapon you can ignore any or all modifiers to its Ballistic/Weapon Skill and to the hit roll (it doesn't affect wound rolls) — so psychic attacks shrug off cover's BS penalty and other to-hit debuffs, a notable buff for psyker-heavy armies such as Thousand Sons and Grey Knights.