Welcome back Rangers! Today we are going to go over how to build an army list! This article is focused on just the rules of building a list to help you get into your first few games. After we are comfortable with the basics of building a list we will be prepared for playing games with our army that we think is the COOLEST! From there we will start diving into the mechanics of the game, we will explain what each phase is in a turn, and all the little things that go into each phase so that there is a seamless transition from reading the rules, to playing the game!

Building an army list is actually the easiest it has ever been, there are a few steps to muster your army, but really only three major rules. The first rule being that you have to have a warlord, second rule is no more than one of the same named Epic Character. The last rule is the rule of three, unless it is a battle line or dedicated Transport, then you can only have up to three of the same data sheet in each list, if they have Battle-line or Dedicated Transport then you can have up to 6 of the same data sheet in your list. Veterans of the hobby may notice that there is no more Field Organization Chart and the only “Tax” is a character now, this is in my opinion one of the most radical changes that was made from any other older system to now. 

You could tell that Games Workshop had something up their sleeves when they were testing out Arks of Omens. Now we are here with almost no restrictions to building our list, and it’s never been easier to muster your army! We will go over the steps, I will include a little theory and possibly clarify any potential confusion, however these rules are so streamlined there shouldn’t be any issue on how to build your army list!

Step 1: Picking a Battle Size, they have given us three different options for games, 1000, 2000, and 3000+ points. If you are playing an odd number like 500 you would just round up to the nearest thousand number and go from there. Nothing much too this, I would highly suggest that you do smaller point games when you first learn, a 500 point round between two newer players could take 1-2 hours. We can reduce the time of playing games by trying to get more repetition in with your army, and memorizing the core rules and key datasheets in your army.

Step 2: Start your army roster, this is basically just going to be where you build your list, either on paper or with an app. You’ll want to name your list something catchy and as confusing to your opponent as possible, such classics could be “Raider Rush” but have 0 Raiders in the list, an opponent could be there scratching their head. 

Step 3: Choose a faction, this is where you are going to select which army you are going to play with.

Step 4: Choose a Detachment, right now this is really easy because of the lack of detachments. The different chapters of Space Marines can pick between their chapter detachment abilities or they can just default to the Gladius Task Force. This will pan out with the release of the Codicies, but for now this is another pretty easy step to mustering your army.

Step 5: Select your units, this step is also very streamlined as there are only a few rules you must adhere to when building your army list. You can’t have more than three of the same datasheets in your list, unless they have the Battle-line or Dedicated Transport keyword, then you can take 6 of them, and you can’t have more than one datasheet if the unit has the Epic Hero Keyword. You also need to select at least one character to satisfy our last rule. Lastly, your total amount of points can’t exceed what your points limit is!

Step 6: Promote your warlord, here is where you are going to select the leader of your merry band of brothers! There are a few special rules interactions that go along with your warlord, so you should try and keep him protected!

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