We decided on using the new Power Levels and decided on Power 40 for the size of the battle. Strom took a good mix for a classic Ultramarine force - a Tactical Squad, a Dreadnought, Terminators, and a Landspeeder. I selected a force focused on a Tervigon with lots of Gaunts, along with some Tyranid Warriors and a Carnifex.
I brought over my winter table for the battle. We setup the terrain and decided that a 3x3 battle area would work well for us to test out the rules and based on the size of our forces.
Our first 8th Edition battle was fast, easy to play, and fun. Unfortunately, the Tyranids did not fare so well, with only a few Tactical Space Marines being defeated. My Tyranid Warriors and Carnifex did the worst, getting fully wiped out in hand-to-hard without even causing more a single wound on the Terminators. In the end, my remaining model, the Tervigon, did manage to destroy the Dreadnought with its Smite power, just prior to losing its last wound.
The new rules use Datasheets, which make for a quick and easy reference for a unit's stats, weapons, and abilities. The fixed "to hit" rolls speed up the game, without losing much from gameplay.
In all, the game was fun and stream-lined compared to older versions of Warhammer 40,000. We're excited to try out more games using our different painted armies.
