Welcome to the galaxy of Warhammer 40,000, a place of grim darkness and unending war. To navigate its complex battlefields, you'll need a crucial tool: the datasheet. This article aims to provide a clear understanding of the Warhammer 40k Datasheet Explained, empowering you to field your armies with confidence and strategic prowess.
The Cornerstone of Your Army: Understanding the Datasheet
At its core, a Warhammer 40k datasheet is a profile for a specific unit or character in your army. Think of it as the unit's identity card on the battlefield. It contains all the essential statistics and abilities that define how that unit functions, from its offensive power to its defensive resilience. Without the datasheet, understanding how your miniatures perform in a game of Warhammer 40,000 would be nearly impossible. The datasheet is the cornerstone of your army, dictating your strategic choices and battlefield tactics.
These datasheets are meticulously organized and contain a wealth of information. Here are some of the key components you'll find:
- Unit Name and Type: Clearly identifies the unit, such as "Space Marine Intercessors" or "Ork Boyz."
-
Stats:
These are numerical values that determine a unit's performance in different aspects of combat. Common stats include:
- Movement (M): How far the unit can move.
- Toughness (T): How resilient the unit is to damage.
- Save (Sv): The unit's armor save roll.
- Wounds (W): The amount of damage a unit can sustain before being destroyed.
- Leadership (Ld): The unit's morale and ability to hold its ground.
- Objective Control (OC): How many objectives the unit can control.
- Abilities: Special rules that grant units unique advantages or affect gameplay in specific ways.
- Keywords: Tags that categorize units and allow for synergy with other units and abilities.
- Weapons: Details about the armaments carried by the unit, including their range, number of shots, Strength, Armour Penetration (AP), and Damage (D).
Datasheets are not static documents. They are regularly updated by Games Workshop through FAQs and balance dataslates to ensure fair and engaging gameplay. It's important to stay current with these changes. The information presented on a datasheet is crucial for making informed decisions during army building and on the tabletop. For example, knowing a unit's:
- Movement speed determines how quickly it can reach objectives or engage the enemy.
- Weapon profiles dictate its effectiveness against different types of targets.
- Defensive stats inform you about how best to protect it or when it might be vulnerable.
A simple table might illustrate this:
| Stat | Meaning |
|---|---|
| M | Movement |
| T | Toughness |
| W | Wounds |
To truly master Warhammer 40,000, you must become intimately familiar with the datasheets of the units you use and those you face. This knowledge will be your greatest weapon on the battlefield.
Dive into the details of your chosen faction's datasheets and unlock the full potential of your miniatures. The knowledge contained within them is your key to victory.