Grotmas brings with it a whole new Balance Update, and today we’re unpacking all the changes as we find out which factions have ended up on Da Red Gobbo’s naughty and nice lists.
This article covers the Xenos factions. You can find the rest of our coverage via the links below:
We would like to thank Games Workshop for providing us with a preview copy of the balance update for review purposes.
Aeldari
The Aeldari were the big bogeyman at the 2025 World Championships, and it was a bit of a surprise when Liam VSL lost to Richard Siegler’s Admech in the finals. They’re an army that can do anything you need, and typically without opponents being able to do much in response. The result is an army that, while fragile, could simply avoid engaging in most bad situations and could control the flow of the game as it saw fit. Last time around we suggested they needed more of an adjustment, and now it’s here.
Points Changes
- Eldrad +10pts
- Fire Dragons (10 models) +20pts
- Jain Zar +15pts
- Lhykhis +15pts
- Storm Guardians +10pts
- Swooping Hawks (5 models) +10pts
- Warp Spiders (5 models) +10pts
Rules Changes
- Star Engines now triggers when a vehicle Advances, and gives it Assault on weapons till the end of the turn. This means you can no longer disembark a unit after using Star Engines, as it is no longer a normal move.
- Aspect Shrine tokens can no longer be used on CHARACTER models within units.
- Fire and Fade (Warhost) no longer allows you to embark at the end of the move.
- Skyborne Sanctuary (Warhost and Aspect Host) can now only target units that were eligible to Fight during the phase (but retains the restriction on not being in Engagement Range, so you have to fight and win).
Impact
Significant Loser, unless you have been pining to play Harlequins, in which case Winner.
Thoughts
Wings: It’s happening. Again.
For the second time this edition, the top Aeldari builds skated past the previous Dataslate with too light a touch (as we said at the time), and like for Ynnari before them (and Thousand Sons last Dataslate), this one burns the top Aspect Host and Warhost lists to the ground and salts the earth where once they stood.
Now, I’ll level with you - there was a much saltier version of this writeup that I wrote prior to giving Aspect Host as-is one final ride at the UKTC Leicester GT, which I have now deleted. Having reminded myself over five games what Aeldari can do…yeah OK I can see where this is coming from.
Aeldari are in a tricky spot where things that the Codex can do are fundamentally not OK, and brutally suppress the success of other whole Codexes (Knights, mostly), but some other top builds can comfortably go toe-to-toe with them (and in Hunter Cohort’s case, kind of counters them), and the changes needed to pull the slender elf boot off the giant robot neck are much nastier than what their top metagame peers receive here.
Killing the survivability tools of Aspect/Warhost lists completely changes the character of how they’ll play on the table, before you factor in anything else, and the changes also reduce the reach and alpha strike potential, and knock a whole unit out of most builds. You need to shake up armies quite a lot to adapt to this, and some previously great matchups swing completely the other way. I think you probably can re-tool lists that kind of work, especially as Baharroth and Asurmen are still great, and mostly untouched (even if losing the flipped six for Asurmen’s once-per-game sucks). I flatly do not think these lists will be able to beat the AdMech lists that will still exist after this slate, and I think there’s a strong possibility that some emergent hull spam builds also cause them serious problems, especially if Warhost rises up a bit compared to Aspect (which I think is probable given they still have some evasion from Fire and Fade).
Aeldari have always struggled once enemy lists cross a threshold of durable efficiency, and these changes have lowered that threshold quite a lot. Part of the reason Aspect Host always comes back around to dominate is that the Codex is desperately short of re-rolls outside of it, making it by far the most reliable damage dealing detachment. Aeldari have survived major hits before, but my current feeling is that this will actually kick them well down the ranks, especially given that post-WCW with the release of Victrix and wide adoption of the best AdMech builds, their win rate and share of event wins has dropped a lot. I also am still mad about the Storm Guardian and Eldrad changes - Storm Guardians are a one-of in like 80% of Aspect Hosts lists, Eldrad is only a problem because he enables double evasion Warhost lists, which get killed by the rules changes. Both these units are critical to anyone exploring second tier strategies like Seer Council and Guardian Battlehost, and landing a blow on those as collateral just sucks.
I do still think there are some lists there to try out in those detachments, but my experience of playing them in the past is that they hit a DPS check wall even worse than Aspect Host, and I don’t think anything has really changed on that front - one of the ways you’re seeing players adapt to Victrix is with a full Banshee brick, but that needs Aspect re-rolls and the Ignore Modifiers stratagem to work. I could maybe see the Fire Prism finally getting a chance to shine - they’re quietly pretty cheap, so if hull-heavy builds end up more on no or 5+ invulnerable saves rather than all 4+, they’ve got a shot (on GW terrain at least - UKTC is kind of horrible for them). The dark horse is Windrider Host, where I think there’s a legitimate possibility that a busted list has always existed, but barely anyone has bothered because the lift to put it on the table is so much bigger than Aspect Host. Perhaps now the true elf sickos will give it a go.
Finally, and the one major bit of positivity to mitigate the sadness for Aeldari, the new Serpent’s Brood Detachment is genuinely really cool, and I’m excited to give it a try. There’s some incentive to blend in a little bit of stuff from the wider Codex, and because of the damage elsewhere, it might genuinely be one of the better Aeldari options now. I’m only two Skyweavers and a handful of Troupers from putting the version from my review of that on the table, so spoilers for what I’m probably running at my first big event next year, I guess.
Drukhari
The Drukhari may not have made a huge splash following the release of their Codex, but they haven’t been bad, either - Spectacle of Spite lists in particular have had some strong showings recently, filled with Wyches, Hellions, Scourges, and Reavers. It’s still early for big changes to the army, however.
Points Changes
- Ravagers down 5pts (to 110)
- Reavers up 10pts for 6 model units (to 140)
Sky Serpent: Drukhari saw a brace of points changes with the Ravager seeing a small points drop which will please the many Archons who are already running them in their lists.
The points increase was for the 6 strong Reavers unit which you’d perhaps have expected to have seen on their Skyboard-riding rivals from the dark streets of Commorragh but the Hellions escape unscathed - it is nice however to see GW giving the new Codex some time before making any sweeping changes.
Rules Changes
Sky Serpent: The Venom saw a change to the Transport rules of the datasheet which explicitly affects one of the new units from the Codex - Hand of the Archon can now be split!
Impact
Neutral
Thoughts
Sky Serpent: The Hand was a lacklustre datasheet on arrival, compounded by being slightly overcosted with the typical Kill Team trope of Scout and access to Precision Hits but it still felt that there was potential in the unit.
This change brings access to Scouting Venoms (outside of Reaper’s Wager) and the ability to focus the Hand into small hit squads, sending the idiots to ramp up the OC on an objective thanks to Archon’s Will while the rest of the unit bearing special weapons can focus their efforts to dealing a death by a thousand cuts.
As a Kabal unit the Kabalite Cartel detachment benefits the most from this change, a triad of Hands split via Venoms could present a large early pressure force, an Informant Network spread on foot which Infiltrates and Scouts, backed up Scouting Venoms. I think a split unit will also do well led by Lady Malys, Scout meaning you can get Malys’s Mind Like A Steel Trap into position early.
Are the Hand of the Archon still overcosted? Does the Sadistic Raiders sticky objectives rule of the Kabalite Warriors still surpass the Hand in a straight head to head? The answer is likely yes on both counts but the Hand of the Archon is now a much more viable unit which you will now see on Realspace Raids.
Genestealer Cults
Genestealer Cults are always one of the hardest armies to balance in the game - they tend to feel busted in the hands of good players and hopelessly bad in the hands of bad players, and liable to lead to longer games either way. GSC were among the game’s best factions at taking on Aeldari, where having a lot of garbage units is a good way to force the army to trade down.
Points Changes
None.
Rules Changes
None.
Impact
Neutral
Thoughts
Wings: Nothing much going on here, which is pretty much fine - Cults are in a good place and sometimes win events, and the best builds coming down in power will give them a helping hand. The only reason we’re leaving them neutral is that, of the top factions, they were best at punching up into Aeldari, and, well, that doesn’t matter as much any more.
TwoHorse: Totally agree here. No change is great news for GSC. The big winners from this slate are still playable matchups, while the hardest opponents have been taken down a notch. It’s a great time to be the good guys.
Leagues of Votann
The Leagues of Votann started off weak following the release of their Codex but have gained steam as Hearthband and Delve Assault Shift lists have started to gain steam. As a faction they still struggle with internal balance, in part because many of their units are a bit too expensive.
Points Changes
- Arkanyst Evaluator -10
- Buri -15
- Kahl -5
- Sagitaur -5
- Both flavors of Steeljacks -5/-10
- Brandfast Tri-varg enhancement +10
Rules Changes
None.
Impact
Neutral
Thoughts
Shane: The good news is points dropping for the mad scientist and Buri mean they will actually see consideration in list building.
The bad news is that most lists will drop by 10-15 points, which isn’t really enough to change them. Additionally Brandfast takes a nerfbat to the face for their only good enhancement.
Curie: The point drops on Steeljacks is interesting - they’re already quite cheap for a 2+ save T6 W3 model. 18 of them is now a paltry 510 points - maybe this is worth exploring further? Buri at 95 makes him quite tempting now for a (relatively) cheap lone-op option for the army.
Orks
The Orks saw a massive set of buffs last time around, and improved as a result, though not to spectacular heights. You could argue it wasn’t enough, but with other armies around them catching nerfs, it’s not surprising to see the faction stay put - though it could cost them.
Points Changes
None.
Rules Changes
None.
Impact
Slight Loser
Thoughts
Wings: Orks got a big shot in the army last time around, and have ended up in pretty much the sweet spot where they have good builds that can win events and have a balanced-ish win rate). Nerfs at the top are obviously good for them, but on balance I think they probably needed a small amount of help given where the meta is likely to go. In particular, I think Thousand Sons getting juiced back up, and elf-lovers pivoting to Spectacle of Spite will both cause them some headaches, and a very small smattering of cuts would have been justifiable, but no changes isn’t catastrophic, and I also don’t really know where you’d put the buffs other than knocking a few points off the Infantry Characters.
Necrons
Necron armies continue to do well, with multiple ways to run the faction competitively, though Starshatter Arsenal and Awakened Dynasty lists dominate that discussion. They don’t need much help and would benefit from seeing bigger threats catch nerfs.
Points Changes
None.
Rules Changes
None.
Impact
Slight Winner
Thoughts
Wings: Necrons are the inverse Orks here - they’re sitting in the “balanced” bracket, but more towards the top end of that, and better placed to exploit top armies getting hit, particularly as a reduction in Fire Dragons appearing from across the table makes bringing C’tan more exciting. With that in mind, they end up as net winners, especially as they have tools that can interact reasonably well with Victrix guard, and I am once again having a long dark night of the soul about whether I can face painting Doomsday Arks.
T’au Empire
The T’au really took a hit with the release of the new Stealth Battlesuit Teams Datasheet last month, which raised the cost of the unit by forcing players to take five models instead of three and nerfing their ability to fall back and drop markerlights. They won’t be happy to see new nerfs here, particularly to the Riptide, which just received a buff in the last round of updates.
Points Changes
- Riptide +10pts
- Sky Ray +10pts
- Strike Team -5pts
- Breacher Team -10pts
- Stormsurge -40pts
Rules Changes
None.
Impact
Significant Loser
Thoughts
Wings: T’au are currently reeling from the release of the new Stealth Suit datasheet, which although technically a sidegrade plays out as a big nerf in practice - fundamentally, every good list ran 3x3 before, so the new Datasheet is a 90pts tax even if it comes with more models. In that context, also taking a hit on the more spammable hulls is not particularly welcome, even if -10pts on Breachers is nice. Some players have fully pivoted to maximum Pathfinders in response to the Stealth Suit changes, and they tag team quite nicely with Breacherfish, so there might be a route there.
The Stormsurge also becomes dangerously real at 360pts, especially in a world with fewer reliable ways to kill it. I realise I’ve said this before and been super wrong, but this time I’ve played against one recently and they are a lot. Doesn’t salve the fact that “normal” builds needed a bit of a lift, and I think the faction is going to have a rough few months.
Tyranids
Tyranids armies still put up regular TiWP results, primarily with Subterranean Assault and Invasion Fleet armies, though we also occasionally see results from Vanguard Onslaught and Crusher Stampede lists. They’re an army that could use a bit of adjustment, as they tend to rely on the same units regardless of Detachment.
Points Changes
- Screamer Killer -10pts
- Carnifexes -25pts/model
Rules Changes
None.
Impact
Slight Winner
Thoughts
Wings: At this point I can’t even remember what the Screamer Killer started out at. Was it 180pts? That sounds insane but I think it might have been (Edit: I went and checked, the book has them at 175pts, I was close). Anyway - you’ve tentatively seen the odd one get used at 135pts from the previous slate, so at 125pts you will logically see more of them, it’s a good price point for the more go-wide monster builds of Subterranean Assault.
Carnifexes get a fairly eye-popping drop too, and 90pts for a single one is essentially a completely new price band for a “real” threat, which opens up list composition a fair bit. Two of them with Old One Eye is a setup that’s almost certainly worth putting back in lists too. A good slate for Tyranids overall - they’re in a good enough spot currently to prosper from nerfs at the top, and these changes open up their options for adaptation to whatever comes out ahead in the new metagame. Also, honestly, if there’s anything in this slate that we’re going to underestimate the level of impact from, “25pts discount on a monster you can take six of” is a solid candidate.
Wrap Up
Did the Red Gobbo bring you all the buffs you wanted? If he didn't, can you at least salve the blow by pointing and laughing at elves? Given this is the Xenos article, you've either already done that, or you're a distressed Aeldari player. Buddy, me (Wings) too. Make sure to check out the rest of our coverage from the links up top.
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