Every new edition of Warhammer 40k is a reaction to the previous, or more specifically, to the discourse that surrounds it. The designers, while they have plenty of quality-of-life changes to make within the scaffolding of the game, still do listen to player feedback, especially so if it’s vocal across a number of factions. From around 2011-2021, 6th-8th edition, every single faction got access to some form of aircraft as a large model release, and for many, it was a dual-build or more. The player feedback to these has been mixed over the years, with them seesawing between entirely unplayable to unimaginably broken, with little in-between. 10th edition was the former, with the only major flyers being used seriously being those of the Tau Empire, and famously multiple copies of the Drukhari’s Voidraven Bomber. With all that being said, 11th is set to take another crack at balancing these gorgeous models, and it looks far more promising than 10th’s take! Let’s dive into the ‘why’, and which of these skyborne support pieces might be worth taking in your lists.
Via TaleofPainters
For starters, all these units received by armies during the heyday of flight have been batched as ‘Aircraft’ in the Core Rules, now available digitally. Furthermore, every single model with this unit type—as far as we know—is now required to enter the game via an Ingress Move, coming in from off the board, unless they start in their Hover modes. They exist in an ephemeral status now, being required to be pulled off the table at the end of your opponent’s turn, and returned on yours, as to simulate strafing or bombing runs; that’s a great flavor win, but means that pinning down Aircraft is close to impossible, needing to catch them where they are, and not where they might be. This trend of them existing above the fray entirely continues with the rules surrounding combat with them, given only FLY units can fight them in melee (or even attempt to charge), and similarly Aircraft can only fight other airborne models. In broad strokes, this means that the role for Aircraft in 11th is in a fire support capacity (or perhaps Transport, which we’ll get to) with none of the weird pivoting or moving in a straight line nonsense from 10th. They’re more markers than real models, representations of where air superiority is striking from the heavens at your foes.
Via Games Workshop
That’s not to say these units have no impact on the table, however, as their bases still exist for the purposes of models ending their moves. Critically, with these arriving during your turn (usually), and disappearing during your opponents’, you can use them to moveblock critical pathways based on the farthest possible distance available to an enemy squad along a flank. While they do need to arrive within 6” of a table edge, and 8” away from enemies, on many maps you can use them to block off major Terrain Areas. Worried about the brick of Berserkers in your way? Park 8” off, in front of a footprint, and force them to end their moves off the base of your plane, and waste potential movement. Sure, you can’t moveblock Ingress Moves themselves with your planes, but popping in from board edges means you can get some reasonable lethality in your Shooting Phase. Still, with the area around an Aircraft being an illegal spot for Charge Moves (for non-FLY units) you can make a solid case for parking fragile non-FLY shooting threats behind your Aircraft bases, and making opponents go all the way around to touch them. This is doubly relevant given some of these options…are also Transports.
Via Reddit
If you want to deliver a fragile, deadly, close-range shooting threat boy do Aircraft seem like a great mechanism now. I’m thinking specifically about my own lists, regarding things like Hastarii Fusileers, who have potent short-range Lascannon equivalents, popping out on a board edge behind a plane to fire out with greatly reduced worry about being charged. This gets even sillier with Aircraft that have Deep Strike, something that immediately makes me concerned for actively blocking movement lanes or deploying some deep troops. In 10th, the idea of pulling back up at the end of the opponent’s turn was called ‘uppy downy’, and I’d prepare to hear that mentioned profusely in the context of Aircraft, given it’s the new law of the land.
So what an Aircraft without the new form of Hover gives you is essentially two turns of an ‘uppy downy’ shooting platform, that cannot readily be charged by most units, and can often deliver a payload safely via Transport capacity. The flyers that get a rise in playability from this are your Transports, now that they pop down readily and allow for safe pile-outs.
Via Deadly Print Studios
There is a pair of Aircraft flavors which don’t love the new rules as we know them, however, and that’s bombers & melee planes. Something like the Heldrake really doesn’t enjoy the way Aircraft are now meant to be ‘above the fray’, as its role previously was often to swoop in and kill something before peeling off. Furthermore, essentially all ‘bombing run’ rules cease to exist given Aircraft will so rarely be moving over enemy units, so all of the ‘deal 2-6 mortals based on the unit you flew over’ text needs some form of edit to function. Perhaps they drop a payload to the closest enemy unit during the turn they arrive? Maybe these get reworked entirely?
We are expecting some degree of updates on current sheets, and this feels like an obvious point of change if they’re actually attempting to make Aircraft playable in 11th; compared to 10th, that’s a low bar, but the opportunity is there! Still, based on the rules we have now, I want to highlight a few of the best Aircraft for the new edition in case you’re looking for a big project (and likely, a model you don’t already own).
Via Chimeracraft
First and foremost, let’s talk about the Night Scythe. This celestial croissant can arrive on any turn (meaning you get an extra use out of it!) and carries with it a block of Infantry. Moreover, it can pick back up its cargo at the end of the enemy turn if unengaged, immediately pulling itself off the board as well to re-drop that cargo. To me, filling this with a brick of Immortals and taking the new 1DP Hand of the Dynasty Detachment is ideal, as a means of conveyance for these beefy-though-slow troops. Next up, let’s talk about the Voidraven Bomber—given this gets a change to its ‘bombing run’ rule, the Voidraven remains king of the Aircraft in my eyes. Its payload is exceptionally deadly, and its capacity to burn a Pain Token for ignoring cover is all the more important in 11th. While you likely won’t see two in lists, the first model likely surpasses a Ravager in terms of impact. Finally, the top spot goes to…every Transport that hasn’t been appropriately costed. Now, this is a bit of a cop-out, as the Night Scythe is the best among these (and the overall best Aircraft in 11th by my metric) but everything from the Archaeopter Transvector to the Corvus Blackstar could have legs. The fact Aircraft are playable is a huge get for what were otherwise non-starters.
One last thing I need to mention: Given we know certain loadouts (and copies beyond the first of specific units) will receive individual point hikes, the fact you have Aircraft as a playable option means more diverse lists can exist. Taking the third of your main battle tank might be just a bit too costly, so why not give your bomber a try? Depending on how incentivized we are not to take duplicate units for key anti-armor pieces, Aircraft could serve a major role in keeping lists point-efficient in the long run. It’s hard to say, but for the first time in a half-decade it makes sense to own a copy of your favored faction’s flyer. Pick up those Night Scythes, those Voidravens, those Archaeopters, because the sky belongs to us all, now. Mine is being painted as we speak.
Are you looking forward to testing Aircraft in 11th edition? Do you think the designers at Games Workshop were successful in this retooling? What do you want to see covered, before faction packs drop? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
