Stratagems

Stratagems let you spend Command Points at key moments to bend the battle in your favour, from re-rolling a crucial dice to launching an unexpected charge. This page explains how to read a Stratagem, the sequence for using one, the limits on repeat use, and the twelve core Stratagems available to every army.

Using Stratagems

Both players can use Stratagems throughout the battle. Every Stratagem is written to the same template, listing its CP cost and then four labelled sections: WHEN it may be used, the TARGET it can affect, the EFFECT it produces, and any RESTRICTIONS that apply.

You may use the same Stratagem more than once across a battle, but two limits hold it in check. You cannot use the same Stratagem more than once in a single phase. On top of that, a single unit cannot be the target of more than one Stratagem within the same phase (a rule can lift this, but by default it holds).

Each use follows a fixed three-step sequence:

1. Choose targets as the Stratagem describes.
2. Reduce your CP by the listed cost. If the Stratagem offers an optional section carrying an extra cost (such as +1CP), you pay that surcharge only if you want that section. If you cannot afford the full cost, you cannot use the Stratagem at all.
3. Resolve the effects.

Every player can use the core Stratagems below. Codexes and other publications add further Stratagems on top of these.

Command Point Stratagems

• Command Re-roll (1CP): Used just after you make an Advance, Charge, Damage, Hazard, Hit, Save or Wound roll, or a roll for the number of attacks a weapon generates. You re-roll it; when several dice were rolled together you pick one to re-roll, except a Charge roll, which must be re-rolled in full.
• Epic Challenge (1CP): In the Fight phase, just after a friendly CHARACTER unit is selected to fight, one CHARACTER model in it gains the [PRECISION] ability on its melee weapons until the phase ends.
• Insane Bravery (1CP): Used in the Battle-shock step, just before you roll for a friendly unit; that Battle-shock roll automatically passes. You can only use it once per battle.
• Explosives (1CP): In your Shooting phase, one friendly unengaged EXPLOSIVES or GRENADES unit that is eligible to shoot and did not Advance picks a model, then a target enemy unit within 8" and visible to it; roll six D6, and each 4+ deals 1 mortal wound.
• Crushing Impact (1CP): In your Charge phase, just after a friendly MONSTER or VEHICLE ends a charge move against an engaged enemy, roll a number of D6 equal to a chosen model's T characteristic. Each 1 costs your unit a mortal wound; each 5+ deals the enemy a mortal wound, to a maximum of 6.
• Rapid Ingress (1CP): At the end of your opponent's Movement phase, a friendly unit in Strategic Reserves (not AIRCRAFT) makes an ingress move. It cannot be used in the first battle round.
• Fire Overwatch (1CP): At the end of your opponent's Movement phase, one friendly unengaged unit (not TITANIC) shoots using snap shooting.
• Smokescreen (1CP): At the start of your opponent's Shooting phase, one friendly SMOKE unit gains the benefit of cover for itself, and for any unit screened by its models, until the phase ends.
• Heroic Intervention (1CP): At the end of your opponent's Charge phase, a friendly unengaged unit within 12" of an enemy resolves a charge (a VEHICLE qualifies only if it is a CHARACTER or WALKER), choosing a charge mode as described below.
• Counteroffensive (2CP): In the Fight step of your opponent's Fight phase, immediately after an enemy unit has finished fighting, a friendly unit eligible to fight gains Fights First and must be the next unit you pick to fight.

Snap shooting

Fire Overwatch resolves through snap shooting. The unit shoots as normal, with three limits: it may target only one visible enemy unit within 24"; each attack hits only on an unmodified hit roll of 6, ignoring the weapon's BS and every modifier; and hit rolls cannot be re-rolled. After shooting this way the unit is not eligible to start an Action for the rest of the phase.

Heroic Intervention modes

Before rolling the charge for Heroic Intervention, pick one mode. Leap to Defend confines your targets to enemy units that both made a charge move this phase and sit within the maximum charge distance. Into the Fray costs +1CP: any charge result over 6 is capped at 6, but you may target any enemy units within 6" of your unit and within the maximum distance.

Frequently asked questions

How many times can you use a Stratagem in Warhammer 40,000 11th edition?

As often as you can pay for it, with a once-per-phase ceiling on each Stratagem and a one-Stratagem-per-unit ceiling within a phase. Note that the phase limit resets in your opponent's turn: using Command Re-roll in your own Shooting phase does not stop you using it again in theirs. Insane Bravery is the exception, since its own restriction caps it at one use for the whole game.

How do you use a Stratagem in 40k?

Pick the target, pay, resolve. The step that catches people is the second one: the CP leaves your pool before the effect happens, so a Command Re-roll that comes up the same number has still cost you. Optional add-ons such as Into the Fray are paid alongside the base cost in that same step, and the whole amount has to be there for any of it to fire.

What information does a Warhammer 40,000 Stratagem list?

Cost first, then WHEN, TARGET, EFFECT and RESTRICTIONS. The WHEN line is the one to check twice, because it names an exact window (the end of a phase, immediately after a unit is selected) and a Stratagem cannot be used outside it. RESTRICTIONS is where once-per-battle limits and keyword exclusions such as "not TITANIC" live.

What does Command Re-roll do in 40k?

It buys a second attempt at a roll you just made, for 1CP. From a handful of dice you choose a single one to go again, except for a Charge roll, where both dice are re-rolled. It cannot be used on a Battle-shock roll; that is Insane Bravery's job.

What are the core Stratagems in Warhammer 40,000 11th edition?

The set every army shares, listed above. Most cost 1CP; Counteroffensive is the 2CP outlier. Five of them (Rapid Ingress, Fire Overwatch, Smokescreen, Heroic Intervention and Counteroffensive) are used in your opponent's turn, which is why keeping a CP or two back matters.