Special Mid-Week Update!

Today's update is in response to a supposed leak of Warhammer 40k 6th Edition. A link was posted on Dakka Dakka yesterday, which was removed, but another link was provided here. 

My first suspicion about this not being a 6th Edition Rulebook is the first page of the pdf, which to be honest, I'm sure most people skipped over being that it's just the same old introduction. But of note is one particular paragraph:

"We recommend playing at least some games with

the basic rules to learn the core mechanics. Even

experienced gamers might want to switch back to

them when playing really apocalyptic games with

thousands of points. For this reason it is no shame

to come back to this book when you have some

games with the introductory rules under your

belt."

This is the first paragraph of the book, so no fluffy introduction about the universe of 40k. If you look at page 1 (different from first page) of the 5E Rulebook it says that these are the Basic Rules. Why would a 6E Rulebook not contain basic rules?

This leads me to believe that if this leak is legitimate, it is actually a type of expansion book rather than a 6E Rulebook. Possibly a 5.5E...

The other notable absence is comprehensive Codex updates. Even though the Necron Codex is new, some of the new rules, particularly the changes to Rapid Fire, would still require an update. So why would GW not update a brand new codex? Obviously there are rumors that the Necron Codex was designed with 6E in mind, but I really believe that some of the new rules would still require an update, even if slight.

There ARE updates however, for BOTH Chaos Space Marines and Tau Empire. More than likely, one of the two will get a new codex in March. Why bother updating the old one unless this "6E" is coming out in February.

Additionally, for a rulebook that is not the "Basic Rules", it still contains the rules for Annihilation and Seize Ground.

In my opinion, this pdf is a fake, for the reasons listed above, and for the fact that it is way too formatted to be a playtest copy. There may be some clues to 6E changes, but I wouldn't get too excited about them.

If it's not a fake, I'd say to keep a lookout for an expansion book, because this is not a replacement for 5E.

As a side note, I don't condone any violation of Non-Disclosure Agreements. If you're a playtester, keep it to yourself, it's not worth the trouble.