A detachment is the rules package that gives your Warhammer 40k army its personality. Pick one and you’re choosing an army-wide bonus, a set of Stratagems, and Enhancements, which together decide how your force actually plays on the table.
What a detachment actually gives you
Every faction has several detachments to pick from, and each one hands you three things: an army-wide special rule, a pool of Stratagems you spend Command Points on, and Enhancements you buy during list building. That’s the whole package.
The detachment is the framework, not the list itself. Your units still come from your Codex, and the detachment layers rules on top of them.
How 11th edition changed things
In 10th edition you took exactly one detachment, and they all followed a similar shape: six Stratagems and a few Enhancements. Now you can take more than one, and detachments aren’t uniform any more. Some have five Enhancements and no Stratagems at all.
Each detachment costs Detachment Points, from 1 for narrow, gentle rules up to 3 for sweeping army-wide boosts. A 1,000 point Incursion gives you 2 DP, and a 2,000 point Strike Force gives you 3. As written, that means some of the pricier detachments can’t fit into smaller games, though Games Workshop has said it plans to let you always take one lone detachment regardless of size. That change isn’t in the errata or the app yet, so check before you build.
| Battle size | Points | Detachment Points | Enhancement limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incursion | 1,000 | 2 | 2 |
| Strike Force | 2,000 | 3 | 4 |
Enhancements, Upgrades and tags
Enhancements are the extras you bolt onto characters, and you’re capped on how many you can bring. Some are tagged as Upgrades, which lets them go on non-character units instead, up to three of them while only eating one slot from your limit. You still pay points for each unit that gets one.
Many newer detachments also carry tags, and you can’t run two detachments with the same tag in one army.
Force disposition and missions
Every detachment has one of five force dispositions, which describe its battlefield role. If your army runs multiple detachments, you pick a single disposition for the whole force, either when you submit your list at a tournament or before a casual game starts.
In Chapter Approved mission packs, your primary mission comes from comparing your disposition against your opponent’s. Unless you both happen to match, you’ll each be playing a different primary objective.
Why it matters for your army
Detachments are how you express a theme without gutting your list. A Raven Guard player can take a Phobos-focused detachment for Infiltrators alongside a broader infantry one, and end up with something genuinely bespoke.
It isn’t a return to soup armies, though. You still build from a single Codex, and the detachment rules mostly apply across your whole force, with some only touching certain units.
Key facts
- A detachment gives an army-wide rule, Stratagems, and Enhancements.
- Detachments cost 1 to 3 Detachment Points depending on how broad their rules are.
- Incursion (1,000 pts) grants 2 DP and 2 Enhancements; Strike Force (2,000 pts) grants 3 DP and 4 Enhancements.
- Upgrades are Enhancements for non-character units, up to three per slot.
- Each detachment has one of five force dispositions that shapes your primary mission.
FAQ
Can I take more than one detachment in 11th edition?
Yes. You spend Detachment Points to fit them in, with 2 DP in a 1,000 point game and 3 DP in a 2,000 point game. Just remember you can’t take two detachments that share a tag.
What’s the difference between an Enhancement and an Upgrade?
Enhancements normally go on Characters. Upgrades are Enhancements that can be given to non-character units, up to three of them for a single slot from your Enhancement limit, though you pay points for each.
Do detachments still work with my old Codex?
Yes. Existing Codexes stay valid, so you can keep using the detachments you already know alongside the new ones.