Apocalypse.
Aside from GW's "you should buy more models!" gimmick, it's also a good way to relax with some folks and do absolutely ridiculous things on the table. 10" blast templates, first turn assaults, models that are physically larger than the player controlling them... Apocalypse is filled with many absurd things. One thing it is not filled with, however, is balance- anyone who's played it before knows that many of the units, formations, and assets are grossly unbalanced (one way or the other), which is something of par for GW's course.
I am of the opinion that better balance always serves a game well. "Competitive" play (if that can even be said to apply to Apoc) obviously benefits from it, but casual play does as well- no one likes being matched up against something unfair, nor to win because a poorly-designed unit made it too easy. So a rebalancing of Apocalypse could make the game more attractive to players and also make games less contentious when played by strangers (such as at a convention or gaming store.)
The first step, then, to make Apocalypse more playable is to take the basic rules and give them a rundown. The one thing that stands out the most are the Strategic Assets, which vary from utterly worthless to nigh-unstoppable. Tweaking these is a good start on bringing balance to the game and relatively easy to fix.
What Gets Changed
Selection for stratagems is done as normal from the Apocalypse book, with one addition: no player (or team, if you are running that way) can have the same stratagem more than once. If a unit or formation gives you a redundant strategic asset, the extra does nothing but indicate to everyone in the game that you are REALLY going for the Flank March.
Optional rule for those tired of Strength D and/or superheavy units wiping out four thousand points of models on turn one: no player may take legendary formations, any model with structure points or a destroyer weapon, or any gargantuan creature. A player may give up one of their allowed strategic assets to instead be allowed to take one of these selections; this may be done more than once, but a player can never give up bonus assets gained from a formation, nor may they ever give up their last remaining Strategic Asset. A selection which has more than one of these qualities instead costs a player two strategic asset choices- so, for example, a Baneblade Company (a formation of superheavies) costs two selections, as does a Warhound Titan with Turbolaser (since it is a superheavy with a destroyer weapon.)
Some of the stratagems below assume that you are playing using the rules for scoring from the 5E rulebook, as opposed to the Apocalypse rules. That is to say: any unit can contest a point, but only a troops unit- or other unit explicitly defined as scoring- can hold one. In either case, the strength of the unit, whether one model or ten, full strength or nigh wiped out, is irrelevant.
A number of the stragems refer to using markers to represent them- these can be as simple as coins or dice, if your group finds this acceptable, but many players will prefer to create custom pieces of terrain for this purpose. In most cases it shouldn't be hard to figure out roughly appropriate sizes, but the various "objective" assets that can be captured/contested deserve special note, as their size is particularly relevant. They should generally be no larger than 4" by 6" at the most, as otherwise they end up affecting excessive portions of the battlefield and are too easy to keep under control.
Strategic Assets
Ambush: No changes.
Anti-Plant Barrage: Revealed at the beginning of any friendly shooting phase. Terrain pieces representing vegetation or flora no longer grant cover saves to any model (on either side) and may be ignored for purposes of line of sight, as the flurry of defoliants reduce them to a sludgy pulp. They will continue to count as difficult terrain, however, as models will have to fight their way through the disgusting remains.
Blind Barrage: No changes.
Bunkers: No changes.
Careful Planning: Revealed at the beginning of the first turn's Movement Phase. The owning player may bring in one third of the units they placed in Strategic Reserve on the first turn; on the second turn half of the remaining units enter as normal, with the remaining ones entering on the third turn, as usual.
Camouflage: Revealed at the start of the enemy's first shooting phase. All the owner's units have a 5+ cover save for this turn, including vehicles and monstrous creatures, but not including gargantuan creatures or superheavy vehicles. Units that would otherwise receive a cover save instead gain +1 to their normal save. If the owning player went first, any units that moved gain no benefit from this asset in the enemy's turn.
Disengage and Re-Arm: Revealed during a friendly movement phase. All fliers may "disengage" and move back into reserve, arriving as normal in subsequent turns. Any that do so have their stores of one-shot weapons replenished, ready to be used again.
Disruptor Beacon: Revealed during owner's deployment. Place a marker of some kind on the friendly deployment zone or No Man's Land to represent the Beacon; so long as it is functional, any enemy reserves arriving within 24" of the Beacon do not benefit from Icons, Teleport Homers, Descent of Angels, or any other wargear or rules that reduce or eliminate scatter when arriving via Deep Strike. If there are any enemy models within 3" of the Beacon and no friendly models within 3" of it, the enemy has managed to temporarily capture it and shut it down- it will cease functioning until the situation is rectified.
Flank March: Revealed at the beginning of any movement phase. For the duration of this turn, the owner's units may arrive from any board edge.
Jammers: Revealed after bids for deployment are made. The enemy team must set up silently and loses the normal five minutes' time to discuss deployment strategies; pointing, gesturing, writing, etc, are strongly frowned upon, but most groups will find it largely impossible to prohibit them absolutely, so a maxim of "try not to be a jerk" is strongly encouraged for both sides; this asset is supposed to make the game more interesting, not bring the players to the point of blows.
Hammer Blow: No changes.
Hold At All Costs: Revealed at the beginning of the game. All of the owner's scoring units within 3" of an objective are Fearless.
Long Range Ack-Ack Fire: Revealed during one enemy movement phase. All enemy fliers on the table or arriving this turn may choose to immediately pull away from the flurry of enemy fire, returning to reserves as they normally would; if they choose to force their way through the barrage, they suffer a single penetrating hit automatically.
Minefields: Revealed after all sides have deployed. The owner can place four 12" by 6" minefields on the table; of of these is is an area of dangerous terrain that provides no cover save to units within it. Enemy units moving through the minefields fail the requisite dangerous terrain checks on a 1 or a 2, rather than just a 1 as normal.
Null Field: Revealed during owner's deployment. Place a marker of some kind on the friendly deployment zone or No Man's Land to represent the Field; so long as it is functional, whenever a model makes a psychic test within 36", roll a d6- on a 2+, the psychic power or ability is nullified. If there are any enemy models within 3" of the Field and no friendly models within 3" of it, the enemy has managed to temporarily capture it and shut it down- it will cease functioning until the situation is rectified.
Obstacles: As per the Apocalypse codex, but Barricades provide a 3+ cover save and Tank Traps provide a 4+ cover save instead of the listed values, to be more in line with 5E numbers.
Orbital Bombardment: No changes.
Precision Strike: Revealed during a friendly shooting phase. Choose one enemy unit; any models that shoot at that unit this turn always hit on a 2+ if they are range and cover saves may not be taken against these shooting attacks. If the unit survives the turn, roll a die- on a 4+, the effect continues into the next friendly turn, rolling at the end of that turn to see if the lock on the unit is maintained, until either the unit is completely destroyed or a 1-3 is rolled.
Replacements: Revealed at the beginning of a friendly turn. Select one destroyed unit other than a superheavy vehicle or gargantuan creature; that unit enters the battlefield from reserves as a "new" unit.
Recon: No changes.
Scheduled Bombardment: No changes.
Shield Generator: Revealed during owner's deployment. Place a marker of some kind on the friendly deployment zone or No Man's Land to represent the Generator; so long as it is functional, all friendly units within 12" receive a 4+ invulnerable save against all shooting attacks originating from outside the Shield's radius. If there are any enemy models within 3" of the Generator and no friendly models within 3" of it, the enemy has managed to temporarily capture it and shut it down- it will cease functioning until the situation is rectified.
Strategic Redeployment: No changes.
Supreme Headquarters: Revealed during owner's deployment. Place a marker of some kind on the friendly deployment zone or No Man's Land to represent the Headquarters; so long as it is functional, all friendly models within 18" gain the Fearless, Acute Senses, Counterattack, and Tank Hunters rules. If there are any enemy models within 3" of the Headquarters and no friendly models within 3" of it, the enemy has managed to breach it and slaughter the high commanders- it now counts as an objective for the remainder of the game and provides no further benefits, even if recaptured!
Surgical Raids: No changes.
Trophy Kill: Revealed before the beginning of the first turn. The enemy HQ unit with the highest point cost (you may choose in the case of a tie) will become an additional objective when slain- leave the downed model on the table or place a suitable marker to indicate.
Tunnels: Revealed during the owner's deployment. The owner may place d3+3 "tunnel" markers anywhere on the battlefield; when units arrive from Strategic Reserve, they may choose to treat these tunnel markers as friendly board edges for choosing points of entry. Jump infantry, vehicles, and monstrous creatures may not use the tunnels, and no unit may exit from a tunnel that has no valid paths to move through due to impassible terrain, enemy units within 1", etc. If multiple players choose this asset, each of them may use any of the tunnel markers placed by the others.
Vital Objective: No changes.
Vortex Grenade: No changes.
The following assets can only be selected by specific races. Due to the nature of Apocalypse it may sometimes be difficult to determine which side a force "really" is- for example, a Tau army using biotechnology to take partial control of a Hive Fleet, or renegade Guardsmen who have allied themselves with the forces of Chaos. Players should feel free to interpret their loyalties leniently, as many of the xenos and heretical factions get far less attention than the Imperium when it comes to Apocalypse.
Imperial only
Holy War: Change the sentence to "...may choose to gain the rage and relentless..."
Imperial Guard only
Defense Line: Revealed before either side has deployed any units. The owner may place up to 36" total length of trench works; these need not be continuous. Trenches provide a 3+ cover save to units inside them.
On My Coordinates: Revealed during the shooting phase of one of your turns or when the chosen unit is assaulted. The owner chooses one of their HQ units to call down the bombardment; center an Orbital Bombardment (exactly as per the strategic asset) on the unit and resolve it as normal, including rolling to scatter. Mark the initial location (before scattering) of the bombardment; the owner may choose to continue repeating it each subsequent turn, though once canceled then the coordinate lock is lost and the attack cannot further be repeated.
Strongholds: Revealed before either side has deployed any units. The owner may place up to three AV14 buildings, each with two fire points and a capacity of ten, in his or her deployment zone. Access points will vary with the model.
Tank Riders: It should be noted that this asset remains in effect and can be used for the rest of the game once revealed; it is otherwise unchanged.
Space Marines
Crusade Banner: No changes.
Heroic Stand: Should read "...so long as they are within 6" of that objective." It is otherwise unchanged.
Legion Relic: No changes.
Orks
Da Big Waaaaaaagh: Revealed at the beginning of a shooting phase. If a Waaagh is called this turn, any movement from Run moves is doubled. (This is not retroactive, so only movement made after the Waaagh is called is affected.)
Effigy of Gork (Or Possibly Mork): Revealed during owner's deployment. Place a marker of some kind on the friendly deployment zone or No Man's Land to represent the Effigy; so long as it is functional, Orks within 18" always count as being twelve strong for purposes of Mob Rule, and thus will be Ld10 and Fearless. If there are any enemy models within 3" of the Effigy and no friendly models within 3" of it, the enemy has managed to temporarily capture it, enraging the Orks- all Orks within 18" gain the Rage USR and may call a special Waaagh, benefiting only those models.
Mek's Workshop: Revealed during owner's deployment. Place a marker of some kind on the friendly deployment zone or No Man's Land to represent the Workshop; so long as it is functional, any vehicle model within 12" during the shooting phase may attempt to repair one Immobilized or Weapon Destroyed result, which will succeed on a 4+; any model with Mek's tools within 12" may also roll reroll the dice when attempting to make repairs of its own. If there are any enemy models within 3" of the Workshop and no friendly models within 3" of it, the enemy has managed to temporarily capture it and shut it down- it will cease functioning until the situation is rectified.
Rokk 'Em Boyz: Change the last sentence to "Any model under the blast markers takes 1 S10 AP2 barrage hit."
Tau Empire
Darkstar Warhead: Revealed during one of the owner's shooting phases. Place a marker on the table indicating the intended arrival point of the warhead, then have it scatter as normal for a barrage weapon firing with no LOS. Center the 10" blast over the warhead's final arrival point; any unit even partially under the template takes d6 wounds. If a 1-3 is rolled for a unit, armor saves may not be taken against these wounds; if a 4-6 is rolled, cover saves may not be taken against them. Roll a die at the end of the Tau shooting phase; on a 4+, the warhead continues to wreak havoc and will repeat its effect (centered on the same point) in the next Tau shooting phase, doing again each turn until a 1-3 is rolled for it to end. Models with the Necron rule are immune to the effects of a Darkstar Warhead.
Icefire Warhead: Revealed during one of the owner's shooting phases. Place a marker on the table indicating the intended arrival point of the warhead, then have it scatter as normal for a barrage weapon firing with no LOS. Center the 10" blast over the warhead's final arrival point; roll a d6 for each vehicle model even partially under the template. On a 1-2, nothing happens; on a 3-4, the vehicle takes a glancing hit; on a 5-6, it takes a penetrating hit. These hits ignore all types of void shields, holofields, etc. Units of models with the Necron special rule that are at least partially under the template suffer d6 wounds and must make a pinning test at a -2 penalty. Roll a die at the end of the Tau shooting phase; on a 4+, the warhead continues to wreak havoc and will repeat its effect (centered on the same point) in the next Tau shooting phase, doing again each turn until a 1-3 is rolled for it to end.
Remote Drone Network: No changes.
Eldar
Eldritch Tempest: No changes.
Phantasm: No changes.
Waygate Post: Revealed during owner's deployment. Place a marker of some kind on the friendly deployment zone or No Man's Land to represent the Waygate; so long as it is functional, any friendly Psykers within 18" pass psychic tests automatically and cannot have their powers negated by Psychic Hoods, Null Fields, etc. If there are any enemy models within 3" of the Waygate and no friendly models within 3" of it, the enemy has managed to temporarily capture it and shut it down- it will cease functioning until the situation is rectified.
Tyranids
Spore Chimneys: No changes.
They're All Around Us: Revealed at the beginning of any enemy movement phase. For the remainder of the game, all difficult terrain is also dangerous terrain for enemy models.
World Digestion: Swarm Tunnels allow any model to use them, provided they meet the guidelines given in the Tunnels stratagem. Otherwise no changes.
Chaos Daemons
Blood Thirst of Khorne: Change the radius of effect to 2d6 x 2".
Plaguestorm: No changes.
Mirage of Tzeentch: No changes.
Grand Pavane of Slaanesh: No changes.
Major Possession: No changes.
Necrons
Subvert Machine: Change the first sentence of the power to "Choose one vehicle or superheavy vehicle anywhere on the table."
Cannibalize Technology: Revealed when a unit of models with the Necron rule destroy an enemy unit in shooting or assault. (If there were multiple units involved in the assault, choose only one of them.) Immediately add models to the unit until it reaches its maximum strength and restore any wounds lost by models in the unit, including Independent Characters.
Reconstruction Scarabs: No changes.
Chaos Space Marines
Chaos Altar: Revealed during owner's deployment. Place a marker of some kind on the friendly deployment zone or No Man's Land to represent the Altar; so long as it is functional, all friendly units within 12" gain +1 to any invulnerable saves they have, and any models without such a save gain a 6+ invulnerable save. If there are any enemy models within 3" of the Waygate and no friendly models within 3" of it, the enemy destroys the altar, rendering it useless for the rest of the game. Furthermore, the unit in question is energized by the righteous fury of the Emperor (or what-have-you) and gain the owner's choice of Feel No Pain or Furious Charge for the remainder of the game!
Corrupt and Despoil: No changes.
Indiscriminate Bombardment: No changes.
Daemon Shell: Change the profile of the shooting attack to have a range of 12".
Dark Eldar
Lords of Twilight: No changes.
Strike of the Serpent: No changes.
Webway Assault: No changes.
