Khorne Berzerkers
If only they had new models to go with such amazing new rules. I am sure there are plenty of Chaos players running out and buying some right now who in a years time will regret doing so when then get the equivalent of Primaris KBs.
Lord of Skulls
Talk about a turn around. This was hot garbage since the moment it came out. Overcosted and ultimately, not killy enough. BUT NOW it has more firepower than ever before and can shoot EVEN IN CLOSE COMBAT! Heavy D6 and Heavy 12 weapons, all of them with 2, 3 or d3 damage. And then there is it massive cleaver with S16 potential or up to 12 S8 attacks. Just a beast now. And a 5+ INV save all the time.
BUT a word to those running it/facing, this has the be CC w/ INFANTRY ONLY, so if you are going to charge a Lord of Skulls or it charges you, just charge a Rhino in there and it is shut down on the shooting front.
Tyranids
I'm trying to find a army that benefited more from 8th edition better than Tyranids and its hard because they had so far to rise from compared to most armies.
Their units no longer eat themselves outside synapse, HQs became more survivable, monsters can literally explode when they die, instant death is no longer a issue, gaunts got cheaper, and there is far larger emphasis on close combat.
Additionally boring Flyrant/Troop Bomb lists are a thing of the past, Old One-eye literally turned into a lawnmower with teeth (GO LOOK AT HIS PAGE), Trygons can assault out of deep strike, and harpies/crones will be assaulting target any unit turn one.
Turns out not having a matrix formation detachment and shitty formations worked out in their favor, all those hardly used units spent all that time sharpening their teeth.
Dreadnoughts
Turns out toughness on walkers is a good thing. Suffering from middling armour and easy target syndrom before, not even the FAQ with the attack boost helped these guys out too much in 7th. BUT NOW they are much better. Tougher and in general, more firepower (all those Twin Linked Weapons). Expect Dakka-dreads to come back in force.
The Humble Lasgun
1- SUPER CHEAP. Guardsmen are disposable which means...
2- YOU GET A TON OF THEM
3- THEY CAN WOUND ANYTHING
4- ORDERS LET YOU DOUBLE YOUR OUTPUT
These are the champions of the weight of dice game. Sure there are really small percentages they hurt something, but enough of them ARE GUARANTEED TO. And sometimes, all it takes is that 1 last W to make all the difference, especially in a system where monsters and vehicles get progressively worse as they suffer wounds.
Mandrakes
Who gets a save in close combat again?! YOU DO! Yes you do!
The only thing missing is Sir Commander and Chief Kheradruakh the M*F*ing Decapitator, and the hopped up on PCP murder shadows band will be back in business coming to a dark alley near you.
Any High Initiative unit without Frag Grenades
Well well well, ain't this a surprise. Turns out removing tons of rules means armies like Tyranids and units Incubi no longer have to be afraid of stubbing their toes.
They will still get shot up by over-watch, but now taking on entrenched units in grassy meadows isn't such a pain.
Grey Knight Librarians
So this is a odd one. At first people are going to see that GK librarians in essence lost a mastery level and have a reduced smite, and say whats the point
Then people will realize that it means that there's a GK unit
*missed the restriction against this
I think people will be seeing other HQ options for Gk in the future..... mostly Voldus..... but GK librarians are still are a solid choice in 8th because of how the insert themselves into a GK list. This will probably get more important if GW full-files on the promise that you'll be encouraged to field pure faction lists in the future through rules additions.
Anything shooty that deep strikes
Brief List of a few of these units
-Crisis Suits
-Stealth Suits
-Terminators
-Vespids (thats right, I said Vespids. Start playing them Tau players. WAY better now)
-Deffkoptas
-Swooping Hawks
-Scourges
-Inceptors
There are probably a few more but you get the idea
Anyone carrying a special/heavy weapon
Tired of having to choose between wasting your missile launcher on something it is overkill for or not shooting with the other 9 men in your squad because they are out of range or can't hurt the target?
Well be tired no more! SPLIT FIRE FOR EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING HURTS EVERYTHING. So now you can target select that heavy or special weapon at a target it was meant for and pour the rest of the unit into a different target. Conversely, you also won't feel like those other 9 guys in a squad are a complete waste now that they could fire at the same target as their specialized weapon holder and potentially cause damage as well. Wins all around for unit utility.
So who are the winners for you? Let us know in the comments!