Battlefields are typically created by placing Battlezones next to each other. Battlezones are Citadel terrain sets that include two boards (each approximately 22" by 30" in size) and a range of terrain features designed to be set up evenly on those boards for the best Warhammer 40,000 gaming experience. Don’t worry if your battlefield doesn’t match these requirements, but keep in mind that playing on a battlefield that is either a barren wasteland or filled to overflowing with terrain features may give an advantage to one side or the other.

Below is an example of a battlefield set up for a Strike Force battle, with a good mixture of different terrain features fairly distributed across the battlefield. Their placement will create a dynamic gaming experience that doesn’t favour one player over the other.

Importantly, some terrain features that block visibility have been placed near the middle of the battlefield, ensuring that it is not easy to see from one side of the battlefield to the other. Battlefields where this is not the case can advantage armies that rely on shooting, or disadvantage armies that rely on melee. There is also sufficient room for larger models such as vehicles to manoeuvre around the terrain features, especially near the edges, without getting trapped.

Matched Play Focused: This is a Strike Force battlefield (44" x 60") set up with an aspirational number and mixture of terrain features. Their placement creates a battlefield that does not give an advantage to one player or the other, making it well suited to an aspirational matched play game. While this battlefield uses lots of Battlezone: Fronteris terrain features, you could achieve the same gaming experience using many different kinds of terrain, bearing in mind the concepts discussed above.

Matched Play Focused: This Strike Force battlefield has fewer terrain features set up on it than the one below. The terrain has still been set up so as not to give an advantage to one player or the other, and there is still terrain set up in the middle that blocks visibility from one side of the battlefield to the other. As a result, this battlefield would make for an ideal matched play game. Battlefields with less terrain than this will start to advantage armies that rely on shooting over melee.

Narrative Play Focused: This Strike Force battlefield has an ideal number and mixture of terrain features. The largest pieces of AREA TERRAIN have been set up along the two long battlefield edges, while the middle of the battlefield only has a scattering of OBSTACLES to provide any kind of shelter from enemy fire. While this battlefield is not ideal for a matched play game, it would make for a very thematic set-up for a narrative play game.

Matched Play Focused: This Strike Force battlefield is very similar to the one above in terms of number and types of terrain features, but they have been set up more evenly across the battlefield, and the middle contains terrain features that block visibility from one side of the battlefield to the other. This battlefield doesn’t give an advantage to one player or the other, and is far more suited to a typical matched play game.

Matched Play Focused: This Combat Patrol battlefield (44" x 30") has an ideal number and mixture of terrain features. These are set up evenly across the battlefield, there is still space for units to manoeuvre around them, and lines of sight cannot easily be drawn from one edge to the other, giving neither player a clear advantage.

Matched Play Focused: This Combat Patrol battlefield has been set up with fewer terrain features than the battlefield above, but the positioning of these does not favour one player over the other. A battlefield with fewer terrain features than this will afford units no way to gain protection from ranged attacks, and so will give a strong advantage to armies that rely on shooting, while disadvantaging armies that rely on melee.

Narrative Play Focused: This Combat Patrol battlefield has an ideal number and mixture of terrain features, and has been set up to create a strong thematic battlefield that, while not ideally suited to all play styles, sets the scene for a thrilling narrative encounter.