Browse the 11th Edition hub.
Secondary missions are your second way to score victory points in 11th Edition, on top of your primary mission. Before the game you secretly choose Fixed (pick two cards that last all game) or Tactical (draw two random cards every turn). Secondaries are worth up to 15 VP per battle round and 45 VP per game, so they’re nearly half your possible score.
Below: how Fixed and Tactical work, a plain-English line for every one of the 18 cards in the Chapter Approved 2026–27 deck, the best picks for beginners, and the mistakes we see most. For the bigger picture of how a game fits together, start with 11th Edition missions explained.
Fixed vs Tactical
Each player has their own secondary deck (an Attacker deck and a Defender deck with identical cards). After the attacker and defender are decided, both players secretly choose a mode.
Fixed
- Choose two of the four Fixed-eligible cards: Assassination, Bring It Down, A Grievous Blow and Engage on All Fronts.
- They’re face-up from the start, can’t be discarded and stay active all battle.
- Each Fixed card can earn a maximum of 20 VP.
- Best when you can see your opponent’s list and know the targets are there: lots of characters, big vehicles or monsters, or large hordes.
Tactical
- Shuffle your 18-card deck. At the start of each of your Command phases, draw two cards. They’re active straight away.
- At the end of each turn, score any active cards you’ve achieved, then discard them.
- Unscored cards stay active into later turns. This is a change from 10th Edition, where unscored tactical cards didn’t hang around. There’s no hand limit.
- At the end of your own turn you may discard any number of active cards to gain 1CP.
- Once per battle, at the end of your Command phase, you can spend 1CP to discard one active card and draw a replacement.
- Tactical cards usually pay a little more than the same card played as Fixed (for example, 5 VP instead of 4).
Several cards have a “when drawn” escape hatch. Bring It Down and A Grievous Blow let you swap them out if your opponent has no valid targets. Defend Stronghold, Forward Position and Behind Enemy Lines can be shuffled back and replaced if you draw them in the first battle round. Plunder and Cleanse can each be swapped if you already have the other active.
Every secondary card in plain English
A quick vocabulary check first. No Man’s Land is anywhere outside both deployment zones. Your territory is your half of the battlefield, the one containing your deployment zone. Table quarters are the four equal rectangles you get by drawing lines through the centre both ways. Many cards ignore Aircraft and battle-shocked units, so assume those don’t count unless you’ve checked.
Killing cards
| Card | What you do |
|---|---|
| Assassination (Fixed or Tactical) | Kill enemy Character models. Fixed: 3 VP each, or 4 VP if it had 4+ Wounds. Tactical: 5 VP if you kill one that turn (or all enemy characters are already dead). |
| Bring It Down (Fixed or Tactical) | Kill enemy models with 10+ Wounds. Fixed: 4 VP each, up to 5 VP per turn. Tactical: 5 VP. |
| A Grievous Blow (Fixed or Tactical) | Destroy enemy units that started the battle with 13 or more models. Fixed: 4 VP each, up to 5 VP per turn. Tactical: 5 VP. |
| No Prisoners | 2 VP per enemy unit destroyed this turn, up to 5 VP. |
| Overwhelming Force | 3 VP per enemy unit destroyed that started the turn within range of an objective, up to 5 VP. |
“Starting strength” on A Grievous Blow means how many models were in the unit at the start of the first battle round, including any attached characters. So a 20-model mob of Boyz counts even once it’s been shot down to five, while a 10-model squad with two leaders attached (12 models) never does.
Board control cards
| Card | What you do |
|---|---|
| Engage on All Fronts (Fixed or Tactical) | Have a unit wholly within three table quarters (Fixed 2 VP, Tactical 3 VP) or all four (Fixed 4 VP, Tactical 5 VP). Units within 6″ of the centre don’t count. |
| Secure No Man’s Land | Control two or more objectives in No Man’s Land at the end of your turn: 5 VP. |
| Forward Position | Control your opponent’s home objective and/or the expansion objectives at the end of your turn: 5 VP. |
| Defend Stronghold | At the end of your opponent’s turn (from round 2), 3 VP if you hold your home objective, plus 2 VP if no enemy units are in your deployment zone. |
| Centre Ground | Have a unit within 3″ of the centre of the board: 3 VP if no enemies are within 3″, 5 VP if none are within 6″. |
| Display of Might | Have more units wholly in No Man’s Land than your opponent: 2 VP at the end of your turn, 5 VP at the end of theirs. |
| Behind Enemy Lines | 3 VP per unit wholly within your opponent’s deployment zone at the end of your turn, up to 5 VP. |
| Outflank | A unit within 6″ of a battlefield edge and outside your territory: 3 VP. Two or more units near opposite edges (with at least one outside your territory): 5 VP. |
| A Tempting Target | Your opponent picks a non-home objective in No Man’s Land when you draw this. Control it at the end of your turn: 5 VP. |
| Burden of Trust | Assign units to guard objectives. At the end of your opponent’s turn, 2 VP per guarded objective you still control with that unit in range, up to 5 VP. |
| Beacon | Nominate one of your units when drawn. At the end of your opponent’s turn, 3 VP if it’s out of your deployment zone, 5 VP if it’s out of your territory. If it dies, you can discard the card for 1CP. |
Action cards
| Card | What you do |
|---|---|
| Plunder | In your Shooting phase, a unit inside a terrain area outside your territory plunders it (once per turn). 5 VP at the end of the turn. |
| Cleanse | In your Shooting phase, units on non-home objectives cleanse them. It completes at the end of the turn if they still control it. One cleansed: 2 VP, two or more: 5 VP. |
Remember that a unit performing an action can’t shoot or charge that turn, and moving cancels it. Actions also can’t be started by units that advanced or fell back, are battle-shocked, or are engaged.
Worked example
You’re playing Tactical. In your round 2 Command phase you draw Behind Enemy Lines and Bring It Down, but your opponent has no 10+ Wound models, so you discard Bring It Down and draw Secure No Man’s Land. You move a fast unit wholly into the enemy deployment zone (3 VP) and hold two objectives in No Man’s Land (5 VP). That’s 8 VP, both cards are discarded, and you draw two fresh cards next turn. If you’d only managed Behind Enemy Lines, you could keep Secure No Man’s Land active for round 3 instead of losing it.
Best picks for beginners
- Your very first game: skip secondaries entirely. The deck itself says that if either player is new, you can play without them.
- First games with secondaries: go Fixed so you only have two cards to track. Pick from what your opponent brought:
- Facing lots of characters? Assassination.
- Facing tanks, monsters or knights? Bring It Down.
- Facing big hordes like Orks or Guard? A Grievous Blow.
- Fast or numerous army of your own? Engage on All Fronts.
- Once you’re comfortable: try Tactical. It scores higher but asks you to plan around random draws.
Common mistakes
- Taking Fixed cards with no targets. Bring It Down against an infantry army can’t score at all, and Fixed cards can’t be swapped.
- Forgetting the 15 VP per round cap. It covers all your secondaries together.
- Throwing away tactical cards you could still score. Unscored cards carry over in 11th, and the 1CP discard is a choice, not a must.
- Missing the “wholly within” wording. Engage on All Fronts and Behind Enemy Lines need the whole unit inside the area.
- Counting battle-shocked units. Most board-control cards ignore them. Keep your units steady with our guide to morale.
- Starting an action and then shooting. You can’t. Plan which units act and which fight.
FAQ
How many secondary objectives are there in 11th Edition?
The Chapter Approved 2026–27 deck has 18 secondary missions. Four of them can be taken as Fixed.
Is Fixed or Tactical better?
Tactical scores a little more per card and adapts to the game, but needs planning. Fixed is predictable and easier for beginners, and is strong when your opponent’s army is full of the targets you need.
Can I change my secondaries during the game?
Fixed cards can’t be discarded. Tactical players can discard any number of active cards at the end of their own turn to gain 1CP (1CP in total, not per card), and once per battle spend 1CP to redraw one card in the Command phase.
What happens to a tactical card I don’t score?
It stays active, and you can score it on a later turn. It only goes once you achieve it or choose to discard it.
Do secondaries have anything to do with my Force Disposition?
No. Your Disposition picks your primary. Secondaries come from the same 18-card deck for everyone.
Want to know more about the CP you’ll be spending? Read what are Command Points and what are Stratagems, see how the board shapes your scoring in our deployment maps guide, or head back to the 11th Edition hub.
What is A Grievous Blow in 11th Edition?
A Grievous Blow is a secondary mission that scores for destroying enemy units that started the battle with 13 or more models. It’s worth 4 VP per unit as a Fixed card (up to 5 VP per turn) and 5 VP as a Tactical card. Starting strength includes attached characters. If your opponent has no units that big, you can swap the card when you draw it in Tactical, but you can’t swap it in Fixed.
How does Bring It Down score in 11th Edition?
Bring It Down scores when you destroy enemy models with 10 or more Wounds. Fixed: 4 VP per model, up to 5 VP per turn and 20 VP per game. Tactical: 5 VP. It’s one of the four Fixed-eligible cards, so take it as Fixed when your opponent has several vehicles, monsters or Knights. Against an army with no 10+ Wound models, it can’t score.
How do you score Engage on All Fronts in 11th Edition?
Have a unit wholly within each of three table quarters for 2 VP (Fixed) or 3 VP (Tactical). Cover all four quarters for 4 VP (Fixed) or 5 VP (Tactical). Units within 6 inches of the board’s centre don’t count, and the whole unit must be inside the quarter. Fast or numerous armies score it most reliably. It’s much harder on Search and Destroy, where reaching other quarters means pushing past the enemy.