40K Editorial: Do Flyers Belong?
5th Edition has brought us squadrons of new aerial flyers to hit the tabletops. But does every army really need the airborne hordes?
5th Edition has brought us the Imperial Guard Valkyrie/Vendetta, the Dark Eldar Razorwing/Voidraven, Space Marine Stormraven and the Necron Doom Scythe/ Night Scythe. We have seen the the general standardization of Supersonic and Aerial Assault rules for them, so its a good hint of what is going to be coming in 6th.
My question is what does this mean for the future. We have seen in Warhammer fantasy that Games Workshop wants to provide each army with a large oversized “wow” plastic kit. For 40k, how does this square with the future of all the armies in the game?
Now we have obvious low hanging fruit like the Craftworld Eldar who certainly need flyers as it fits their overall army theme, but my worry is that generic flyers will homogenize armies and only detract from their unique feel. For example, yes Tyranids have the Harridan, but should that lumbering beast get the same general rules and abilities as the supersonic Razorwing?
I’m torn on this one. I think I want each army to get something big and cool, but in the end I’d like to see the armies that are known for air power to get them and let other armies get other unique ground (or underground units (see Trygon). While I love flyers, I would hate to see them become a a homogeneous element that becomes a least common denominator for all the armies out there.
What about you?
