40k Editorial: Where did the Meta Go?
From a letter recently addressed to Jervis.
You have really screwed up rock armies! What is wrong with you guys in Nottingham ?? Paper is way too good now. I don’t even want to talk about Scissors!
Regards, Mr. Granite
Hello everyone !! BBF here to discuss how the current meta is changing right before our very eyes. This article covers some of the big game changers that are popping up. Recently I discussed how flyers are losing some of their high impact due to the release of the new Tau codex. Tau seem to suddenly have the best answers versus flyers and can spread their anti air defense around the army which is a lot better than say a lone quad gun centrally located in your deployment zone. Tau anti air is also very good versus non flyer/Fly Monstrous Creature (FMC) which is a big advantage over taking certain units such as the Sabre defense platform that are dedicated to only one specific role. Here’s the biggest emerging trends:
Ignore Cover
This is the biggest one to me and it’s very easy to get with the new Tau. Suddenly the Aegis Defense Line (ADL) is not so good anymore. It is also available via the Divination psychic powers but you have to roll for it, so obviously it’s not a reliable. That said I think it makes the investment in a level 3 psyker with access to Divination a much better choice. The potential combination for rerolling all hits, Ignore Cover and forcing an enemy unit to reroll successful saves is a death sentence for any enemy unit.
Sudden Demise of the Deathstar
Remember when a couple of completely tooled out Wolf Lords riding gigantic wolves accompanied by Thunderwolf cavalry could single handedly win a GT… And to think they had practically no ranged shooting !! Fifth edition really catered to the deathstar going all the way back to Nob bikers in the very beginning. Sixth edition on the other hand is very balanced. For instance any unit can ever hold just one objective. If you’re trying to run a deathstar army now then you are bound to fail.
On the other hand there are some units in sixth edition I often refer to as a quasi deathstar (QDS). They are very strong and can go a long way to winning but they can’t do it all by their lonesome. I love a unit of tooled Purifiers lead by Inquisitor Coteaz at 1850 points – to me that’s a great example of a QDS. A level 3 Librarian leading a squad of five Paladins at 2000+ points is another QSD. I have learned that the QSD is best selected from a non scoring unit – this puts a lot of pressure on your opponent to not focus on killing your scoring units which in turn makes your scoring units all that much stronger. The new Tau Commander is going to be another QSD in the form of the ultimate force multiplier… He can bounce back and forth between various units buffing them to wreck the ultimate havoc.
Shooting is the king in sixth edition. Can you name one sixth edition deathstar unit that has won a major event ? Sure you can name a fifth edition deathstar but the caveat is only if a tournament organizer specifically tailors their missions to a deathstar can they win a big event now. An example would be the heavy inclusion of kill points and The Relic as primary missions.
A true deathstar might eventually emerge in sixth edition but I don’t see it happening any time too soon. Many a broken unit were due to GW not taking the necessary time to thoroughly review their newly written rules and properly play test them, so what’s new… Well it just seems like now GW now will FAQ to death anything that is potentially broken… With a few exceptions like alien robots, heh!
Psychic Powers
Psychic powers are really off the hook now – only Eldar and Space Wolves have a strong counter. That’s why I love the level 3 Grey Knight Librarian casting three Divination psychic powers each turn… Divination mostly buffs shooting but it can boost your melee as well.
In closing…
I have discussed some of the new things introduced in sixth edition that are currently changing the new meta. It seems to me GW has adopted a policy of quickly changing the meta to produce more revenue. It is the ultimate play to band wagoners. Look at the money grab with Tzneetch daemons. This just reinforces my fundamental tenant that the most balanced armies are the best from a competitive point of view. Do you find yourself constantly purchasing new units so you can better exploit new rules?
A lot of you say this is the Rock Paper Scissors edition of 40k. Okay that is true to a certain extent. Like I said and I really believe it, a balanced army is best for competitive gaming in tournaments. If you bring a Rock and have to play against Paper… Well good luck with that scenario.
