EDITORIAL: Is 40K 6th Edition a New Golden Age?
There is a lot of bleating and whinging out there fellow gamers. One gamer thinks we are seeing quite the opposite.
A guest editorial by Mr. Mystery
As per the title…. Are we now gaming a genuine golden age of Warhammer 40,000?
I genuinely believe we are.
My reasoning? The rules and missions tend to encourage a decent mix of shooty and hitty in your list. I know some feel that assault has been nerfed into oblivion, but I counter by pointing out it was long overpowered. It’s still key to taking and holding objectives, and thus winning, but if you try the older tactics of heading pell mell into the enemy’s guns, you are going to get shot to bits. So you now need to consider it a bit more, and come up with ways to either swamp your opponent with targets, or shield your best assault troops from all that dakka.
The armies and models? Beautiful Simply stunning. Fewer gaps in the range than ever before, and reducing all the time. Far, far fewer hybrid kits, and increasing levels of all plastic armies
We’ve got Codex Supplements encouraging further variety without bogging down the main Codex for those who mostly just want to game.
Sister of Battle, a long maligned force have had the studio’s commitment shown in the release of an E-Codex which is I understand more than merely functional. Not quite the full shilling, but a very welcome addition bringing the army up to speed with the general 6th Ed vibe.
Game supplements? Lawks-a-mercy have we got gaming supplements. Cities of Death. Planetstrike. Apocalypse. Escalation. Stronghold Assault. Battle Missions. Extra missions in the codex supplements which suit that army. We now have more ways than before to play the game, keeping it fresher for longer. And every one of them is optional! They’re not expansions to the main ruleset which fundamentally change the game, they’re for pre-agreed games.
Scenery? In. Spades. It’s now easy (if not cheap, but I’ll come onto price in a moment) to create a decent looking battlefield. Back when I started 40k (1994, birth of 2nd Edition) my general inability in the realm of arts and crafts meant my boards looked rubbish, and most of my scenery was the nice to look at, but not what you might call hard wearing cardboard and plastic bulkhead stuff, which was pretty static. The imperial buildings kits are particularly nice, as even a numpty like me can use them to make really nice, varied terrain.
Price? In all honesty, I care not for the price. I don’t mean this in a boasting manner, but I’m a bachelor with a decent job, and no dependants. I can afford the prices, and will continue to play as long as this remains my own personal status quo. I get my monies worth out of it, so all gravy with me. I appreciate you mileage in this area may vary.
Paints? I hate painting me. I can rarely be arsed with it, as I never really developed decent techniques. But with the current paint range, and their simpleton branding I can still churn out pretty decent results 😉
Background. I’m loving it. New historical stuff being added, even if it’s just a timeline entry in a Codex. Every race now feels properly fleshed out. Every race fits in.
Forgeworld? Black Library? Two words for you. Horus. Heresy. Total and utter nerdgasm for me. Gorgeous models, brilliant background. Oh, and Primarchs.
In short? Never before have we had such variety in the game. Never before have we had such high quality miniatures in the game. And no, it’s still not perfect. Yes balance issues still remain, but likely always will (that’s the price of a wide variety!) The game feels more polished than ever before. I can rock up to a game with a random list of randomness, and know I can give my opponent a run for his money (of particular appeal to me, as I’m the sort who relishes a challenge, whether work or play).
I now throw open the floor to you my interwebular chums. Although I’ve made a statement, remember the post itself is a question, so chip in 🙂
