40K Tough Love: Why 6th and 7th were EPIC FAIL
Black Blow Fly here with some hard truths about the last editions of 40K and why you should be ecstatic about 8th.
Black Blow Fly swinging through your neighborhood again… this time around I am here to spread the truth about a game many of us have played and let’s be honest there’s some hate out there. Yes I’m talking about Warhammer 40k. So let’s get down to business.
6th edition was the lovechild of Jervis Johnson and Mat Ward. This was the edition that shoved Apocalypse down our throats… had the most messed up ally chart ever and strength D. Remember when Eldar and Tau were battle brothers ?! Taudar or Eldau anyone? 7th edition was released less than two years later as a bandaid solution going from bad to worse.
I have divorced myself from the game playing Horus Heresy exclusively which interestingly enough is a balanced game both externally and internally… the main reason why is that most of the armies draw from the same pool of units and special rules. Horus Heresy is often referred to as Space Marines 24-7 but it works and it works very well as a game. Very rarely have I ever had a game of 30k that devolved into long drawn out arguments about the rules. Forge World got something right and it’s kind of a big deal. What we can take from this as a lesson is if the armies are all balanced against each other it can work with most any external ruleset. Wrap your head around that concept.
Come on in, the water’s fine!
The Great Imbalance
40k 7th Edition to me is a huge disaster zone right now with the imbalance between armies and over-complexity of the rules. The funny thing to me is people who say that 8th edition will harken back to the age of 2nd edition… WRONG. 6th and 7th edition in their own way are both much more like 2nd edition with so many rules that are needless, add nothing to your experience, offer no immersion and just make the game take that much longer to play.
Can’t We Just all Get Along?
Another big deal to me which is a total turn off to playing 40k is the über competitive side of the game. Let’s be real… winning IS fun but come on let’s have some self respect. If it takes fielding Eldar and Tyranids to be competitive why bother ? To me the rules should be maintained SOLELY by GW… For any game out there I really don’t want to play by a set of house rules created by any third party according to how they think the game should be played – that’s the manufacturer’s job. What you end up with is a Frankenstein’s monster that for the most part that just makes the top four armies that much better and yes there is a lot of collateral damage – how many times have you been asked to play by a set of house rules when you just want to play a pick up game for fun?! Screw that.
The King is Dead – Long Live the King!
So now the shoe finally drops… 8th Edition is coming and what can GW do to bring back a game we used to all love? Eradicating all current codices and supplements is a huge step in the right direction. If your arm is irreparable then lop it off. The game needs a fresh start much like 3rd edition when GW did the same thing. 3rd edition was a golden age in many ways. Get rid of needless rules that add nothing to your experience or immersion in the game. Every army should be as equally competitive as possible. Get rid of formations and the current ally matrix. How messed up is Ynnari… you kill one enemy model and your opponent’s entire army gets to shoot and assault you – really?!!
3rd was a solid game. Let’s get back to basics.
I am VERY excited about 8th edition. GW said they are going to give us what we really want and they have a lot of people onboard with them. Make it a hobby again. Make it about having fun over the tabletop – for every player. Über competitive gamers should not dictate how the game is played.
~Give the game back to the people again.
