40K: Post NOVA – State of the Meta
It’s time to look over the 40K meta now that the NOVA Open is over. Things have indeed changed.
I predicted Astra Militarum would win and they did taking both the Invitational and the GT… Total domination. Not only did I call it but I predicted the general army list as well. What works for this army is conscripts, artillery, psykers (cheap Smites), commissars, snipers, deep striking plasma command squads and Creed. On top of all that there are points left over to sprinkle in some Saint Celestine goodness. What makes conscripts so good is special orders, objective secured and they are dirt cheap. Right now the meta is dominated by horde or as I say the blob…
Like this – but made of conscripts – and no Steve McQueen.
If you look at the NOVA winning army list there are no broken Forge World units (Malefic Lords for example) … it’s actually a fluffy army too which is kind of like making out with your sister if you stop to think about it and here’s the real kicker – Astra Militarum (AM) gets their new codex this month so expect to see some sweet stratagems and totally kick arse new war gear (relics) on top of everything else they get. So they can either get even better or GW can pull in the proverbial reins. It’s a tough call to say what exactly is going to happen. If they are even better that’s a real kick in the pants to everyone that doesn’t want to jump on the band wagon.
Now let’s take a step back and ask the question is AM really the best army ? I will tell you no it’s not but I’m a rebel… always have been and always will be. When I say this I mean no disrespect to all the other players at NOVA that did not bring AM but let’s be honest – they just couldn’t make it happen. Now that tells me they must be overlooking something because surely there must exist an army list that can beat AM hands down and all the other try-hard army lists out there.
I am partial to elite armies but right now the blob has all the major advantages and the big +1 makes that even more of a sure thing. You can say I’m wrong but the player to face off against AM in the NOVA Invitational final for all the marbles immediately conceded when he lost the right to go first… shortest game in the history of any major final… it is what it is and there’s no denying that either.
I like to analyze the game of Warhammer 40k and I like to develop anti meta lists… it’s what I do. You can throw in your hat and just say F IT or you can go to work. Practice makes perfect (eventually) if you don’t give up. So in conclusion I say again as a follow up to my last article on this subject if you’re really serious about the game don’t give up. It can be done when the right person comes along and maybe that’s you.
~How will you fight the Astra Militarum blob?
