40K: Worried About the FAQ? Buy MORE Terrain!
40K is played in very different ways around the world, and there is no way any single FAQ could solve all things for all people. Let’s take a look at how much terrain forms the meta.
The great 2018 FAQ1 is out, and already folks are saying the gun line is back and assault is dead. But is it?
I’m not going to answer that question, but instead, tell a tale in 6 pictures. Here is a set of cropped images from some of the most famed tourneys around the world. Think about how hundreds of players practicing and playing in these environments would develop different lists, metas, expectations & reactions to 40K’s newest FAQ:
Tournament #1 – large LoS blocking terrain, clumped centrally.
Tournament #2 – limited small terrain, spread widely across the table.
Tournament #3 – Medium LoS blocking terrain, spread widely across the table.
Tournament #4 – Large semi-LoS blocking terrain, spread widely across the table.
Tournament #5 – Large – Medium dense terrain, spread evenly across the table.
Tournament #6 – Medium terrain, spread widely across the table. Warhammer World
Chicken and the Egg – Terrain and the Meta
Ask any 40K tournament TO what is their biggest challenge, and many will say “building up a solid collection of terrain.” It is expensive, labor intensive, difficult to store, and takes years to build up. Think about how much effort it takes you to make a good looking table for your home collection. Now multiply that by 100, 200, or 500. You can see the problem. These collections cannot be quickly adapted to a changing ruleset when a game changes, and it may take years for significant changes to get planned, produced, painted and onto a major event’s tables en masse.
It is these regional terrain collections that form the lines we color within to create the 40K meta. If a particular list or unit combo does well in one regional environment is it because the list is truly good – or is it that it performs the best in its regional terrain?
I’m sure 40K will carry on and thrive. I’m sure the FAQ will upend the meta, but don’t forget that one of the easiest things you can do for your local store, or personal table: adapt not only your armies but your terrain as rules changes come along.
You will be pleasantly surprised at the results and end up with an awesome looking table as a bonus.
~ What’s your take on the terrain seen above and how does it compare to your local store or home tables?
