40K Deep Thought: Army Model Count Can Make You a Better Player
Never has there been greater diversity in army model count – but does it make a difference in player quality?
Just think about where we sit one year into Warhammer 40,000 8th edition.
No overwatch hurts like Harpoon overwatch!
You could play Imperial Knights and Field 3 Dominus class knights for a 1750pt army (what Warhammer World is now playing for their events):
Model Count:3
I did it for the cool masks!
You could play Cultist spam Chaos Marines and end up with model counts of over 400 with CSM support:
Model Count: 400+
We have an enormous range of army sizes these days. We’ve always had mega model count armies for years, but Imperial Knights and the Custodes have redefined just how small and nasty GW could design an army to be.
For the veteran player who wants ALL the options…
Does Model Count Matter
Here’s the big question of the day: Does modelcount increase or decrease player skill, or difficulty of winning, a related but different issue?
Just think about the pros and cons of both extremes:
Small Armies
- Fast to play
- Less number of unit and rules interactions to deal with.
- Tend to roll less dice, leading to more randomness across a game.
- Easy to predict (for both players)
- Easy to understand (for both players)
- More affected by model losses (due to less models to lose)
Bigger Armies
- Slower to play
- Higher number of unit and rules interactions to deal with.
- Tend to roll more dice, leading to less randomness across a game.
- Harder to predict (for both players)
- Harder to understand (for both players)
- Less affected by model losses (due to more models to lose)
The Cycle of (gamer) Life
Over the years I tend to see a strange cycle as players come and go through our beloved hobby.
New players – often gravitate to smaller model-count single codex armies, most often Space Marines. Here they get their feet wet and learn the ropes.
Mature players – expand into high model-count complex multi-codex armies, and revel in the pure math and overt complexity of their new builds. It is here that players often become most competitive.
Veteran players – will often go back to extreme small model-count builds for the pure challenges associated with them, and the all important ease of transport and shorter games one way or the other. Becasue of course spending time with your friends talking about 40K and getting some beer in the end is more important than actually winning or losing. While many players back off the competitiveness, watch out because you will sometimes see the “savants” out there in this category who can slice an opponent to pieces with a tiny army like a master chef working with his knife.
~ What type of army model counts do you like and do you see the same general themes with players in your area?
