40K Deep Thought: The Hammer Or The Anvil
In modern 40k is it better to be the Hammer or the Anvil on the tabletop? Let’s chat.
With the current edition of 40k, we’ve got a question that we think is still unanswered. It’s more about your approach to list building and the way you try to win from a philosophical perspective. That question is: What is better in the current edition of 40k – to be the hammer or the anvil?
So what’s a “hammer” and what’s an “anvil” you ask? They represent the two different directions you can go with your lists.
The Hammer
The Hammer is the super deadly, hyper-killy, type of list. Your plan is simple but effective. You live by the axiom “They can’t kill you if they’re dead.” And you list reflects that idea. Your list is designed in such a way that you can tear through your opponent’s list before they can find their footing – you might have a super deadly alpha-strike, you might have just a metric ton of firepower, you could even have a bunch of close-combat tricks to punch things to death. However you do it, you are there to kill, kill, KILL!
All you need is KILL!
The Anvil
This list concept is somewhat the opposite of the hammer – it’s not that it doesn’t kill, it’s that it’s built for surviving. Maybe it’s just got a super strong defense or maybe it’s just got a massive horde of bodies that can take all the punishment you can dish-out and keep coming at you. Whatever the case, the Anvil doesn’t get moved. It can camp objectives until the end of the game (or typically when time is called on turn two). Maybe it’s a bunch of 3++ units that can soak all manner of fire power for super cheap. Or perhaps it’s a 600 strong army of Grots that you just can’t chew through – whatever the anvil list looks like it does one thing above all else – it survives.
Gonna need more grots…
It’s the Unstoppable Force vs the Immovable object! What route do you take in your list building for 40k?
