Warhammer 40K: Drukhari & Ad-Mech Winners & Losers
Hey everyone! Adam here to talk about what has been happening in recent events and how that may affect you.
There were a fair number of tournaments this past weekend. A large number of grand tournaments were run, as well as a large amount of Rogue Trader tournaments during the weekend, so this time we really get a good look at the Adeptus Mechanicus codex in the wild and how the Drukhari FAQ would affect them. On a whole, a few different armies have won several of the events but what we will look at is really the big two we are really concerned about. So this week let’s look at those results, how it compared to what we expected, and how we think it will project into the future.
Drukhari
One of the big two that we have been worrying about took a little bit of a hit this past weekend, The FAQ and errata for the army seemed to do something but it may not have been enough. The army had a win percentage of around 70%. Now this isn’t the big 80+% win rate that was the previous weeks but the army is still good. Even when you take away those things that made the army good, there seems to be enough in the Drukhari codex to keep the army at a good win percentage, especially when compared to the other codexes in the game.
So it may have leveled out the spike in effectiveness but the army is still a potent force on the tabletop. As the weeks come along, I think we will see the army’s percentage get lower but settle around the mid 60s. I simply base this on the fact that people may change to a newer army, especially as new codexes are released. This assumes that other codexes will not reach the same level of power as Drukhari. If there are codexes that do get to this same level then the number may be lower.
Adeptus Mechanicus
The new kids on the block are making their presence felt. Although they may not be winning all the events, you can definitely see where the army is headed. They come in with a win percentage in the low 60s and that’s just its first real weekend in force. We already know how devastating their first and second turn can be and count yourself lucky if you make it to the end of the game with an army at all. I think the low win percentage, although still better than almost everyone else, is due to a couple of things. First off is getting your hands on the models as there is still a bit of a supply issue but it is getting better. Add to this is the fact that people still have to build and paint the army. There weren’t a lot of people playing the army to begin with so once that is done we should see more armies take their place on the battlefield.
Another factor is that the army is fairly complicated to play. The more complex an army is to play effectively, the steeper the learning curve. It may take a while for players to get the hang of the army, if they are able to at all. Once people finish building and painting their new army, and people learn how to properly play the army, we should start to see the win percentage start to climb up. I don’t think it will be as high as Drukhari, but it will still be much higher than any other army in the game. I’m not even sure if newer codexes will help in curbing this so, if we don’t see some type of correction through a FAQ, I don’t see the percentage coming down any time soon.
Other Contenders
As much as I talk about how these two books are so strong, there are still some books that seem to be contending for the top spot at individual tournaments, even if their win percentage is not the best. One of these is the Sisters of Battle codex that was recently released. Even before their new codex, the Sisters of Battle were doing well in tournaments. The addition of new units, abilities, and especially the new High Lord of Terra, just made the codex better. They are a solid third in terms of the power of the codex.
The only other codex/army that comes to mind as a contender are the Dark Angels – Deathwing and Ravenwing specifically. After having watched and played against this particular army build, it is a real solid army and can really be a contender at a tournament. We will see what the new codexes bring to the table as the year progresses. Even if there is a sense of codex creep, it should, hopefully, bring in more army options and even out the field. It may not be the way we want the game to be balanced. especially for some of the early codexes, but it may be the only way it can be done.
~That’s all for this week. I hope you enjoyed the article. Let me know what you think, and how you think these armies will shake out win-wise, in the comments section below.
