Warhammer 40K: Looking at the Past and Future
Adam here to talk about this year in 40K, the next, and to take a final bow.
Hey everyone! Adam here for my final weekly article about the world of competitive 40K.
As the saying goes “All good things must come to an end”. I know the definition of “good” in this case might be stretching it but I have decided to end my run at writing this weekly article. Now, now, don’t be sad. I will still write the occasional article and you will still see me at a number of tournaments across the country so there will be plenty of opportunities to hear my thoughts on the game. Speaking of which, for my final piece we will take a look at the past year and look and see what the new year will hold for competitive players.
This Past Year
This past year has been pretty exciting and lively as we slowly began having events for tournament play. We saw a few book rise to the occasion and it seemed to be a rotation on what the top players were playing and what was winning events. Then both the Druhkari and Adeptus Mechanicus books hit and everything we knew kind of went out the window. Orks then added to the list of books that stood above all others. Although it looked like Games Workshop wouldn’t do anything about it they finally stepped up to correct the books that had issue. Now the Freebooters and Ad Mech are not seen as much in the top table after the release of the balance datasheet but it appears that Druhkari are still going strong.
Sure the points adjustments helped but what it really did was just shift the focus to other parts of the codex. Now units that were rarely used are cheaper and used more often. It seems that Grey Knight Nemesis Dreadknights also need to be looked at as they were relatively untouched by the recent balance sheet. With the abundance of tournaments happening we were seeing some diversity in the top placing with a lot of the 9th edition codexes taking those spots. Luckily, towards the end of the year, Games Workshop finally decided to have a bigger hand in balancing the game for many players and I hope this trend continues.
Upcoming Year
I just briefly mentioned one of the things I am hoping for the new year. I hope that Games Workshop continues to provide updates, corrections and an FAQ for the game, in a timely manner as they have recently told us. I think that the quarterly balance is a nice way to keep things from getting out of hand and make any adjustments that they need. I expect that all of the main codexes will be out by the end of the year and that the more specific codexes will be out after all the main ones are done. This leaves open of the possibility as Games Workshop could make a supplement for some of the more obscure armies out there.
I think that we will see more diversity sitting at the top of tournaments. Whether its through the balance dataslate or just people finding ways to win. With all the main books out I think we will get a better picture on the health of the game as a whole. Even I have to admit that the game was heading for a dark place but I think Games Workshop is starting to reel it in and, with the next balance dataslate, they should be getting closer to a state where each army has a good chance to win a large tournament and have a mucj closer win percentage as a whole.
What’s Next for Me
For me, there is a lot going on. I still have been playing my Thousand Sons. I know they aren’t a top tier army but they are pretty good and I feel like I am in the game no matter how the game goes. I think this is the type of feeling that I want the game to intimately have. I will still be judging and I should be judging about 8 events this year. There are also a few projects on the historical side that I am working on and some playtesting that I also do for a few game systems.
In the end I just hope that you are all just having fun with the game, as it is meant to be. For those that only recently got into the game, try to remember that changes to the game and armies is natural with his company. Don’t get too caught up in the fact that the way your army plays is changing. Sure it can be a hassle at first but remember that it is usually the same for everyone and that there will be new combos to look at when your faction gets a new book. Change is a part of playing this game we love.
~That’d all for this week. I hope you enjoyed all my articles over the last few years. Let me know what you think, and what you think the future will hold for the game, in the comments section below. It has been my pleasure to write these articles for you and I look forward to seeing you at many of the large tournaments I will be attending.
