Warhammer 40K: Can Someone Explain Why The New Points Are Bad?
The internet got mad that the Warhammer 40,000 points got simplified. Can someone explain why simple points are bad? I’m just not getting it.
I’ve been playing Warhammer 40,000 since 2nd edition. I’m used to the detail in the wargear section and having tons of options for lists and having to double check points for upgrades. And after all this time I still think it’s been a chore and a barrier to just playing the game. I’ve also been playing Age of Sigmar more and more since 2nd (and now 3rd) edition launched. I’ll be perfectly honest: I much prefer the simplified points structure than the complex one. So does everyone else in 40k land seem to hate it?
Download the new 40k Points here
Why is this points structure bad?
There’s a lot of strange …let’s call them “criticisms” I’ve seen since the points drops. I’m going to go through a few and try to break these down a bit.
The ‘Granularity of the Points’ was what gave the game complexity!
I mean…did they? If hiding options in the army list so that you could pull a fast on on your opponent was a thing you liked to do, well, sorry not sorry — but that’s not “complexity” that just being obtuse. That squad now costs 100 points and they have whatever they have. Did you build them with a lascannon or a missile launcher? Cool. Do they have a bunch of wargear options — as long as it’s in the army roster, again, cool. That’s what they have and that’s how many points they cost regardless of whatever options they have now. How is that bad again?
But Some Units Are The Same But Different (in Points)
Here’s one example I came across and it involves the Deathwatch Veterans vs the Proteus Kill Team.
These two units are both made of Deathwatch Veterans but one squad costs 65 points more per 5 models. “See – that’s just bad!” But is it? Anyone who’s making this argument is being willfully ignorant because, yes, you can just take a Proteus Squad with all Deathwatch Veterans for 65 more points…but you know you’re missing out on all the Vets with Jump Packs, Bikers, and Terminators. That’s the entire point of the points increase. And here’s the thing if you just wanted the standard Vets in Power Armour: Then take the cheaper option! It’s really that simple.
Unit caps and limits from “X” down to “Y”
Okay this one is a legit complaint and I can understand this one — because it’s a big change. There’s a lot of units out there that were sold in boxes of strange model counts in the previous edition. However, you could build them in your lists in larger squads or unit sizes. With the new list building limits on lists there’s a lot of folks out there that do have extra models in their armies that they can’t “legally” field now. That does suck and I hope GW reverts this one or at least comes up with a structure that allows you to double-up on select units.
I *think* the idea was that when you buy a box of these units you can play with exactly with what’s in the box. And while I appreciate that concept I do think they need to take a page from AoS and allow you to “reinforce” select units. That is to double-up on the squad sizes while still only taking up one slot. Hopefully this issue does get fixes.
On the opposite end of the spectrum we have units like the Death Guard Plague Marines. They come in a box of seven. What’s their unit size?
Hmm…okay that doesn’t seem consistent. What I’m saying here is that, no, their system isn’t perfect with these Indexes. But this isn’t a points thing as much as a it is a unit size issue. Hopefully they get this sorted out when ever we get Codexes… because you know those are coming at some point.
Free upgrades are bad!
“I’m a Chaos player and I built my models without Havoc launchers. But now those are free – am I just going to have to go back and redo all my models now?” I don’t know how to answer this one other than: Yeah, if you want to. I’m not sure how strict folks are going to be with the “free” upgrades. I think it’s one thing to say “Oh this Lascannon is actually a Heavy Flamer” in a unit. I think it’s different if you have a Chaos Rhino without a Havoc launcher on the model and you tell your opponent that it has one.
Again, coming from AoS army building, most people just care if you tell them before the game and if it’s a different piece of wargear unit upgrade it needs to have *something* that makes it different on the model. That way if it gets destroyed you can say “oh that option is gone now” — that’s really it. As far as Hunter-killer missiles on all Imperium stuff or Havoc Launchers on Chaos vehicles I think it’s going to get to a point that even if it’s not modeled folks are going to just assume it’s there.
That said, if you’re playing in a tournament you definitely need to check with the rules pack and the Tournament Organizer. Personally, I default to “if it’s not on the army roster, it’s not there.” So just make sure you write it down and tell your opponent before you start playing. A little common sense and common courtesy goes a long way.
Oh and if you’ve got any spare Havoc Launchers please send them my way. Thanks.
There’s a lot of hate going around for the index points and I’m sure I’ve glossed over reasons to dislike them. So please let us know why you are so mad about them in the comments.
