Goatboy’s Warhammer 40K: Metawatch – Where Are We Post Balance Update?
Warhammer 40K has a new meta – post Balance Update. Where is it headed now?
Well, we had a balance update. It shifted points into a direction that makes me sad for some armies (World Eaters Lord of Skulls went up how much???) but overall – went in the right direction for things. To be honest, it probably didn’t go far enough. But hey – we have to see the data as it continues to move on. We’ve got a big GW event right around the corner. What is the Aeldari word for Tacoma?
The Big Balance Update Changes
Alright, so let’s talk about the meta and where it will go. Overall with this first tweak, we saw a ton of point shifts and then Aeldari getting hit in the fate box. I am happy we saw the fix, but it again makes me think we should have only had printed Datacards when the real codex finally came out. But hey – I like the cards too. I just don’t know if I want to invest in buying them or getting my own printed.
Aeldari Still On Top
Meta-wise the top armies are going to stay the same. I just think the top two get a bit closer together instead of Aeldari being super hot and GSC just sitting weird. But yeah – Aeldari are still number one with so many efficient data sheets, all the weapon rules you could ever want, and methods to brutalize the Strand of Fate Dice to kill you quickly. Heck – I think the Ynnari builds are also insane, as they can take so many other things, still use Fate dice, and have all the fun options needed to kill you. Mark my words – there will be a Ynnari power list rising in the meta – especially after what will most likely be another nerf or two.
GSC Returning As Always
Next up, GSC seems to be the next powerful army in the list of things. Being able to auto-return units is a huge deal, and while they won’t always kill things it is pretty annoying when they can score behind enemy lines all the time. The army is poised to have a shift I bet, and while I think a simple – on a 1 the unit “dies” – we’ll see if that GW adds that in a future nerf. I am sure some point tweaks need to be updated, as too many “free” units is hard to really justify how much they should cost. But hey – the army is extremely expensive in real money to get working right, and while I am sure a ton of 3d printers out there are whirling away, it is a big undertaking to get painted and built in time for an event.
Hey, isn’t this game only a few weeks old, and already we are talking about true fixes? I think the issue is that we won’t see real Codexes any time soon for many armies. While the Balance Update did help – they didn’t do anything to help with the bad books. Death Guard is going to just languish for so long I wonder if it would be worth it for GW to digitally fix. But hey, this isn’t about the bottom of the Meta – we’re talking about the top.
Adeptus Custodes & Imperial Knights
Next up, the toss-up is between Imperial Knights and Adeptus Custodes. Custodes is a weird army that might not kill you – but it certainly won’t die. Is that good enough to keep it near the top? Maybe. But again, it also needs some FW help to let it kill some of the 10th Edition vehicle problems. On the other side of it is the Imperial Knights and how they got a quick kick to the junk on the bigger stuff. But is it enough, or will we see just a shift to the cheapest/best two bigs with a ton of Armigers? I know how the Chaos Knights are just going to shift to all Wardogs plus some Daemons to help shore up some “board” control options.
The Balanced Armies
Of course, from there, we get the middle-tier armies. These armies all kind of feel solid – right where they need to be. I really am liking some of the CSM stuff we hear bubbling up. Not the crazy shooting options but things like Accursed Cultists showing up. It seems like an interesting unit and if we figure out a board control army, this might be it between Possessed and their ability to murder things, Abaddon and friends to hold the middle, and just a ton of Cultists covering the table.
I think Orks probably feel the same as CSM too. Is that good? Is that where the game should be? Like looking at from above the army, are the games with the middle armies where everything should be? Even Chaos Knights – with Towering being kind of an issue – are in a good spot too. A ton of their big knights don’t combo nearly as well as the Imperial Knights. Heck, even the Marine side of things seems ok – beyond some of the Oath of Moment stuff – looks good too? Those poor marines are just not the super hero’s right now, but I bet there is a power-list out there. With so many Space Marine units to choose from, it’s only a matter of time till something rises to the top.
It is sad that think that this tweak didn’t really shift the top armies – just made things closer. I bet will see some more shifts later on after Tacoma or a few more weeks of actual data. We haven’t had a ton of games yet, so we will see. I’ll have an even before long and looking at CSM to be the army to bring as so far I am not seeing a ton of players bringing them.
Keep experimenting with your lists – it’s still very, very early days for 10th Edition.
