Warhammer 40K: What Makes a Detachment Powerful
Goatboy here to answer a big 40K 10th Edition question – what makes a Detachment truly powerful?
Goatboy here and while I strive to find the next best thing when doing 40K Rules reviews there are things I miss from time to time. This leads me into the thought on what makes something actually good? What makes a 10th Edition Detachment sing for your army? What is actually powerful in the meta – and why?
Here’s the three big questions I ask of every 40K Detachment I am considering. Each of these questions helps you decide if something is actually good or not. It also is a good way to just figure out how you like to play and the rules that drive your competitive mind onto the neoprene battlezones of 40K.
1. Are the Detachment Rules ALWAYS Working?
This is a pretty simple one in that are you rules always good. There are the simple things like rerolls of failed interactions. These are things like the army has a flat reroll 1’s. It could be something as simple as you always get to move out of combat and get away if needed. It could just be your always -1 to wound. All of these things just work no matter what in some form.
Always being on and active is so helpful when building out an army. You can guarantee your interaction which is a powerful thing. Just having working rules that are always on is great and lets you build around a consistent ability instead of hoping you get the rolls, or conditions you need.
2. Does the Detachment Grant POWERFUL Interactions?
Some times the detachments main rule isn’t the best but it’s Stratagems and Enhancements create powerful interactions that can just win you the game. We all have played against the army that has a sudden “explosive” set of choices that shifts the game instantly. This could be things like guaranteed extra rules you can throw on units or a powerful choice you surprise your opponent with.
There are few armies that just build around an enhancement and call it a day. You could have things like a special aura that chains off a hero and makes all your vehicles just better. Or you could have a way to create a powerful unit that is so hard to deal with that they can easily dominate the center of the table and majority of the game. Looking to see if you have a suite of powerful rules can show you if something is worth investing in building an army with.
3. Does the Detachment Enhance How You ENJOY Playing the Game?
This is an interesting one in that does the detachment give you joy to bring it on the tabletop? Is it actually fun for you to play with? These things are pretty important as you invest a lot of time, money, and skill into getting an army to work right. It’s an interesting thing to ask yourself as you strive to get all the pieces, slap some paint on things, and plan to spend your time on a table top throwing dice.
It is probably one of the things older players think about rather than people chasing the Meta wagon from event to event. I don’t know about you but if the army doesn’t do it all for me I am less likely to keep playing it. It needs something to hit all the receptors in my brain to let me spend the time building, converting, and painting a bunch of crazy random models. Sometimes you will encounter potent rules that you personally don’t like using – so don’t. Remember, if you hate using a Detachment’s rules, it’s not worth your precious hobby time.
What do you think? Do you think about your Detachments like this? Are just in it for cool models only?
