Warhammer 40K: Things We Don’t Need Any More Of
Ever look at 40k and say “Yeah, I could go without seeing more of that in the game.” Us, too. Here are the things we don’t want to see more of on the tabletop.
Warhammer 40,000 has a lot of *stuff* in the game. But there are certain mechanics or unit-types that we’re just done with. We’re tired of seeing them get added to the game and want some more creative options or just something different. Now that we’ve got 9th edition, we’re hoping that GW moves away from these as a fallback and introduces different ways of doing similar things. Read on to see what we mean.
Re-rollable Invulnerable Saves
We really don’t need more units with Invulnerable saves on the tabletop. Unless you’re a Tyranid, you’re probably good on Invulnerable saves in your army. The AP system makes weapons feel like they have an impact on armor and having units run around with 3++/4++/5++ is bad enough. It’s even worse when they get a re-roll. GW seems to have moved away from ways to get a 2++ which has been great. But let’s tone down the re-rolls for Invulnerable saves while we’re at it.
If a unit is supposed to be extra tough things like “Feel No Pain” that help units ignore damage fit the bill. We’re not advocating for tough things to be easier to kill, we’re just saying that hitting a target and doing *some* damage is more fun and dynamic than hitting a target and nothing happening. If this was a D&D game, it’s the equivalent of fighting a monster with a ton of Hit Points but low AC. It’s fun to hit and do damage – even if the monster lives. It’s boring to just miss and do nothing.
More Special Rules
The game has a lot of special rules. Anyone who’s played more than one edition of 40k probably gets things mixed up all the time. That said, 40k’s special rules can generally be put into specific buckets and that’s why you might have players refer to other rules as more generic rules. For example, Disgustingly Resilient might be referred to as a “Feel No Pain” save by a veteran player. That’s because they still remember the old Universal Special Rules or USRs.
The USRs weren’t perfect but they did make the games easier to understand. As it stands now there are many abilities that essentially do the same thing but are named different. Does that make the game more flavorful? In some ways. Back to the “Feel No Pain” example, in previous editions Disgustingly Resilient would have been “Feel No Pain (5+)” meaning that you had a FNP roll of 5+ to ignore the damage. If you’re a Blood Angel with Black Rage* it would have been “Feel No Pain (6+)” which means you had a 6+ version. Pretty simple and easy to follow.
Do we need to move back to a USR system? It’s too late to do that in 9th. But maybe in the next edition GW could modify how those Special Rules are written and have these USRs referenced some other way.
*Black Rage also adds an attack but that’s a whole other thing.
Stratagems
Seriously. GW – we’re good on Stratagems. Every army in the game has like 30 now and then there are all the generic ones. Plus, if you want to start including scenario stratagems for attacker/defender that’s another 3-6 per mission. There are hundreds of stratagems in the game now and honestly, it’s just too much. And folks don’t even use all the ones they have! You could literally remove all the stratagems that don’t see use and still end up with 10+ per army. And you’d still have a couple hundred stratagems in the game. If every army had 6 core stratagems and then another 4-6 based on internal subfactions, we’d still have over 200 in the game! Please stop adding new ones already. Make the existing ones useful.
Grav-Tanks
So Grav-tanks used to be this cool type of tank that sort of represented “future tech” if you will. The Aeldari were the masters of the anti-grav with their Falcons and their Wave Serpents. Then, somehow, the technology started getting doled out to everyone else. T’au use it with their Devilfish. Custodes use it for all their jetbikes and Forge World tanks. Space Marines now rival Aeldari in anti-grav tanks. It’s getting to the point where we’re kind of surprised that Leman Russes don’t have anti-grav options (please don’t steal this concept, GW).
Once the Primaris line is wrapped up (hah – like that will ever happen) can we pump the brakes on the Grav-tanks? Not everything needs to Hover in the Grimdark. And Speaking of Primaris…
Space Marines
I know I might be in the minority here but I think we’re good on Space Marines for a while. Are more kits on the way? Yes. We’ve still got quite a few slated for release plus a new Codex for them in October. But, again, that’s kind of the point we’re making. GW, you’ve got a LOT of other factions in the game that could really, REALLY use some attention right now. We’re good on Space Marines after October. Seriously. Put the kits out for all the units and then PLEASE switch gears to other armies that could use some love right now.
Bonus: Space Marine Lieutenant Models
We’re probably going to get hate mail from at least one person for this one. But we’re good on Space Marine Primaris Lieutenants at the moment. Seriously. Can we get some “Lieutenants” for other armies for awhile. How about some Chaos Lieutenants? Or Ork Lieutenants? Or Tyranids Lieutenants? Or [Anyone but Space Marine] Lieutenants!?
What are some models/units/rules you’re tired of seeing repeatedly on the tabletop?
