Warhammer 40K: Why Crusade Failed
Warhammer 40K 9th Edition introduced a new way to play: Crusade. It hasn’t really worked out – but could have a golden future.
Crusade was a new way to play 40K introduced in 9th Edition. It’s a ton of fun and I even think it might be the best way to play the game. However the narrative play system has some major flaws. These flaws are so great that it’s fair to call the system, as presented in 9th, ultimately a failure. It has failed to have the impact it deserves and never achieved the attention it needs. Let’s take a look at why.
Hey! I Play Crusade!
Now, right off the bat I’m sure a lot of you are saying something like “Crusade isn’t a failure, I play Crusade!” And that’s fair. I’m sure you do. However just because some people play it, doesn’t mean it’s a rousing success. Numbers are of course very hard to come by, and it’s really impossible to tell how many people play Crusade vs other formats of 40K. However by far the greater amount of online discourse, GW announcements, events and visible energy is spent talking about and playing Matched Play. Matched Play, not Crusade, remains the default form of Warhammer 40K. On top of that, success or failure goes beyond just how many people play the system. If you play it, and like it that’s great. I’m not trying to knock that at all. However, what we will do here is take a look at some reasons I think it’s been a failure.
The Roll Out
I think Crusade’s biggest mistake was in its roll out. The initial Crusade rules came with the 9th Edition rulebook. They laid out how to play Crusade and some generic Crusade rules. However the real meat of Crusade, including all the things that really make army unique and fun came later in the codices. And it was a lot. The initial Space Marine codex alone has 9 full pages of Crusade rules. These really are awesome and fun. But you only got them with a new 9th Edition Codex.
It turns out that is a major issue. With the way things rolled out it means some armies, like Astra Militarum, had to wait over two years to get any real amount of special Crusade rules. That… sucks. If your army was late to the game it could be a huge turn off to playing Crusade. You’d find your army at a disadvantage, both rules and theme/fun wise. This was just a poor releases for Crusade rules and turned people off.
It’s Basically A Campaign System
Crusade is basically a campaign system. It only really works with regular game play among a group of players. If you have that kind of group it can be amazing! A few friends meeting on the regular to play is very rewarding. However it doesn’t lend itself well at all any kind of pick up games. Trying to go and find a random person at a FLGS to play Crusade with just doesn’t work out well. It’s innate set up makes it really own work for a very narrow type of group or gamers.
It’s Inaccessible For New Players
Crusade is not a great system for a new player. It adds a lot of complexity and bookkeeping onto an already complex game. On top of that, as I mentioned, it’s bad for pickup games. For a new player trying to meet people and play against whoever at a store its a very poor format. It also adds a random element. With units maybe dying or turning into other units that can be bad for someone trying to build up a specific, new army.
It’s Also Tough For Casual Players
In the same way Crusade is difficult to access for a new player, it’s also challenging for the really casual players. It adds complexity and a ton of new rules to learn. And it requires playing regularly with the same group. A lot of more casual players simply can’t do that, and don’t want to put in the extra work needed for all the bookkeeping and (likely) house rulings that are needed because Crusade is kind of broken. Which leads to my next issue…
Crusade Is Broken
Current 40K is an unbalanced and often broken game. Crusade leans further into that. Take 40K, and then add in even more rules and effects. Then add in the easy option for players to cheat (by altering their bookkeeping, making up games, etc.). With that alone you can see that why people say Crusade is broken. To make matters worse GW hasn’t ever many any attempt to balance it. Matched Play gets FAQs, points changes, and fixes regularly( sometimes weekly). Crusade does not.
And to some people that is fine. Since it’s not Matched Play you can just house rule out anything that’s bad. Agree within your group to change the rules. Not allow that cheater to play in your group. And yeah you can do all that. However that all compounds the previous issues we’ve discussed. It forces you into a smaller group of people you trust a lot and all agree on the same things with. It discourages new players or any kind of pick up games. Not to mention that any system you need to do a ton of house ruling on would seem to be a failure.
How To Fix Crusade
Crusade can be a lot of fun, with the right group and in the right circumstances. However as a viable alternative way to play 40K, equal to Matched Play, it has failed. That doesn’t mean GW should get rid of it altogether. But it does mean I don’t think its deserving of its core place in 10th, as it distracts from the main game after all. I don’t really think it’s all that hard to make some major fixes to Crusade in 10th. The first and most important way – is to spin it off. Rather than releasing it in Codices all the Crusade rules for every army should come out in one large book (think of how Apocalypse was first released).
This book could be a really beautiful tome full of art and rules to make each army feel more unique. Putting everyone out at once would allow for more balance and for all the armies to have stuff from the get go. Having everything in one book would also better allow for FAQs and fixes. On top of that you could put out a quarterly Crusade book with new missions and rules tied into some campaign. Lastly just sell Crusade as what it is, a really cool campaign system. Stop trying to make it something it’s not, it will be better for it.
Let us know if you think Crusade was a failure, down in the comments!
