Warhammer 40,000 Sixth Edition has arrived with all its bells and whistles, and the rigamaroo of the internets rumor mongering has finally settled down. We all seem to finally have our copy of the new vast and all encompassing volume of galactic laws in our meaty little hands or claws, or tentacles, or whatever...
We have also had a couple weeks of nerd raging, whining, shenanigan discovering, 5th edition comparing, a million good/bad/ugly lists and blog articles, and just a little bit of nitty gritty.... What Now?
I wont bore you with another list of the new and the old, going through the new rulebook page by page as countless other horrible blogs or podcasts already have (and will again.) Sixth Edition is a whole new game as many of us expected and others feared. From 2d6 charges, overwatch, flyers, ap3 power weapons, new book missions, scoring vs denial units, universal special rules overhaul and a whole rulebook full of other items - everything has changed, the entire landscape different in almost every aspect - and this is exciting to some and very very scary to many others.
Some things that are fun and possibly overlooked by some:
In most situations, barring TO or other intervention - Determine table halves BEFORE you place fortifications, terrain, and objectives. Then warlord traits, psychic powers, and night fight. Then roll off to deploy/go first.
Models get cover saves not units. (pg18)
Units in an assault vehicle that was wrecked or exploded, cannot charge during the next turn.
Open topped vehicles exploding hit the guys inside with str4.
Fearlessness, and many other Universal Special Rules, are conferred to the unit if only 1 model has the rule to begin with.
There are many more, these few just some of my favorites...
Many folk have made the major mistake of attempting to compare 6th to 5th as some sort of "fix it" ruleset. Its clearly not anything of the sort. Its not 5.5 or 6e lite, its a whole new game really, all told. To that group of gentlepeople, I say turn the page and get with the program.
Others have decided that 6th is an accidental abomination freakishly and mistakenly released by GW in major need of being fixed itself. Again, not RealityVille in the least. These folks are fixated on repairing the "Obviously Broken" sections of the new rulebook using their obvious know-how and expertise. These folks are just crazy, and almost entirely full of sillytalk. Go make and play your own game already.
Allies especially have been targeted by these goody goodys. Arguing that Allies are Obviously Broken, and that certain units, army builds, and other combos will be so overpowered AND so common that this whole core section of the new game needs to be thrown out entirely. Although most of this bunk is OBVIOUSLY bunk and entirely untrue in many instances. Even the playergroups across the community who are dedicated to breaking any and all aspects available and possible haven't Found or Decided that any units, builds, combos are actually overpowered or broken. All the while the naysayers have no examples.
There is OBVIOUSLY nothing obvious about Allies being broken, here 19 days after the release. Not to mention the truth of the matter, if it matters. Even the internets have very few examples of anything even scratching the surface of "overpowered" or "broken."
Obviously the groups out there wishing to ban Allies and otherwise change the game from Sixth Edition to something more of their liking are just not ready to deal with the new metagame and list archtypes for one reason or another - ineptness or some sort of clinging to the old order - it varies from authority to authority. You know, you could just say you arent ready and would rather wait it out a little rather than putting on your expert-hat and creating your own newfangled ruleset.
Only Fluffbunny and Fluffbunny-esk groups and authoritys are even flirting with the concept of banning allies outright. Not a single major event or competitive community is even eyeballing this one.
"Obviously Broken" is so Amazingly laughable at this point. I still beg for real examples - for some to actually touch the table top across from equally maliciously minded opponent and list, across the weight of games. Besides the rare exceptions, this real-world evidence just doesnt even exist yet. Leaving the super-smart folks wearing Expert hats looking pretty damn stupid.
Sixth edition is a whole new frontier. Untouched by the laughable know-it-alls: it contains a super charge for every codex, armybuild and aspect of the game. Its a whole new explosion of power-gameing on all levels - unanticipated by even the best of the know-it-alls. 2nd FoC, Allies, Psykers, Flyers, Overwatch, Fortifications: Our whole world in all ways has been unhinged and shaken. Dont fall for the trappings of the old order who want to push around their Leafblower, Critical mass, and Rodeo lists for the next five years like Sixth Edition never happened - Dont eat their ration of shit.
The internets and 40k clubs around the world are reeling - attempting to adapt and abuse as quickly as possible and no one is seemingly on the cutting edge at this point. Its fantastic. Embace it my warhungry friends! 3 months from now we will be working with, around, and from whole new list archetypes and new understandings of MURDER on the Tabletop. This is the Dawn of a Glorious new age, and You have a part to play in this Epic.
Death To The Enemies of The WOLFBROTHERS!!!
Sixth edition is what 40k has needed for years, I for one am all for it. With chaos releasing next month it will be awesome to see the first new codex of sixth. Although I can honestly say I'm more excited about a new chaos dex, it's all the more sweet following the release of the new rulebook. MURDER!!!
ReplyDeleteI agree about the change being much needed. I love that there has been so many new things added to make the game even more complex and dynamic.
ReplyDeleteI have already won a 6th edition tournament.....no comPlaints from general Oadius. Whole gameplay is smoothed out and faster. As soon as there is a finecast model for MePhiston all will be well with the universe.....
ReplyDeleteI understand this argument from all sides and although I've been playing since 2003, SDM is right. 6th edition is a completely new game and there are adjustments we're all gonna have to make. I may not like the Allies rule, or any of the other additions introduced but in six months all of these changes are going to become just another accepted aspect of the game.
ReplyDeleteExactly. I dont like not being able to charge from reserve. Can we ban that too?
ReplyDeleteThat rule has killed a lot of army builds including one of my own. Sad face
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