Reader Olly wrote in asking us for a few words of advice on getting back into 40K after a long break taking 6th ed into consideration. I thought this was a question a lot of you out there might have and so decided to share the conversation as Olly makes some good points and asks some intelligent questions.
Hi guys,
I’ve been away from WH40k for about 7 years now and recently made the foolish mistake of going to a local games club to catch up with some old friends and I am now sorely tempted to begin playing again. Let me start by saying I love the site, as a former competitive player, your insights in to the current 40k “meta” and battle reports are invaluable in helping me quickly get back up to speed with play-styles and tactics.
I have also been keeping a close eye on the 6th ed “leak”. I plan to only own one army of about 2,500 points with which I would be able to compete with at top level events here in the UK so I don’t want to invest only to have my army get totally nerfed come June. I have been playing tester games using friends armies and proxies to make up GKs (Purifier spam), SWs (Fairly standard) and BAs (Mechanised) and have found elements of each that I love.
So my question to you guys really is this, which of these armies do you consider to be the best long-term investment? I know GKs/SWs are boss right now whilst BAs are still considered to be very competitive (despite the well reasoned assertions of some that they SUCK!) but how would this change assuming the 6th ed. rules resemble something like we have seen in the leaked PDF? In your opinions, will GKs/SWs get seriously hurt? Will the rules propel (mechanised) BAs back to truly elite status with the new vehicle moving/shooting/disembarking+
Thanks,
Olly
United Kingdom.
Hi Olly, thanks for writing!
Glad you like the site, we work really hard on it and it is gratifying to know that people gain something from it.
Any of those armies is a solid choice, honestly. We have team members here that play all of them competitively, and they are all brutal. I feel that Purifier Spam GK is probably the best build out of what you listed i a take all comers environment, although Long Fangs and Grey Hunters are never a bad choice and run a very close second.
The thing is, going into 6th, both armies will get better in some ways and worse in others (assuming the rules are legit, which we think they are).
Not being able to score from inside a Transport or only being able to shoot 18″ out of one hurts GK more than Wolves as they tend to rely on staying inside their Rhinos shooting Psycannons with small squad sizes. Grey Hunters tend to come in larger, more resilient squads, but they still aren’t all that suited to baby sitting objectives. They are aggressive units that like to move up-field and assault. What we may see happen is units of 5 Grey Hunters (still dirt cheap) sitting BEHIND Lazorbacks (out of LOS) and camping an objective.
Both Long Fangs and Psyfilmen Dreads will become easier to hit with EV, but both also got more deadly with decreased cover saves and increased odds of hitting their targets.
GKs also took a hit with the force weapons becoming less deadly, although only slightly. The increase in Psychic defense (all psykers getting a 5+ to stop powers) will also impact GK more than any other army.
The move from KPs to the new hybrid KP/VP system will also hurt GK builds (particularly Draigowing builds) more than Wolves as they tend to have lower KP lists.
In all, with those lists, I think the Wolves take less of a hit, although by no means will GK be weak now. They will still be a top tier army IMO, just reigned in a bit which honestly is a good thing. Wolves will play largely the same as they do now, perhaps with less Long Fangs (although I doubt it). We may see a resurgance of Plasma Cannons as with the new rules for multiple blasts and reuced cover saves, they become absolutely deadly.
Blood Angels though, got a BIG boost in this rule set (and again, Raw Dogger’s article about them was humorous in intent). All of a sudden, characters like Dante are worth their points. 4 wounds means he can’t be insta-killed by much, and his ability to not scatter means deep-striking and then engaging into combat will be very good. Mephiston also got even better as he is more resilient to instant death.
Being able to make an engage move out of a vehicle that moves at combat speed also means that BA vehicles can deliver troops into combat far better than normal Marines. Since their vehicles are fast (if I am reading it right) they can move 12″ and the unit inside can assault. Nice one!
What this means, is that DoA angels, mech angels, and even better (IMO) hybrid BA, will be very good. The changes to the Power Weapon rules (5++ in combat) means that units like Sanguinary Guard are now much better, just about
- Readers write in, we answer!
flying Terminators. Definitely worth taking a serious look at.
I feel that any of these three will be rock solid choices and that the playing field has been leveled to a large degree. Obviously, we still need to do a lot of play testing before we can say anything definitively, but that is my initial assessment.
I hope that information helps you make a decision, and welcome back to the hobby! Hit us up anytime.
Reece
ehh, shame is these so called 6th edition rules are not leaked form GW but a hoax… I am so disappointment! But it has been confirmed last week to me, as a friend of mine is related to FW employee (on senior manager position) and believe me or not but GW team was same surprised as we are by seeing these rules! Well i am going into PP …
Hmm, well that is certainly interesting information. We will have to see if it is true. Thanks for sharing, but time will tell what really happens.
In regards to the “The changes to the Power Weapon rules (5++ in combat) means that units like Sanguinary Guard are now much better, just about flying Terminators.”…. if you take a look at the Codex Update the Glaive Encarmine is not “Powerweapon”, and lacks the “Parry” ability.
Eldar Banshees on the other hand are pretty sweet now, Fleet and with Powerweapons.
=)
Doh! Haha, thanks for catching that, that is a bummer. I was getting excited for Blingwing, but alas, they aren’t meant to be.
But yes, Banshees are much improved, good catch.
I think Blood Angels will be more formidable than GK or SW in the 6th ruleset simply because of their flexibility. They’d be a great army to start right now as they’re reasonably competitive as is, and will only become even better after 6th drops. 🙂
I’m liking the potential my Angels seem to have in the 6th Ed leak. I’m really hoping the “assault after deep-strike” thing pans out as there are several armies that deserve to utilize that.
As far as the legitimacy of the “leak”, I’m going to laugh in the face of all the naysayers when this turns out to be 99% similar to the printed rules in June/July, and should it prove to be a fake I think I’ll still play it like 99% of the 40k community has already decided lol. I just can’t believe the negativity I’ve heard towards this leak when overall it makes the game more fun, enjoyable, quick, interesting, and balanced. Some people are greatly misinterpreting the Ballistic Skill/Evasion chart, and are focusing on all the negatives of an edition change. Why all the hate? I still haven’t figured that out.
In the mean time, my gaming group and a majority of the 40k community will be enjoying the leaked rules until the summer when the actual rules hit.
People fear change. Every time a new book comes out, or a new rule set, there will always be the chicken littles of the world that cry that the sky is falling.
I love these rules for the most part, and hope to see them come into being, or something similar to them. They are straight aces in my opinion.
Time will tell!
Looking towards a competitive army considering 5th and 6th, I think you have to look at grey knights and little else, especially if you are only going to play one army. The GK codex will give you some flexibility beyond just Purifier spam, while staying at the top tier.
I agree that SW are great and a clear second choice and for BA, I would strongly steer any new player with competition as a focus away from BA. The primary reason for this is the extreme problem they have with GK and in a competitive environment you can’t just hope to miss playing GK. Under 6th ed., I am not sure this relationship will change when you consider what things are being improved.
In 6th ed., BA close combat should get better (leak is real or not, close combat should get better), they potentially gain better assaults out of transports like Reece mentioned and there are high hopes for “assault after deep-strike” as TheDave mentioned. Well, what is the very last thing you want to assault… I6 helberds… So, does the primary weakness of the BA assault army change in 6th? No, and for this, I think BA is a non-starter when looking for just a competitive army.
Now, if you want a well rounded, fun, creative and otherwise competitive army, BA is where it’s at! Also, I am not sure how 6 predators and razorbacks will look in 6th, they could be solid still.
You make some great points, and I agree. Any of those armies is a good choice, however, Grey Knights really are crazy powerful. Overpowered some would say!