Guest Editorial: Skari on 6th ed and Why change is Good!

Here it is. Its more of an editiorial on 6th edition dynamics…

Hi Frontline Gaming fans! Skari here with another 40k Guest article.

Sixth edition has been cracked open and debated, rules and queries

have invaded the internet community with the questions that we all

have coming to the front and this is just creating more questions!.

But, beyond the questions can be found the basic tenet of it all

-change is good!- I hear your cries of grief! So hear me out as I

outline why this is so, first I will explain the stagnation of the

game as it was in 5th (what it had come to) and then I will relate

that to what will (has) change(d) in 6th.

I was tired of running up against the same old armies over and over in

5th edition. Mech spam, razorback spam, ig, spam… spam spam bacon

and spam cooked in spam sauce. Ok maybe I am going overboard, and I am

well aware that not everyone adhered to the spam dynamic. But, as a

tournament gamer, spam was at its most strong and it seemed like it

was expected, I will go as far as to say it was accepted, by all to be

the “norm” of the game. So, stagnation in the army compositions was

well set in, but also in the missions. The 3 mission types and 3

deployments (9 mission combinations) had been played over and over and

over again… The major events and tournaments in the US and CAD (and

I’m assuming any non GW event) devised their own set of rules and

mission objectives that would make the game more interesting, there

were more objectives to acheive and it was less likely to result in a

draw.

So, as a community we were adapting to the stagnation, but we did not

mess with the core dynamics of the rules. Of course certain major

FAQ’s dealt with some of the grey areas in the rules and this allowed

for everyone to know what to expect when going to any of the major

events. And then… 6th edition showed up from left field. Well, not

as far left as you might think! 5th had been here for a while, and its

age was beginning to show. I know that in my gaming group there had

been a resurgence of fantasy and other games such as Malafoux and

Warmachine as the dynamics of the 40k game had stagnated even within

ourselves (same armies, same players, same tournaments…) to the

point of pure apathy.

Within 6th we see how the game has been shaken from its core. Im not

going to talk about the changes themselves as there is abundant

content online on the subject. But, what did this change do? (other

than make you spend more money) The biggest thing was the

re-evaluation of unit roles. A unit that used to be a hammer can now

maybe be an anvil… or a tarpit (see:fearless). A unit that used to

be very tough, just got tougher! (see:paladins) and some units that

had since been disregarded are, once again, at the forefront of the

hordes (see: Nob Bikerz). Now; this new change in roles has affected

each army in a different way, but units that were once relegated to

the shelf have another chance to become a mainstay of the army. This

is the time to explore! Make sure you test all angles, how special

rules affect certain units, or how weapons and wargear options have

changed.

With these changes, I would have to say its the best time to go to a

tournament. There is no “meta”, yes we know fliers are good, and we

know psykers are good, and we know… well we really dont know

anything yet… I have been using a very similar army to my 5th ed

army and to great effect! So go out to a tournament near you and test

the water, get some practice! And make sure you test the units that

you had given up on, you might find a hidden gem. This “forced”

evolution will only make us better players, for it is truly the

maleable general that will survive, as the great minds of old have

stated, it is better to be a green, flexble twig that can bend and

curve then a strong dry stick that will not bend at all and will snap

when pressure applied. Be that green sap… mould yourself to the new

edition and embrace it. If you dont like random charges, or charging

through terrain, make an army that will bait your opponent into trying

silly things and then punish him for it! Well before I continue to

rable any longer I shall leave you with a task:

List one positive change that overshadows any “Negatives” that 6th

edition has brought your army.

As always you can check out my blog and podcast skared.podbean.com

Cheers! Skari – out