One of the most common refrains in the hobby is complaints about the torrent of new units, supplements and codices in the game. Here is how I’ve stayed current in an ever-changing game.
Since 7th edition, 40k has become a rapidly changing game. Long gone are the days where only 2-3 codices a year are released. Now there is a major release almost every month, often making a major impact one army or even across an entire faction such as Imperium, Aeldari or Chaos. So with so much change how do you keep up? The answer like most thing in life is to simplify your approach.
Pick a Primary
My number one advice is to pick a primary army and prioritize keeping that army in fighting shape over all others. When any major shift happens in the game, or even perhaps in an in-flux of new players to your area and you find yourself struggling in games, go back to your primary army, put it through its paces and see what needs shoring up if you aren’t up to snuff.
Multiple Armies, One Faction
If at all possible, when expanding out into other armies, try to stay under the umbrella of a single faction. Being a long time Asuryani player, its really saved my butt that my other armies are Drukhari and Harlequins. With Asuryani builds typically operating as a collection of specialists, changes in the meta can radically change the performance of the army. Having Drukhari which are very strong all-rounders, has given me steady allies (ironically) that have helped me ride out the storm when major changes arrive, and I adjust my Asurayani list or collection. And of course Harlequins are always a wildcard I can throw down when I feel like I’m in a good place to throw my opponents off just when they are getting comfortable.
Find Your Center(piece)
Often times all your collection needs is one heavy hitting unit and some support characters to get itself back into fighting shape. Pick a unit and some support characters that really jives with your playstyle focus on getting that one small combination built, painted and on the table and see where it takes you.
As a former Corsair player, I found the core of my collection woefully underwhelming since vehicles took a major dive for most of the edition. I found my Warp Hunters, Hornets, Nightwing etc. all middling or borderline useless. When Chapter Approved really helped those units out, my collection improved but still wasnt quite strong enough to really perform well over the long haul. Last year when I dedicated myself to getting that part of my collection into fighting shape I knew the foundation of vehicles was not enough to carry the army I identified what my largely shooting based collection needed was a strong melee wing. So I looked across my Aeldari collection and saw my Skyweavers sitting there and saw that if I simply added a single big unit of Shining Spears and some support characters I had some very strong synergy and 2 heavy hitting units. So I simply added 9 Shining Spears and 2 Warlocks Skyrunners to the bevvy of bikers I already had and all of a sudden it put all those forgeworld units into their proper context as support vehicles. With a strong forward thrust of Shining Spears, Skyweavers, Harlequins Troupes all of a sudden the big line of heavy hitting vehicles were really able to thrive. All that collection was missing was a centerpiece around which all the other elements can orbit. Its worked out great and I couldnt be happier.
Bonus Tip: Stay on Target!
When your army is in a really good place, its easy to go down the hobby rabbit hole into different areas. My advice is always keep one eye on your main collection. For example despite the ringing success of my current combination of Asuryani and Harlequins, I’m keeping up the pace with my Asuryani and adding a trio of Fire Prisms to the mxi. Despite having 5 Hornets, 2 Warp Hunters I’m trying to future-proof myself with more versatile options and have options I can switch to if I find those units lagging behind. Besides having a giant fleet of Eldar skimmers just looks cool as hell.
So those are my top 3 tips to staying current in 40k. If you have any tips or advice share them in the comments section below.
If you are interested in Aeldari discussion check out our podcast: Splintermind for exclusive Drukharii and all things Aeldari news and discussion. If you liked the red and gold Eldar models pictured above and are interested in following my painting exploits check me out on Instagram! Thanks for reading and stay tuned!
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