Just about every aspect of Warhammer 40,000 has been reimagined over the years, including army lists. But Why do we still use them at all?
Pouring over a codex or army book to make a characterful, fun and competitive army list is a foundational memory for me. It is a constant in every edition of every GW game I have played over the years. It’s a process I only think of fondly, as it is a fantastic creative outlet, next only to building and painting the actual miniatures. But in this modern age, with so many new and innovative games on the market, why are we still made to create static army lists before we start playing?
Today, points and army lists are nearly ubiquitous in miniature gaming, and it is easy to understand why. If two players want to play a reasonably fair game, you need to figure out how to make evenly matched armies, right?
The problem is that this doesn’t work, at least not as intended. On paper, army lists of an equal points value should generate equally matched forces, but we all know how unrealistic that is. How many of us have cobbled together an army list only to realize after a game or two that we somehow screwed it up and it will not be competitive? Worse, who has not participated in a friendly club or event only for it to get blown up by the one guy who did some research and showed up with a tournament list? If your points system is working correctly there should not be casual and competitive lists, just lists!
So here is my solution: wargames like 40K need to stop using static army lists that players make before the game. When was the last time you played a computer game where you bought all your units before the match started? Was it Myth: The Fallen Lords, the greatest game of all time? What was the last 40K video game you played where you were forced to purchase all your units ahead of time?
My favorite 40K video game is Dawn of War II, a highly tactical game where a good player can absolutely wipe the floor with an average one. In every scenario players start with a basic unit and a hero of their choice. They purchase the rest of their forces over the course of the game like a normal RTS. Why can’t we do this on the tabletop?
What if you started a game of 40k with a single squad on the board and the rest of your points in the bank. You can select any unit from your codex and bring it on from your table edge over the course of the game, as long as you have the points and follow the normal force organization rules. This does not solve the problem of point systems being inherently unbalanced, but it would allow players to adapt to their opponent’s strategy. It would also require a truly insane number of models to have every option in the book available, but you could still play with whatever units you have and would encourage players to continue adding to their armies.
Here is a less radical idea, what if you could spend VPs to bring on reinforcements? Credit to Sid Meier’s Gettysburg for having this incredible idea more than 25 years ago. Maybe you are five points down with no way to make up the deficit, so you spend five VPs to bring on a squad of terminators to help with a couple of your objectives. Will they score them for you and turn the tide, or end up dragging you even lower?
Don’t get me wrong, I still love writing an army list for the right occasion, but if the homework can be taken out of playing against a stranger or a new faction for the first time, I won’t be sad.
And remember, Frontline Gaming sells gaming products at a discount, every day in their webcart!
