The release of 10th Edition 40k has gotten off to a rocky start. While the Leviathan boxed set seems like a huge win for hobbyist who collect Marines or Tyranids, and the release of the rules and datasheets where completely free, it is clear that 40k is in the beta test stages of the edition. The rules are not polished, a lot of points seem off, and some unit/army abilities are at wildly different power levels. All of these things are fixable and it seems like GW is moving in the right directions with toning down the Aeldari’s Fate Dice and their quick points adjustments, but the hard truth is the game is not in the best state right now. Don’t get me wrong, the game is still intensely fun, and there are some amazing mechanics that 10th Edition has brought to 40k. The Leviathan mission pack is the most fun mission pack I think I have ever played in 40k. The truth is some players may not want to play the beta test of 10th Edition 40k and that’s ok. Below are a few alternate games to check out that may not be as popular as 40k, but they are a blast to play. These games can certainly help fill the miniature wargaming void if 10th Edition just isn’t doing it for you currently.
Age of Sigmar: We will start with the small jump over from 40k to Age of Sigmar. Long gone are the days of 1st Edition Age of Sigmar where points didn’t matter and the games didn’t either. GW has done an absolutely fantastic job of keeping this game engaging and even balanced! The latest Generals Handbook (with rules update) has recently released, so there are fresh missions and quirks to Age of Sigmar games. 40k players looking to test the waters of AoS will be familiar with some of the game’s mechanics like phases and the turn based system, but there are a ton of differences here to peak the interest of wargamers. There is also the added benefit that this game is in the last year of the edition, so the game feels extremely polished. This could be refreshing for some players coming from 10th Edition.
Some 40k players may have reservations about getting into AoS due to the double turn mechanics. I have to say, I had some reservations about this mechanic as well, but once I played a few games of AoS I realized it really wasn’t as game breaking as I thought it would be. Sure, there will be some games where that double turn doesn’t go your way, but there will be way more games that play out as normal, the double turn will go in your favor, or the double turn will allow you to get back into a losing game.
Marvel Crisis Protocol: Moving away from GW products, MCP can be played with just a few models per side. If you are a fan of the Marvel universe this is the game for you (although if you are a fan you are already playing this game I’d assume…). MCP does an amazing job of making the powers of the Marvel characters come alive on the table top. Whether it is the joy you can feel from Hulk tossing a NY apartment building at an enemy, or the thrill of Killmonger gaining extra VPs for killing the highest cost enemy hero/villain. MCP can be enjoyed even just with the Core Set, but there are a TON of characters available for this game.
A Song of Ice and Fire: This game is probably the freshest take on a rank and flank miniatures game on the market currently. The movement mechanics are SUPER fluid, units come on trays of 12 for infantry, and there is an entire side board for Non-Combat Units (NCUs) that have a huge influence on the game (probably more than the actual combat units on the table). I like to describe this as more of a board game than a wargame to people who ask. Yes, ASOIAF has 4-6 units on the table maneuvering around doing all of the things wargamers are familiar with like charging, shooting, or marching, but this game also has the tactics board. The tactics board is where you place NCUs to create extremely powerful effects on the board. There is even a card deck mechanic in this game where you draw faction specific power up cards and play them to interact with combat units and NCUs alike. Anyone who loves complex board games will find ASOIAF right up their alley.
Conquest: Personally, this is my favorite wargame out currently. This game takes so many of the things that made the Warhammer Fantasy great and expounded on them while trashing all of the things that made the Old World get exploded. Conquest is a rank and flank miniatures game that uses multi-model bases to represent the large forces some Warhammer Fantasy players may remember. Want to play a giant horde of genetically grown soldiers? Conquest lets you do that by basing four infantry models onto a single base so you wont need 200 models to represent large regiments on the tabletop. The game play is extremely exciting with a command stack of cards dictating the order of which regiments activate on the tabletop, fluid movement and charges, and an amazing suite of special rules that can all be pulled up on Para Bellum’s free army building app! Any fans of rank and flank miniature games (basically anyone not afraid of square bases) needs to check this game out.
GW will fix 10th Edition. I am positive about that. We have already seen them making some moves in the right direction, but this edition might not be everyone’s cup of tea. It can feel really bad if you just got your feet under you in 9th Edition to have all of these new rules come out in a beta test-like state. Give GW some time to work things out, and while you wait maybe you will find a new game that becomes an old favorite.
All of these games are available over on the FLG webstore for an awesome discount too!