Monday, December 30, 2013

Warhammer 40k D weapons and Superheavies? Is the Sky REALLY Falling?



Of course it's not! But that doesn't mean things haven't been falling apart for the 40k community recently. In fact, all this anger on both sides of the conflict has finally prompted me to put my word in. Now first off I want to clear up a few things. I am not a competitive tournament player anymore. I lived that life years and years ago but I have not been much since late 5th-6th edition as it stands. But understand this: I am a VERY competitive player. I don't like to lose. I like to win but not at the expense of my opponents. To me now as I enter my older and (hopefully wiser) years in this hobby I am starting to the WHOLE picture. To me now, the game is at its peak hobby wise.We have gorgeous new models every month and new supplies and ssupplements to go with them. There is so much us players can utilize now, it is insane! Enter the recent SUPPLEMENT Escalation, which takes our game for a curve. Destroyer weapons and superheavies allowed in regular games? Yup. It finally happened.

And I love it.

You see there are two sides. There is the side who embraces GW open and creative thinking. These players are mostly in my experience like myself. Competitive,but not necessarily by tournament or big event standards. They see the game as a hobby and not only a game to be played.

The other side is made up of the more serious minority (but still just as important partof our community!) Of dedicated gamers who view these changes and as a ruiniation of the actual game itself. These players are very knowledgeable and strategic and usually k now what they are talking about, yet sometimes both sides end up in what I call Hypothetical Hyperspace.

The biggest culprit and topic of discussion right now is the Elder Revenant titan. At 900 points and putting out for 4 D blasts a turn this single unit has changed our game. As players scramble to find ways to counter the hypothetical scenario in which they could face one has taken the internet by storm
 But you see, the reality of it is, is the Revenant Titan should not have caused such an uproar but it has. And now a community is divided over what to do. To me the real threat is not the Revenant itself, but the attitude it has inspired. That it cannot be beat unless by some other extraoridnary means. That they will somehow be included in every list under the sun. And that they and any other thing deemed to much by a minority should be auto banned.

I can count the number of players I personally k ow with a Revenant with one hand. Sure this unit is awesome but let's face it. How many people do we know that have this guy? And of that  how many are not proxying and have dedicated Eldar armies to accompany them? You see those that own them are in 3 groups In my opinion. The first is the dedicated Elder player who wanted one for his collection. I have no problem with this and respect it immensely. The second group are the bandwagoners. Those that started Elder armies or recently added one with the sole purpose of crushing others. And the last group is the WAAC players who bought them to only win tournaments.

Those are the only 3 groups I can really see bringing one to the table.

Finally. I want to close by saying that the game is changing. It is SUPPOSED to change. This edition is meant for it. No longer can we be stuck and unwilling to adapt to the game in hopes that it will somehow adapt to us because it isn't. The game is moving. Those that refuse to move with it are being left frustrated and bitter and are poising the rest of us who are trying to enjoy the ride. Escalation and Stronghold assault are just new doors to new places. You don't have to open them yourself but don't stop someone else from deciding to open one. And for those that hate it before they have tried it, I Implore you you: Go at play a game with a Lord of War. Try it yourself. Don't sit on the computer looking at negative and fictionous posts about things. Go out and be the hobby. Play the game. Learn. Grow. Change.

-James

2 comments:

  1. Also for the record. I suspect that this too will blow over. Just like it did with the Flyer, Riptide/Wraithknight craze. Our community is good about eventually moving on and getting past these small bumps.

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  2. People forget the Revs Ds are BLASTS so versus flyers its helpless

    Cron Air anyone?

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