Army Updating – Embracing Change
It
is always difficult to embrace change, especially when you have become very
used to performing tasks a specific way.
When the 8th edition of Warhammer Fantasy came out back in July of 2010,
many players were upset because they were forced to adapt their armies and play
styles to a new format. The game changed
on a scale that required a hard reboot on how many people not only built their
armies but also how they played the game.
The idea of Multiple Small Unit (MSU) armies went the way of the dodo
and the era of large units and destructive magic began. As I had just gotten back into Fantasy about
a year and a half before 8th edition had come out, I only had one
army to really update and that was my Wood Elves. When I made the decision to update the army,
I had to look at how the new game system operated, what rules directly impacted
my army the most and most importantly what tools I would need in order to survive
in the new “age” of Warhammer Fantasy. The
fortunate part of updating at the beginning of the new edition was that I was
able to embrace the new edition with open arms because I knew a new army book
was not coming out soon and I would be able to play with the army for a long time. I also was aware that all of my old tactics
would not be useful and as a result be providing a disadvantage to me rather
than help me be successful.
So
for my Wood Elf army I capitalized on Mobility, Focused Firepower and Assassination
as my primary objectives for building the army.
I was able to break down how I felt the game would flow and make tactics
and decisions about the army that created positive results and I was able to
use units that the “current meta” or “tournament” scene did not find
useful. There were many of our gaming clubs
however that did not embrace the new edition and struggled with realigning
their tactics to work with the new rule set.
Some of those players quit, took breaks from playing or struggled
through the edition until they figured out what worked for them. Therein lays the issue that many gamers face,
a lot of people like making “a list” that they use over and over. Gamers prefer what is familiar and as a
result will seek to use that which is familiar in their gaming. Many struggle for a while when a new book or
edition comes out because they are forced to reprogram their mind as to how the
unit works in the new book from the old book.
With
the release of 6th edition Warhammer 40,000 in June 2012, I was
faced with a similar dilemma. I had been
playing 40k 5th edition so much with the same “lists” for my Eldar
and Black Templars that most games were almost auto-pilot in some regards. However in 6th edition, Games
Workshop completely changed the way the game system worked. In 5th edition the Assault phase
was king, and armies that brought units that could unleash a hellstorm of
attacks in close combat were devastating.
You could blast your transports forward at full tilt and if they
survived the next turn because they weren’t Destroyed or Exploded, you could
disembark your death squad and assault the hell out of your opponent. Now in 6th edition, the game is
far more shooting oriented. Assault
armies have been nullified and the day of the bolt-gun has dawned and the day
of the chainsword has set. An incredible
amount of army configurations were nullified when 6th edition came
out, especially with the advent of Allies and Fortifications. So with all the changes to transports,
shooting, assaults, the reimplementation of overwatch, flyers, pre-measuring
and Look out Sirs, the additional confounding issue that I ran into was that
two of my armies were getting updated within a few months of each other.
The
answer is simple in this respect. It
took me a few weeks to figure out what I wanted to do mainly because I have
always built a list first then built the army after. Any small tactical changes which required
units being swapped out was always done in the initial stages as to now waste
money or time. Now I have to throw all
of that methodology out and adopt the new practice of building units that I am
familiar with or like and making a list when the game is decided upon. It is entirely possible that in a week I
could be invited to play a 2,000 point game of 40k, a 1500 point game of 40k, a
2.5k game of 40k with Lord of War allowances and a 2000 point game with
Stronghold Assault rules. A single
list isn’t going to be very effective in all those games but having units that
I like and know how to use is.
So enter the age of the
collection lists and bid a fond farewell to the days of the static all comers
list used in every game. Enter the age
of lists that will have more guns than blades and where the battlefield and battleforce
are equally dynamic. Enter the age of
spending more time creating a unit with a story and then fleshing out that
story every time you play. Lastly, enter
the age were its finally possible to build a narrative and create a fun and
exciting game.
While this issue isn’t as
prevalent in Warhammer Fantasy 8th edition, I still have a Wood Elf
army that will need to be updated in 2014 which I am both excited and dreading!
Armies on the
Update Docket:
1. Ulthwe` Eldar – I want to create a themed Ulthwe` Strike Force that I can sub out options and maintain the Guardian and Seer Council theme.
1. Ulthwe` Eldar – I want to create a themed Ulthwe` Strike Force that I can sub out options and maintain the Guardian and Seer Council theme.
2. Black Templars –
I want to build a narrative crusade full of characters, knights and zealots who
are still determined to bring the Emperor’s wrath by bolter and chainsword.
3. Wood Elves –
this army will be getting updated sometime this year. I can only pray that they do a good job with
the book and do not unintentionally make most of its builds impossible to play
successfully.
So I’ll wrap up this long winded
whine with the realization that I have become more casual than competitive and
honestly, it doesn’t bother me in the slightest. That is not to say that whatever lists I use are not going to be efficient and cock-punching but I can guarantee they will be fluffy themed and fun too!
Hopefully, this year will be filled with interesting and
fun hobby updates as I build my armies.
