Warhammer 40K Tabletop Thread XLII: The Dice Make Fools of Us All

[Cheesegear]

This one goes out to Avaris:

9th Ed. The Good I Rarely Talk About

• Command Points revamp massively improved Stratagem-use, and Stratagem-importance. Did not change the nature of alpha strikes like marketing said it would. In fact it only made alpha strikes - and defending against them - even more important. With a few notable exceptions that even a braindead idiot could figure out, Stratagem-choice and timing (combined with how Reinforcements works) is actually one of the few 'player choices' still left in the game that affect the game on a turn-by-turn basis. The revamping of Command Points, means that 'player skill' actually comes into effect now.
  For example; Rather than "CPs win games." and trying to spam as many +CPs into your army as you can to give you the most available options - they with the biggest toolbox, wins. Now - in 9th Ed. - your toolbox still needs to be big. But you no longer have the massive toolbox, and you can't afford for every problem to be a nail...At least, most Factions can't - some Factions have Terminators.
• An entire unit moves, or none of it does. Cleans up conga-lining from an Objective to a Heavy weapon.
• Entire revamp of how Reinforcements can enter the board opens up many units to be viable - specifically, slow melee-based ones. It's weird that casuals on the internet don't use Reinforcements and I still hear that Bladeguard aren't good to this day.
• Heavy ranged weapons, only penalise Infantry. Opens up many non-Infantry units to be viable (specifically the cheaper Vehicles)
• Monsters and Vehicles can shoot whilst Engaged.
• Removing multi-Charge significantly decreases the effectiveness of hordes.
• Always Fight First is back in the game.
• Objectives being standardised to 40mm-diameter is a significant improvement over 'Objectives are whatever size you want them to be.'
• You don't need Troops to build a viable army. This allows people to build the army they want without taxes.
• Command Re-roll nerf.
• Customisable Secondary Objectives are a nice idea.

9th Ed. - The Bad You've All Heard Before

• Unit coherency rules for units with 6+ Models makes units of <5 'most efficient' use of board control.
• What a Vehicle's 'Hull' is, is inconsistent. Still. Especially as 'movable' parts of the model are still allowed (and arguably encouraged).
• 'Within' and 'Wholly Within' still a very annoying distinction. Just make everything 'wholly within' and clear up all the confusion. Increase Aura range if you have to...Or don't. Auras too stronk.
• Perils of the Warp still in the game. Get punished for random rolls.
• Look Out, Sir! was nerfed...And then got made irrelevant via Bodyguard-like rules. Many Characters are now immune to bullets - including Sniper-like attacks - encouraging elite-style armies and bringing back HeroHammer - and not for the better.
• Blast is a terrible rule that disproportionately affects hordes. This is one of the reasons you don't see hordes in the meta. The fact that you don't see hordes in the meta, allows for 'sneaky' horde-lists to sneak in, as they build to the meta knowing that they can't be beaten. Tournaments - especially one-off lists - can not be applied to the casual meta. But the internet for some reason, does.
• To Wound chart still sucks.
• Dealing Mortal Wounds isn't a rarity, nor special, anymore. To the point where GW now inserts Ignore Mortal Wounds abilities as a matter of course. Simultaneously invalidating what makes Mortal Wounds a thing, and also one of the defining portions of the meta.
• Removing multi-Charge significantly decreases the effectiveness of hordes.
• Changing Overwatch to a Stratagem, significantly increased the effectiveness of melee alpha strikes.
• Always Fight Last needs to be applied way more liberally.
• Combat Attrition tests are needlessly stupid.
• There are no different rules for small games vs. larger games.
• Power Rating is still useless as an army-building mechanic. However, GW went and tied additional rules to Power Rating (e.g; Reinforcements), meaning that even players who use Points still have to know about Power Rating, even though it's terrible.
• You don't need Troops to build a viable army. This funnels people towards the 'Good Stuff Only' meta as they no longer need to pay taxes.
• Actions are often too punishing to do, for most units.
• Customisable Terrain is dumb, and funnels people towards the 'Good Stuff Only' meta. Yes. It applies to Terrain, too.
• Open Play still broken AF.
• Going first is too strong for good armies. Against certain armies, going first is mandatory if you even want a chance at winning (e.g; vs. Death Guard).
• Secondaries too shallow in their application. As with Terrain, choose the best ones and ignore the others. GW is infamously bad at 'balancing' more than...4...Things at once. *Looks at entire game*...Oh. That explains a lot.
• Narrative Play - specifically Crusade - is a ****ing joke.