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

[Drasius]

To be fair, when has Tau been anything but glass cannons outside of drone spam?

The entire army is made of glass, we have like 1 2+ save amongst the entire codex and I'm pretty sure that's only from an upgrade that you can buy once.

Tau aren't quite glass cannons, and have actually been quite durable for a good chunk of their history. Their GEQ troops at least have a 4+. Crisis suits are T5 W3 S3+ with an option for an invulnerable (and in previous editions a FNP too). Broadsides are crisis suits with with a 2+ and twice as many wounds. Stealth suits are marines with a penalty to hit them (and used to have twice as many wounds as a marine, before marines got buffed). They've got three different options for big monsters with good saves, invulnerables, and in one case a penalty to hit. Plus they can bodyguard everything with drones.

Their vehicles aren't currently too durable, but that hasn't always been the case. Back in... 5th, I think it was? Devilfishes and Hammerheads used to be quite hard to kill thanks to good AV and some decent wargear options.

They're not deathguard or terminator blobs, but they're not glass cannons either.

Jink on anything that hovers or flies (so, every vehicle they have, plus drones) was a thing too.

Triptide and/or Firebase cadre was also stupid tanky since everything could have FNP and/or 4++ (though it was rare to see either on broadsides 'cause cost and the choice between that or EWO).

Ghostkeel/Stealths/Pathies were also supercancer to fight if you happen to be an army without ignores cover (which, granted, was none of the good armies, but if you weren't marines/eldar/tau, you were in for a rough time).

Just because you COULD build them into glass cannons, didn't/doesn't mean that is all they have (though more and more through the editions, that's a benefit and not a malus since 1st turn alpha wins games).

[Cheesegear]

'The great thing about 9th Ed. is how we're simplifying the rules to make the game easier to understand and be more accessible.'

Pre-reviewer has a breakdown after reading the very first rule of the GSC book.

[Forum Explorer]

'The great thing about 9th Ed. is how we're simplifying the rules to make the game easier to understand and be more accessible.'

Pre-reviewer has a breakdown after reading the very first rule of the GSC book.

That's kinda funny. Crossfire is pretty simple compared to what Ad Mech got.

[LeSwordfish]

I like that they're doing these cool and interesting rules (as someone playing marines, I wish I had something as interesting as that!) but I really dislike the hyper-precise wording of 40k's rules for this reason, making everything seem way more complex and hard-to-parse than it actually is. I also feel sorry for the guy who feels forced to parse it and eke the power out of it for the Content mill, even though he doesn't play GSC.

[Cheesegear]

I like that they're doing these cool and interesting rules (as someone playing marines, I wish I had something as interesting as that!)

...I have a feeling that Marines being simple to play is a feature, not a bug.

I also feel sorry for the guy who feels forced to parse it and eke the power out of it for the Content mill, even though he doesn't play GSC.

I also wonder how getting a pre-review copy from GW, and 'I'm not reviewing this Codex' mesh together.
We've seen the YouTuber NDA and what it takes to get the Codex a week before it goes on order.

Odd.
Or, as may always be the case, it might be an intentional bridge burning as a way to get out? Who knows?

[Blackhawk748]

...I have a feeling that Marines being simple to play is a feature, not a bug.



I also wonder how getting a pre-review copy from GW, and 'I'm not reviewing this Codex' mesh together.
We've seen the YouTuber NDA and what it takes to get the Codex a week before it goes on order.

Odd.
Or, as may always be the case, it might be an intentional bridge burning as a way to get out? Who knows?

Could be that and he just finds the book obnoxious to get through. Wouldn't be the first time GW made weird rules that are annoying to parse.

[Cheesegear]

Could be that and he just finds the book obnoxious to get through.

That may be.
But you're still a Codex reviewer. When GW sends you a pre-review copy, it's your job to review it.

[Fergie0044]

Honestly, I can see why. I've always loved the look and feel of the modern GSC army the only thing holding me back was the high cost of collecting such a horde. Then the new Combat Patrol box was leaked with a supposed 40% discount so I seriously began looking at them. But after reading through the Goonhammer codex review I'm having doubts. First impression is they seem like too much of a headache to play as.

[Wraith]

That may be.
But you're still a Codex reviewer. When GW sends you a pre-review copy, it's your job to review it.

"The codex is obnoxious to get through, and the weird rules are annoying to parse" seems like the sort of thing that should crop up in a credible review.

Oh, wait, silly me - it's a #Sponsored review, gotta play nice or eat blacklist forever after.

[Cheesegear]

But after reading through the Goonhammer codex review I'm having doubts. First impression is they seem like too much of a headache to play as.

The rule seems pretty good.
GSC seem pretty good.
...I just can't be arsed.

Like a Blue deck in M;tG. I see it. I get it. It's really, really good...I'm just not playing it. I'm just not.

...Wait...
I think I just became a scrub. Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Oh, wait, silly me - it's a #Sponsored review, gotta play nice or eat blacklist forever after.

Right. I hope it doesn't bite him in the arse. But it feels like it should.
If GW doesn't enforce that contract...Then it's not enforced...And when that happens...

[Blackhawk748]

"The codex is obnoxious to get through, and the weird rules are annoying to parse" seems like the sort of thing that should crop up in a credible review.

Oh, wait, silly me - it's a #Sponsored review, gotta play nice or eat blacklist forever after.

That would largely be my response. Like... I don't CARE that Sun Avalon in Yugioh is super good, the combo line requires a PHD and three flow charts.

Not doing that sort of effort for my entertainment.

[LeSwordfish]

Right. I hope it doesn't bite him in the arse. But it feels like it should.
If GW doesn't enforce that contract...Then it's not enforced...And when that happens...

I genuinely don't remember - was there stuff in that contract about how you *must* review the stuff they send you? All the stuff people were talking about was about the additional restrictions on your channel.

I assume the way in which it's going to bite him in the arse is the loss of views, ad revenue, patrons, however it is he's monetising his stuff.

[Artanis]

I genuinely don't remember - was there stuff in that contract about how you *must* review the stuff they send you? All the stuff people were talking about was about the additional restrictions on your channel.

I assume the way in which it's going to bite him in the arse is the loss of views, ad revenue, patrons, however it is he's monetising his stuff.

Even if he doesn't get in legal trouble per se, I imagine he isn't going to be getting any more pre-review copies in the future.

[Cheesegear]

I genuinely don't remember - was there stuff in that contract about how you *must* review the stuff they send you?

Yeah. Sure. GW is just giving you review copies for you not to review out of the goodness of their heart.
That makes sense.

All the stuff people were talking about was about the additional restrictions on your channel.

As far as I'm concerned, 'This rule is so complicated that I can't even review the Codex.', and then proceeding to read out said rule in possibly the worst way possible with no editing, is a rather large amount of negative press (as it instantly puts me in the mind of playing particularly complicated M;tG deck that I don't want to touch), especially when it's not couched between half a dozen compliments in a wall of text.

The way you're supposed to do it is...

Intro: 'We're so glad to review this hyped Codex and this fantastic and unique Faction that everyone should like because of it's uniqueness. We're so excited! Buy product! You haven't even read the review and we're telling you to buy now!'
14 minutes in/6th Paragraph down: 'This rule is awful and bad and makes the Codex nearly unplayable. This is not a Faction I will ever play...Ever. And if you don't currently play the Faction, you shouldn't either.'
Conclusion: 'If you love [Faction] then this Codex is for you! It gives you ton of new options that you will love. You should totally buy this book!!!1!one!! I give this one an 8.3/10! Highly recommend if you play this Faction!'
(All of which is disingenuous, since if you love the Faction you can't play unless you buy the book. No matter how bad it is. Gottem.)

I assume the way in which it's going to bite him in the arse is the loss of views...

If he's got going to review GW books, and thus, stops getting GW books to review...I can't think of any reason why I, personally, would go to his channel.

Sponsored influencers have very different rules than you or I, when reviewing products from their sponsor. That's what gets them sponsored in the first place.

My best faith reading of the situation, given some of his other videos recently, this may be an intentional burning of bridges. I can't think of any other reason why you'd non-'review' the Codex the way he did. It would have been better to literally just put a video up saying 'I'm sick. I can't review this Codex right now...' and then sweep it under the rug as you continue to review whatever comes next, and then never address it.

[LeSwordfish]

Yeah. Sure. GW is just giving you review copies for you not to review out of the goodness of their heart.
That makes sense.

My question was "is it actually in the contract". Does anyone have a link to the leaked contract?

[Cheesegear]

My question was "is it actually in the contract". Does anyone have a link to the leaked contract?

It will be a boilerplate; 'We can cancel this contract any time we want, for any reason we want (that reason is when you don't shill for us).'

Disney and basically every video game studio, is infamous for it. It's why corporate/commercial journalism is currently...The way it is.
Play ball or you're out. It wouldn't surprise me at all if New!GW is the same.

Remember the meme? Nothing on IGN ever gets less than a '7'. There's a reason for that...And it's not because all games were good.

[LeSwordfish]

Well, if that's the case, then it's a matter of this guy's judgement as to how much he's willing to annoy them, as opposed to an immediate predictable legal consequence. Honestly, I doubt someone at GW is watching every influencer on their list and checking to see if they're smiling enough.

[Forum Explorer]

My best faith reading of the situation, given some of his other videos recently, this may be an intentional burning of bridges. I can't think of any other reason why you'd non-'review' the Codex the way he did. It would have been better to literally just put a video up saying 'I'm sick. I can't review this Codex right now...' and then sweep it under the rug as you continue to review whatever comes next, and then never address it.

I've heard rumors that the guy actually suffers from depression, so he might no be in the best state of mind right now anyways.

Particularly considering Crossfire isn't that hard of a rule to explain. Hit a target 5 times (or 1 time with multi-damage), everything gets +1 to hit that target. Can you draw a line through that unit to another one of your units? Then you also get +1 to wound. Are you within 12 inches? Then you also ignore cover.

[Drasius]

Oh yeah?

Feels like this would have been 2d6 damage on the Focused and D6 shots on the dispersed the last time I cared. Has this sort of thing been done away with ('cause it was sh*t), or has this been the trend for a while now? I haven't followed along with 40k for quite a while now, so I'm not sure how they do things now.

[Renegade Paladin]

They started doing big flat damage at the start of 9th in the Forge World compendium (the Macharius twin Vanquisher cannon is D9, for instance).

[Forum Explorer]

Oh yeah?

Feels like this would have been 2d6 damage on the Focused and D6 shots on the dispersed the last time I cared. Has this sort of thing been done away with ('cause it was sh*t), or has this been the trend for a while now? I haven't followed along with 40k for quite a while now, so I'm not sure how they do things now.

Basically. They've cut out a lot of random damage (and shots for that matter), but there is still some in each army.

[Gwynchan'rGwyll]

Every other army: "We're getting rid of variable damage!"

Necrons: *crying in the corner*

[Dragonus45]

I genuinely don't remember - was there stuff in that contract about how you *must* review the stuff they send you? All the stuff people were talking about was about the additional restrictions on your channel.

I assume the way in which it's going to bite him in the arse is the loss of views, ad revenue, patrons, however it is he's monetising his stuff.

You may not be compelled to do a review, just like you aren't compelled to give a good review. But a bad review, and I don't see how this video could be anything less then a negative review really, is a great way not to get invited back and given how restrictive the rest of the content stuff looks at the moment it might be really bad for a channel to not be on GWs good side anymore.

[Blackhawk748]

You may not be compelled to do a review, just like you aren't compelled to give a good review. But a bad review, and I don't see how this video could be anything less then a negative review really, is a great way not to get invited back and given how restrictive the rest of the content stuff looks at the moment it might be really bad for a channel to not be on GWs good side anymore.

Unless they're just gonna bail period because they're sick of having to constantly be "nice"*

*Nice of course meaning basically worshipping the ground that GW walks on for 5 minutes per 30 seconds of negativity.

[Renegade Paladin]

From GW's annual report:

[Drasius]

From GW's annual report:

Good.

Also, I imagine that will all change soon enough, as the 2 states that contain ~50% of our population reopen everything regardless of how many people contract covid.

Though, having said that, once I moved for work the day 8th came out, I haven't really touched any warhammer stuff since (other than a brief time of trying to finish off at least 1 titanicus model), despite moving back to the place where I started playing 40k a year later. Having an enforced break has basically meant that I just quit cold turkey and I have just not had any real reason to go back. I still hang out with all my mates on discord and play other stuff with them, we still talk about the lore and stuff, I just don't play/paint/buy anything anymore.

I wonder if others have had a similar experience due to all the lockdowns? I've certainly noticed that this place is almost dead compared to 6th/7th, I do wonder how much of that is the impact of covid against the loss of players over time without the influx of new people who would post here.

[Forum Explorer]

Good.

Also, I imagine that will all change soon enough, as the 2 states that contain ~50% of our population reopen everything regardless of how many people contract covid.

Though, having said that, once I moved for work the day 8th came out, I haven't really touched any warhammer stuff since (other than a brief time of trying to finish off at least 1 titanicus model), despite moving back to the place where I started playing 40k a year later. Having an enforced break has basically meant that I just quit cold turkey and I have just not had any real reason to go back. I still hang out with all my mates on discord and play other stuff with them, we still talk about the lore and stuff, I just don't play/paint/buy anything anymore.

I wonder if others have had a similar experience due to all the lockdowns? I've certainly noticed that this place is almost dead compared to 6th/7th, I do wonder how much of that is the impact of covid against the loss of players over time without the influx of new people who would post here.

Locally the gamestores here did very well. People needed stuff to do during lockdowns, so they bought Warhammer and other hobby stuff, and built/painted models.

Tournaments still haven't picked up as restrictions with Omnicon have made that difficult. But there's always hope for more soon and I've at least been picking up casual games here and there.

[Mystic Muse]

I'm going to be moving a fair bit closer to my local gaming store soon, so I'll be making an effort to play a game at least every other week. It'll be easier living by myself, and will have space at home to run things there too.

I've got a ton of models and have not been able to play even a single game of 9th edition.

[Renegade Paladin]

I'm going to be moving a fair bit closer to my local gaming store soon, so I'll be making an effort to play a game at least every other week. It'll be easier living by myself, and will have space at home to run things there too.

I've got a ton of models and have not been able to play even a single game of 9th edition.

Once the Omicron wave goes down I'm going to start organizing events up here again, would be good to see you. Right now the infection rate is setting records, though.

[Mystic Muse]

Once the Omicron wave goes down I'm going to start organizing events up here again, would be good to see you. Right now the infection rate is setting records, though.

Yeah, even if it's a bit of a drive for me, I'd be happy to go to an event run by someone I trust to keep a non-toxic community.

This is a super long-shot, but does the store you organize at have any of the big Sector Imperialis 2x2 squares? GW seems to have gotten rid of them, and they're something I wanted to tackle painting at some point, even if they're impractical.