40k 7th Edition Final Thoughts

After my full blown rant the other day about some of the highlights of the new edition of 40k, many a blog has posted their thoughts having had the book over the weekend. I've read these with interest as often the same rule change/addition will elicit opposing emotions amongst gamers.

There seems to be a general agreement that 7th Edition is actually v6.5 done properly. The rules certainly seem to be clearer and I've read some high praise from trusted sources on this aspect. This is great to hear as too often rulebooks can be vague or provoke obvious questions that aren't answered.

I find it very interesting too that people are already talking about ignoring/changing rules in the new edition in order to make the game more balanced. Unbound lists, Warp Charges and individual Psychic powers in particular have been highlighted as things that have to change or be ignored in order keep the playing field relatively balanced. This was quite significant I thought.

First of all, gamers changing a brand new set of rules voluntarily is surely really bad from the publishers perspective. Does it not indicate that those rules/powers in particular were so unbalanced that people could see it straight away, often before actually playing. Surely this indicates that there was precious little (serious) play testing done before the rules were published?

Secondly, it was quite heartening to see people wanting to alter these rules, rather than abuse them. Of course there will be those folks who feel the need to take advantage, but as one gamer put it… it's about fun being had on both sides of the table. It was great to see bloggers stating outright that things are a little too open and volutarily reel things in.

This time out the rules come as three books rather than one giant tome. I have mixed feeling about this. The last time this was done was 2nd Edition and I wasn't a fan. One of the three books was always missing and it is the only edition that I no longer have as a consequence. At least this time out it comes in a nice slip case, so the books have a home. I also wonder if GW have shot themselves in the foot a little here from a sales perspective. The standalone rulebook for 7th is great for people who don't want to lug a massive hardback with them when they game. However, having a single massive book created a market for people buying the starter box (Dark Vengeanace, etc.) purely for the small A5 rulebook, often selling the models that accompany it. Will those individuals feel the need to buy the starter box now that the main rulebook is more mobile? Time will tell.

So, am I likely to buy it?

I can't say either way at the moment. I would be happy to see this edition of 40k pass me by, much like 6th Ed did. However, with the imminent release of the Ork codex, and more importantly the new Gorkanaut and Morkanaut models, Bull will almost certainly want to let his Orkiness run free again for a while… and it's only right. Do we play a game using the universally-agreed broken 6th Edition or do we splash out on 7th? That's a question for another time but I'm a little more intrigued to look at these rules than I was a fortnight ago!

4 Days and Counting…

I've been preparing for this week for eight months now, but it doesn't seem to matter. In four days' time we will be moving house. The prospect of having to get everything out in a few hours is madness to me – up to this point I've only ever lived in rented accommodation so could take my time over the course of a week to move.

What makes this even more interesting is that I seem to have more hobby stuff than ever before, despite ebay sales and just giving stuff away. The image at the top shows just my official figure cases. These contain 40k space marine, eldar and four chaos marine armies as well as some fantasy chaos and my Malifaux collection. Of course this doesn't include any vehicles, monstrous creatures or super heavies. It doesn't include any of the three Warmachine/Hordes forces I have or my Blood Bowl models. I also have a collection of X-Wing which have their own case now, which means it will survive the journey.

Then of course we have boxes of unpainted models. I'm discovering things I didn't realise I still had, things I thought I'd sold. Where does it end? My wife wonders the same thing.

Then we have the books. Oh my word!

There is over a decade of Games Workshop publications, most of which have gone to charity (or to be recycled). I have codexes and Forgeworld books covering at least four editions of 40k.

Don't forget White Dwarf! I have almost every edition going back to 1990 – that takes up three plastic storage boxes and weighs a tonne.

Since my move away from all things GW, back in 2010, I now have a host of rulebooks and support material from a dozen other companies (and models to match of course!). I also have a couple of home-made gaming boards to transport this time around as well.

I always thought I had a handle on my hobby. I thought that I was curbing things and was a shadow of the former hobby geek from my early 30s. Not so it seems if volume is a judge of anything.

At least in the new place I'll have a garage as well as an attic. Or does this mean I'll just accumulate even more!…or bigger stuff!… or both!

I do get the opportunity to organise everything once we get to the new house. I'm pitching for a display cabinet for some of my models but not sure the wife is onboard with that one – out of sight out of mind is her motto where the hobby is concerned… and who can blame her with all this gear!

The New 40k Free For All…

My very first gaming experiences were thanks to Warhammer 40k. It was the imagery and background that drew me in first of all. Like so many other gamers, the Space Marines just pushed my buttons. I loved the concept, the models… just perfect.

Years later I eventually got to play a game, and I was hooked. The gaming became an obsession and after my first tournament there was no looking back. I had five years of thrills, highs, lows and shiny model addiction. During the many tournaments I got to play in, I saw regular examples of individuals who will twist the rules and codex lists to the extreme in order to win. I've also seen plain-as-day cheating and it was this that ultimately led to me retiring from competitions.

Don't get me wrong, I've played some amazing games in tournaments too. I've met some amazing individuals and some very 'fair' gamers who had no interest in cheating. There were a lot of ups to the plethora of downs. I even managed to win a bit of silverware here and there.

Nearly ten years later and my cynicism for everything 40k-related couldn't be worse. I've seen the company that sold the game evolve into something akin to a drug dealer. From a gaming perspective, the product is ropey at best. The rules have been broken for a long time, each new codex ramping up the power factor so that gamers felt the need to switch allegiances and buy the latest model just to compete. Each new edition has been a band-aid to an amputated limb, but up until the end of 5th I was neck deep in it that it didn't seem so bad.

I wasn't terribly impressed with 6th Edition. It brought elements of Apocalypse gaming to the regular table and the points creep for models meant you had to buy more for a standard game. It was all starting to get a bit corporate and the quality of the gaming experience seemed secondary.

Then they drop the bomb that, just two years later, 7th edition is coming out. This screams of "we need a cash injection" and I object to it. They've been pumping out the codexes for the last 18 months at a phenomenal rate, none of which seemed to be anything special (aside from having a huge model added to the lists). It just seems to me that, while other companies are spending time producing innovative and more exciting rulesets, 40k gets re-issued again and again with a couple of tweaks and a shiny new cover. Of course the price goes up each year (or maybe the print quality goes down).

They even killed White Dwarf, a publication with so much history and significance it deserved better. Anyone viewing the new look, weekly version of WD will see something that was put together in Microsoft Word with less graphic design skill and attention to detail than my 68 year old mum applies to her church newsletter (I kid you not). It's a disgrace and after the mistake of downloading the first edition, I will not buy another. Don't even get me started on the diabolical proofreading done by the company overall, it's been bad for years – especially for such premium products.

If it wasn't for the fact that the company continues to produce some pretty fine models, I think they would have disappeared off the face of the earth by now. The models are truly superb (for the most part) and the fact that most of them are plastic is a major bonus in my eyes. Alas, again, they insist on taking the piss by increasing the prices of these models to loan-shark levels.

But back to 40k. The free for all started with the allies rule in 6th edition: Why stick to one army or one codex? Take multiple mini-armies, getting the best out of more than one codex to help you win. The latest evidence for 7th Edition highlights the new 'Unbound' rule as a major selling point. What is 'Unbound' you ask? You get to field whatever models you like. No more "1x HQ and 2x Troops minimum" or sticking to a Force Organisation chart. Field whatever you like!

The masses have been cheering at this new found freedom and what a breath of fresh air it brings. I'm sorry, I just don't see it. How can having no structure in creating an army be a good thing? In friendly games (where gamers have a bit of sensible and balanced creativity) you've always been able to do what you like – it's up to you how you play your games, it's just a bit of fun. In tournaments, I don't see how letting people take whatever they like is promoting fair and balanced play. You may get a bonus for sticking to a Force Organisation structure but big whoop – crap covered in diamonds is still crap.

This seems like the next step in the company's plan to let anything go so that you buy lots of everything. Once again, the gaming experience has escalated to the next level where the lines between 40k and Apocalypse have blurred even more and the whole thing is becoming a mess. This begs the question, where do you go with 8th Edition, once it's a complete free for all?

I gave up my support of 40k some time ago, as you may be able to tell. This latest re-issue has proved me right to do so (in my head at least). I'm struggling to take anything positive from it. There are far more interesting and innovative gaming companies trying new things out there, who are far more worthy of my support and money. I still have my 40k armies, all 6 of them. I will go back to painting my Nurgle and will play 40k now again again against Bull. I just refuse to be a mug, following the Pied Piper of Nottingham blindly when there are better quality rules and more fun games out there.

Images from Deviantart