Goatboy’s 40k Thoughts: 40K Summer Meta – Now and the Future
Let’s talk 40k’s meta right now. Where armies are sitting, things you’ll see, and what to expect in the coming weeks.
Goatboy here again I am sure a ton of you will end up reading this later on in the week as this Holiday looks to be a decent weather day. Heck I expect to be dealing with my kiddo most of the time as he runs around, gets into stuff, and questions everything. The joy of father hood. Hopefully he chooses Chaos when he gets old enough to decide. But enough of that – lets go into a quick little editorial about the current state of 40k right now. Where armies are sitting, things you might see, and the nonsense we expect to come in the coming weeks.
Tournament Latest Meta
Beyond the drama from last week the top lists seem to kind of stay the same. Sure we got a good push of Custodes with the coming of the new “nob” biker style army. Massed Dawneagle Golden nonsense bikes/Hero Hammer seems to be the current Imperial Golden boy. If you want to play good guys expect a mixture of AM for either Super Heavies/Command Point Batteries then a good dose of golden bikers and whatever you want as the 3rd piece of damage dealing detachment nonsense. The army is pretty good and I feel there is a ton of play on the 3rd detachment bits. In fact the overall glue of Dawn Eagle Bikers plus Imperial friends will be a pretty powerful thing in a ton of different armies. I think there is an interesting speeder option from the Dark Angels when mixed with bikes that might be pretty terrifying. Who knows what will be the best – but expect my Golden Bros to show up for the last event I can play before the new monster boy comes into the world.
Eldar
Eldar are still very powerful. Sure Ynarri took a few hits but there is for sure a lot of power in the pointy earred monsters. I got my butt kicked by a Dark Eldar army this last Alamo GT and I think that any Eldar based player has a lot of room to find something brutal. I really liked this Ynarri based shining spear army that had a ton of bikers pushing forward fast, a good Dark Eldar detachment for the Kabal, and finally some other Eldar to help mix it up. Eldar Flyers are still very powerful and when mixed with gaining Craftwould Traits for a -2 to hit you see a really strong “detachment” option for a Ynarri build. I think the new Harlie book adds a lot for the normal Craftworld list as a few Deathjesters, spell casting, and maybe a troupe master can be pretty mean with some interesting stratagems. Will see if they make a splash beyond some “Hero Hammer” additions to armies. I think most Dark Eldar builds are going to move towards a pure list as you get the most of their army. The Wyches feel the most out of place in there not due to their rule and powers – its just the question of do you need them nearly as much. Will see what ends up coming to a head for the space elves in the future. I keep hearing chatter about a true Ynarri book with I am sure tweaked options and powers to help flesh out their own army. Maybe even the rumors Aspect Warrior kits will see the light of day.
Chaos
On the Chaos front it feels like the consensus is utilizing a ton of Cultists, having a Fearless Option for them (Abbaddon or Iron Warriors), mixing in some T Sons for Ahriman/DP/Magnus, and finally just planning on covering the table and winning the war of attrition. Its an interesting list and while not the most powerful – it does seem to have the option to win any game. I know there is some chatter of mixing in some FW for some Mortal wound Dreadnoughts and Dreadnought like monsters. It allows you to answer some things pretty heavily. The Nurgle front seems very powerful with massed Plaguebearers, Plague Burst Crawlers, and the slow coming grind that is the Nurgle Army. It does make me feel a bit sad as the current Daemon good army option is Nurgle based as it feels somewhat limiting in the scope of how you play. It moves, gets stuck, and becomes a pain to remove. I saw an Alamo army that used 30 Pink Horrors as a nice central unit to hold objects and be a pain in the butt. I keep thinking there is an army that that uses them, some Nurglings to push things back and mixes in some T Sons for true smites. Ahriman is just an amazing character with a Chaos Lord/Daemon Prince/Spell Monster power. I still really like my buddies Horton ideas of using Alpha Legion for some pressure, World Eater Zerkers to do the heavy lifting, and maybe something tricky to throw in.
Astartes
On the Marine front we still see a ton of Ultramarine bolter madness armies as well as the upcoming Death Watch book. I think the Death Watch army has some legs as it creates some very powerful shooting units that just needs a bit of help from some Hero Hammers and maybe a Command Point Battery. I think their guns do a lot of damage to most of the games units and there will be whispers of a decent army coming out of the book. The fact you can Deep Strike some Dreadnoughts might seem some powerful shooting options actually show up on the table top. I still think finding the cheapest option is still the best but look out for a ton of players saying their Green marines are actually Death Watch. From there I still think you can do some nonsense with the Dark Angels as they have Heros, good guns, and a decent point cost. I wise bikers somehow stayed troops for them but it is understandable to limit the ability to gain CP without having to pay the Troop or detachment tax. Blood Angels also look ok even though they took a big hit with the Beta Rules. My current army I am building has 2 Yolo lords and Mephiston as my Supreme Command option. It feels like their stratagems still give you a ton of tricks and finding your crazy captain wounding most things on a 2+ is pretty satisfying. Grey Knights feel like they need some point reworking to really help them out. I really love the Dread Knight but I don’t know how much we should drop them in points or at least change up some of their rules (move and fire with Heavy weapons without penalty?).
Imperium
On the Imperium front – the AM army still seems good. I see a lot of horde options showing up with a ton of Catachans covering the table and flexing their bulging biceps. I think there are some options in the Mechanicus armies book as their chicken walkers hit so dang hard. The Boop Boop Robots shoot a crap ton and can be so hard to remove. Things just disappear in when they get in range on the table top. I wonder if Knights coming will bring some more Melta back into armies as a way to deal with them. Its interesting in that a lot of armies that feel a bit weak really just need point tweaks. Having more things on the table seems to be the best way to get an army back into sync. Speaking of Knights – will see how interesting they are soon. It is feeling like will see a much more fleshed out army then what we saw the last 2 books we got. Lord – this is the 3rd Knight codex in what – 5 years? Or is it less than that?
Xenos
On the Xenos front that isn’t Space Elf based – the Nids seem to have been hurt pretty bad by the Beta Change. I think the army easily changes into a horde based list especially with some of the detachment combinations from GSC. I know chatters of 250+ model armies hitting the table, grinding down games, and forcing players to buy a ton of movement trays. From there the Tau do have some very powerful shooting options. I find that type of list to be pretty boring as you just don’t do anything other then force an opponent to make a save. Most plans seem to be to keep the Tau in their Deployment zone and find some trick to lock them down or kill their “aura characters” and watch them fold in the end. Orks seem to be in the horde meta as well – and I expect their new Codex to give them a ton of powerful options. It just feels like they will be a good army with rumored new Models, a clan focused based army, and hopefully some powerful spells. Necrons feel a bit left out as I really think they need some point tweaks on everything other then Wraiths and Necron Destroyers. Once the army loses their Destroyers it starts to lose a lot of potential.
The Future
I am wondering what will come out when the Space Wolves make it at some point this year. I really was hoping we would see a Leman Russ but there hasn’t been much in the lore of the books that have come out, nor any hidden pictures etc. I get the feeling will only see 2 more Primarchs later this year – with the rumored Fulgrim coming with a Emperor’s Children/Slaanesh rebirth book and maybe some marine hero – maybe Dorn – maybe the Lion. I was really hoping to see a Daemon Primarch like Russ but it doesn’t seem to be in the cards. I also expect an Assassins/Inquisitor book to come out. Hopefully before the new Sisters of Battle (Which the new model looks amazing… finally more realistic Woman Warriors) but will see.
Alright that is it for now. I am just slowly grinding through client work, client art work, and spending some time to get a new army done for myself. I got to breathe a bit after some crazy weeks, upcoming kids, and work ramping up the intensity.
~Until next time – have a safe holiday, roll lots of 6’s, and death to the false emperah!!
