Goatboy here with a look at the things I GW can update to really set 10th Edition 40k into a really balanced state.
Right now I think 40K 10th Edition is in a pretty good spot with a lot of different armies winning, most events running terrain in a similar manner, and missions feeling like everyone is playing the same thing. There are still some issues popping up and while we wait for everyone’s rules to come out I am going to look at some of the “released” codex stuff to get cleaned up.
Death Guard Are Too Hot
Let’s start at the top of an army that feels a bit to strong lately. The new Death Guard have hit the scene like a gross blob of brutally efficient damage, a tough as heck outer shell, and the feeling that they just have too many units on the table. It isn’t like you can’t kill their units, the real issue is just that there are too many little plastic stinkers on the tabletop. It almost feels like an army that needs to loose about 15-25% of their units to help bring them in line with the other factions. While their rules are strong but hopefully just tapering some of their choices and creating hard decisions on how they build out their armies will bring the Death Guard in line. The bigger worry in any point hits is that the army isn’t small so even if you go after targeted units you might end up creating a whole new monster by leaving the other options alone. This is a game of resource management so having so many options to “score” things is how the Death Guard grinds out the win.
Get Out Of Jail FREE!
The other thought right now is that there might be too many “jail” style lists out there. It is one of the more frustrating aspects of the game where an army can just “lock” you into your zone. It is a viable strategy and one any player has to think about when facing some of these armies. They usually run fast engagement units that take a bit more to remove thus limiting your playing turns.
I don’t know how to fix this and just want to bring it up as something to think about as it isn’t the most exciting game engagement when you have to run through 2-3 of these style of lists in any given event. I think we have to look at the builds of these and looking at methods to limit some of the options with points or even thinking about army builds that look at points for 1, more points for 2, and even more points for 3 of the same choice maybe? I know the true detachments of the old days are gone but wonder if limiting some things might make for a better game.
Rework Rerolls
Rerolls should be changed from reroll everything to only rerolling failures. This would help make those critical hits and wounds feel special and maybe tone some of that down a bit. I know it would go against the fishing aspects some armies live for but I feel it would truly balance some things. It is such a weird system and no matter how many times I have abused the fishing for 6’s to get those sweet dev wounds it isn’t that exciting to have happen to you. A simple dataslate update for a future edition should just make all “rerolls” into only rerolling failures.
Rebalancing ELITES Across all Armies
I could go on and on about some of the points changes I would want to see (Why is Lord of Skulls so expensive!) but I really think it’s better to concentrate efforts towards looking at some of the types of units all armies have and going for a balancing option. Elite choices for example across the entire game should be in units of 3-6 and cost 25-35 points each depending on the factors of wounds, damage potential, and stats. It feels like a few armies just go nuts to options without a real look at the entire picture of things. Heck I think all armies should be looked at as a whole with the idea of what do you want an army to look like on the tabletop. How many units should they have in a list? What should be the “purchase” path to get this working and make it easier for new players to jump on in? Why are World Eater Eightbound so many dang points! We’ll see as the remaining straggler codexes of 10th Editon come out and the game fully locks into place.
What do you think should change in 40k right now? Are you still excited to play a tournament or get to your local game store to throw dice on the tabletop?
Thomas Reidy, aka Goatboy, the ever-evil member of BoLS. I do arts, play 40k, and even paint a lot of stuff. I have been playing Warhammer 40K since the 1990s, and have won multiple national events including Adepticon and GW GTs. I’ve been writing for BoLS for 15 years. Look at my Instagram to see what I am working on – or working on for someone. I am always doing something hobby related.