Over at BoLS is a post about deployment from everyone’s favorite artist/tactician, Thomas AKA Goat Boy. The post is fine as a topic. What is annoying is the pattern of Goatse’s army lists, chalk full of repetition and lack of originality. Systemic of competitive play currently. Let’s take a look at the list…
HQ: Daemon Prince, Wings, Warptime, MoN
HQ: Daemon Prince, Wings, Warptime, MoN
Elites: Dreadnought, Multi-Melta
Elites: Dreadnought, Multi-Melta
Troops: 10 Plague Marines, Melta (2), Asp Champ, Combi-Melta, Powerfist, Rhino
Troops: 10 Plague Marines, Melta (2), Asp Champ, Combi-Melta, Powerfist, Rhino
Troops: 9 Plague Marines, Plasma Gun (2), Asp Champ, Plasma Pistol, Powerfist, Rhino
Heavy: Deflier, Extra Close Combat Arms
Heavy: Deflier, Extra Close Combat Arms
Heavy: Deflier, Extra Close Combat Arms
HQ: After getting a few lashings about lash armies, Goatse has gone to using the same Nurgle DPs for the last 10 CSM lists.
Elites: I am sure he has heard about a few people running 6 walker lists for CSM this fits closely into that mold.
Troops: Oh shocker here Plague Marines with Melta and more Melta, oh wait plasma the other power build.
Heavy: He cannot break his streak of taking the same thing within each force organization.
Do not get me wrong this is one tough army, it also happens to be flavor of the month. He is also trying to trick you into thinking that without Lash he is being creative. Like most heavy competitive players like Goatse, they are playing the meta odds of not playing a few select armies in a given tournament. For instance, a heavy Dark Eldar Raider list would destroy this list. What are the chances of facing that kind of army though? It is possible on some level Goatse thinks that by taking the same thing over and over you have a theme. “Look I have melta over and over that is my theme”. Melta just happens to be the weapon of choice in 5th edition and make a theme it does not.
The real rub is not about competitive vs. fun it is risk vs. reward. This is the problem with the current competitive scene; there is no risk taking, just consensus. With the arrival of the Internet, competitive players have lost the ability to develop strong armies organically. They have driven it down to simple number crunching and forum whoring. Why would I want to try new lists if all I have to do is check a Website? Gone are the days playing for practice and seeing what did and did not work. Now all I see is a juggling of a few select units in a 40k version of the shell game.
I am not blind to the fact that there are current tough builds that put most games on easy mode. Still I have seen plenty of times, a good general with a balance force destroy “broken” armies. Warhammer 40k has not totally degenerated completely into some horrible math problem. What we need is people exploring their codices and trying new things, even if means you switch out one unit from your cheesy lists.
We all have to start somewhere…