Now, I am not going to name names, but these people know who they are. I have met them and for the most part are extremely nice folks. Lately though, they seem to have lost their way. Blame can be placed in every direction, but the most important thing to remember is they are better than this. To demonstrate what I am talking look to Chicago this week and Adepticon, where the Top 16 players will determine the competitive meta for the coming year. Without getting too much into the weeds, what you will almost certainly see is some combination of Coteaz, Seer Council, Beastmasters, and Khan.
None of this is really anything new, because every year Adepticon showcases usually the most broken things the world has to offer. In some sick parody the best players will be "forced" to take such lists in order to compete.
Why?
Well for one thing 6th edition has turned their world upside down. The current edition has democratized the game to a certain degree. Everyone can now win, where in the past, skill accounted for a lot more than it does today. More players can bring certain things and destroy the other side with impunity, mostly without fear of being out-played. This has sent shockwaves through the competitive community, as many of the top players have been beat by "lesser players".
All the adulation and circle jerking coming with being part of top player's club also means crumbling self-esteem if forced to drop out of said club. This is typical behavior for the wargaming 1%. This has led to an echo chamber for many of the top players, crippling them to list design atrophy. It has also exposed many for the one trick pony players rampant in 5th edition. Even great players known for their army design creativity have been sucked into this new form of list group think; where you will see the same lists with maybe one unit variation or a few wargear tweaks.
It has become an all or nothing proposition for many players, especially with the rise of win/loss events where losing one game is devastating. Almost universally gone are the events, where a player could focus on the mission and rack up the bonus points to compete. Instead, win/loss events have created the same Death Star lists doing the same thing.
This isn't to say their aren't creative lists or players who can compete. I have seen a few list that fight against he current meta effectively, but the risks the best players are taking is pathetic.
Adepticon will the showcase what I am talking about. You will see the same names as always, but the list originality will be non-existent.
Now, you may wonder hasn't this been the same every year? Imperial Guard one year, Grey Knights next, Necrons after that, and finally Seer Council today? Sure, we always get the similar lists appearing spontaneously from the primordial meta ooze, but the shamelessness has never been greater. Many top players have to play these lists, if not they will be revealed for the crutch wonders they truly are, and by the monsters they have inadvertently created. If they took a "lesser list" and lost in one of the early rounds to random Joe copying the current hotness their world would crumble.
It is this fear and the fear of losing street cred, always trumping risk taking that could expand the game, but more importantly prove they are great players. Instead, all they show is being nothing more than bean counters and good test takers.
Warning
Meat for Meta is rated editorial nonsense. These articles are meant to complain about some group, somewhere, that is playing the game for all the wrong reasons or simply to just make fun of 40k nerd rage.