Now that I have had time to digest the rule book, and play in some tournaments, I want to say that I absolutely love 6th Ed. Mostly because it is now any bodies game!
Allies have leveled the playing field folks. And they are here to stay. Embrace the madness!
But it makes sense.
WWII, The Gulf War... any major engagement the US enters is not without allies. Why would the 41st Millennium be any different?
Allies serve the exact purpose they are supposed to. They allow armies to flush themselves out and fill holes in places they are weak. They help each other.
In 40k this is the answer to all that was wrong with 5th Ed. Gone are the days of "The Leafblower" where a single codex would dominate all comers.
At DaBoyz (I have a GT review in queue at BOLS, come on Larry post that sucker!) I faced a beautifully painted Tau/Eldar army by Ricky Johnson, but not only was it pretty to behold, it was down right nasty. Previously neither of those armies would compete alone. Sure you would see the rare exception where a good player squeaks into the top three with Eldar or Tau, probably due to soft scores, but the number of GT wins between the two is indeed small.
I love that Ricky was able to play an army he obviously cared about and do it with style. Allies is allowing players to dust off those old models that have been rotting on the shelves for years. I got to actually play Tau at Mechanicon, to unfortunate results, but I still enjoyed painting and playing them!
Some see it as a marketing ploy to move more plastic. Well DUH! What a great idea GW! Rather than constantly codex creeping individual books to try to sell the flavor of the month, just let us play whatever we want! I'm honestly shocked we did not see this sooner.
Allies were a great decision that help the game, and the guys who love to make armies. I for one will get to make my Armageddon army, and now I can finally do my own Eldar that was back burnered last year, by giving them some Tau buddies. Look to see a renewed interest in my Ulthwe army soon! Hey Eldar guys, are there any fluffy examples of Ulthwe working with Tau I can draw upon for inspiration?
6th Ed is more than just allies though. Flyers are huge too. They can be nasty, but I have yet to see them make a huge impact in the game. Ben Mohoelieliee played Cron Air at DaBoyz, and took Best General, but I have to believe that it would be fairly common for him to run into armies designed to blast him. My experience vs flyers has been one of adjustment. They sure change the way I play 40k, but I have not seen them over power things. I love playing my Storm Raven now! It adds a tactical element to the game that I believe a lot of guys have over looked.
I am not too crazy about 6th ed missions since most games I have played have been pretty heavy on just grabbing objectives. This sorta tips the game in the favor of those combinations who can pack the hardest hitting "Troops" on the table. But again, Allies fixes this too.
I think my biggest complaint about 6th is hull points. Sure it makes it easier to beat Leafblowers, sorta, but I hate how it completely invalidated my Drop Pod Dread army before it even saw the light of day. Before I could drop 4 dreads on the table and reasonably expect at least one or two to survive a round of shooting. Extra armor and Smoke meant that I would get a couple into assault, backed up by a couple more next turn. Well now every STR 5 and 6 gun in the game is a dread killer. Before I would just shrug off glances, especially DC dreads who outright ignore shaken and stun, but now multi lazers, star cannons, and even heavy bolters are bonified dread killers through hull points.
To balance HP though, come Warlord traits and new powers. I love that I can swap out codex powers for Divination. It adds taste and variety! Plus some beef to replace weak codex powers.
We have definitely not even cracked the surface of some of the combinations possible in 6th. But the days of the single overpowering uber codex are over. (replaced by overpowering uber combinations) But at least now there are many many more choices! Great Job GW on making some good decisions.
On a related note, I have a little rules discussion for you. The new 6th ed approach to special rules is pretty easily abused. Ricky Johnson had his Tau Suit Commander upgraded with Stabalizers, and claimed that this granted the effect to the entire squad he joined. SO, this meant that he commander could join a squad of broadsides and they could all move and shoot without penalty. Same for Black Sun filters too I believe. How do you guys like them apples? Do Broadsides get the benefit of a suit commanders stabilizers?
The Walking Dead reviews soon!
Jawaballs