TJ here to talk about Formations in our 40k. Formations were a hot topic when they first came out and caused quite a stir. Since then, many more formations have been released and an entirely new edition came out that made room for them ... but does everyone agree that they fit in?
I have to admit that I was one of the initial folks out of the gate that hated the idea of formations. Why?
Well when they first came out it was really the Tau Broadside/ Riptide formation that seemed ridiculous and with nothing to really compare it to, except for two completely inequitable formations released alongside it.
At the time, the issue was that they just got free rules and corresponded to a money-grab kit GW had released. At the time Tau/ Eldar were also a runaway combo in the tourney meta. This brought some heart burn to me as a person who was regularly competing (successfully I might add) against those two armies almost exclusively at local events.
Was my hatred founded then or was it a knee jerk reaction? I would say it was a combination of not knowing where this new type of unit would fit in and yes, a knee jerk reaction, the knee jerk part really being that I was offended by things that aren't real in the game. Yes Meta is real in a tourney community, but in the game, not really. Never seeing formations before and getting mad at a GW cash-grab also aren't really part of the game, but they still had me hot under the collar and I wouldn't necessarily blame others who were up in arms either.
So what now?
Now I have played a few games with formations on either side. I have played against the accursed Tau formation now in 7th twice and it really added a little tactical flexibility to my opponent's list, but didn't throw the game in any direction. I ran the deepstriking Helbrute formation and had some success, but really it was fun and could have been countered. It wasn't unstoppable.
I have since enjoyed seeing formations on the table and also writing lists that incorporate them. I see them as a new form of tactical flexibility and a new way to make kind of crappy unit (like the brutes) shine a little. In my opinion, none of the formations are game breaking and all can be countered by people just being smart in the list writing step.
In a lot of ways, stepping back from the hobby for a few months on deployment has allowed me to approach the game without some of the "old set in stone ways" I had before and allowed me to try new things and what I have discovered so far is that many of the things we competitive players feared or hated before, really aren't that bad once you see them applied to the table and face them down.
How about you?
Have you tried out formations? Fought against them? What do you think of formations in casual play or tourney play? Do you totally oppose them, favor limits or do you say "bring it" and say take whatever you please?
Let's hear your thoughts.