So unless you have been hiding in the bottom of a hive city, you must have heard the "rumors" of the new Eldar codex
. This release might be the biggest game changer since 7th edition hit and has divided an already fracture community.GW in their infinite wisdom has given the strongest weapon type to multiple units in the new Eldar box. They will now be toting more elfin D than a Lord of the Rings movie. D weaponry is amazingly strong and for most tournaments they ban range D because of this fact. Now we are at a predicament because how can a third of a book be banned? Maybe nothing should be banned? Maybe the D rule needs to be changed? So many questions are being spawned by one release.
My opinion right now is to let it ride. Allow the codex to be played as is and see how we handle it. Yes the D is ridiculous, yes the other things in the codex are strong as well but the only way to change a meta is to introduce something that forces new ideas. Think about it., what would a horde care when they are being shot at with single D strength wound? Guardsmen 68 was going to die to whatever shot him anyway. So your 295 point gargantuan creature killed 8 points of Guardsmen with it's two guns. Sounds like a fair trade to me. This will give a boost to Guard and Ork horde armies in the competitive scene. They do have a blast D weapon but 24" range is very limiting them being immobile doesn't make it easier. As a friend of mine pointed out Heldrakes will have a field day with Eldar bikes. I will put 120 zombies on the field to soak up wounds and my heldrakes will kill all your scatter laser jet bikes while I yell out "Backstreets back, alright".
I am not saying everything is going to be daisies ans sunshine but people are losing their minds before a single die as been rolled. As a Chaos player I find it ludicrous that a Bloodthirster has an initiative 1 D weapon and isn't gargantuan, when the Wraithknight is dancing around with it's sword and boar. But hey, that's the game we play. Let's play the game and really see what happens. Let the meta have a chance to grow before we pass judgment.
A final point I want to bring up is that we are a small community of people that just want to have fun playing with their toys. When I started 40k I played Guard and that was just around the time the Leaf Blower list was created in 5th. People would refuse to play me because they said my army was cheese and that they could never win. I wasn't even playing the netlist, I just wanted to play the army I loved. I was condemned because my favorite army was the flavor of the month. There is no reason to exile every Eldar player because they are "broken". They have put in the time and money to have fun just as you have. We need to remember they are gamers too.
So until I grind my confidence away against the waves of Eldar in my future, I'm saying let's see what happens. Let the meta compensate. If it really is a problem, lets address it in time. In the meanwhile I'll be working on my Ad Mech, which already has become the old maid. I want to have fun and if that is figuring out how to beat the new kid on the block or just running around with chicken walkers. I will welcome it.
I would love to hear how you guys feel. Anyone excited about the new book? Have you thought about new tactics? Who is going to quit 40k and join Hello Kitty Island Adventure?