First Thoughts on 6th Edition Part 2

Hello people,

Some weeks ago I  begun to write an article about 6^th edition. When I was writing the first part I was explaining my point of view on the new rules. However, the more I read about 6^th edition, the more I scout for other people’s lists and the more I play, the way I perceive the new rules is constantly changing.

 Thus, I am writing this second part of my article with a bit of  hesitation as to whether or not my arguments stand correct. After all it has been a mere couple of months since the release of the edition and we are all trying our best to decide what makes a good and competitive list for the 6^th.

 So, without further delay allow me to present you my little piece of knowledge , from my rather limited playtesting and reading:

FLYERS

 First of all , I think that after all the fuss about the new rules , the only massive change ( and the most troublemaking ) are the Flyers. As you all know flyers have gotten a great boost and have become a pain in the back for specific armies and lists. To this present day , only  7 out of 16 codexes have flyers:

-          Blood Angels -> Stormraven

-          Grey Knights-> Stormraven

-          Dark Angels -> Razorwing , VoidRaven

-          Imperial Guard -> Vendetta, Valkyrie

-          Orks -> Dakkajet, Burna-bomber, Blitza- bomber

-          Necrons -> Night Scythe, Doom Scythe

-          Space Marines – Stormtalon

Which leaves the rest 8 armies without a flyer option ( of course there are still allies , but we will get to that later ) and Tyranids which currently get neither Flyers nor Allies

But what makes Flyers so good?

First of all, it is hard to destroy them. You must shape your list to provide enough units to deal with them

Secondly, they carry dangerous weapons which can be either anti-vehicle, anti-infantry or both

There are 3 ways to deal with flyers:

1. Include in your lists units that provide high rate of  fire. Massed firepower is always the answer for everything and flyers are not an exception to this. A list that can shoot dozens of high-strength shots will keep the flyer problem to a minimum. Ideal unit for this purpose is the GK Autocannon Dread.
2. Include in the list a flyer of your own. Pretty self-explanatory, flyers can kill flyers and that should be your first target when you deploy flyers
3. Include dedicated anti-aircraft units. Skyfire shooters are currently undeveloped , with the only options being the Fortification weapons , Hydras or the occational boost from a Mysterious Objective

The thing is , not all armies can provide adequate anti-flyer units, although I am sure that in  the near future gamers will find effective ways to eliminate the flyer threat. However ,  unit then every player must construct their list with flyers in mind.

ALLIES

This is the other major change and the one that probably cause more headache ( although not in the way flyers do). With the new allies mechanics we have to  deal with a new , bewildering variety of lists that will expand  the metagame in both competitive and fluffy ways.

How should allies be used?

                Well , personally I think that when a player considers to  add an allied detachment to his army, he should take under consideration the following 2 parameters:

-          Will the ally compensate for the weaknesses of my army? Will it provide something useful to my list?

For example, an Ork player considers to take an allied detachment. He has some very good option for allies , such as IG, Necrons, Tau and even Daemons. However , Daemons don’t have much to add to an ork list because both Orks and Daemons are melee based armies. On the other hand, IG could make better candidates because they have shooting, while orks are infamous shooters.

-          Will the allied detachment be worth its points? Will I make good use of all the allied units?

The hardest part of building an allied detachment is choosing which units will fill your limited available slots. You have to take 1 HQ and 1 Troop choice, and then you get the good stuff. The bottom line here is: 

Don’t take an allied force if you only want 1 unit. Only take allies if all the allied units can be of some use to your list.

For example,  it is not worth it to take IG allies because  you want to include  a Valkyrie or two in your list. You will need to include some guardsmen that will not be of any use.

 However, if you want to take GK allies , it is a nice option to have Draigo and a troop Paladins squad. This detachment makes the best use out of the points you spend on it.

Apart from that , it is your own decision how you will use the allies.

From this point on things get quite complicated and it is really hard for me to give any solid advice on how to make a list. It seems that there is definitely more in 6^th that what meets the eye and we have only scratched the surface of the new metagame form. The only sure thing is that more playtesting is necessary , more bold lists must take the stage and all players should let go of the 5^th ed. inertial and try their best to cope with the new changes.

Thank you

Stefanos Kapetanakis, Out