Jstove here, with a public service announcement for the casual crowd. Narrative games are disgusting brutal, and that’s totally legal.
Casual is the new WAAC and if you’re not careful, you’re going to get steamrolled on Saturday at the shop and not have any fun. Why? I’ll explain. Allow me to set the stage…
Warhammer 40k: Casual is the New Win at all Cost
You are Entering a World of Pain Recently, a new GW store opened up near me, which was great. Previously, I’d have to get on the freeway to grab a game and in LA that’s just not worth it. So even though I would have preferred an indie shop, I had to take what was given.
If you’re familiar with the GW store atmosphere, you know that it’s the super-beginner family-friendly crowd. No cuss words, play nice, all the fluff and light on the crunch. Mom dropping off the kids to paint their Space Marines on a summer afternoon. When 8th ed came out, my homies and I went pretty quickly into matched play, which we decided was for the adults.
Well, when the kiddie pool opened and a bunch of new people jumped in, I figured in order to be a buddy and get along with everyone, I’d have to start writing POWER LEVEL casual lists so I could break bread with the new kids that weren’t ready for matched play yet… And that was fine. You can’t expect someone to jump in the deep end. Building and painting an army, writing a full list, selecting wargear, warlord traits, spells, stratagems, it’s definitely a lot to take in. Somewhere you have to leave some slack.
You’re Gonna Get Tabled by Turn 3, Newbie Power Level Casual Scum.
When I popped open my glorious Tyranid codex and started looking around at list building in narrative, imagine my surprise. Tyranids in matched play are a good army. Even without the dreaded 7 Flyrant tournament list, ‘Nids are still a great book. But do you know what happens when you bolt on the training wheels and play power levels? Everything in the book turns solid gold and can bully anything off the board with a little bit of game-knowledge.
This is what happens when you play casual/narrative Training Wheels
- No rule of 3.
There is no Rule of 3 in casual/narrative. That is a matched play beta rule. - No first turn deep strike embargo
There is no prohibition against 1st turn deep strike in casual/narrative. That is a matched play beta rule. - Zero cost reinforcements
Stratagems and abilities that put new models on the table do not pay a reinforcement cost in casual/narrative, they are just free models. There is also no once-per-game embargo on Tide of Traitors.
Allow me to show you how this works in a Tyranid list. Here’s a combo I would ALMOST NEVER PLAY in matched points because it’s too expensive and one-trick, but with power points. it’s game all day.
For just around 16 power points, I can drop a Tyrannocyte full of Devilgants into your lap on turn 1. I can pop a stratagem to make them shoot twice. That unit will fire over 100+ shots into your front line with re-rolling ones on the dice. I’ll just pick a unit in your army I don’t like and erase it.
More Tyranid Shenanigans
Then, on your turn, you’ll kill them. But I want you to kill them. Because next turn for 2 command points, I take that same unit of Gaunts you just shot off the table, and I put them back on the table and on your board edge. Then I bust a few more command points to double tap you again. Basically, you fight the same unit over and over again and each time they pop up, I erase your toys.
And that doesn’t even count the hive fleet Kraken 20” Genestealer pain train that’s going to be up your nose on turn 1. Oh also, I dropped 10 free spore mines in your lap before the game started. That’s 10+ mortal wounds on whatever I want on turn 1. Oh, and the Broodlord poops out 5 free Genestealers every turn. None of these stratagems work in matched play. Where the free models must actually be paid for.
Reactions from the Peanut Gallery
“Well then Tyranids are just OP!”
It’s not just ‘Nids. Every army that has stratagems that generate free models is OP. If you have a strat that can put new toys on the table, you’re a beast. Oh and by the way, guess which armies have free reinforcement stratagems? All the horde armies that are the most competitive armies in the game. That’s right, the rich get richer and the poor stay poor.
“Well this is why I don’t play competitive 40k and stay casual”
Stop right there. Go back and re-read this article and I better not see you in the Facebook comments. The whole point here is that CASUAL IS THE NEW ULTRA COMPETITIVE.
You can hurt your opponent with power points in ways that are INDESCRIBABLE in matched play. Any kid with 2 hours to digest a codex, a flimsy grasp on the rules of the game, and the ability to glue together models can make a WAAC hoser in power points. There are no rules here.
“Well in power points all upgrades are free, and everything is OP, so my grey knights/Custodes/etc can-”
Stop right there. Your small elite army is still garbage. Low model count elite armies are garbage in matched play. The meta craps all over them. But guess what? In casual/narrative your elite army isn’t just garbage tier. It’s quit-the-game dumpster tier. You know why? Because stratagems and free models have a command point tax. Small elite armies don’t have anything for command points.
Everything that is WAAC and OP about the game is once again, even more broken with casual/narrative play. You think you’re just having a little Saturday afternoon tea and crumpets match with the boys in Nottingham.
But what you’ve actually signed up for is a full contact rugby match against Arsenal.
Well, I guess 40k is just broken?
No, it’s fine. But only if you play Matched Play. The game mode that’s designed to keep people from kicking your head in and throwing your toys out the front door of the shop on turn 1.
Play Matched Play. The point of the game is to have fun and you won’t be having any of that if anyone in your shop who can read at a sixth-grade level picks up a horde army codex and writes a PP army list.
Because if you still play with power points, you’re playing the new WAAC and you don’t even know it.
About the Author: Jack Stover
