While the gameplay of 10th is actually great (with a few issues), Warhammer 40k has officially stagnated on the competitive level.
While there are some obvious issues with the mechanics of 10th, such as the way fly works, battleshock does almost nothing most times, and a few other little issues. However, the overall mechanics of the game are pretty good; things like OC (better than objective secured), terrain rules, missions, attaching characters, and more.
So, while the game itself is decent, the balance of armies is so far off right now, and the idea of basically playing with power levels instead of individual points is making things super stagnant to begin.
It’s Official, Warhammer 40k Has Stagnated
So, while the tier lists will hopefully be balanced when they come out with the codexes, GW is moving very slowly on the books, as we haven’t seen a single codex, and despite two rounds (or three, depending what you count) of index updates, nothing has really changed.
Plus there are just fundamental issues with certain armies. Eldar, Knights, Custodes, and GSC are so far ahead of the pack it’s actually wild. This means if you go to a tournament, you know the three armies you’ll be likely to play against every game.
These recent tournament top placing results comes from Blood of Kittens
Well, if you look at the list above, Aeldari is just way too strong. Ever since 10th started, they have been on the top of the list. In comparison, this has a couple of surprises, but GSC, Aeldari, Custodes, and Knights all make it in.
As we said, GW hit Aeldari and Knights with a couple of NERFs (not to mention bans at tournaments), and it seems the NERFs on Knights more or less had the intended effect. But Eldar still won two tournaments over one weekend, took two 2nds, and 4 third place finishes.
The faction balance is honestly one of the worst we’ve ever seen in recent memory. Generally, when a new codex comes out, that faction is OP for a little, and then GW NERFS them. We’ve talked before about GW playtesting, and how it is basically impossible to truly balance this many factions and datasheets with their current team.
This time around, some armies are just more or less broken at the core and will require so much to get them into a good place. Then, some armies are so far ahead, they will need a rework to come back down to the rest.
This also dovetails with the issues of no individual points; units just get everything for free, which makes certain units far better, as you can just give them everything, whereas other units don’t get almost anything. It also makes list building more boring, as you can’t slot in a few models here, or a weapon drop there; you just take certain units.
Meaning the game seems to play more similarly each time and increases the win rate of not-as-good players with strong armies.
What You Can Do
Well, this might not be exactly what you want to hear, but if you have a few armies, you can play with armies of similar power, and to us, the games are really fun like that! Games like Sisters against Ad Mech or Death Guard against Votann can be really fun.
You will probably have models left at the end of the game; you can score objectives and roll plenty of dice.
However, if you skip a few tiers of power, the games are pretty tough, as one army is just so far ahead of the other in terms of power level. This obviously stagnates competitive play, as people aren’t going to play with worse armies often. But for your home games, you can still make them work as long as your armies are close to one another in terms of power.
Let’s hope GW takes this into account and actually makes the necessary changes sooner rather than later, as waiting until September for a balance dataslate seems like bad optics given the current state of Warhammer 40k.
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About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
