You can’t please everybody all the time, but lately it seems TO’s are having a hard time pleasing anyone! What’s going on?
I think we can all agree that the frenetic rate at which Games Workshop has been releasing rule sets has put a strain on our hobby. From being able to afford all the new toys, to just being able to figure out what the heck all the new units do, it has gotten harder and harder to stay current with 40k.
Enter the Tournament Organizer (TO). This guy (or gal) no matter whom they are has to come up with a ‘fair and balanced’ rules set that’s both comprehensive to include (or exclude in most cases) the new material, and allow players to score points based on a certain set of missions parameters.
Now imagine that you’re that same TO, and your event is just a few months away. You obviously want your event to be a success from not only the players point of view, but also financially. If no one comes to your event because you said XYZ thing about some new rule, and you end up losing your ass over it, that’s just bad for everyone including the hobby.
Add in the complexities of a new book seemingly every week and we have a boiling pot of tournament angst that is about to boil over.
With SIX codex books in FIVE months, I do not envy any of these people. Two years ago Forge World was the hot topic of discussion, but now it seems like everyone wants to ban one thing and allow another.
It’s no exaggeration either – look at what’s happened in the just last few weeks;
- One week ‘D’ Weapons and Wraithknights are so bad they’re going to break the game. The cry goes out to ban/restrict Lords of War.
- The next week Imperial Knights are leaked, and are all ‘Lords of War’ (LoW). How can players field even one of the majestic vehicles after a possible ruling against LoWs or formations/ detachments came about because of Eldar just the week before?
- On the third week a new unit comes along (Kataphron Destroyers) with enough cheap Grav firepower that most LoWs and Gargantuan creatures can’t easily deal with them, especially if they are now ‘restricted’ because of the ghosts of weeks past.
- Now a week into the future there may rules for new ‘show only’ Space Marine tanks, and I can imagine that players will be clamoring to be allowed to play with those.
Fast forward a few more weeks from now to rumored new Space Marines, Chaos or even the confirmed Cult Mechanicus, will we keep getting stuck in a loop of snap judgments that does nothing but flare tempers and turn gamer against gamer?
What Can We DO?
Relax, don’t do it.
I’m going to throw out an idea here… something so crazy, so ambitious that it just might work.
Do nothing… Allow EVERYTHING. Well almost everything, this ain’t the wild wild west of course.
Allow everything as long as it fits into the standard force organization of CAD/Formations/Detachments.
Yup, you heard me. Allow it all. At this rate ‘no preservatives 40k’ may just be the right thing for the hobby.
I think we can all agree that Games Workshop wants us to play with all our toys. It started with the inclusion of the Ally Matrix, and most recently they dropped the 40k Approved Stamp from Forge World units.
So what does Games Workshop know that we don’t? Maybe there IS a method to their madness. If there is it may make it less maddening on tournament organizers that’s for sure.
What say ye?
~Live those dreams
Scheme those schemes
Got to hit me
Hit me
Hit me with those laser beams~
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.
