It starts with Observation

This blog is here because of observation. Here it is:

Most people who play 40k havn't realized that power armor sucks.

I see you in your seats now leaning back in horror. Hear me out on this because you could very well gain a lot from it, whether your save is 3+ or not.

There are three things that have made power armor sucky. First up is the most simple - ability to spam weapons that penetrate it. Everyone has seen this right? You put down your lovingly crafted Space Wolves of doom but across from you is IG melta spam, I5 Power Weapon BA or heck other marines with even more AP 2/3 weapons. When people say this codex is sick, like Inquisition rumors or IG leafblower, this is what they are talking about.

Second cover saves are a lot better and easier to get than ever. Want a 4+ cover save? Just put something with coherency between you and them. Or make use of the over used area terrain rules, because everyone calls it before they start and no one can be bothered to say that things are anything but a 4+ cover area terrain in my experience. There a proxy for this as well - the prevalence of vehicles, aka portable cover. Put simply there are fewer occasions where your 5+ or 4+ save gets penetrated that a 3+ would save you from.

Finally power armor is over costed. Feels strange to say that because a marine is a fantastic deal because of his weapon access, transport access, and generally fantastic stat line. Think about your guardsman vs sister of battle. Transport access is equally good. Weapon access favors the guardsman. The stat line is comparable, a BS is worth a couple of points for sure though. Your 11 point sister has faith points as well which is probably worth a point. The rest are what power armor costs. In other words a marine in flak armor is going to be around the ten point mark. Take a second to think about what that would do to the game.

So thats my philosophy. In this blog I will be showing you all manner of ways to play non-power armored troops to their full potential so that the saving you get in points is maximized. Tune in tomorrow for an introduction to Tau, the first army I want to spend time on.

James