For those of you who live and breathe competitive Warhammer 40K you know exactly what The Balance Dataslate is. For those who don't, check it out, then make your way back to this post to check out Team Ettin's opinions!
First and foremost lets introduce the team and what they play before they do a deep dive on the Dataslate and what it means for the competitive 40k scene going forward.
Chad: I'm Chad, one of the founding fathers of Team Ettin! I play Harlequins and mixed Chaos Daemons because I'm apparently a glutton for for punishment and 8th edition Codices. If Kevin ever gets his act together i'll play some Grey Knights.
Kevin "War Dog" McC: Chaos Knights, Sisters of Battle - Imperial Knights-ish
G. Logan Ross: Death Guard (and Orks soon!)
Colin Krolczyk: I play Chaos Daemons and Thousand Sons
Ryan Y: AdMech
Brandon S: I play Custodes and blood angels. I have other armies in pieces but I don’t necessarily “play” them.
Brian Rowe: Deathwatch
Connor M: Hey, My name is Connor and I started playing 40k right at the tail end of 8th. I play Ultramarines, Necrons, Imperial Knights, Grey Knights, and Imperial Guard. I kind of jumped straight into the deep end when starting to collect armies. By this time next year I fully expect to have started at least 3 more! Also, I paint all my Imperium armies as Ultramarines. Especially the Grey Knights.
Now that we've met the team let's dive into the Balance Dataslate!
How do you feel about the Balance Dataslate?
Chad: Slow clap to Games Workshop on this one, I mean wow. What a way to say that this is your game, your baby, and you'll raise it how you see fit! I honestly haven't heard anyone torn up about this or lamenting it at all. If you want the game to be healthy and the meta to constantly evolve this should be great news. Nothing in the dataslate is agregious, which I think is the worry often times with "patches". It's super easy to dumpster armies and fix them later if need be, (looking at you Genestealer cults). It's much more difficult and nuanced to do what GW has done here, which is to make small adjustments, see how they go and know that you can always make more later. Big ups to Games Workshop.
Connor: I think it's a very good step in the right direction. 40k can be a bit slow to adopt changes, and I'm glad to see that the sluggish responses will be getting some pep in their step. Since the dataslate made it clear that it won't be looking to adjust points most of the time, just rules, it makes me wonder just what else it could change in the future. If I have any concerns about this, it's the changes to datasheets that will come over the course of an edition, especially if a faction needs multiple passes to be brought up or down to the level of the others. It could be especially confusing to newer players who may not know where to look to find these changes. The Imperial Guard codex in its current state is a pretty big reminder of this. As one of the earliest books books of eighth, trying to use the physical book to play a game would be extremely rough. From the changes the entire suite of Imperial weapons got at the beginning of ninth, to all of the minor wording tweaks to various abilities, to even full reworks of abilities like the commisar, it feels almost obsolete. Changing the actual statline on Russ tanks makes that feeling even stronger. Part of that is just how old that particular book is, but it makes me wonder if with these changes happening more frequently we'll hit that point with more books faster than ever. Food for thought.
Brian: I am a fan of the update! Keeping the game balanced is critical and nearly impossible at the same time, so any effort to affect change is good in my book as it shows they care as much about this game as we do.
Kevin: When I tell you I was literally buzzing with excitement, I mean it. My energy for the entire day completely changed. There was a lot of soak up and just a wealth of great material to chew through - least of all the fact that my mind immediately began to try and capture every way this would impact the game as a whole. That isn't to say I didn't cringe a little in regards to the Ork and Aircraft hits. While I really appreciate them for what they are - an attempt to curb an oppressive style of play and hopefully revitalize the competitive scene - those hits seemed more like a low-yield nuke than anything more surgical in nature. That said, I really anticipate the broader community to look at this as a creative opportunity and really grind into the updates, both in terms of points and the new restrictions.
Logan: I love it! I feel like GW's response to the feedback from their survey was quick and healthy for the game. It gives me hope that they are willing to balance the metagame.
Who are the biggest winners from this update?
Kevin: I'm not going to even pretend like I don't have a bias here. I really feel Imperial and Chaos Knights got a massive leg up and can really start to participate in 9th Edition Warhammer. I've been taking my War Dogs to events throughout the entire year and my largest complaint is I could not compete even remotely when it came to Primary Objectives. Necrons also have a lot of potential. Being the premier Codex to release with 9th Edition has left them in a weird place and I think we're going to see some really neat tricks start to surface from so much Core love being passed around. Competitively they've got a standard, but my hope is this shakes things up a bit in a positive way and we get to see more types of units on the table going forward. Besides, I'd like to paint somethin' other than Warriors and Immortals for the rest of my life.
Ryan: Imperial and Chaos Knights gaining objective secured is great. A close second is Grey Knights as they didn’t get hit with anything
Brandon: If I had to chose a singular winner out of guard, knights, and necrons the clear winner would be knights, although seeing where new core key wording comes into play for the necrons will be interesting to watch.
Chad: I think it's all too easy to say Grey Knights, but I believe Grey Knights attacked the S-Tier armies in a valuable way. They still have ton of play into everything else, but my personal biggest winners are Objective Secured Knights of various flavors and Mixed Harlequins/Craftworlds. Oh boy can Knights hold a point. They can now take secondaries like Stranglehold with a little more confidence as well as their primary game looking more efficient. We've seen a rise of the Harlequins & Craftworlds indirect and them seeing no changes should only solidify how good they are/ they can be.
Connor: In a vacuum, I would say Necrons are by far the most improved of the factions on the Dataslate. Adding Core to so much of the army really gave it a much needed shot in the arm. Knights having at least a chance to fight for objectives really helps boost them as well, so I'm glad to see that too. For factions that aren't directly impacted by this, though, I have to look toward Sisters and Grey Knights. Both were already very strong Tier 2 factions, and the top dogs getting knocked down a peg can only help them stand out from the crowd.
Who are the biggest losers from this update?
Ryan: AdMech just by the shear number of point increases
Colin: Drukhari, Orks, and Mechanicus got hit equally as hard but in different ways. Mechanicus got an increase of points and lost their aircraft spam, Orks lost their buggy AND aircraft spam, and Drukhari are feeling the other side of pain with a MASSIVE points increase across the entire army. I don't know exactly who got the most raw of deals but we will see in the coming months.
Kevin: It's been a few days now since the release of the Balance Dataslate. Of course I've seen all the various complaints and compliments surrounding it. But, the optimist in me looks at the Balance Dataslate as a mechanism for growth and a spark for creativity. The Orks got hit hard. AdMech was impacted with both the new Aircraft restriction and a points change. I think any of the top players running either of these probably saw this coming from a mile away - easily. Druhkari saw some increases as well, but also saw some actual decreases for some arguably popular Coven models. And while Druhkari's win rate hadn't really diminished much, they were definitely starting to lose their shine against the Ork's rampage across the competitive scene. With that, the simple answer is Orks and AdMech got an upset from the Dataslate. But those dedicated to these particular factions will find a way to make 'em shine in a different and (ideally) unique way across the board.
Connor: You only need to look at the points changes to see that. Drukhari got hit with a lighter touch then I was expecting, but that's probably because they had been hit a few times before hand. Quite a few of the drukhari players I've been hearing have been talking about just swinging toward covens though, and with how they've actually lost points I think they'll still be top dog on the table. Admech, on the other hand... oof. I think they're still probably tier 1, but a lot of their better lists have taken quite a hike. It was very much needed though. While orks have been hit, I think they'll still be fine. Buggy spam lists will still exist, they'll just have to diversify away from nine squigbuggies and toss in a few of the slightly worse ones. I think they'll be feeling the change to flyers more though. It might be enough to drop them down to tier 2, but there's so much of the codex that hasn't been explored yet due to the sheer dominance of the top builds its hard to say.
Chad: Planes, Transports and Automobiles oh my. Seems like Games Workshop took everything metal and crushed it in the junk yard. First of all anyone that has 4 flyers can now sell 2 of them to anyone who has none and make everything balanced in the world. Next is the humble Raider, probably the most perplexing of the updates. If you want to take a Raider not only 6-ish months ago did it already receive a much needed price hike, but now you have to pay for a gun, and your previously free Dark Lance is now +10PTS. Add this points change on top of the Trueborn, Archon, and Incubi increases and the points start adding up faster than before. Admech also saw much needed and fair price hikes. And last but not least the biggest of the losers is any recent Speed Waagggghhhh player that bought and painted more squigbuggies than they could ever play now.
If you were to/are going to GW's Austin event this weekend, what would you play and why?
Chad: I will be attending Austin this weekend and oh boy do I love me some Games Workshop terrain! At first I played around with mass transport spam by mixing Drukhari and Harlequins. After the points increases and a 2-1 finish at a 27 person RTT, I realized pure Harlequins was the way and I am currently locking down my list. GW terrain takes me from hiding to picking my engagement on a board in no time. I look forward to the event, and while I may not have the Craftworlds indirect I think this new list has a better chance.
Kevin: I doubt my previous responses have given anything away. I mean, there isn't any possible chance that I'll be doing exactly what I've done at every other Major or GT I've attended this year... Right? Well, actually, until the release of the Balance Dataslate, I was actively practicing with my Sisters of Battle. By this point, I had solidified my Sisters list and had roughly 20 matches under my belt, including placing at two local RTTs. I felt confident that was the direction I would go in. That was... Until the Dataslate. I'm taking my War Dogs (Chaos Knights). Hands down and without question. I know them and they're an even greater threat now. Counting as 5 Models and gaining access to Objective Secured is a huge deal and brings a buffet of possibilities to my games. And I'm freakin' STOKED. I can't tell you how many games would've scored differently and in my favor with theses changes.
Brian: Deathwatch…best Marines? Tell me I’m wrong
Brandon: In short I would play Custodes. But in a long answer, I would have to assume that I have access and knowledge of every army. That said I would probably have to choose between knights and necrons. For as long as I have been playing in 9th knights and necrons have both been good medium armies. They have both had middling results normally losing to the meta. Hopefully with these new upgrades it will bring them into the upper tiers.
Colin: Thousand Sons Cult of Time, their durability for an infantry army is insane especially considering their Terminators have Obsec on top of the ridiculous durability of a mobile anti-infantry, psychic, heavy hitting melee, gun platform. I don't add a Cult of Duplicity detachment to the list like most other players because with the multitude of psychic powers that can buff the Termies or make them move 15 inches up the board before a charge, they will survive most enemy fire if you play correctly.
Logan: I would play a shooty Death Guard list- i.e. Contemptors, Plague Burst Crawlers, and Mephitic Blight Haulerss. In my gaming I have found these units to be the most effective. Also, in the latest goonhammer article the only Death Guard list present was a list running all of these units. Death Guard desperately need either a way to get onto objectives quickly, get in their opponent's grill, or incentivize their opponents to come to them, so Death Guard especially prize effective shooting and/or mobile units.
What are your predictions if any for GW Austin? What will the new meta look like?
Kevin: Right off the bat, I'm going to say that the top isn't going to shake out to be too terribly different. We're going to see Orks, AdMech and Druhkari still makin' a strong showing. Particularly with the new Octarius: Critical Mass rules surrounding Speed Freaks. There is a lot of opportunities there to show off what all the different types of buggies can do. Grey Knights have been clawing their way into the spotlight and there hasn't been any changes to their Codex, so they'll likely be making a showing as well. Still, I have my hopes set high that we're going to see Knights of some form-or-fashion taking a big swing at the top. I've seen a lot of Imperial Knight players leaning into the Freeblade Lance for Objective Secured and I think that's only going to get stronger. Chaos Knights might not have as many neat tricks or options, but... Well, I'm still of the opinion they've got some flexibility that their Imperial half doesn't. We should see a lot of personal touches to these top factions in Austin. No one is going to argue that what is good is good... But I do think the Balance Dataslate coming in so close to this massive event will have everyone on their toes. We're not all going to be going in knowing exactly what to expect if you do well enough. People are going to have new toys to play with and a trove of new twists to throw at you. And that definitely leaves plenty of room for a dark horse to take the whole thing home.
Ryan: Grey Knights and Thousand sons will perform well. Orks once they adjust will be solid and I think AdMech/Drukhari will be in the running when piloted by an above average player.
Brian: The final game will be won by an explosion causing mortals and killing something that swings the points. Hopefully the new meta is a place where any army can be piloted skillfully to a top table victory.
Connor: I think it will still be the usual suspects in the form of Drukhari and Admech. I do expect to see a bit more diversity in the top eight though, a few more of the tier 2 armies like GK, sisters, and orks. Maybe a few more marine lists. The changes are welcome, but I don't think it will be enough to really affect the outcome too much. I expect that this gives the edge to drukhari over admexh though. They were about neck and neck, but admech were hit much harder by the nerfs and drukhari didn't make much use of flyers, and are thus unaffected by the nerf there.
Chad: What didn't change was the terrain. And that's going to lend itself to people bringing a lot of indirect if they can, and a solid amount of infantry to navigate the board. I think with Grotesque going down and the durability of Cronos and Talos we can expect Drukhari to bring the beefy boys out to play. Grey Knights will perform well and I expect we haven't heard the last of Ork Ramshackle. Since Games Workshop won't be allowing new Black Templars I think some top tier players will make one last use of old Devout Push and movement shenanigans.
That wraps up our Team Ettin round table and discussion on the Balance Dataslate. Chad and Kevin will be our only team members attending Austin and will be releasing two separate tournament write-ups for the GW Austin Open next week!
Also coming up soon will be a weekly podcast hosted by Team Ettin where they will discuss all the newest news, competitive play, and rules for Warhammer 40K. Stay tuned for more on that!
