6th edition initial thoughts

Well 6th ed is here, and I have to say I'm pretty darned happy. It certainly isn't a perfect game system, but it the best 40k system we have ever had in my opinion. As a non tournament player this edition is epic; I do feel for the tournament organizers as it could make for some really tough decisions as to how to handle competitive 40k play at the "go for the throat" level of play. (that is not a slam at tourney players, just pointing out the importance of winning in a tourney.)

Now all this is said without any practical tabletop experience, some of these thoughts may change once I do, but I doubt it!

A little gem I found while composing this post, is on page 10 of the Big Arsed Book. If you look at the second column, second heading "which models are moving". It totally implies that if your heavy weapons dude does not move, even though everyone else in the squad did, that he can shoot at full effect. This is actually pretty huge!

I love that GW have chosen to reinforce the idea that 40k games should tell a story with the whole idea of "Forging a Narrative." That is right up my alley and how I have been playing for years, so comes as easy as breathing for me!

Snap-shot and Overwatch all I can say about these is good going GW, it's about damned time!  Praise the lord and pass the ammunition! 

Armor Saves for failed Dangerous Terrain tests, Hallelujah, some fraking common sense! No longer will your models stub their toes on a rocks and just die.

The overall feel of the rules is really summed up in the muchly over used word "cinematic." That said the word fits the feel and gives clear intent of GW's design team.

The new Psychic powers are great too, I am digging this addition a lot. 

I applaud the additions of Allies and Fortifications to the Force Org Chart. It goes a long way to aid in creating the background on the tabletop.

The new missions are oozing with flavor, I cannot wait to try them out first hand!

Another thing I am in love with is the building damage table! EPIC work GW this makes the game so much more cinematic, I had similar ideas mentioned on the TCP podcast in the recent past!

The rules are much more clear than anything ever has been for 40k. There are plenty of clear explanations and exemptions listed throughout the rules. I am so thrilled with the overall clarity I cannot find the words.

There are many more good things I could talk about, but I'd like to keep this post readable! 

Now onto the only really poorly executed rule: mixed armor wound allocation.

 It is the only thing that I am really scratching my head at, because their has been a huge amount of common sense in this edition, but this will obviously be abused.

The only other thing of note at this point is the FAQ's, I almost don't wanna mention them, but they don't feel even slightly well thought out or comprehensive at all. This by far is my biggest gripe, although it's not that big of one.