Rookie Rumble - Battle for Astaramis: We Talk to the Players
The first Warhammer 40k 8th Edition tournament (in Singapore) is upon us. Although it may be a small, cosy affair at 1000pts, Zack is determined that it is the start of something amazing. He speaks to participants of the upcoming event to find out what they think.
An evolving system
This Saturday may be the first tournament in Singapore for the new rule set but one thing is certain – everyone, from newcomers to veterans alike, is eager to test their mettle in Gamersaurus Rex’s Rookie Rumble – Battle for Astaramis.
“GW has made a really good game out of 8th, and with continuous support, makes the fun game better,” said Russell Ng. Russell will join more than 18 other players to take part in the first 40k 8th edition tournament in Singapore.
This sentiment is echoed amongst many of the participants we spoke to – Games Workshop’s proactive stance towards supporting the rules system with adjustments to create a fair playing field is paying dividends.
“It’s got its fair share of kinks to work out, but considering how often GW is providing support for the game, I think it’ll probably stay in a pretty good state,” Low Sheng Ren shared with us. Sheng Ren is a veteran of the competitive scene and is looking forward to the challenge of a new rule set.
“One thing I like is how fast the game is evolving and how GW is responding to feedback… already they are responding to lists they feel is un-fun,” Ngoo Teng Fei said. Teng Fei is amongst a group of players who will be playing in their first ever tournament this Saturday.
Since the release of 8th Edition in June this year, Games Workshop has released three updates to their rule set in the form of Frequently Asked Questions (or FAQs) documents. Each time, major rule questions and game balance issues were addressed, rocking the boat yet again.
An Alpha problem
The frequent changes however mean the state of the game has yet to settle, and to some veterans, such as Gavin Tng, it means it will be harder to predict what lists will appear in a tournament.
“The scene is still too raw, with GW coming up with very fast "band-aid" patches to make any conclusive prediction at the moment,” Gavin said. “I’m most looking forward to seeing what new lists people have come up with, who’s going with what list that’s been photocopied dozens of times on the Internet, or who can come up with something new.”
Some players did not share this opinion. Amidst the changes, an archetype still stood out as constant – alpha strike lists that focus on low deployment counts to ensure the first turn, and attempt to inflict enough damage on their opponent in the first turn such that they cannot fight back.
Such lists often feature fast-moving units such as Flyers, or units able to arrive from Reserve at any time during the battle to direct firepower where needed.
Keith Lee, another veteran, is concerned. “Based on the international events that have already transpired, I am currently concerned that the 8th Edition tournaments will all be tabling affairs with little focus on strategy and tactics,” he said.
“Hopefully this does not turn out to be the end state of the game, as I love the challenge of winning through tactical play.” Keith is referring to several tournaments in the United States who has seen several top prizes taken by players who brought such lists.
Lum Tang Liang weighs in on the topic. “Rules are simpler now, but alpha strike is more important. Better to have (a) more balanced way to determine first turn.”
When asked, Sheng Ren offered: “There are ways to play around alpha strike lists, although most of it starts and ends with list building. Then again, this was an issue with any number of editions prior.”
Indeed, alpha strike as an archetype has existed before 8th Edition, and through list building, one could mitigate the possible damage an alpha strike list can dish out.
Gavin shared his list with us. He will be bringing an “Imperial Soup” (so-named due to drawing upon the most efficient units that share the “Imperium” faction keyword) which consists of St Celestine, a firebase of Adepta Sororitas Retributors, Taurox Primes, a Stormfang Gunship and solitary warbands of Acolytes.
“Celestine because she’s one heck of a survival warlord, and with her Acts of Faith, there’s nowhere to hide from her on a 4x4 board,” Gavin said. His choices of Retributors, Taurox Primes and the Stormfang Gunship were due to their efficiency in damage output for their cost.
“The Acolytes are there to either form a wall against deep-strikers… at the same time not increase my deployment count, as they can be shoved into any of my transports when they’re not needed.”
Keith will be bucking the trend by focusing on objective scoring. “My list has a large core of Brimstone Horrors and Blue Horrors, for objective scoring, shielding my characters, and to blast my enemies with a barrage of spells.”
His list will feature multiple Heralds and Exalted Flamers as fire support, and able to hide amongst the Brimstone Horrors from shooting. “I for one have always put my focus on winning through objective scoring rather than entirely obliterating the enemy in previous editions,” Keith said.
Getting their feet wet
Though the game is still changing, Warhammer 40k 8th Edition remains an easy to learn rule set that both newcomers and veterans enjoy. The simplicity of the game has even convinced several players to get their feet wet and give the competitive scene a go.
Amongst them is Ngoo Teng Fei. He has not yet played a game of 8th Edition, but is confident he knows the rules well enough to play smoothly.
“(I’m) looking forward to actually putting models on the table and rolling dice, instead of just thinking about it,” he shared. Teng Fei started collecting towards the end of 7th Edition, and will be playing his Tau this Saturday.
Azmi Tahir has only played once a long time ago, but previous editions had a steep learning curve and had put him off playing. He said: “I'm enjoying 40k 8th Edition very much now. It’s much easier to play compared to the previous editions.”
The lore and the painting aspect of the hobby has kept Azmi going, and he is eager to play with others, learn new tactics and find new inspiration for his painting with his Orks.
Both participants, when asked, also demonstrated a good understanding of how to play their lists. Teng Fei’s list revolves around a single Stormsurge, screened by Pathfinders, Fire Warriors and Gun Drones while being led by a Cadre Fireblade. “Stormsurge is there mainly to hopefully to deal with heavy hitters like Knights, Bobby G (Roboute Guilliman) and Magnus, as I don't own any Hammerheads,” he said.
“The Drone unit is really an experiment; I'll be running them in the Devilfish with the Fireblade. They puke out an impressive number of shots for their cost; it'll be interesting to see if they work as intended.”
“Since Orks are good at close combat, they would be in need of some long range support,” Azmi concluded. “I maxed out my troop choices as much as possible and got Grots for my Heavy support (Kans and Gunz). It took me a whole day to understand how to make an army list.”
“Hopefully it works. It is my first game. Trial by fire!” he laughed.
A new opportunity
For some, it was a great opportunity to play a new army for a change. Chang Wiloon, normally known for his Black Templars, will be fielding Necrons this time around. “Necrons seem to be doing better in 8th so giving it a shot!” he said.
Wiloon isn’t the only one. Several other players are also taking new armies out for a spin. Elijah Yang played Blood Angels in previous editions, but will be taking opponents on with his Imperium army – with a focus on St Celestine and the Militarum Tempestus.
“Celestine is a really beautiful model… Scions look really nice and are definitely more useful than my Blood Angel Tactical Marines and Scouts,” Elijah revealed. “I didn’t know about them… so when I read their history, looked at their models and abilities, it was an instant buy for me!”
Gerard Ngu, who often played Craftworld Eldar in previous tournaments will instead be bringing Magnus, Daemon Primarch of the Thousand Sons, supported by the daemonic hordes. “After spending 7th Edition playing Eldar/Dark Eldar, I have acquired most of the Aeldari units I wanted,” Gerard said.
He was looking for new models to collect, and was advised to collect Magnus as a centerpiece model.
Great expectations
As the first 8th Edition tournament in Singapore, the Rookie Rumble is out to set the scene for competitive 40k in the country. It will follow the rulebook to the letter to establish a “null hypothesis” – a state of the game where no house rules are implemented, in order to serve as a reference for future event planning.
The following tournament next month will feature a higher pointage, 2000pts, but will also not adopt any house-rules for the same reason above. This may seem a strange move amidst the Independent Tournament Circuit’s guidelines, which proposes adjustments to the core rules of the game.
Participants are confident that tournament organisers will keep a level head when planning future events. “The framework provided by GW for Matched Play serves pretty well, but I think it can be improved. The only real question is in what ways the format can be tweaked for a better experience,” Sheng Ren said.
“Any changes a tournament organiser makes needs to have good solid reasoning behind it, and not just as kneejerk reactions to community noise.”
Russell remains unfazed as to him, Warhammer 40k is a social game and tournaments are a great opportunity to socialise and meet new people.
“From 1 being as excited as a carnivore going to a salad party, to 10 being a father about to see his firstborn child, it would be 10.1,” Russell said. “Previous tournaments were always with familiar faces, so hoping with the new edition with smaller rule set could get more fresh faces to join.”
We certainly hope so too. The Crossroads wishes all players the best of luck for the tournament. Stay tuned for post-event coverage!
About the Author:
Zackary "Ol One Eye" Ong is a handsome, charming and intelligent hobbyist and wargamer with a flair for the written word. Until he stops daydreaming, then he's just your average Joe who's out to prove that one eye is as good as two.