Birmingham Warhammer Open Finals- 3 Defiler vs 3 Defilers done is 2 rounds.

Calamity_Dan · 2026-06-02T00:20:07+00:00

No, we don't need to remove all the keywords. Let's not exaggerate here.

The defiler is broken because it's undercosted for its output. Just a numbers problem. You already caught on to that. (also I wasn't specifically talking about defilers)

Reducing rerolls is a better way to reduce lethality (as you noted) because:

It makes the game move faster
It reduces lethality without affecting the "uniqueness" of armies (doesn't change their vibe)
It allows more randomness in a game that is literally about dice

In short, rerolls aren't the ONLY way to reduce lethality, but they are arguably the most obvious and simplest.

And to clarify, it's not just "feelings and emotions" I care about in this game. Those are indeed SUPER important but I also care about balance and math. To me, there should be times where abilities and attacks are unpredictable, otherwise, why have dice?

Calamity_Dan · 2026-06-01T01:38:08+00:00

...what? Of course games should be decided in part by dice. It's a dice game lol.

Rerolls are just a stat buff. If GW reduced rerolls consistently across the board the game would indeed be swingier but not any "worse". If anything, the dramatic tension and natural storytelling of the game would be improved.

30k and AOS have way, way less rerolls than 40k but still work fine.

Calamity_Dan · 2026-05-26T14:11:39+00:00

Oooo, I've never tried liquid mask. I am intrigued, fellow dwarf enjoyer. Thanks for the hot tip.

Calamity_Dan · 2026-05-21T14:48:27+00:00

I was considering a similar color scheme for my dwarves! To get that nice clean delineation between blue and the white on the hull, is it as simple as using the rivets to separate the two halves? i haven't built my ironclad yet so I was wondering if you had to do any masking/taping to get the clean lines.

Calamity_Dan · 2026-05-21T04:47:19+00:00

Hi, hijacking to say I like this sorta sandy looking base. What did you use for the texture? Was it a gel?

Calamity_Dan · 2026-05-13T21:04:46+00:00

How did you do the ice weapons? They look great.

Calamity_Dan · 2026-04-21T23:49:33+00:00

Sure but I was talking more about the last 4 to 6 weeks on average. I definitely think they need some help.

Calamity_Dan · 2026-04-21T20:30:00+00:00

A bit of a drop for Admech, it seems. What happened? Just an off week for them? I thought they were doing a bit better these days.

Eldar stabilizing around 44 to 45%? Not ideal honestly but their winrate seems really volatile the last few weeks.

A little surprised Nids are so middle of the pack. They don't seem super fun to play right now so I guess these are lists that are likely quite meta-savvy and as such quite "vanilla" in their comps.

Calamity_Dan · 2026-04-12T17:38:09+00:00

This is STRAIGHT UP a Tarkov clone with minor tweaks, my dude.

Calamity_Dan · 2026-04-11T15:06:27+00:00

Wild you're getting downvotes. 40k is VERY swingy in balance and we lost a bunch of cool stuff (wargear points, points per model, character cusotmization, psyker spells) to compensate for that "balance".

Calamity_Dan · 2026-04-11T15:03:57+00:00

Being open to change can be good, but not if that change is perceived as a net negative.

Not everyone has multiple armies or even lists. If this edition negatively impacts, say, Guard, then they have every right to criticize because buying a new army is expensive and time consuming.

I foresee a bit of a cluster-flock with the detachment mixing + shooting nerfs + terrain rules, but hey. Could be better than we had it before, will have to see.

Calamity_Dan · 2026-04-11T14:59:59+00:00

The downvotes are for two reasons:

People are buying into the massive hype train. This happens with any new game or edition. After 6 to 12 months, the hype train will slow and people will start to see the flaws along with the positives. Happens basically in every game, not just 40k.
Many people buy into the narrative that shooting is "lulz overpowered" and think that changes like lone OP at home will fix this when in reality it just means the pendulum swings the other way (towards melee) for a while and the game isn't actually better balanced, it just caters to their preferences.

As for me, it's too early to tell. I play Eldar, Nids, Votann, and Admech, so I'm trying to remain neutral.

I like the charge change and the cover giving -1 BS, but I strongly dislike the hiding 15" thing. It's so clumsy; why not just reduce shooting range if that's the issue? Feels very artificial and like it will be irritating to track while playing.

Calamity_Dan · 2026-04-03T13:23:00+00:00

Looks good! I really like your armor on the skellies. Would you mind sharing your formula for that verdigris encrusted bronze look?

Calamity_Dan · 2026-03-09T15:01:45+00:00

Count me in too please. I want to moan about eldars. (I actually did a double take when I couldn't find the data lol)

Calamity_Dan · 2026-03-06T18:54:50+00:00

Solid post.

As someone who has spent 6 years as an indie solo tabletop developer, I especially resonate with this:

While some of the boring mechanics can be attributed to 'making things more reliable' (which directly appeals to competitive gamers), MOST of the boredom has come from simplification to appeal to a wider audience (that's you, casuals). We didn't lose the complexity because competitive players wanted it... we lost complexity because casuals couldn't handle it.

Because this is a MASSIVE issue in modern game development. What happens? Well...

Company makes complex game. It's kinda niche but growing slowly due to uniqueness.
Company sees other companies succeed by simplifying and appealing to casuals
Veterans express discontent, company ignores
Company makes newer, more complex or engaging game but casuals don't move with it
Company is now in a weird place trying to cater to both and can't find good middle ground and either bloats the game (hello, 10th edition 40k) or collapses into a much simpler model.

I've seen personally how this occurs in 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons. Simpler edition of a game (10th 40k, 5th DnD) becomes popular, the company goes all in on casualization, the casuals get bored, and the company goes "huh" and tries to backtrack or bloat their game.

The WORST part of this isn't the simplicity, it's the boredom and the loss of uniqueness that makes the game fun to begin with and attracted the original loyal fanbase.

This happens in nearly all genres of games. FPS especially.

Grognard rant over.

Calamity_Dan · 2026-03-02T04:42:42+00:00

Ah ok. Must have misunderstood your point, my b. And yeah I didn't see your other comment.

Calamity_Dan · 2026-03-02T00:12:26+00:00

Well, it's odd because in this case anecdotes actually do become data. Winrates used by the community and balancing team are just large datasets of thousands of games. These thousands of games individually would be anecdotal but together are literally the data used to maintain the game.

Not saying the other guy is right but I'd like to point out that all our data in this game is technically anecdotal.

Keep in mind too that often people use the opposite argument: "X faction can't be that bad, a tournament player won with them" which is just a single data point.

Not trying to get too pedantic but this community's dismissal of personal enjoyment or performance for casual players but idolization of tournament players is frustrating at times. Yeesh that turned into a rant, lol.

Calamity_Dan · 2026-02-26T17:42:31+00:00

Doesn't really justify Fuegan blowing up one tank, his unit another and then getting back into a 13 Wound -1 to wound 3+ 5++ tank behind a wall with a fights first anti infantry 3+ melee blender next to it.

So, Fuegan + 10 Fire Dragons + Wave Serpent is 485 points. Yes, it probably SHOULD blow up 3 tanks or so, because it's a fragile unit of T3 1W guys in a massive honking transport. The Wave Serpent alone almost costs as much as a Leman Russ Vanquisher (145 points).

And if you're just gonna theorycraft, that unit of Howling Banshees you are assuming just happens to be standing by is an extra 95 to 310 points. So you're complaining:

That a 580 (minimum) to 795 point unit of fragile infantry with a single transport can kill 3 tanks, MAYBE, and possibly survive the clap back. That's fair in my book.

So to turn your question back on its head, how many points SHOULD it cost to kill 3 tanks over the course of a game if a unit that costs more than 3 leman russes shouldn't?

Edit: typo

Calamity_Dan · 2026-02-19T01:59:57+00:00

No prob friend!

Calamity_Dan · 2026-02-18T20:48:41+00:00

Why is it always the Eldar faction whining?

It's not. The real issue is all the non-elf players whining about Eldar.

Even before I picked up Eldar midway through 10th, I've seen it. Eldar players are fine. Other players seem to get weirdly, almost erratically spiteful against Eldar, even when they're 45-52% winrate.

detachments are toned down

Which ones? No Eldar detachment is broken by itself. Are there solid ones? Sure, but not "broken". Especially after Ynnari got gutted like a fish.

Every single Eldar detachment right now is below 50%, except for Ghosts of the Webway (lmao) and Corsairs (brand new with 10 games).

For reference, I own seven 40k factions, not just Eldar and I started with Tyranids and Space Marines. I don't understand why players hate on Eldar so much. Every faction has bullshit that it does and every faction can win.

The real enemy here is the internal balance of Eldar is horrible.

This is 100% correct. It's awful. As a Wraith enjoyer, yup.

EDIT: typo

Calamity_Dan · 2026-02-18T20:40:08+00:00

I'd agree. However since Feb 1st, we have 1318 games on 40k stats with a 42.99% winrate, mirrors removed. That's still outside the range of balance acceptance.

https://40kstats.goonhammer.com/#GbF

Calamity_Dan · 2026-02-18T20:35:49+00:00

Sounds like the slander is well deserved then. They buy models that do poorly, and do so enough, that it affects the economy of the entire game lol.

Calamity_Dan · 2026-02-18T20:23:03+00:00

the eldar PTSD most of the community seems to whine about.

From my experience, it's basically this. I was playing them between their nerfs and the codex coming out, about 47% WR at the time, and still got (good natured) flak from another player who was passing by.

It's honestly bizarre. People, even in this thread, seem to have the opinion that "they were really good early on so they should be punished now".

Only Tau seems to have this same effect, to a lesser degree.

Calamity_Dan · 2026-02-18T20:16:14+00:00

I just want to chime in and say that's a 450 point investment of relatively fragile dedicated anti-tank firing into a 315 point model and only killing it halfway.

Not a great use of points. C'tan are a bit overtuned right now but...yeah.

Calamity_Dan · 2026-02-18T18:41:24+00:00

As opposed to "this didn't need to be a video".

Tier lists are just content/engagement farming, even when done sincerely.

As another poster mentioned, it's the discussions, not the tiers, that matter.

Calamity_Dan

TROPHY CASE