The Compass, The Clock, and A Terrible Codex

How GW Sees Tyranid Players

     No reason to sugar coat it:  I pretty much can't stand the new Tyranid codex.  Let's just forget all the wasted potential that it could have been, lest I get really bitter.  The rules aren't worth the paper they're printed on and there's better fluff in the fanfic section of every 40k blog out there.  It's also pretty clear dataslates aren't going to help.  I've reserved judgment for as long as I can, but it's time to tell it like it is.  Despite a pretty major event in my life that will occupy the lion's share of my spare time for the next couple years, I've managed to squeeze roughly 20 hours on Battlescribe on my mobile phone and tablet trying to build a list - any list - that would meet any of the following criteria:  able to take and hold objectives, able to take and hold table quarters, able to win battle points, able to win KP, able to have a shot at the asymmetrical missions being bandied about, and the big one:  is it fun to play?  Add in another 10 hours of practice deployments and 1-2 turn tests - I can't come up with a list that I either enjoy or would consider competitive.  The codex is absolutely hamstrung by the fact that synapse has no synergy within the codex - literally nothing with synapse works well with anything that needs it.  I even tried several no-synapse lists which were even more painful.  Double FOC helps a little, but that's generally not an option anywhere I would play.  Killzone at least isn't an entirely lost cause...

     I won't go through line by line and unit by unit - that's been done in several places and in great detail.  Big kudos and thanks to each and every author linked here - I truly appreciate the thought and effort put into all of these. The unit assessments are for once, remarkably consistent in their assessments of each unit - although the overall mood ranges between very negative and lukewarm.  There are a few out there that for reasons unbeknownst to the rest of us think the codex has some potential.  That's not to say victories are impossible - we play a game where dice and skill are involved: it'll happen.  Reecius' challenge to win against him with Tyranids is illuminating proof of the lack of playtesting and forethought that went into the codex. Hyvemynd gave a great overall summary here.  That article pretty much sums up my feelings and judgments exactly.   

     Enough with the dead horse beating - which despite the insistence of the dead horse to lie so still, inviting yet another entirely justified swift kick - it's time to let it go.  Which brings me to the next topic.  I doubt I'll be blogging much on Tyranids over the next couple years, and I'll miss it.  GW's poor business decisions are coinciding with a point in life where both money and time are better spent elsewhere, and frankly it makes the decision to do so all that much easier.  Definitely not quitting - I'll still keep voraciously reading about and playing/painting my blue and orange hivefleet, but other things are going to take hobby and time precedence.  

     The big change is this - for the next couple years, the first lady and I have been discerned (a little more involved than 'elected') as coordinators of the local community for an international marriage ministry that focuses on helping troubled and hurting marriages.  It's a non-profit organization, and coordinator is roughly equivalent to CEO, but we're no different than anyone else that volunteers.  We'll just have extra responsibilities for a while.  I've blogged about the program before a couple times. I wouldn't be here without it, wouldn't have my wife, family, kids or anything that matters.  As a gamer and geek dad - being able to play and be creative with my kids and family is pretty much everything I ever wanted out of life.  The opportunity to give someone back the gift of everything that matters in life is something I'm very passionate about - and so in the battle of the compass and the clock, both compass and clock will be oriented in this direction for a while.  If by chance you are reading this, and misery or loneliness or thoughts of separation or divorce are part of your married life and you want to know more, drop me a line at the address in the 'Medical File' section on the right.  Happy to help.