Thinking about 8th edition WFB, 10+ years later...

------------I completely agree that 8th WFB is balanced well...I attribute that to the random elements. Random charge, random winds of magic, they can spoil the best laid plans, creating opportunity for the other side, allowing comebacks, etc. 

I agree with all the above sentiments, especially about the random rolls but had to flesh out my own thoughts. I'm sure i've missed half a dozen more...

Premeasuring and random charges

I love that 8th introduced the random charging and so eliminated the constant adjustment and nudging your units so they were xx.1” away. It’s amazing how many ways a distance could be measured in previous editions. Don’t get me wrong, I do miss the range guessing with things like stone throwers but premeasuring removed a lot of the crap out if the game. It also winds me up that so many anti-8th players seem to think that guessing a distance on a table amounted to their edition being more ‘tactical’. It removed the advantage that seasoned players tended to have over new starters as after decades of playing, there wasn’t that much guess work in distances.


Supporting attacks, step up, steadfast & hordes

The feel that armies clashing is actually causing multiple fatalities rather than one or 2 and then a unit breaking, actually makes it feel like combat rather than your unit just psyching out the other. Step-up also means that unlike other editions if you were to fail the charge, you aren’t almost guaranteed to lose.

I like that the game promoted different ways of fielding the units. You want a bucket load of attacks but with some risk, take a horde. If you want to tarpit an opponent, take plenty of ranks. I do think they missed a trick of disruption also removing steadfast. That would really add a bit more tactical depth to having larger flanking cav units etc.

It also meant that there was a reason for taking a unit larger than 20-25 models (apart from appearance and the odd exception such as unbreakable and fear causing units)


Striking at initiative

Generally I think this was a change for the best. I do think that I might have liked this to have been only, a second round of combat thing. Perhaps when you charge, in the first round of combat you count as initiative 10, as that would give you a greater reason to charge and that way, ASF and ASL would still come into play over-riding the initiative 10 in some cases and it would also remove re-rolls from defending ASF troops).


Magic and random rolls.

I like the high risk, high reward nature of 8th’s magic. In many ways it was a throwback to 4/5th’s magic. You could gamble and go magic heavy but the winds were fickle and so you might not get enough dice to do anything meaningful. Gone are the days of the battery pack dice from wizards. This is another example of a random roll (like charging). It adds that element of unknown and forces you to adapt when circumstances change and I’d argue making you a better player. I can appreciate that tournie players might not have liked this.

Many players quote their dislike of the unit killer spells and while Pit of Shades is probably a bit too powerful against certain armies, they exist to counter the horde and deathstar units. If someone wants to put all their eggs in one basket, then they must understand that they could go out in a blaze of glory (or not!) and there is always the miscast risk in order to get them off (and we all know how many times a cascade occurs!).


Army books

The number of additional choices/new models added to the army books was in general excellent. The books were also pretty balanced. Yes some books are better but there isn’t as big a discrepancy as some players (normally 6th advocates) seem to think. It’s probably telling that 2 of those cited as being ‘weaker’ were those without an 8th edition version (and with Beastmen the main flaw is the points cost of some of the entries and perhaps lack of options, the latter being something the Bret’s had too). Never-the-less, you can still win using any army. I also don’t want a perfectly balanced game. It’s good to be challenged, it makes you a better player. I’m often surprised how close a lot of our games are and that might be down to:


Scenarios

I’m not actually sure if scenarios existed in 7th but I’ve always loved them. You have to take into account that you may get a scenario that doesn’t favour your preferred army build and factor that in. Blood and Glory is a prime example and even watch tower.

Meeting Engagement and Dawn Attack throw in the random set up elements and force you to adapt your plans on the fly.

These have all helped with my enjoyment and I think the longevity of the game.

My only disappointment was they didn’t release more but it is one reason I’ve collected as many comp packs as possible as may tournaments created their own.


Triumph and Treachery

In my eyes the greatest expansion for the game ever released. The amount of laughs I’ve had playing this trumps any other game. It is excellent and the only way to play with multiple players.
If you've never played it and have access to 2 more friends, I can't recommend it enough.

Eefl!


Still going strong.

Such an amazing ruleset. So fun, so customisable.

It really captures the regiment battle feel. Swords and sorcery battles just too huge.

Base quibbles can be easily worked around. Circles, squares...whatever they can all be worked into 8th.

The randomness, the strategy, the momentum shifts.

Just too epic.

Eefl

---------Yes, the dreaded "Tzeentch Flyer Circus" was a tough army to fight against.

In 4-7 editions, there was many ways to make a broken, or just unfun, army (i.e. march block and shoot/magic, 100% avoid combat armies, etc). In 8th that is very difficult to do and even if you do, it hard to make it work properly. In the 8th edition tournament circuit, I felt an average army could beat anything, even against some of the nasty combos that are out there. 

Surely Lore Of Shadow on those 60 Spears? for - D3 Toughness or Mindrazor 😜

^This. I've always felt the same way, honestly. Hordes and bus formations have their strengths and weaknesses. But regardless, they're all susceptible to nukes. That can win or lose you the game if you've sunk your money into one deathstar.

And Canons. (Can you feel me rolling my eyes?) They miss their targets just as much as they hit (okay, well it feels that way) and when they do, you'll inevitably roll a one when trying to wound! Laser guided. Ha!