Some of the best Warhammer players in the world descended on Atlanta, Georgia last weekend for the biggest Warhammer tournaments in history. More than 40 nations were represented at the World Championships of Warhammer – and the Warhammer Design Studio were watching the results like a two-headed cyber-eagle.
This week, Warhammer 40,000 Lead Stu joins Warhammer TV’s Nick to discuss the results, and their implications for the grim darkness of the far future.
Two big names entered the finals for Warhammer 40,000 – but only one could leave victorious. Mani Cheema ultimately took the gold with a Chaos Space Marines list, beating John Lennon’s Ultramarines in a tense championship match.
John went for Tactical Missions from the Chapter Approved deck to secure more points, making use of durable Deep Striking Inceptors and infiltrating Scouts to achieve his shifting Secondary Missions.
Mani preferred reliable Fixed Secondary Missions, and was able to score Deploy Teleport Homers and Cleanse consistently thanks to his army’s Rhino-driven manoeuvrability.
This conversation goes far beyond the World Championships, however – it also touches on win rates in the competitive scene as a whole. In the last 60 days, the team has analysed data from some 200,000 games featuring 36,000 players, and the balance auguries are good on a table bookended by the Aeldari.
At the top with a win rate of 57% are the Craftworlders, who remain powerful after targeted changes in the previous Balance Dataslate – but not oppressively so. Their malevolent Drukhari cousins sit on 44% – lower than the Studio wants, but not by much.
Stu and the Studio aim to nudge these factions in the next points review and Balance Dataslate. Then, the plan is to focus on internal balance – for while most factions are in the Goldilocks Zone for win rates, some only have one or two really viable lists or playstyles. They plan changes that will expand datasheet diversity in the competitive scene, even as new Codexes bring new Detachments that support new ways to play.
There’s loads more depth in the video, so make sure you give it a watch. Next week we’ll hear from the Warhammer Age of Sigmar team about their own World Championships conclusions.