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 LunarSol wrote:
I can't fault tournament players for playing the game that's given to them. The most toxic games I've played have been of the "who pulled their punches least" variety where each player draws an invisible line the other isn't expected to cross.

There are definitely ways to write rules that work casually while still holding up to competitive scrutiny. That's generally the direction I root for.

I'm definitely ok with competitive scrutiny, but only to a point. I think the measure to meet is if each faction has at least a few few different ways to compete at the top tier. But for me it stops there, because I think below that it's fine for all sorts of options and customization to exist that may not be the most competitive in tournament scenarios, but can exist in-universe or at least fill a role against specific types of armies or in specific situations that can occur as part of the background. The Grenade Launcher example is a good one. It may not have been the competitive choice if you're going into a tournament likely festooned with 3+ saves. But if your local meta happens to have more "soft" infantry and light vehicles, then the GL should be there. And if it, in universe, is a less valuable item to have then a Plasma gun or Melttagun, it's fine if it costs fewer points to field. I would rather the game version appropriately represent its capabilities instead of artificially boosting it to compete with other weapons just because GW wants to minimize math.