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I've returned to the world of 40k after a few years on the Warmachine train (this development is because of a huge influx of my friends taking up TTG with 40k being the obvious first port of call)

I grew up with the old 1500pt standard games, it also seems that Games Workshop consider this to be the standard still (as you can see with their Throne Of Skulls tournaments) but as I look around the internet, watch batreps, see peoples army lists, there seems to be a lot of 1750/1850 games.

What I'd like to know is what people consider to be the standard these days? I was always under the impression that the people who did these 1750/1850 games are metagamers/powergamers/cheesegamers who wanted to use deathstar units or certain ancillary units but couldn't wedge them in to a standard 1500 points (which was used because it was always "you have to leave something at home" points).

So, what is your local norm? What is the norm for most (UK) tournaments?

Those extra points can completely change a way an army is played, people find it a little harder to run an affective game winning Wraithwing or Draigowing or Flyer Spam at 1500, that's why I personally believe it should be the standard.

I'd say I see a lot of lists at either 1500 and 2000, some 1000. I do like a couple stages between 1500 and 2000. I see your point with them, but I also think it allows you to use the new models you've just bought and built and got excited for on your way to 2k. Rather than having to sit them aside, and then maybe make some tweaks before you actually buy all 2k worth.

In my local group 1500 is still the standard "lets have a quick game" points limit. But we do see a fair bit of 1850 (not much 1750 really) games which are usually the same list of 1500 plus your new stuff. Then when people want to play a bigger/longer game it's 2000.

I'm seeing 1850 a lot for tournaments.

We usually do 1850 as well. I agree that it's not the best points value, but we're living in an age where people are able to field larger armies, despite everything getting points-wise cheaper, and they tend to want to field everything.

ammp wrote:
I was always under the impression that the people who did these 1750/1850 games are metagamers/powergamers/cheesegamers who wanted to use deathstar units or certain ancillary units but couldn't wedge them in to a standard 1500 points (which was used because it was always "you have to leave something at home" points).

You aren't entirely wrong. One of the popular reasons given for why people want to play games over 1500 points is that they can't take everything they want in anything smaller than 1750. So rather than accept the sacrifices necessary to fit a death star/allies/whatever into their army they just increase the point level until they can bring everything.

The gamers at my local store tend to prefer 1750. Personally, I have no real preference. I like small, 750 point games, and I like big, multiple thousands of points games. (Played a 4k point game the other day. That was fun.)

1850 tends to be the point level where you see fully fleshed out, solid army lists that don't have to slack in places to make other parts stronger.

I find it to be the "balanced" point level where armies are strong, play like they should, and are more evenly scaled against eachother, without dipping into the "I brought everything and the kitchen sink" point levels.

I recently had a great time at a mini club fun competition where the points was randomly chosen with 1000pts plus 3d10's, One d10 for hundreds 1d10= tens 1d10 = ones we got = 1293pts
we rolled the dice one week then turned up the next week with army's. of course you need to play with people you trust , as no body checked all the lists... but it was great fun.

odd numbers just below the standard games like 1487,1732,1789,1831, 1999+3d10 are some times fun.

I've played a 650pts 1hq 1 troop mim game at the local, and this really test you nerve.

Mostly 500 to 1000 pts here. since we are 3-4 each afternoon with only a single play table, we got to play teams so we generally paly 1k-2k games with each of us with 500-1K armies.

When we're only 2 thought it is 1500 pts.