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Have you ever bought a unit purely because it is meta?
Yes, I only buy based on meta efficiency
Yes, several times.
Yes, once.
No.

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Made in de
Longtime Dakkanaut



Bamberg / Erlangen

As the title says.

Have you ever bought a unit purely because of the current meta (as in: the unit performs well in it), even though you would not have considered it otherwise?

Not meant to shame people, just curious how often this happens. Personally, I'm usually trying to go for a theme and make the best out of it. Back in 6th (or was it 7th? Can't remember, those two editions blend together for me) when one of my friends that was playing with me for years bested me for the first time in forever, I felt compelled to invest into an Imperial Knight. The reason it was the Knight out of all possible units was that he showed up with the new Tau Stormsurge. I gotta say I felt cheated by the unit's rules and power, like some sort of social contract was broken. We've been playing with pretty tame lists up to that point. I remember having something like a Chaplain with jump pack, 10 Assault Marines, some LasPlas Tacticals and a bunch of Terminators.

I still got the Knight and I bring it out now and then for a special occassion and I like it. But man, was I salty back then.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2022/08/10 14:54:59


   
Made in us
Arch Magos w/ 4 Meg of RAM






poor poll design, a simple yes/no would be more indicative. the choices we have right now arent balanced
   
Made in de
Contagious Dreadnought of Nurgle





My Nurgle Bikers might come closest as they were the only good unit in 6th/7th Edition CSM Codex and they would have been far down my list. But I think Puppetswar doing a sale did more to convince me buying these chaps than the meta did.
   
Made in us
Dakka Veteran





In 5th edition I got a box of DE warriors and a single hellion for Baron Sathonax to ally with my Eldar jetseer council. People in my area were playing very competitively and I did it to keep up. I really liked my Baron conversion though so it was a fun hobby side project.

More recently I picked up Ogryn for my IG despite the fact they don't fit the Napoleonic aesthetic I'm going for. I converted them out of Necromunda slave ogryn though, so once again turned out to be a fun hobby project.

To put that in context I've played eldar, guard, orks, and chaos marines over the years. About 2-3K of each. I normally buy kits for the models and how they'll fit into my army.
   
Made in us
Fixture of Dakka




NE Ohio, USA

No.
I buy units I like. Or that fit well in what I'm building. Sometimes these also happen to be (or become) meta units. But its not why I bought them.

A great example of this is the Drukhari force I built last year.
Starting in March 2021 I began buying/building/painting several Talos/Cronos each month. The goal was a heavy detachment of 3x3 talos, 3x3 Cronos, & an HQ.
WHY? Because I really like the model & the 9e rules allow me to field this.
Heavy Talos/Cronos lists were not the meta - until just as I was almost done with the project.


   
Made in gb
Lord of the Fleet






London

I've only done so a few times in the 10+ years I've been playing this game. Last time was the Hammerhead. Always liked the model, but thought it looked a bit derpy until one particular photo in one of the articles convinced me to do so.

Otherwise no, I may have bought stuff that was competitive, but not because I was meta-chasing.
   
Made in us
Swift Swooping Hawk





I'll admit that I'm really skeptical of all the "no"s. I know this is dakka, but you folks really haven't bought something because it's good once? That's the question being asked; it doesn't mean you did it because you're aiming for the top table at a tournament.

I suspect if this was asked on reddit or basically any other 40k community, there would be very few nos (if people were being honest).

ETA: I answered yes, several times. I have tens of thousands of points of models, it's certainly happened but it's far from the majority.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2022/08/10 14:53:18


 
   
Made in us
Paramount Plague Censer Bearer





I haven't bought anything because of the meta, due to the fact that I played mostly on Tabletop Sim, and the army I own for WHFB is for 6th edition. For 40k, I mostly have models I like to paint. For Infinity, I have models to make a team I think is good, but I don't own a missile bot list, so there's that. But I do have the Avatar, though I bought him because he's cool, and I like the idea of one third my team being one model.

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Made in us
Fixture of Dakka






Only once and it was super cheap 3rd party bc I'm not buying 36 Razorwing flocks from GW, i instead bough some cheap Zombicide birds (they were like 0.75c a bird lol). Was really fun and not the 200 bird list that people were running. Honestly played 18 of them in Ynnari for a long time after that so was a good investment lol.

I normally collect armies and not lists. My DE is up to something like 16k points.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2022/08/10 15:06:10


   
Made in us
Ancient Venerable Dreadnought




San Jose, CA

I will only buy models that I like, could care less if it's good or not.

Cuz if I don't like how something looks, how would I enjoy playing the game with it when every time I see it I'm like "man thats ugly/dumb/etc"...
   
Made in us
Arch Magos w/ 4 Meg of RAM






 Gene St. Ealer wrote:
I'll admit that I'm really skeptical of all the "no"s. I know this is dakka, but you folks really haven't bought something because it's good once? That's the question being asked; it doesn't mean you did it because you're aiming for the top table at a tournament.

I suspect if this was asked on reddit or basically any other 40k community, there would be very few nos (if people were being honest).

ETA: I answered yes, several times. I have tens of thousands of points of models, it's certainly happened but it's far from the majority.


theres a difference between buying something because of the meta vs because something is good
   
Made in gb
Lord of the Fleet






London

 VladimirHerzog wrote:
 Gene St. Ealer wrote:
I'll admit that I'm really skeptical of all the "no"s. I know this is dakka, but you folks really haven't bought something because it's good once? That's the question being asked; it doesn't mean you did it because you're aiming for the top table at a tournament.

I suspect if this was asked on reddit or basically any other 40k community, there would be very few nos (if people were being honest).

ETA: I answered yes, several times. I have tens of thousands of points of models, it's certainly happened but it's far from the majority.


theres a difference between buying something because of the meta vs because something is good


This. There's a difference between buying one Repulsor because it's good, and buying 3 Repulsors with Ferrios painted in the blandest scheme possible to get the 3-colour minimum score.
   
Made in gb
Mekboy Hammerin' Somethin'





United Kingdom

I've never bought one of a unit because it was/is meta, but I've definitely bought more of a unit I already had because it's good/meta.

But then again I also like taking some "suboptimal" units because I want to use those particular models or because they fit my army fluff better.
   
Made in us
Terrifying Doombull




 Gene St. Ealer wrote:
I'll admit that I'm really skeptical of all the "no"s. I know this is dakka, but you folks really haven't bought something because it's good once? That's the question being asked; it doesn't mean you did it because you're aiming for the top table at a tournament.

No. The question is asking if you bought it purely because of the meta. It is specifically not asking if you bought models because you thought they were good.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2022/08/10 16:50:28


 
   
Made in gb
Ridin' on a Snotling Pump Wagon






Well….kinda?

Having never been into the competitive scene, I’ve never exactly followed the Meta.

But, the Meta can involve whatever The New Hotness is. Sometimes that can be a newly feasible and well good combo. Other times? The lynchpin of The New Hotness happens to be The New Unit. And I am a sucker for New Things.

Hence the….kinda…answer. Especially when I not only had staff discount but also staff pre-order, where we’d get stuff earlier than others.

   
Made in us
Swift Swooping Hawk





Voss wrote:
 Gene St. Ealer wrote:
I'll admit that I'm really skeptical of all the "no"s. I know this is dakka, but you folks really haven't bought something because it's good once? That's the question being asked; it doesn't mean you did it because you're aiming for the top table at a tournament.

No. The question is asking if you bought it purely because of the meta. It is specifically not asking if you bought models because you thought they were good.


Okay, fair. I don't think that's a great question then; I think plenty of people (and plenty of purchases) rationalize their way backwards into justifying the purchase for something other than the meta. Hell, OP's example is exactly that. Like MDG said above, the answer to this question seems like it will always be "kinda yes, kinda no".
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut




 Gene St. Ealer wrote:
I'll admit that I'm really skeptical of all the "no"s. I know this is dakka, but you folks really haven't bought something because it's good once? That's the question being asked; it doesn't mean you did it because you're aiming for the top table at a tournament.

I suspect if this was asked on reddit or basically any other 40k community, there would be very few nos (if people were being honest).

ETA: I answered yes, several times. I have tens of thousands of points of models, it's certainly happened but it's far from the majority.

The poll asks if you bought it “purely” because it’s meta. I personally don’t make my buying habits at all based on meta but will admit my building habits are influenced by them. For example I’m a huge guard fan always adding to my collection. Because of this for example I’m a fan of infantry squads. I really don’t care if they have no special weapon/ a flamer/plasma/ect. But if a plasma is better then a melta I really don’t see why I wouldn’t build and or paint what’s currently good first or add that to my collection first. I’m not buying any model only because it’s good I’m just going to be slower adding stuff that is terrible atm. I think most of the “no” on this list fall into a middle category or (I like my army and obviously are going to focus on not dumpster units but I’m not purchasing them only because they are currently strong).
   
Made in us
Humming Great Unclean One of Nurgle






a_typical_hero wrote:
As the title says.

Have you ever bought a unit purely because of the current meta (as in: the unit performs well in it), even though you would not have considered it otherwise?

Not meant to shame people, just curious how often this happens. Personally, I'm usually trying to go for a theme and make the best out of it. Back in 6th (or was it 7th? Can't remember, those two editions blend together for me) when one of my friends that was playing with me for years bested me for the first time in forever, I felt compelled to invest into an Imperial Knight. The reason it was the Knight out of all possible units was that he showed up with the new Tau Stormsurge. I gotta say I felt cheated by the unit's rules and power, like some sort of social contract was broken. We've been playing with pretty tame lists up to that point. I remember having something like a Chaplain with jump pack, 10 Assault Marines, some LasPlas Tacticals and a bunch of Terminators.

I still got the Knight and I bring it out now and then for a special occassion and I like it. But man, was I salty back then.
Wait, your friend beat you once and THAT was a reason to go out and buy a knight? I must be misreading that somehow.

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I chose an avatar I feel best represents the quality of my post history.

I try to view Warhammer as more of a toolbox with examples than fully complete games. 
   
Made in us
Resolute Ultramarine Honor Guard






Peoria IL

I don't know if I've ever bought a unit because someone somewhere featured it as meta... but I have certainly found what I considered the best order of battle or a unit that seemed very strong on point-to-kill ratio and bought it because of that (so yeah, I've bought units that I felt were statistically strong and not lore or aesthetic reasons).

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Made in fi
Locked in the Tower of Amareo





I buy what i like. As is in aos i got full monster army(and one of the better ones) after mission pack changed from monsters to elite infantry/cavalry

40k wise big pile of 2nd hand models of blood angels and start collecting space marines hardly meta . Leviathan hardly stuns in performance and new ghb nerfed again

Dok is closest to yes...but then again i flat out refuse to use morathi which is the meta unit.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2022/08/10 17:47:22


2024 painted/bought: 109/109 
   
Made in us
Humming Great Unclean One of Nurgle





In My Lab

Purely because of the meta? No.
Partially because of the meta? All the time.

I like the game, despite its flaws, and I want my units to do well. I wont' buy a unit that's garbage on the tabletop unless I've got some kind of plan to make it work. But at the same time, I don't buy models if I hate the look of them (not really an issue with GW, since their models are pretty high-quality) or if they don't fit my army at all.

Clocks for the clockmaker! Cogs for the cog throne! 
   
Made in de
Longtime Dakkanaut



Bamberg / Erlangen

 NinthMusketeer wrote:
Wait, your friend beat you once and THAT was a reason to go out and buy a knight? I must be misreading that somehow.

It was not the loss itself, but how it came to be. Basically my army got blown away by the Stormsurge without me having anything I could take to be on equal footing. I didn't plan to purchase a Knight before that happened. I didn't think these kind of units belong into a normal game back then. I purely got it because I thought I could beat him in the next game with it.

   
Made in pl
Fixture of Dakka




I wonder how many people buy something, because it is the style of the army. Like lets say 6 transports for DE, and then the options happen to be super powerful.

I don't like power armoured GK. I will never used them in my army. But if someone does like them, then they practicaly have 2/3 of a GK tournament list.

If you have to kill, then kill in the best manner. If you slaughter, then slaughter in the best manner. Let one of you sharpen his knife so his animal feels no pain. 
   
Made in us
Fixture of Dakka




NE Ohio, USA

 Gene St. Ealer wrote:
I'll admit that I'm really skeptical of all the "no"s. I know this is dakka, but you folks really haven't bought something because it's good once? That's the question being asked; it doesn't mean you did it because you're aiming for the top table at a tournament.


No, the OP specifically asked:
"Have you ever bought a unit purely because of the current meta (as in: the unit performs well in it), even though you would not have considered it otherwise?"

That answer for me is NO. If I would not have considered it otherwise it's because I dislike the physical model. I do not buy/own or waste my time building & painting models I dislike. It doesn't matter how good it is Meta-wise atm, if I dislike the model I will not be buying it.
   
Made in fi
Locked in the Tower of Amareo





ccs wrote:
 Gene St. Ealer wrote:
I'll admit that I'm really skeptical of all the "no"s. I know this is dakka, but you folks really haven't bought something because it's good once? That's the question being asked; it doesn't mean you did it because you're aiming for the top table at a tournament.


No, the OP specifically asked:
"Have you ever bought a unit purely because of the current meta (as in: the unit performs well in it), even though you would not have considered it otherwise?"

That answer for me is NO. If I would not have considered it otherwise it's because I dislike the physical model. I do not buy/own or waste my time building & painting models I dislike. It doesn't matter how good it is Meta-wise atm, if I dislike the model I will not be buying it.


Ditto. Also reverse can be true for me like morathi. I like the model so would like to buy but i don't buy just to sit pretty on shelf and i loathe fight twice and especially shoot twice rules(mw even worse) and i hate max x damage per turn rules and she combines both. I would feel dirty playing her so i don't.

I hate her rules so much in my head my dok are rebel group true believers of Khaine opposing Morathi
   
Made in gb
Longtime Dakkanaut




I've definitely bought (and, per WYSIWG, built) stuff that has good mathhammer over stuff with bad mathhammer. But I can't say I've ever bought anything "purely" for the meta. If I dislike the model then I'm not buying it.

Ultimately I came to the conclusion around 5th edition that there's not much point having some hard-meta list that destroys everyone... and then very quickly no one in the store wants to play you. And tbh with the current rate of change, it will invariably get nerfed anyway.

I've got some stuff which is currently pure aesthetics - a flamer spam guard list for instance - with perhaps an eye that what's bad this edition will somehow be best in 3-5 years time. But those are more on the hard hobby side than with an intention of playing any time soon.
   
Made in ca
Commander of the Mysterious 2nd Legion





 Gene St. Ealer wrote:
I'll admit that I'm really skeptical of all the "no"s. I know this is dakka, but you folks really haven't bought something because it's good once? That's the question being asked; it doesn't mean you did it because you're aiming for the top table at a tournament.

I suspect if this was asked on reddit or basically any other 40k community, there would be very few nos (if people were being honest).

ETA: I answered yes, several times. I have tens of thousands of points of models, it's certainly happened but it's far from the majority.


the question being asked is "purely because of the meta" and I think it's a safe bet the Nos are being honest.

There's a big differance between "I bought this dreadnought because the meta says dreadnoughts are awesome and thus I must run dreadnoughts" and "I like big stompy robots, and think dreads are pretty awesome, dreadnoughts are more viable now after a period of being not really worth taking so I decided to get a new dread with this months hobby budget"
   
Made in us
Enigmatic Chaos Sorcerer




The dark hollows of Kentucky

Nope, never. I only buy models that I like, and that I think fit into my armies. That's why whenever I've been told to "Just get a Daemon Prince instead of a Jump Lord", or "Disco Lords are awesome, you should get one", or similar, my response is always "Nope".
   
Made in us
Hacking Shang Jí





Fayetteville

I answered yes. It wasn't that I bought the current meta hotness because it was hot. I bought models I wasn't a fan of in order to deal with the hotness. The instance that comes immediately to mind was multi-melta attack bikes in 5th. I was using the 4th ed pdf codex for my Blood Angels. The meta at the time (before DE, Necrons and GK came to wreck it) was marine combat squads (typically Salamanders or SW) in razorbacks. I needed more ways to pop those transports to get at the juicy bits inside. BA assault squads couldn't take meltas. Drop pod Furiosos did a lot of work, but I needed more. I didn't want to run devastators. Predators weren't great. I wasn't a fan of the attack bike models (it's still the same kit), but they fit the bill and worked well for me.

The Imperial Navy, A Galatic Force for Good. 
   
Made in au
Owns Whole Set of Skullz Techpriests






Versteckt in den Schatten deines Geistes.

Once. Eradicators. I own 9 of them. They're not built, mind you, so I've never used them, but I did get them because I heard people raving about them. That's about the only thing I can think of.

Everything else I have that's "in the meta" is purely because I tend to get most units for any army I have, or because I was going to buy it anyway. I mean I bought a Hive Tyrant to build the Swarmlord not because the Swarmlord was all the rage back then, but because I wanted the model. If I get a Harpy, for instance, it will be because I don't own any, not because of how powerful they are.

Sometimes I've bought things because they're expressly not in the meta. I knew full well when I bought the Storm Speeder and both my Gladiators that no one was using them - I thought they would be cool to have. And I owned a Maleceptor before it was cool.

Industrial Insanity - My Terrain Blog
"GW really needs to understand 'Less is more' when it comes to AoS." - Wha-Mu-077

 
   
 
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