However, editions of the game come and go, and with them, the power of different units wax and wane. Which saddens me, dear reader.
Many cool units and awesome models that we have at our fingertips today are neglected and left on the display shelf (or still at the store in some cases), because they have little use within the game. This can be because of one of three reasons.
1: There is a better option.
Some units are good. They are not over powered, they are capable and they fill a specific role. Chaos Dragon Ogres spring to mind. Dragon Ogres are fast, have plenty of wounds, and dish out a high number of high strength attacks. Sounds like a great choice, right? And in any other army book, you would probably see them on the table a lot. But. They have the intense misfortune of being a good unit in the company of great ones. I am yet to find a player who would willingly take Dragon Ogres over Skull Crushers or even Chaos Knights. Many good units are overshadowed by their slightly better comrades. Gyro Bombers are also a good example from the Dwarf Book. A great model and cool rules, but because of the play style of the army, and cheaper flying options found in the more affordable Gyrocopter, it rarely sees action. This is a shame because I am a huge fan of both the Dragon Ogre and Gyrobomber models, but see them very rarely being played.
2: They are just downright bad.
In any army book you pick up, there will be a unit (or two) in it that is simply not very good at what they do. Forsaken for Warriors, Scourgerunner Chariots for Dark Elves, Giants of any stripe, and the entire rest of the Beastman Rare section to name a few. These units rarely, if ever, see the light of day because they are simply among the worst options available to us. They have their uses, but with many of them, to get a return on your investment, you almost have to build your army to accomodate them. The concept is cool, nothing is more bad ass than a Giant striding straight at your enemies, but when it comes to picking our list, there are plenty of better uses for 200+ points, no matter what army you are taking. And so, another huge slab of models become display pieces instead of a regular participant in your army.
3: Cannons.
Cannons are a dominant force in the game at present. Almost half the armies have access to them, and almost all the players of said armies use them religiously. The rules for cannons in 8th edition spelt demise for characters riding monsters. In previous editions, these dragon riders and masters of hideous creatures would pose a devastating threat to their opponent, offering complete and utter carnage to any who opposed them, and rightly so. You would expect a Chaos Lord of Khorne riding a Manticore into battle to be a walking bloodbath. Or for that budget Orc war boss riding a Wyvern (and easily weighing in at under 350 points) to cause serious headaches to the flank of an empire army. But those days were far behind us. When you deploy the above Manticore Lord now, you can read your opponents mind and it generally goes something like this...
"Naw, how adorable! I wonder if I will have to shoot both of my cannons at it on turn one, or will one do?"
Now, I must make a quick note on two things at this point. Firstly, I hold no grudges against people that use cannons. They are great weapons of war, add a lot to the playstyle of some armies, and at the end of the day, we all like winning. I cannot fault someone for the inclusion of such a potent war machine. The second, and most joyful, point I would like to make is that there has been a definite shift in how characters on monsters operate. End Times has introduced an abundance of these types of characters who have had the pleasure of a single stat line. No longer can their monster be shot out from under them. Or a dragon be left riderless. Now they rock around the table causing carnage just like the days of old, while soaking up cannonballs with their numerous wounds and ward saves. This will hopefully see a game-wide overhaul of monster mounts and a re-emergance in popularity of those dragon riding glory hogs.
So at the end of the day, while our list of competitive and optimised units grows smaller and smaller in an effort to fine tune a relentless killing machine, spare a thought for those gorgeous models that crave your attention. I challenge you to try one different unit in your next game that you have never used before, and a strategy or tactic that is different from how you usually play. Variety is the spice of life, dear reader, and who knows, you might surprise yourself with an undiscovered gem within the pages of your army book. If nothing else, you will field a cool unit that people don't usually see and aren't familiar with fighting.
Now, I must apologise to you, my dear reader, as this week, my post has been a little rushed. I am about to move into my new house, and have had a hundred and one things to do, boxes to pack and a houseful of furniture to relocate, which has left me with little time for hobby or writing this week! Fear not though. A late addition to my Slannesh Warriors army seemed fitting to show you, given the article content. And I know, each model has different equipment, but I went with the Rule of Cool during assembly and am happy with the result! 
As I said earlier, I love these models, and have another nine undercoated and ready to paint (don't ask how or more importantly, why I have so many) which is great, because I plan on using them to fill out a large chunk of points in my 5000 point goal. The Magnificent Host is growing slowly but steadily.
As always, thank you for reading and I look forward to next week, when I should be a little more settled in to my new home!
Gabriel
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