Who do you want writing the next Tau Codex?

Authors at Games Workshop get a rough break. The average table-top gamer is a fickle creature, and their favor shifts accordingly. Produce a codex considered a success, and your praise shall be unending, with every tournament a testament to your ability to see the "big picture". By contrast, produce a failure, and be prepared to hear your name spoken as curse in many a forum. But all dramatic prose aside, who do you want to write our next codex? Lets look at the options.

Mat Ward. Author of the Space Marines, Blood Angels, and most recently Grey Knights codexes.

Mr. Ward is a capable writer when it comes to the game's mechanics (fantasy books not withstanding). While the Vanilla Marines are considered just that, Vanilla, the codex stands as a success just for it's ability to field so many different armies, while still having a few competitive builds left in it after all this time. Though it's quickly falling by the wayside as more interesting Marine books are produced, Mat Ward demonstrates he can handle a tall order with this book, and still deliver something of value.

The Blood Angels are easily my second favorite army next to the Tau, and perhaps Ward's greatest testament to being able to see an armies prevailing theme, and run with it. As with most codexes, there are a few fumbles, certain units under/over-performing, some being entirely uncompetitive (I'm looking at you Death Company). Game mechanics aside, there are some horrendous choices made in the Chapter's fluff, with one particular story telling of an alliance with the Necrons... Really Mat? Necrons?

Mat Wards latest contribution to 40k has been the Grey Knights. While it's too soon to say for certain, the GK codex seems, by most accounts, fairly balanced. It'll still be a month or so before any major issues come to light, but for now it seems as though he's struck a fair deal, building a cost appropriate, elite army.

In summary, it seems Ward has the capability to write a codex from the ground up, has an eye for theme, and plenty of ideas on how to expand on existing concepts. He has a spotty track record when writing the story bits of a codex, but that'll always come second to the mechanics. As an interesting aside, you may note that he's only written Space Marine codexes, which begs the question if the balance of a standard Space Marine might skew his ability to work outside their established lines of play. Lastly, of all the authors who might write our codex, Mat has the most published codexes to date.

Phil Kelly. Author of the Space Wolves, and Dark Eldar codexes.

The Space Wolves have undoubtably seen success with Phil Kelly's latest rendition. Shortly after it's release, Space Wolf players began chewing into Imperial Guard armies who had dominated the game for quite some time. Indeed, at this past Adepticon Space Wolf players were not only the most numerous army present (source), they took the championship. Lastly, the Space Wolves have a very pulpy fiction behind them, in a very pulpy universe, and their identity as a Chapter really shines through the codex's pages.

The Dark Eldar have been the awkward step-child of the Games Workshop for the longest time. And for something so long neglected, Mr. Kelly gave an admirable showing. That being said, it pales in comparison to his earlier work. While the rules are good, they're not great, and are definitely catering to a niche market. One thing the rules do well, however, is hold true to the fiction surrounding the Dark Eldar. It's a hard argument to make, that the fluff concerning an army should hold so much sway over it's rules, but I'd like to think, that off the tournament scene, this army is a success. And who knows, as the 40k meta-game continues to evolve, the Dark Eldar might suddenly find their niche role in demand.

I think Phil Kelly is a very well rounded author, capable of delivering powerful, themed armies. His choices concerning which units to strengthen as he re-does a codex are at first confusing, but seem to pan out later on, implying he puts solid forethought into his choices. He's tackled well loved, and mishandled elements of the franchise, and still managed to stay in favor.

Robin Cruddace. Author of the Imperial Guard, and Tyranid codexes.

The Imperial Guard are an unmitigated success. Mechanized Guard are to date one of the most difficult armies to handle, and have defined the meta-game since they're release. Though recently their popularity has waned as the number of 5th Edition codexes increase, they remain one of the most prominent elements on the tournament scene. They are perhaps, a victim of their own success - with multiple builds going unused, and entire swaths of models never seeing the light of day. With an amorphous blob of fluff backing him up, Mr. Cruddace's worth as a codex author has really been in his ability to take advantage of the changes put into the 5th Edition rule set.

Tyranids are, so far, one of the most heavily re-worked codexes we've seen. However, it doesn't seem as though the work truly payed off. Perhaps it's the prevalence of mechanized combat, an asset wholly denied to the Tyranids, or perhaps it's that their predilection for close combat is over powered by the more popular codexes. But whatever the case, while the Tyranid release was an interesting one, that held true to the feel of the Tyranids, it did so with only a few instances of innovation and lacks the staying power of more mainstream codexes. So lackluster has the enthusiasm been, that we've yet to see a second wave of much needed models appear. Again, as with the Dark Eldar, the balance of power may shift to one day favor the Tyranids, but for the time being, they seem to be the most mishandled 5th Edition codex.

Cruddace's success' all come tempered by failures. His codexes walk an awkward line between fun and competitive. The strongest lists produced from his codexes have enjoyed immense staying power and popularity, but it makes me wonder if he's a one-trick pony, capable of doing the one thing he does very well, but little else. In many ways, the Tyranid and Imperial Guard codexes offer the only comparable analogue to the Tau; with the Tyranids unique gameplay mechanics, the Imperial Guards reliance on big guns, and both existing outside the perceived norm of Space Marine stat lines. Whether it's his own penchant for bland fluff, or just that he's been saddled with identity lacking codexes isn't clear, regardless Robin Cruddace is certainly not the go to man for riveting plot.

In summation, I think it's much less about who writes the codex, and more the external pressures placed on them by the Games-Workshop that make a codex what it is (fluff not withstanding). Still, no one can deny that an author will influence the codex, so then, I'll ask again, who do you want to write the new Tau codex?

Personally, I'd want Phil Kelly, but I think it'll be Robin Cruddace who ends up getting it. Let me know what you think!