Warhammer 40k Tabletop XXI: Preferred Enemy (Dice)

[Cheesegear]

You don't need to have your power creep in order to have a constantly changing metagame >.>

Well, no, you don't. You could also have people arbitrarily handicap themselves - Highlander format, for example - but that's not something that everyone can get on board with. I know this place is a casual non-dedicated forum, and I really do try to remember that everyone is a special snowflake, but, it's right there on the page. 40K deals with statistics and hard numbers, at a cost. There will always be a way to mitigate the numbers, to have a most-efficient load out for the points you've paid. The only way this happens is if all the Codecies are balanced, which is practically impossible given the size of 40K's range.
In case you didn't read the semantics correctly; Balancing the game is theoretically possible, but practically impossible. Not without removing several units from every Codex. And, removing stuff is bad. Consumers don't want less stuff, they want more. Which makes it harder and harder to balance the larger the game gets.

It's 2014. If power creep didn't exist, we'd still be staring down Necron armies with 6 or more Fliers because Tau wouldn't have cheap, efficient Skyfire. If power creep didn't exist, everyone would be playing Typhus with 100+ Zombies because Wave Serpents don't exist to shoot 9+, S6+ shots per turn each. If power creep didn't exist, Daemons would be absolutely dominating the meta because Coteaz wont have cloned himself a thousand times yet to be everywhere in the Imperium at once. Hell, let's go all the way back to 5th Ed. How the Hell do you beat Mephiston? You mean I have to take something other than Meltaguns? Plasma? ...I don't even know what that is. OH SNAP. GREY KNIGHTS. DRAIGO IS S10 vs. MEPHISTON AND DRAIGO CAN'T DIE. Cue everyone jumping on the GK 'wagon.

How far do you have to go back until you find the 'point' where 40K is truly fair? 3rd Ed, maybe? Before Chaos Marines and Imperial Guard got their '3.5' dexes? When the game was terrible and boring because 3rd Ed. was brand new coming off the back on 2nd Ed. 'Herohammer'?

Now, think of it from GW's point;
Okay. The game is fair and will stay that way. Whoop-de-do. Okay, I went out and bought my army. Great. Amazing. Okay, GW wants to 'update' a certain book. Fine. Let them do that. But, the game is fair, right? There's no power creep. I have no reason to buy anything, because the new army isn't better than my old one, and the new army doesn't change anything about how my current army is played - because there's no power creep. GW releases a new product and no-one cares except the people who already play that army.

Power creep exists so that people who don't play the army, will. That is, spend money. GW understands its fanbase - at least where their wallet is concerned. People who want Codex: Grey Knights will buy Codex: Grey Knights. That's not what GW cares about. GW cares about people who don't want GKs. People who don't already want GKs, don't already have GK armies sitting on the shelf waiting to go. How does GW make you, an existing player with hundreds of dollars already spent in one army, make you start from scratch with a new army? If you have no reason to buy new models, then you wont.

But, to answer your statement, no, you don't need power creep to constantly change your meta. But arbitrary bannings and restrictions are classic in their ability to not solve any problems. The only thing that arbitrary handicaps does, is force a new, different meta. But, I guess if your goal is to change the meta, not fix it, then, job's a good'un, I guess.

EDIT:
One thing that's really bugging me right now, is that they're doing Vampire Counts again. I feel like they were done really recently.