I've been thinking about it and realized that Warhammer 40k is going to have to do a lot to regain my trust. 6th Edition will be in my hands very soon, and I'm not sure how much I care.
A little background on me: I'm a relatively new wargamer. I started playing at the end of the last school year. 40k was my first game because it's so popular - I have a messy schedule and not a lot of time to play, so I liked the idea of starting off with a game I could play on almost any given evening - and from there, I've branched out into Warhammer Fantasy, Warmahordes, and, most lately, Infinity. I really enjoyed 40k, at first, but with every new game it has slid further and further down the totem pole, until now I can honestly say that it's my least favorite.
The first - and biggest - issue with 40k is the lack of balance and moribund tactical environment. My main army is Tau, and my secondary force is Blood Angels. I am sick unto death of losing to my friend's Imperial Guard wall-of-tanks. I am sick unto death of there being one and a half viable Tau builds. I've never faced Grey Knights or Space Wolves, and I can only imagine how that would go.
Contrast this with, say, Infinity, with its exquisitely balanced environment and huge variety of tactics. Contrast it with Warmahordes, where every Warnoun plays differently and very few of them are "bad."
I'm also frustrated with the price of 40k. It's not just that individual kits and boxes are expensive and rising in price - which they are - it's that the game is structured around buying tons and tons of stuff. To change the direction of a 40k army, you probably need to buy at least a boxed set, possibly a really expensive boxed set, and maybe even several boxes. In Privateer Press's games, you can totally transform how your army plays by buying a different Warnoun and - potentially - a new warjack/warbeast or box of soldiers. In Infinity, you can change the way your army plays with a $10 blister.
It's a bad combination. The extremely plodding, extremely static tactical world of 40k, combined with the relatively high price of changing directions, means that if you aren't lucky enough to start with something "competitive," you might never get there. If I trip upon an unfortunate synergy in Warmahordes, well, that's maybe $30 down the drain. If I manage to do that in Infinity, well... I'd probably be the first person ever. I started with Tau in 40k, and I'm still frustrated.
So, there's been a lot of talk about what 6th Edition is going to change. New close combat rules, overwatch is back, more complex and universalized psychic rules... what I want to know is, is 6th Edition going to make the game vital again? Are my Tau going to stand a chance in 6th Edition? What are they going to do to make tactics determine who wins a game, rather than build or faction? What is 6th going to do that will fix, not just change, 5th? As it stands now, I'm not sure how excited I am about 6th edition.
I'm not sure I know the answer to that question - but maybe you do. As I wrote above, I'm relatively new to this hobby, and while a lot has been said about what 6th may bring, I can't always put it together on my own. If you want to share - or have any other opinions - I'm eager to read them.