There were the days when I could literally count the number of army types I would see every time I went to a shop or a tournament to play. Even those days are not quite over yet, they are on their last few breaths as our game and hobby take huge step forward.
Things will never be the same.
When 6th edition hit, flyers and double force organizations were a hot issue (and in some places still are). Now they are a part of the game, and for the most part, accepted. That's not all though that is coming our way, as war in the 41st millennium is about to live up to its hype.
Superheavies, Gargantuan Creatures are here. Yes they are incredibly expensive, and once you go down this path in your game, the chances that you are going to have enough points out there to claim objectives can get rather slim. We do not yet have the rules to go along with this, but we already know that it will change the game.
Stronghold Assault. We have asked for it, and GW has delivered. More defensive fortifications, and some possibly with enough strength to defend against the Baneblades or Harridans. Now you can really bunker up your troops, and take on those flyers with lots of interceptor emplacements. The future just might hold some xenos upgrades, and that would very much complete us in this arena.
Mini-Dexes. Yes, the options here are limitless, with armies like Death Watch, Harlequins, Kroot and more getting their own smaller codex to join up forces. While not filling the roles of having to have enough options in each foc slot, these mini-dexes will very likely find their way into our lists. The Inquisition alone, while disliked by some, really opens the door on how these releases can take shape in the future.
Dataslates: Thats right, single character game additions, or mini-apoc formations for regular 40k. These can be added to the game in a blink of an eye, keeping us on our toes and the game continuing to advance. Over night Be'lakor has become a Daemon Rock Star, and Tau support Cadres a dominating formation of tank destroying firepower.
Forgeworld. The rumors persist that a new Games Workshop website will launch sometime around May, which will include Forgeworld models, bringing Forgeworld up and more mainstream. Not to dismiss that already the wording has changed, and there can be no doubt that Forgeworld is legal in standard 40k games. This will become more prominent in 2014, and add a ton of variety to Warhammer 40k.
There will always be those that hold back, and want to remain with what they know and love in the game already. There are still the occasional players that are playing 40k 5th edition. That is fine, and they can do what makes them happy within the community, and there will always be a place for them. But for me, I am looking to the future and seeing the excitement of the unknown, variety, and new discoveries that will be 40k for years to come.