Rumours on low Dominion sales - discussion

[Enoby]

As it's been mentioned a few times on the rumour thread and I think there's a good chance it's a source of some unease at the general popularity of AoS, I thought it'd be a good idea to give this its own thread. This is really just speculation but I'm also hoping a way to ease any feelings of unease, or at least to discuss the "why" of it.

On the forum and over a few other social medias, there has been a general feeling that Dominion has sold poorly (poorly in this case is in relation to Gw's expectation). I very much doubt we will ever get a statement from GW, so until then we have a few things to go off:

- Dominion is still for sale on the GW store

- Dominion is still up for preorder on most LGSs

- The limited edition book is still up for preorder

- Some LGSs have reported low sales for the boxset 

- GW have said that they printed "loads" so everyone can get a copy, so we can at least assume there is more than Cursed City and perhaps Indomitus 

- There was still a queue on the GW site for Dominion

The questions I think that are worth discussing are:

• Do you think Dominion has sold poorly/well? Do you have any evidence to back this up?
• If it has sold poorly, why?
• If it has sold poorly, how do you think this reflects on AoS's popularity?
• If it has sold poorly, do you think it means anything for the future of AoS?

I think it'd be a good idea to discuss these things, not as some sort of "the sky is falling and GW will cut AoS any moment now" but because it would be useful to discuss sales and maybe put worries to rest, or at least to think about what this could mean for the future of AoS (not "it will die" but maybe "they will focus on a different figurehead for the franchise" as an example).

[Vasshpit]

Idk but i bought one and another 30 gutrippaz and 3 more manskewers from ebay. 

Loving the new boyz in town!!!

[Austin]

The box set looks really good to me in terms of quality, but I did not order it for a couple reasons.

1) - and most importantly- I am REALLY tired of the fear of missing out games GW seems to be pushing lately.  As soon as they tell me I have to order quickly, I am just not going to do it.

2) I want to wait for multi-part models, I just prefer them.

3) Even though I think the models are great for the new Orcs, I am not going to play them or add them to my Lumineth (obviously).  Whereas I can use the Stormcast for my Settler's Gain project.

I do want to say most of my reason for not getting it is the frustration I have generally with GW at the moment.  Their quality is at an all time high for sure, but the FOMO games and (as I have said elsewhere) the incredibly customer unfriendly death of digital codexes and battletomes have made me reconsider the level of support I give them.

edit

I just don't know enough, and haven't been around an LGS, to have an opinion on the general reasons why it didn't sell well (if true).  So these are just my personal reasons that may be the same as others.

Edited June 27, 2021 by Austin

[cofaxest]

19 minutes ago, Enoby said:

As it's been mentioned a few times on the rumour thread and I think there's a good chance it's a source of some unease at the general popularity of AoS, I thought it'd be a good idea to give this its own thread. This is really just speculation but I'm also hoping a way to ease any feelings of unease, or at least to discuss the "why" of it.

On the forum and over a few other social medias, there has been a general feeling that Dominion has sold poorly (poorly in this case is in relation to Gw's expectation). I very much doubt we will ever get a statement from GW, so until then we have a few things to go off:

- Dominion is still for sale on the GW store

- Dominion is still up for preorder on most LGSs

- The limited edition book is still up for preorder

- Some LGSs have reported low sales for the boxset 

- GW have said that they printed "loads" so everyone can get a copy, so we can at least assume there is more than Cursed City and perhaps Indomitus 

- There was still a queue on the GW site for Dominion

The questions I think that are worth discussing are:

• Do you think Dominion has sold poorly/well? Do you have any evidence to back this up?
• If it has sold poorly, why?
• If it has sold poorly, how do you think this reflects on AoS's popularity?
• If it has sold poorly, do you think it means anything for the future of AoS?

I think it'd be a good idea to discuss these things, not as some sort of "the sky is falling and GW will cut AoS any moment now" but because it would be useful to discuss sales and maybe put worries to rest, or at least to think about what this could mean for the future of AoS (not "it will die" but maybe "they will focus on a different figurehead for the franchise" as an example).

1) player base is smaller than in 40k
2) much better choice of unique factions than in 40k
3) SCE are not as popular in AoS as Space marines in 40k
4) Core rules are free
If you combine this you will get lower sales.

Edited June 27, 2021 by cofaxest

[Chikout]

I'll just copy this over from the other thread 

 think there are several factors. 

1- AoS has had a banging six months. I don't know about anyone else but I've already spent more this year than I usually do in whole year. People might not have any money left. 

2- they made a lot. Rumours are that they made as many copies as Indomitus, which is kind of crazy as AoS is growing in popularity but is still much less popular than 40k

3- The Kruleboyz marketing. It's a subfaction which is not going to get its own battletome. Nobody knows how large the faction is going to be or even what a typical 2000 point army will look like. 

4- The Kruleboyz models. This is a bit of a Marmite faction which is great for the health of the game but not great for a starter. The Hobgrotz in particular have been a bit divisive and they make up a third of the models in the game. 

5- the Stormcast models. They have been well received but they aren't AoS's number one faction which again is good for the health of the game but not good if you want to seek a starter box. 

6- people aren't ready for a new edition. We all spent a year not playing games. It might have been wise to wait a year. 

7- controversial rules changes. Coherency and unleash hell have caused a stir and not in a good way. 

8- Now that the launch day scramble has passed, there is really no rush. They made 33,000 coins. As long as those are still there I don't feel the box well sell out. I might have caved and bought it without that safety net. Ironically the bonus incentive might have made the game sell slower. 

Edited 4 minutes ago by Chikout

[King Under the Mountain]

This is also my personal opinion and experience 

1 - As much as GW wants Stormcast to be Space Marines, it dosent work like that.  Space Marine's (which is not my cup of tea at all) have decades of fans, lore and support.  Like I mentioned in the rumor thread, I personally don't see that many Stormcast players.  Lumineth, Ossiarch and Kharadron seem to be the most popular factions in my area.  I'd be interested to hear what factions are popular in other peoples group/area.

2 - Kruleboyz are an unknown and only a Sub-faction.  I wasn't around when 2.0 dropped but I'm sure Nighthaunt were perceived as a full faction with ongoing support. Again using my local gaming group as an example, Kruleboyz didn't get much excitement.  We have a bunch of Ironjawz players and most were disappointed with them.  They dont really fit in next to his boyz is what one player said.  GW also has not done a good enough job showing what else is in store for the Kruleboyz.  Before 9th edition launched they had teased the full line of the updated Necron faction. 

I know GW has been convinced by 40k that their "Poster Boy" faction needs to be in their starting box but back in my day the Fantasy boxs had Lizardmen/Brettonia, Empire/Orcs, Dwarfs/Goblins (my personal favorite), High Elves/Skaven.  I wonder how much more successful it would be if they had more fan favorite factions like Lumineth, Kharadron (or Grungi's new Dwarfs), Ironjawz or Skaven. 

Edited June 27, 2021 by King Under the Mountain
awful grammar fixes

[Austin]

3 minutes ago, King Under the Mountain said:

This is also my personal opinion and experience 

1 - As much as GW wants Stormcast to be Space Marines, it dosent work like that.  Space Marine's (which is not my cup of tea at all) have decades of fans, lore and support.  Like I mentioned in the rumor thread, I personally don't see that many Stormcast players.  Lumineth, Ossiarch and Kharadron seem to be the most popular factions in my area.  I'd be interested to hear what factions are popular in other peoples group/area.

2 - Kruleboyz are an unknown and only a Sub-faction.  I wasn't around when 2.0 dropped but I'm sure Nighthaunt were perceived as a full faction with ongoing support. Again using my local gaming group as an example, Kruleboyz didn't get much excitement.  Again using my local gaming group as an example we have a bunch of Ironjawz players and most were disappointed with them.  They dont really fit in next to his boyz is what one player said.  GW also has not done a good enough job showing what else is in store for the Kruleboyz.  Before 9th edition launched they had teased the full line of the updated Necron faction. 

I know GW has been convinced by 40k that their "Poster Boy" faction needs to be in their starting box but back in my day the Fantasy boxs had Lizardmen/Brettonia, Empire/Orcs, Dwarfs/Goblins (my personal favorite), High Elves/Skaven.  I wonder how much more successful it would be if they had more fan favorite factions like Lumineth, Kharadron (or Grungi's new Dwarfs), Ironjawz or Skaven. 

I did not even think about that.  Can you imagine the hype if they had put new Skaven in the box?

[King Under the Mountain]

5 minutes ago, Austin said:

I did not even think about that.  Can you imagine the hype if they had put new Skaven in the box?

I really think a spiritual successor of Island of Blood or Battle of Skull Pass would have gotten more excitement. 

Lumineth, arguably the hit faction from 2.0 vs new Skaven? 

or

The lore has been building for Grungi uniting the Dwarfs.  Make a big splash by having them facing off new Ironjawz or Gloomspite Gitz. 

[Saturmorn Carvilli]

Dominion was never going to sell anywhere close to Indomitus.  Space marines get ragged on constantly on the internet, but they are crazy popular.  Mostly with new players as they are the recommended beginner army since they play the whole game and generally are bottom tier.  Even Necrons make for a great beginner army both in painting and somewhat in rules.  Stormcast are okay as a beginner army, but at the same time, I don't know if AoS needed to worry about that as it is kinda a simpler game, or at least it was.  And Kruleboyz are a bit of an unknown on how complicated or not they will be.  Though, their models do not look easy to paint to me.  Not to mention, there isn't a huge core of AoS customer base that is SCE.  I have seen a SCE army is person nor talked to someone that has one.  And my area is pretty popular for AoS with at least a couple dozen people with armies.  I haven't even seen a new/prospective player talk about Stormcast.  Which makes me what to start an army of them all the more, as I can be confident that I won't face a mirror match.

I also think timing was an issue.  With Indomitus, it was hyped and came out during a period in the pandemic where I believe people were still talking about finally having time and money to collect and paint models.  That was, like, a year ago.  I definitely don't see memes about that anymore.  Maybe I am projecting here, but I think there is a lot of pandemic fatigue that has set in. I haven't got anywhere close to what I hoped to have painted by now.  So I don't need to add to the pile of shame.  Especially something like Kruleboyz which look like they would take me a while, or at least certainly longer than painting up Necrons would.

I think perhaps Kruleboyz weren't the best inclusion in the box either.  I mean, sure Destruction needed their due and the models are fine.  But they do nothing for me.  I suspect I am not alone in that.  The Stormcast are Stormcast, and I would like to start an army of them some day.  But just looking at the Kruleboyz, I don't think I would have much fun painting them.  Not to mention Krulebozy, for someone not really following everything, are an unknown on how they play on the table.  Compared to Indomitus with two well known factions both being fairly straight forward to play and a good jumping in point for new players.

[chosen_of_khaine]

Yeah, I think the success of Indomitus vs Dominion mostly boils down to the popularity of Space Marines. As a Necron player excited for the faction refresh, I can't tell you how many people came to me asking to split the box with them - I made out like a bandit getting warriors, scarabs, etc for cheap.

[King Under the Mountain]

I looked up @SirSalabean's survey results he did back at the beginning of this year.  Obviously GW has much better metrics for sales numbers but I think it will give us at least an idea on what factions are popular in the community

As I predicted Lumineth/Kharadron are the most popular Order factions.  Stormcast has more support then I thought but they are still only the 7th most popular Order faction and 9th overall.  I was also surprised looking back that there wasn't more Orruk Warclan players, maybe my area is more of an anomaly. Gloomspite Gitz are far and beyond the most popular Destro faction. 
 

Edited June 27, 2021 by King Under the Mountain
I cant english good

[Laststand]

I imagine a fair few people are waiting to see what happens with the new stormcast tome. They have not been in a good place for a long time (55 odd units, only about 10 of which are used and rules that have just got zapped by 3.0) and players likely move on to a second or third army they are more focused on. (My stormcast have been in a box for a while and are now on ebay).

Also if GW do mean this to be a starter set for the whole edition and have produced product with a year of sales in mind I am not surprised it didnt sell out in a week or two. That doesnt mean sales have been poor it means GW soaked up lots of initial demand. 

Edited June 27, 2021 by Laststand
Edit

[Warboss Gorbolg]

As a long time O&G collector:

1. I don’t need 2 new armies, if I want Kruleboyz then I’ll wait until I can buy them only.

2. Destruction doesn’t need another mini faction. Only Gloomspite feel “complete“ in the entire Grand Alliance. I’m not buying another orruk faction unless it’s a healthy range of models. My Ironjawz are still waiting to be expanded with some new releases.

3. The hobgrotz don’t do it for me. Give me engineering gitmob with machines (preferably a foil to KO and ironweld). Don’t think we need something in between grots and orruks.

I have to say that I saw the Kruleboyz yesterday in person and they looked good, but am still not really tempted for the above reasons.

[Chikout]

44 minutes ago, King Under the Mountain said:

I looked up @SirSalabean's survey results he did back at the beginning of this year.  Obviously GW has much better metrics for sales numbers but I think it will give us at least an idea on what factions are popular in the community

As I predicted Lumineth/Kharadron are the most popular Order factions.  Stormcast has more support then I thought but they are still only the 7th most popular Order faction and 9th overall.  I was also surprised looking back that there wasn't more Orruk Warclan players, maybe my area is more of an anomaly. Gloomspite Gitz are far and beyond the most popular Destro faction. 
 

And yet the Lumineth box was another limited  product that didn't sell out. Which army is your favourite is not the same question as which armies did you buy. 

[King Under the Mountain]

8 minutes ago, Chikout said:

And yet the Lumineth box was another limited  product that didn't sell out. Which army is your favourite is not the same question as which armies did you buy. 

Which is why I said GW had better metrics and that this would only give us an idea what armies are popular. 

We have to make do with what the community can put together.  

Edited June 27, 2021 by King Under the Mountain

[Doko]

 I bougth one because i started 4 years ago with the first aos box and blightwar,both stormcast halves.

I had 2000 points but after these 4 years i only have around 1500 lol so i needed some stormcast to can play them again and so i got this box.

I know this wont like to some people but im veeeeery happy if this box dont sell,so i hope gw change this nonsense of EVERY edittion have stormcast.

I left 40k because i got fed with all the marine spam and as xeno(tau) player was disgusting as gw released the 80% of new content only for marines.

In aos with stormcast isnt even close but i dont like have stormcast in every edition,i want some edition with saurian vs empire of orcs vs dwarfs. But we know allways gonna stormcast vs random non order faction.

Btw i can say for sure some numbers that the manager of one gw store told me. Gw produced 100k copies of indomitus and have done 150k copies of dominion.

So it is easy to see how it havent sell so much, 40k is more popular than aos(even if i hate it), marines are the most played faction and 90% of players have any teletubi in any colour.

So mix these reason(50% more copies of a less popular gamer) and add that they have put limits to stores(with indomitus one store could order 300 copies with no problem but with dominion the cap is around 40 per store) 

Also dont help that stormcast arent even close to be a very popular army and new orcs are pretty ugly(hodgoblin worse even). I had many problems finding some guy that wanted buy the orc half because everyone wanted the sce and nobody the orcs.

Maybe if they show the new cocodrile and bat of orcs would help to sell the faction better

Edited June 27, 2021 by Doko

[Sunshine]

22 minutes ago, Chikout said:

And yet the Lumineth box was another limited  product that didn't sell out. Which army is your favourite is not the same question as which armies did you buy. 

To be fair the Lumineth box didn't offer any savings, did it?

If the sales have been poor and I haven't seen anything to say they have, it will be down to it not offering what the community wants. Stormcast are a marmite faction and have been off-putting for many since the inception of Age of Sigmar. Kruleboyz have a very childish name and whilst I like the design of most of the models, I can again see why it would be off-putting to some.

[Austin]

It is interesting that GW didn't release a Cities of Sigmar/Dawnbringer Crusade split with new models in this box.  They could have kept the same lore, and even had one five person unit of Stormcast.

[Kitsumy]

I would have bought the box if it would have, saurus, any kind of elf or even vsmpires, but more stormcast and ugly ass orcs? No thx, they could have been ironjaws at least.

 

Rules help too , i wont play a edittion where i cant use my units ( any 6+ models in minimun size with 32+ base and 1" weapon are totally useless, since only half will fight, despite people arguing u could spend 1 hour meassuring every milimeter and if rival is in perfect line u could even get 7 or 8 to fight!). And 2 absurds ca to ranged with an op endless to make melees more useless in a rangedhammer....So i will wait 1 year to see if other 2 faqs and other ghb fix that madness.

[RexHavoc]

I can't really answer on the sales of Dominion for anything other than myself/my group didn't buy a single item from the new release. I was set to buy two sets (one for my personal collection and to split with my misses (stormcast) and a loaner army (orcs) for the more casual members of my group) but didn't get anything in the end. The reasons being are:

1. Sick of the FOMO sales tactics. There is no reason to have a 2 week pre-order window and then rile everyone up to rush in and buy it at 10am on the first Saturday morning. There is no reason to release a set that is to set up a three year edition and call it a launch edition, just to push more sales just in case they release it all separately at obscene prices a month later like with the 40k set.
    
2.  FLGS taking pre-orders on the pre-orders. I saw several (stores I would use before brexit anyway) takings lists of names of people that they were going to allow to pre-order on the day or putting up posts almost two weeks before pre-orders start saying all copies accounted for already. I do understand the need for them to take care of their physically local customers first, but doesn't mean I have to think this system is acceptable.
    
3. Their archaic store/sales system. There is no reason to be doing pre-orders this way on an item they've already had made and boxed up, they could just sell it. 10am Saturday morning releases are baffling when its their busiest time but also when head office/IT/support are all away. The Queue system is a band aid on the real problem- they can't handle the traffic they've created, the Queue system is a punishment on the customers time rather than them bothering to fix it.
    
4. Three year edition cycle. There is no way that the majority of players are playing so many games of AoS that it becomes stale, boring and broken and needs refreshing to make it interesting. There are over 20 battletomes, and even if you ignore the 100s of thematic styled lists you could make, that still equates to hundreds of games to play against all the other armies. Even if your group only collect a handful of the armies and ignoring narrative gaming, there is still the potential to play a lot of varied games. We are still playing 1st Ed and there are still match ups with armies we currently own that have not been fit in to the schedule yet (Ignore the last years issues ofc). Sick of the zero day rules FAQs and updates as well. I understand these are better than the alternative- Eg. bretonnian and skaven armybooks in 8th Ed WFB. But there must be some middle ground that GW could find.
    
5. Complete radio silence over Cursed City and then releasing a tiny selection of the models for the cost of the whole game. Disgusting. (I expected this to have followed suit, only surprisingly here we are and they are still selling copies)
    
6. Community attitudes of 'if you don't like it, leave the hobby'. I've seen this posted to people no less than 5 times alone this week and it hurts the hobby way more than someone shouting their complaints online does. Either let people get it off their chest or ignore it. It might be empty shouting into the void and GW won't listen, but if there is a chance they do listen (which some people keep claiming they do now) then it must be better for any issue to be raised with them. Emailing is a good idea, but there is nothing wrong with people hearing about issues on social media as that does tend to spur more action from companies. I have to assume some copies were not sold to those that 'didn't like it and left the hobby'.
    
7. The 'You're doing it wrong' crowd or the 'It has to be official/support the game you claim to love' crowds. I saw someone brand new get booed out the hobby for making a seraphon monster out of a dino toy by someone claiming it was disgusting and an insult to other players to not use models. By a person who next posted a shot of his entirely 3d Printed and unpainted Seraphon army.🙄
   Its no bother if you do feel that you only want to use current models/official products, but stop policing other peoples hobby. 'You won't be able to use that in a GW store/Tournament' is pretty much a catchphrase at this point, just being chanted at anyone and everyone. New edition model and rules replacement always make this worse for a time. Some people must be sick of working hard on a project only to be told they can't use it anymore.
   People are price/value conscious in so many other areas of life but are not allowed to be so in a hobby? (I always like being called cheap when I'm seen using Victrix models for WFB/AoS armies, yet I've spent far more on a single Empire army made from Victrix stuff than several of the 'pure' AoS armies I have.
    
8. Not finishing the Eight Lamentations/No more J.Reynolds books/Cities of Sigmar stuff. I'm still pretty hacked off over this. I loved that first book and had no interest in a Gotrek rehash (I love the original WFB books mind) which came out in its place. This was a while ago now but its still left a bad taste in my mouth and has affected all my purchases since. Think I've only brought one other AoS book since this happened. So no interest in the new book, even though I'd love to read more Orc based stuff. So no dominion book for me. 
    
9. The fact I can probably pick it up in a months time for half the price. People are buying up so much stock on the bases of FOMO there has been very little (Cursed City being one and limited edition HH novels another) that does actually gain a ridiculous amount of increased cost, that I can't pick it up in trade groups once the guilt buyers all looking to shift it.
    
10. GW stopping being so customer focused. I've had some really crumby dealings with them over the last year (three years if I was to include the ridiculous year long, 50+ email chain between me, them and hachette to get them to cancel my subscription for repeatedly sending out the wrong issues/no issues of the 40k books). We had so many orders withheld because of their stock control problems and instead of reaching out to tell us so, they've left us to chase them multiple times. Covid/Brexit excuses only go so far when some of the issue was things like taking several weeks to refund the limited edition 40k book I brought and only found out they over sold it and never bothered to tell me (giving them weeks of allowance for delivery before chasing it due to accepting their was delays)
     
11. The old world announcement took some focus off AoS for sure. I'm sure there isn't many, but some people are holding out to see what the old world game brings. I've seen some of the folks on the WFB forums that like AoS hold off as they can continue to play WFB and see no reason to get AoS 3rd Ed if the old world does appear next year.
     
12. And finally, the most important one. The negativity I'm bringing in myself. Its definitely got worse since covid for me- I've been stuck at home since last March with the most stressful work load I've ever had on top of that and talking about the hobby is been one of the only escapes from how swamped I've been, but as the issues have mounted up with GW the more I'm posting negative comments. I think a clean break with GW games doesn't mean I have to stop playing warhammer- I just need to stop following their releases and only go and look to buy stuff as and when I want something new. By not buying this set, the next hype release won't be as much of an interest to me and the game will start to fizzle off.
    I think this list/post here is a prime example of this. I took a look over my old posts from Warseer last night and I think my biggest gripe in all my years there was that GW never sent an order of books out and I had to chase it but they had new copies out to me within the week. Most of my posts there was ten years of saying 'fantastic, I love that paint job/conversion' or similar. The painting boards here don't get anywhere near the traffic that the this part of the forum does and being desperate to chat to people about the hobby, I've gravitated towards it to get conversations in. Even in facebook groups, complaints threads get the most traffic with very few hobby threads stirring up enough conversation to keep the posts on feeds. I honestly think that GW likes the negativity as it keeps people focused on the them/their games and pushes threads on feeds a lot more than nice looking models do now. (Yes, I'm wearing my tin foil hat)
    I'd very much like to go back to saying 'Fantastic' on as many hobby posts as I can than getting annoyed at commercial side of the hobby that has changed for the worst but will never go back to how it used to be now. If that means buying up 2nd hand minis for WFB, buying alternatives like oathmark, Victrix and warlord games, and only buying those AoS minis that come out now that I can retro fit into 1st Ed or can use in other projects, well all the better for me. I now no longer have any interest in defending my stance to those that claim I'm not 'supporting the game I claim to love' by not meta/edition chasing. 🤷‍♂️
     
13. (This one isn't really part of the list, but as a Skaven player I couldn't leave a list as being '12' items! 😁) We are only a small group of players that play at my house (covid permitting) but between us that is several hundred €s that we won't be sinking into this edition. We'd have done what we did during 2nd- buy anything we like the look off but stick with 1st Ed rules. With 2nd Ed we spent a lot on new models & battletomes just because we liked them. But we discussed it and are happy buying alternatives or 2nd hand models and ignoring GW releases for the foreseeable future.

 

[King Under the Mountain]

5 minutes ago, Sunshine said:

Stormcast are a marmite faction and have been off-putting for many since the inception of Age of Sigmar. 

Not going to lie, I have seen marmite used so much today that this American had to google what it was. 

[Sunshine]

1 minute ago, King Under the Mountain said:

Not going to lie, I have seen marmite used so much today that this American had to google what it was. 

Haha, I didn't realise it was not eaten outside of the UK! It's a taste that splits opinions and the maker's themselves even used the slogan 'you either love it or you hate it'.

[Austin]

25 minutes ago, Sunshine said:

Haha, I didn't realise it was not eaten outside of the UK! It's a taste that splits opinions and the maker's themselves even used the slogan 'you either love it or you hate it'.

I thought marmite was Australian.....so yeah clearly that reference passed me by also haha.

[Beer & Pretzels Gamer]

From the sidelines (e.g. never really had difficulty finding GW stuff, picked up a copy of Indomitus almost a year later for less than GW’s original price, guess I got lucky and secured Cursed City w/out problems) it is fascinating to see the darned if you do darned if you don’t aspect to FOMO for the company.  They finally produce enough sets that they don’t sell out and it’s all doom & gloom.

Think many above have nailed it that there simply isn’t any equivalent to Space Marines ubiquity in AoS such that whether it was SCE, LRL, KO, CoS or Fyreslayers there was no way to tap into a universal seller for AoS.  What I am most curious about though is whether this really is meant to be THE starter for AoS for a while or whether we’ll see the 2-3 starter sets that followed Indomitus for 40k.  (I’m also very curious to see if we’ll get the Combat Patrol style sets with new tomes that 40k has gotten?  But that’s another thread.)  If starter sets are released while Dominion still readily available to me that a sign they missed sales expectations.

[Chikout]

36 minutes ago, King Under the Mountain said:

Not going to lie, I have seen marmite used so much today that this American had to google what it was. 

In the UK at least it has become the definition of love it or hate it.