Fairbanks

Remember the first Hedonites? How utterly broken they were? Look at them now (pre-relaunch), they’ve been needed four times and no longer in the top half of the table. As much as we complain about how good the newest army is at launch, that merely makes it a target for the next nerfs, and thus it’s time in the sun is truly limited to maybe a year. A worse case scenario is if the army wasn’t good enough to take the top tables on launch. Or if the army isn’t going to get looked at again for a while The better case scenario is that it gets a relook and gets near the top. The best case scenario is they make an effort to try and balance the game, but that they also rotate the armies they provide buffs to.

Now I’m hoping for gift cards.

I agree. It’s these crazy whippersnappers with their number-adding machines and mechanical pencils. Back in my day, you used your fingers and toes to count, and if you needed to, your friend’s fingers and toes.

I loathe that we keep using the term Skirmish to mean both small battles and battles where models move on their own. It’s like WW1 veterans claiming WW2 wasn’t a real war because they weren’t using nerve gas or trenches.

Devoted of Sigmar or Bretonnia

It never was. This was a combination of some of the early rumors the setting was going to be skirmish, that the 1.0 rules weren’t really balanced unless you took smaller forces (about what 1000 point is today), and the grognards raging over the death of rank and flank. The model count never dipped below Warmahordes level, which I would say has good in-between of skirmish or mass-battle.

We don’t always have Stormcast gents. And we don’t have a new chamber of them anyway. I think it’s also necessary to take a minute to congratulate Tzeentch for being the first Chaos god to break the Greater Daemon in a Discount Box Barrier: Die in a fire, you meta-defining scum.

I read the prompt as “Can only men be Blood Warriors” and was going to answer with “Oh great, here comes this debate again.” If it can be tempted/corrupted, it can become Chaosified. AFAIK, Seraphon and Greenskins (small and large) are really the only races that haven’t. Skaven, on the other hand, have never been not-Chaos.

The Box Style is the exact same as last time, durable cardboard that will withstand a bit of damage, not one of those flimsy slide out boxes.

I’ll get a lot of good use out of this app. My one critique is the ‘weapon panel’ looks a little short in the Y axis and long in the X Axis. Everything else (especially the backgrounds) is stellar. Looking through cards, there is no rhyme/reason which of the three spots the abilities go on the card. I’ve seen all of the spots occupied with only one ability. It made sense in instances where a picture would have blocked it, but there are plenty of examples otherwise. Likewise I’ve seen both left and right occupation, as well as left and top. Easy fix would be to tie each spot to its own selector, and let the card designer choose.

Local meta yes, national/global metas it’s completely the other way around. Otherwise 17 players would not have had an OBR list ready for LVO/CanCon. If rules didn’t push the meta, KO, DoT, and Lizzies wouldn’t be a head and shoulders 1-2-3. They’d be down with the rest of the 1-2 First Place Armies.

So I guess I should mention the price for the new 40K Combat Patrol (500 point) boxes being ~140 USD, 85 Lbs, and Arm+Leg+Back AUS. That would establish GW's tournament entry cost at around $600 USD minimum (using their prices). There's some level of blame to be assigned to Online Stores who sell more stock because they offer a 25+% discount, and some of it should also go to the community who refuses to make 1,000 points a serious tournament format. But no. It's the fault of you sheeple, who continue to buy things for way more than they are worth.

You could still find them? I haven’t seen one on the store shelves in at least a year.

Take all three of the current books (Core, M&M, and ToC19), take everything out that’s dedicated to one force or another, fill gaps with missing information (Card printouts, Allies, Additional Quests) and you have your book. I see Cave Creatures and Undead Hordes getting more fleshed out in the Destruction/Death codices respectively, along with more big monsters.

I think you are underestimating what was in the Tome of Champions 2019, how much additional stuff they can add to each GA book, and don’t realize how big a Tome of Champions with all of that plus more stuff would be. For me, it literally comes down to whether they set a respectable price, or go full Sons of Behemat.

I collect every army in a casual way, so I will hands down have the worst answers. How I evolved my buying/collecting habits since 8th Edition WFB below. It's the reasoning behind my answers to the questions above, but is definitely TL;DR for anyone but myself to really care: How do I build an Army: I don't really start new armies in the same way as everyone else (getting an idea, falling in love, tournament focus, etc). I love most armies right away, but I wait for Start Collecting Sets, Two Player Box Sets, and Battleforce Boxes to come out, purchase those, and evaluate what I have. After a certain point of collecting those, I evaluate what is missing to make the army feel complete, and list the models that get me there in my Want List. Example, My IDK: My Buylist reflects two items for each army: A Good Competitive Choice, and a Good Fluff choice that fills a gap in what I'm missing (either a size/role gap or something taken as a fluff part of the army). For IDK, my Want List still has a Soulscryer, Shipwreck, and More Eels (although the Eels are probably something I will never try to get, as I see eels one day getting a nerf that knocks them out of a competitive standing) in column A, and an Eidolon in Column B. While things are on the Want List for every army, I rarely act on it anymore. I'm content with what I have and in waiting for box sets which have a better per unit discount. I'm more than happy to receive them as a gift, or make as an impulse buy if I make the effort to go to the shop (honestly, harder to do since I can't wander and look). But unless I'm close to a key points level (1k, 1.5k, 2k), I'm not actively looking to make a purchase. When do I choose to move beyond 2K? I find an item to fill the hole in an army and the additional buys move everything beyond the mark. The armies I moved beyond 2K with were usually due to getting a better collection with the box set (example: My DoK has one unit of snake ladies, and the additional two units in the Shadow and Pain box cements my purchase of it, but that adds a unit of the Khinerai I'm more than happy to just have (since the DoK Battleforce already added a unit of each). OR I decided to buy the army's Centerpiece model (For DoK, I purchased Morathi in the same set as the Leviadon mentioned earlier. This moved my DoK from 1870 to 2350 without much more effort. So when am I finished with an army? True answer is that I haven't 100% completed one yet. While I'm done collecting for 1K, 2K, etc point size, there's always some fluffy model in the army that I still don't have that I still kind of want for the army. I'm just not burning a hole in my wallet to get it. The only army that has nothing in 'Column B: Fluff' is Seraphon. Column A has a Slann, but I openly refuse to buy an old metal one, and really would like a new/plastic one to button up the army. eyod that though, I don't mind increasing the size of units that I have (ex: My Temple Guard are only 12 strong. If a new box has 10 and another unit from another army I want, I'm more than happy to get the box) The other answer is the Unique Centerpiece: Morathi, Alarielle, Archaon, Teclis, etc. It's usually enough points that puts the army way high on the army points list and well into the "This isn't a purchasing focus" category.

I got a 40% discount (35% after shipping) on a lot of big box items (Morathi, Alarielle, Verminlord, Keeper of Secrets) buying from an eBay account from Poland a week after everyone caught the initial Covid scare. Counterpoint time though: "Exchange rate isn't a fair/accurate representation" is GW shill and a failure on Brits to understand why the Colonies are pissed with you (again). Below is a list of prices I found from a White Dwarf for Betrayal at Calth, roughly 5 years ago, and an item from today (Battlezone Manufactorum Vertigus). The price ratio between UK and other countries hasn't changed in 5 years. Why is that important? Because the exchange rate between the GBP and USD has changed massively in the last 5 years: (Euro highlighted because Jan 2015 - Sept 2016 was a bubble of sorts and 2020 rates closer match that of 2014) To compare: Yes, there are some approximations for the Exchange Rate (which changes daily). What you'll find when digging through GWPLC's Annuals is that the start of Brexit is the beginning of record profits for GWPLC. In one of the documents you will find that this change is due to an increase in the USD compared to the GBP. Summary: The US pay a "Brexit Tax" on GW products.

Oh, but they don't. I don't think I've ever been able to find the rules set since the author took it down.

I agree with the OP, the tag "Warhammer Community" is a poor choice of words and would be better suited as the 'Warhammer Newsletter'. There's only a few articles I'm really interested in: Sunday's Preorder Preview, Saturday Preview Shows, and on occasion something absolutely bizarre (a few Mind of Mengle come to mind) I feel part of the issue may be GW Marketing are afraid to allow coverage of an "Intermediate" hobby topic for fear it may scare off "Beginners".

A tax decrease lowers a company's costs. Lower costs usually begin as increased profits, which then allow a company to invest. Whether they invest in a pay raise for executives (if you have just hired great leadership, you might just to keep them onboard), invest in a way to lower their costs even further, or invest to expand into new areas (new shop and manager somewhere there wasn't), that's a decision for that company to make. Companies can also use a cost decrease to lower their own prices, making their location more likely to be visited and their product bought. But that's only going to happen if there is an active competitor putting pressure on the company's potential sales. So why hasn't GW lowered prices? GW doesn't have the exact same competitors for their AoS and 40K products. You can buy other Giants, similar looking Space Marine or xenos armies, you can buy into other game systems. They bank on you playing their game, buying into their 'classic' IP, the quality of their miniatures, etc. There isn't a need to drop prices. Yes, 3D printers will inevitably put a squeeze on them, but not until the resin becomes less toxic, print quality greatly increases for filament printers, and the price per printer drops to where everyone can get one for the same price as a paper printer. You then have won't have popular momentum to build interest unless you have a place to play with strangers, which the modern day FLGS gets squeezed on as people find deals on product from online stores. Or they are hoping you spend it there rather than elsewhere. If I'm going to buy it regardless, and everywhere else is offering 15% off, I'm going to the guy who has it for 20% off (unless he's a really shady guy, or has screwed over individuals in the past). If he can sell it for 20% off and stay in business, more power to him.

This pretty much sums up my opinion on the price of the big dudes. It's $30 more, you'll need at least 2 if not 3 for a SoB army, a lot of other players might be picking one up for their own army thanks to them being mercs, and they are too pricey to end up in a Discounted Box in the future anyway (Unless we get a Gargant v Gargant game like Imperial Knights Renegade). So I don't really know why it's this high, and that's my complaint. As such, I've changed my design of that army to getting 1 and settling at 1,000 points, instead of possibly going to 2k and getting 3 (what I would have done at a $140-150 pricetag) I collect every army, and just have an odd, unique stance on the whole "Pricing Out" commentary: I get the OP's point, because prices have vastly gone up for a lot of new models compared to old ones: Compare a $36 10-man Cadian unit vs $60 Vulkite Berzerkers. $45 Fellwater Troggoths vs $60 Rockgut Troggoths (New sculpts for the latter). Clampacks used to be $15-20 and now in the $30 range. Big Boxes have gone up in price every year for the past three and greatly over the past five/six. (As recently as 2014) Island of Blood: $100 - Aug 2015: AoS Starter Set $125 - Dec 2016: Spire of Dawn (Can't find exact, but everything says ~$100) - Sept 2017: Blightwar $160 (I swear it was $150, but everything says otherwise) - July 2018: Soul Wars $160 - Feb 2019: Carrion Empire $160 - Nov 2019: Feast of Bones $195 - 2019 XMas Bundles: $170-185 That doesn't include a few "Starter Sets" like Necromunda or Adeptus Titanicus that are way over $200. For GW operating costs have increased and the buck gets passed to us the consumer (Why "Raising Taxes on Corporations" doesn't actually "Stick it to the man".) Yes, their revenue has increased enough to keep them profitable, but GW is unusual as a company in which it doesn't carry debt. Thus that extra profit is helping it survive this Covid Emergency. A few good counter examples that have helped for a collector such as myself: - Contrast paints reduce the amount of time spent painting, thus the price 'premium' vs regular pots is balanced vs time spent. - Old Battlalion Boxes vs Start Collecting Boxes. The former are quite boring, but could be rebought to make larger units. SC Boxes are great for initially starting, but (generally) are terrible for growing the army. The Fyreslayers box might be great for savings, but if I'm wanting a 40 man blob of Berzerkers, I don't have a need for the extra 2 Magmadroths, so why would I buy it? - There are savings every time there is a box set collecting a lot of models vs their individual counterparts. Thus, I'm complaining less about the price of a Start Collecting box going up, and more about how the contents of the Gloomspite Gitz box isn't very synergistic. - Search for pricey heroes in places where there is a cheaper option (Warhammer Underworlds boxes) - The Looncurse, Aether War, and upcoming Shadow & Pain boxes have pretty much let me know that I shouldn't bother buying any of the overpriced $50 3-man kits, since they'll be sold in a Big army vs army box one day. Now I just have to complain loudly that GW need to print enough so I can get my hands on one. - If you don't mind other aesthetics bumping in, or your quality of the model you are buying doesn't matter, 100% consider buying from other companies For that insane person like myself who wants to collect everything, you need to decide what your limiting factors are and build the collection based on that. For me, I like aesthetics and ease of building/painting first, then money, and my patience in this regard is near-infinite, thus I'm likely to buy GW, buy new vs used, and wait for boxes with a collection of models that I'm looking for, instead of buying one off boxes of everything the day they hit the shelves. Just as a final example, currently my OBR army is just the Feast of Bones half. I'm waiting for the inevitable OBR Battleforce Box (which I assume is probably this Christmas), and might consider a Start Collecting box when it comes out.

It’s really just a meme from the Warhammer Weekly guys, and they keep flipping between vampire pirates and vampire selves. What the world really needs though, is werewolf ninjas

I’ve got a list: 1. Hitler invades Russia 2. A Mongolian man insults Ghengis Khan 3. GW forget to redo the Slann in plastic for their 2020 Seraphon release.

Greetings and Salutations Friend! I hear you are interested in plastic crack-- uh-- I mean, the wonderful world of Age of Sigmar! Finding a store that currently has play may be a bit difficult at the moment thanks to Papa Nurgle and the "wondrous gift" he has bestowed upon the world. I would suggest Facebook as the first go-to and posting on said Wargaming groups/stores in the area. "Hey, I'm new and totally interested in Age of Sigmar, is there anyone else who plays or is interested that wouldn't mind showing me the ropes?" Of course you will then be flooded with information about whether you would like to play 40K, and you can politely decline. ***Alternative Take from myself who is someone who spent his first five years of Fantasy with one other person in a sea of 40K players***: AoS and 40K are very similar games and share a lot of the same rules that, if you can stomach the scifi fluff, I recommend picking up 40K to meet your fellow community members, get to know them, and find out if any of them are interested in AoS. As for what to pick up, there are some army specific things that can be recommneded, but I will say there is plenty of online/free resources to start looking at before you need to spend any more money: 1. The Warhammer Age of Sigmar App: Quite out of date (GW's team has been busy fixing the 40K app. Get used to being little brother now), but still has rules for all of the models, access to the points values ("My Battle" -> Add button across from Warscroll -> Add the models you have then hit Done -> Hit Show Profiles), and the rules. You can also buy books through the app, but your mileage (kilometerage?) may vary. The one thing missing is the Allegiance Abilities, but for early games I will insist you stick with free stuff until you decide this is a game that is fun and you are interested in playing further. 2. Battlescribe: Most people prefer this app to the AoS App, and it has it's benefits (mainly as a list-builder). 3. 1d4chan: No, it's not that site, but written by people from there, so it has a bit of the less raunchy parts of that humor. However, the info dump for factions is a gold mine of information that I tell most people to "grow some skin" and use it. 4. This site. I find asking questions in the appropriate sub-forum to be more helpful than trying to dig through a 90 page thread that is mostly not so useful information. 5. Stand-ins and trying a few games: You can try an online app like Tabletop Simulator, but I suggest using a few figure-sized items to use as stand in models and play a quick game between them to get a feel for it. Use 1-2 units and a Leader for each side and use App 1 or App 2 to get ~250-300 points and balance the sides against one another (get them within 20-30 points, but feel free to experiment and make it one-sided) Finally, when you've decided its time to take the plunge, the next hobby purchases: A. Your Army's Battletome: The rules for your army (Note: I said rules, not guide.) B: Whatever figure(s) you want to buy/build/paint next. Go for a) rule of cool and b) slowly building your army. Never fret if your painting isn't good enough and it's causing you hesitation, you'll never get better unless you practice it. C: Clippers to clip your model out, an exacto knife or box-cutter to remove the bits of mold lines from the plastics process, and plastic glue to glue your models. I recommend Testors glue and to buy all of these things from a local hobby store as GW brand is marked up. D: If you wish to give painting a try, a GW primer (yes, GW. And in either white or a color that dominates the army scheme you want). Paints (GW at a Warhammer store, or Vallejo at a Hobby store. You can use paints for Model Cars/Gundams, but the models come out a little weird). Paintbrushes (GW ones are nice but expensive and you can find cheaper ones at the hobby store). There are plenty of videos on Youtube and online that can show you how to paint really really well, and plenty more that do a decent enough job for a beginner (all hail the mighty Duncan and his two thin coats meme). I'm sure I already covered a lot of things you knew, but hey, I give the same schpeal to beginners in my local area. Happy Wargaming! And don't let the model-buying bug bite you on the way in.