CommissarRotke

wait how many of us got pushed away from playing Tau because of all the jokes/"jokes"?? I still regret picking Guard instead of Tau as my intro to 40k to this day...

i think it can still be both, especially when we keep hearing about FLGS being pushed by GW reps to over-stock releases again and again. this is your only point i disagree with: AOS got me exactly because you are absoutely not shoehorned or pushed into SCE like you are Marines in 40k. Even in their featured novels, there's generally always other factions of Order helping out or in the background. Underworlds and Warcry have, since the start, both given us an even wider spectrum of the Realms to enjoy as well. Part of me wonders if GW got super duper lucky in nailing their 40k "There is only war" opener to help it catch on. AOS is still kinda trying to nail theirs. Or if it really comes down to scifi generally being more 'accessible' because we already have guns and cars (and spaceships that sorta work) in real life. If it's not straight ripped from Earth, it does feel like Fantasy IPs require an extra oomph to get people in.

possibly both? i could see it having a lord or martial hero version since it already has barding

which is fair: characters are where we spend the most time painting and I'm sure have an entirely separate display/collector market. older troops may also be easier to paint than newer heavily greebled ones.

it does feel like that but I gotta say, you stop noticing it because the UI really doesn't look much different than PC-only RTS.

i really wish all of the other shorts had these quick synopses all at once doesn't make much sense making us wait when the bundle is available now.

the lack of sell-through was an overproduction issue, not because Stormcast were in the box? WHF also had no true poster faction like 40k has always had, which is something that IMHO has always been a strength for the fantasy IP. I love Stormcast but I'd rather them not become the entirety of the game/setting like Marines are. I don't think most of BL novels are "breakout hits," however Soul Wars is the most recommended first-read and is a Nagash/Stormcast book. As for the 10 years thing, well... how many of us only know the difference between Space Marines because we read over everything as teenagers? Would we put in the same amount of effort now as adults? Do you keep up with 40k because of a genuine interest or because it is nigh inescapable if you're into wargaming? I know personally I often don't have the energy to be reading, or there's something More Relevant to read first, and I have more 40k-interested friends than AOS ones so I hear about 40k whether I want to or not. And even though almost all of them agree Marines get too much spotlight in 40k, most of them are still... painting Marines. IDK, there's a lot more context to be had here. "Keep Stormcast out of starter sets now" because of a perceived flop feels like it misses that. GW itself could maybe actually understand that making Stormcast into Marines is a net negative on the fantasy IP side.

i love when a game gives you ever increasing reasons to buy it the closer you get to release!! can't wait to play this next weekend

The other possibility is that Bonesplittaz/Spiderfang are still safe for now... been thinking and it really is Occam's Razor that the original stormcast line gets discontinued. it's bothered me since Thunderstrike came out that Vindictors, Vigilors, and Vanquishers were not multipart yet are battleline. what if that's because GW is folding all the infantry into the new aesthetic + doing dual, multipart kits for the refresh? it would: update og stormcast to the knightly design (very cool) update og units to have ladycast (necessary) give Thunderstrike battleline multipart kits (the only ones that don't have it) squish stormcast warscrolls down (necessary) fit into a new edition launch (makes money)

everyone is wracking their brains, flipping through tomes, scouring through old parchments and DinoJon comes in like

he couldn't pronounce Kroxigor which was extremely weird considering it's been in WHF for decades? I found it entirely pointless to listen to the 2min he mentioned the AOS boxes since he CBA to confirm both what the model(s) are and how to say them

yea i don't know what this means. GW sells lots of boxes

link for us who don't watch him?

Age of Sigmar is literally post-Ragnarok, we can't have another one yet 😭

hearing these things always pisses me off... so you could absolutely lower prices instead of consistently raise them, and still make as much money... because you're giving away unsold kits anyway!!!

it's looking like Tzeentch both because of an investor's powerpoint slide (thaumaturge ogroid reveal) and because the human wizard from main campaign is looking for a dangerous magical artefact to use...

WOW i'd love to see art like this in current AOS books

not at all. painting vehicles is partially why I can never play 40k proper. I realized I never wanted to paint vehicles... just wish I realized that after picking Guard ugh.

especially since it would mean getting ladycast rightfully in liberator, judicator, etc units. I'm looking forward to seeing new designs and if they revamp the og models it'll mean anything old can be used as itself still.

We need to remember that "poster faction" is generally a term for a faction that is not only marketed more than others, but is explicitly designed as an entry for new players. you need this part too. Even if Stormcast are not in launch boxes or starter sets, they would still nominally be the Poster Faction of AOS because no one else in Order is as easy to build or paint. Hell, the fact that default Stormcast are on 40mm bases by default means they're easier to paint details on. I'm fine with Stormcast not being in the 4.0 boxes but it wouldn't stop them from being a poster faction. Whoever else is in the box needs to have smooth building and painting phases.

Probably overproduced and also GW runs at an absurd ~40% profit margin, so they could cut prices and still make money handily. this is mostly my point yeah. Again, Chaos is Like This because it is a wargame that needs to sell products, so it's "live to fight another day!" not "fight to secure life!" etc. I complain because GW clearly wants both the narrative and wargame cake, and they have the bones of very good narratives if they would stop selling for 5 minutes to tell a better story. Stopping the "surprise" Chaos ****** is a good first step.

I mean yeah, because GW still needs to sell their wargame Chaos will never actually win (ET-AOS outlier not included). what I mean is that the way the literal world is constructed, Chaos is constantly battering at the gate or whispering in ears. The Storm of Chaos is bookended by other massive Chaos invasions. 40k has the galaxy cut in half and the Eye of Terror is a full blown warp portal now. The "only war" mentality of Warhammer settings means that, in text, Chaos is an inevitable victor because they are designed to not only thrive on the endless conflict, but they can corrupt (most) mortal beings that have souls/warp presence/whatever. They are written to have wriggled their way into the Mortal Realms to start this cycle all over again. I do agree that AOS has been better about this, but the way Phil Kelly wanted to pivot the perspective for 3.0 tells me that they LIKE Chaos as this inevitable victor--most of the realms are still under Chaos control, with Order only carving out "beacons of light" amongst the corruption. So while I also WANT Destruction to do big plot things, what does losing one of these beacons mean? If Chaos is still the baddest enemy out there, why wouldn't Destruction attack them instead? Is it because Chaos is pulling their strings (again)? Etc etc. All that being said, I do understand selling a wargame means your lore isn't going to make much sense versus a world created to tell stories. It's just...frustrating growing into an adult and realizing the maturity you saw as a teenager is more of a facade. Again, I get it's because they're selling products not stories. But I love Warhammer a lot and it still sucks realizing it hasn't really grown up like you did.

the thing is, this leads into the problem with GW's writing in general: they essentially create settings where Chaos is already destined to win... Since Chaos feeds off how the Imperium/Empire/Order react to it, it's almost inevitable. AOS seems to get slightly more nuance and hope about this, but WHF and 40k never did.

tbh I forgot new Kroak isn't a dual kit, would a regular slann suffice? it makes sense for Seraphon to get a frog since they're de-facto leaders.

we know it's doing fine from the investor report ;o