Beastmaster

Doesn’t mean everyone buys Gargants now 😎

Looks like they heard us screaming 😄

Dwarves don’t have haters because they are seen as grumpy, quirky and entertaining underdogs, I think. While elves are often depicted as arrogant, good looking multitalents.

No gaming until well into 2021 anyway, it seems.

Maybe for people who mainly enjoy the list building/tinkering/optimizing aspect of the game, a constantly changing meta that you have to be aware of and adapt actually helps keeping things fresh and moving. At the very least, the ever changing Meta drives the majority of discussions about the game, it seems. Much more than actual tactics or narrative aspects. A bit like fashion trends for boys. Just as insane as buying a new winter jacket instead of wearing the completely serviceable one from last year, just because someone decided that this style won’t cut it any longer. And it really won’t. You won’t make the impression you want to make with the clothes from last year. Which is, let’s face it, just as important or unimportant as winning a miniature game. So you either go with the flow, enjoy the trend watching and keep on buying, or you are out.

Here, take some Aelves. 😎

In most fantasy settings, elves have a tendency to explode into multiple subtypes. Moon, Sea, Wood, Dark, Night, Blood, Snow, Desert, Half, whatever. No idea why. Maybe elves are just generally all-time popular.

Stronger eels? Finally! 😄

Nobody wants to get caught between 12 buffed Gluttons and a Stonehorn. Go for it! 😎

Just bought 200 ice sticks for building huts and towers. Some kids never grow up. 😅

I think the main trick is converting. Making heroes from basic troops&bits works well for Ogors. Or making Skaven weapon teams or acolytes from Stormvermin or Plague Monks with 40k or Empire bits. If you want your hero to look larger and more imposing than the basic troops from which he was made, or if he has to fill a large base, let him stand on a rock or a piece of ruin. Magnetizing weapon/rider/head options on big models is also great to have optional builds without needing extra models, especially with the ever-changing rules.

I find this argument quite convincing. Yes, they all do it all the time, once they grew big enough to afford it. Especially when sales are mainly driven by hype and little changes in the gaming environment, it would be insane not to analyze every data point that you can get. I make sure I do in my work.

1320, now that I can’t use my Gargant anymore. 😄 Seriously. If GW doesn’t want me to enjoy my army, I’ll look in other places. Won’t let them take away my hobby enthusiasm.

I calculated I got 2716 points in 9th age ogre khans models.

Built the better part of the Thorns of the Briar Queen yesterday. Whoah. Almost broke two arms in the process. Those guys are fragile if you’re used to Ogors... 😅

Maybe skirmish games would be more up your alley?

Did you try more than 6 sabers? 10 or 12?

I think balancing becomes more and more difficult to achieve with more complexity added. They may try, but the effect gets overridden by a growing number of possibilities to break balance. That’s why there is no true progress. Also, we see how little is actually necessary to make an army that’s too weak into one that’s too strong and vice versa. See Kharadron. A complex system is an unstable system.

I do find it upsetting that more and more people in real life think being xenophobic and hoping for a well-meaning dictator is a completely unproblematic, even, considering the circumstances, necessary way of seeing things. Those are the people who don’t get the satire that 40k tries to be imo.

It astonishes me how quickly this changes. Last year Ossiarchs were lamented as being invincible, while everyone was sure GW hated Kharadron personally. Were there really so many major rules changes in the meantime?

Wouldn’t that just be prettier Ironjaws?

Ever tried to sell floppy disks in 2020? Physically, they are still the same as they were in the 80s. But if no one owns a device that can read them, they are completely worthless. Same with models: I own an Aleguzzler that I got explicitly to use in my Mawtribes army. Now GW says that’s not possible any longer. For AoS gaming purposes, that model lost its worth completely for me. Just like a floppy disk I cannot use.

Or it could end up like that World of Warcraft movie that even the hardcore fans didn’t see or want or need. Even less so the bigger crowd not invested into the Warcraft universe. Superhero movies actually have a long history. Took decades and some serious development in storytelling and CGI to really lift off. Nothing that could be replicated in a heartbeat, and with a very real danger of flopping completely. The investors know that, too.

Not sure it’s so simple to just change direction. GW worked for 45 years in the miniature game market to become the giant in that little niche that they now are. That’s where they have a name, that’s what they’re known for. I don’t see them become a major player in a completely different niche (that’s already filled by others, with actually much more money to toss around) just by choosing so and throwing some money. Just not how the world works imo.

BCR still work well as a „pure“ list, rules- and fluffwise. Many say even better than before or in mixed lists. I’d go so far as to name the Mawtribes book a good example of how to (re)combine armies without losing their uniqueness in the process, but with gaining possibilities that can be explored.