I'll admit I was really excited to start Age of Sigmar when the new Hedonites models were previewed. Bought the battlebox with a friend, as well as the endless spells and a KoS. But ever since the battletome came out, my excitement has waned. It's not so much the army "not being good", it's the "not getting laughed off the table" that has me dubious. Years of getting tabled at 40k have taught me to see fun as the most important value when playing these games, but the faction that had me most hyped now feels unmotivating.
As things stand, I think I'll be pausing my GW purchases for the foreseeable future - neither of my factions in 40k seem to on the list to get updates soon, Hedonites definitely won't until at least the general's handbook FAQ (if there is such a thing), and the other Age of Sigmar armies that could interest me (cities of sigmar, Kharadron overlords, Kurnothi, and Chaos Dwarves) either have uncertain futures or are only even hinted at by the developers. This is a real shame, as both AoS3.0 and 40k9.0 seem to have great core rules.
With regards to the supposedly "toxic" community here - I must admit I feel very welcome in this forum, with loads of great people sharing awesome inspirational pictures and substantive comments and criticisms. In the last few weeks, people have been posting their concerns and hopes for AoS3, and it seems that the reveals for the upcoming rules have hyper-charged the very same concerns and hopes. I can't say I view any of those as toxic or unwelcoming, when critiques are aimed at a company who are responsible for the products we spend a lot of money on, and when enthusiasm is aimed at those products and the people who do great things with those products. What off puts me is people in the community taking aim at other people in the community for the valid opinions they hold: this goes both ways, when some try to shame others for pausing their engagement with an expensive hobby because of what they view as sub-par products, and those others kicking back at the former because they don't like being told they might be acting a little entitled. Both of these sides are a bit right and a bit wrong at the same time: we aren't entitled to a 100% balanced game system (after all, that doesn't and can't exist, at least not when we also want our new shinies), but conversely GW aren't entitled to our money if they can't convince us it's worth spending it on their products.
TL;DR: I love you all, and we're all here for our shared love of this hobby: let's shake hands and get along 🤗😙
PS: if you want us to sing Kumbaya together, that's fine by me