wargames101

And once you do spend a little time digging into into the lore, you're not rewarded with some satisfying a-ha, but rather, the feeling that you've invested dozens of hours into reading a crappy retcon hastily written around calculations made around sunk cost mold CapEx. "Oh, so these gold guys basically can't die?" "Yes, but every time they do they lose a bit of their essence." "So they're basically going to turn into Chaos Sigmarines?" "We'll it's been ten years and we haven't seen it happen, but there have been some cryptic allusions to it in the margins of a codex!" "Eh, that's not my faction. These lizard guys look cool, I assume they come from some tropical realm in this fantasy land." "That was true when these models were used in another game, but now they're actually space aliens that just happen to have Mesoamerican styling." "Eh." "Ok, their lore doesn't make sense either, but the Flesh-Eater Courts are so cool, they're basically monstrous vampire beasts who are cursed to believe they're Arthurian Knights." "Oh cool! Ok, I'm into that. So I imagine there are all sorts of ways you can customize the vampires?" "Well no, they haven't actually had a new kit in 15 years or so, but you can kitbash some of the Stormcast bits." Anyway, like I said, I like the game and models, I just wish they'd spend more time crafting better lore for the great models, and investing resources into the great lore they have.

"Overproduction" is just a more charitable way of saying "lack of demand." GW "overproduced" Leviathan, which meant that you could still buy it on the webstore on Tuesday after launching on Saturday and not selling out in 15 minutes. Dominion has been 50% off for nearly *three years.* My guess is that they'll address this lack of popularity in 4.0 by keeping SCE as one of the factions, but reduce the production levels so the boxes shift faster. My wish would be that they stop trying to port the 40K model of having a Marine stand-in in every edition, embrace the strength of their creative team instead, and give more production slots to other armies that may catch on organically with the fandom. I love the AoS models, but the lore has just not caught on after a decade and I think a big part of the reason is that they're trying to shoehorn these bland superheroes into what is fundamentally a fantasy universe. GoT has arguably been the most popular media franchise during AoS's entire run. The fact that they haven't been able to capture any of that zeitgeist is, IMHO, a reflection that they need to think about things differently.

My hope is that Dominion's lack of sell-through led them to reconsider including Stormcast in the 4.0 box. The slower than expected sales were immediately obvious, even if they were still solid in absolute terms, so it is possible even if unlikely. We're coming up on the 10th anniversary of the release of Stormcast and they're obviously not filling the Marine-equivalent role that GW intended for them. So far as I can tell, none of the novels have been breakout hits. I'd be shocked if most GW fans could explain the difference between Hallowed Knights, Celestial Vindicators, Anvils of the Heldenhammer, or Knights Excelsior either aesthetically or lore-wise. I think the models were almost all great designs, but Dominion was a meh-off between redesigns of then five-year-old models and emaciated ork variants entirely new to the setting. That's why you can get the launch box for less than the cost of a Vanguard box six months before the new edition. Fingers crossed that we get better for fourth edition!

There are +-10 more release weekends in 2023, not counting the Knight release next week. There are at least seven major releases promises, the 5 @Nezzhil called out, plus the new HH box set and the start of the new KT season. If they do manage to get LI out, we're up to eight. - 40K Space Marines - Cities of Sigmar - Warcry - Underworlds - Battleforces - Horus Heresy Box Set - KillTeam Maybe WarCry and Underworlds will share a weekend, but I'd expect the other two weeks to be filled with filler – MTO, BL specials, etc. – more so than a big new release for a faction that hasn't been previewed yet.

Anything but Stormcast would be welcome. They've tried polishing that golden ****** for three editions, it's time to cut losses and go another direction. I hope the fact that you can get Dominion boxes for less than the price of a Vanguard box six months before the release of the new edition woke some folks up. Elf vs. Elf would be great. Elf vs. Ork, Human vs. Ghoul, anything but more SCE.

Great post and an important thread. "Pile of Shame" posts pop up with shocking regularity and highlight some uncomfortable truths about the hobby, namely that there is a reasonably large portion of the customer base with a tendency towards hoarding. I don't think this is unique to GW. I've seen a lot of scale modelers have this issue, with widows trying to unload a basement full of unopened boxes. Funko Pop fans are much the same. There's a certain personality type that just loves the idea of amassing huge troves of plastic tchotchkes. For many, this is a manageable compulsion. It's their hobby dollars and while a weird use of funds has no further impact. I get the sense that for many others amassing these collections is a kind of coping mechanism. I've certainly spent time in my FLGS as a form of retail therapy. Much like OP, I've recognized that this kind of behavior is unhealthy and taken steps to limit it. As a community, I think we should discourage hoarding. I don't think folks posting their piles of shame should literally be shamed, but nor should their clout chasing be rewarded. I'd wager that many of these folks are dealing with much bigger issues and using these posts as a form of cope. If nothing else, I'd suggest whenever someone posts their pile, that they be sent this video which does a great job diagnosing the underlying issue and offering some proactive remedies:

I wonder if AoS just gets skipped next summer in favor of The Old World reboot? They first teased W:ToW back in the summer of 2021 and the lore previews have been picking up recently. If AoS 4.0 launches Summer 2024, will W:ToW arrive in Summer 2025? I could see a 40K/Sigmar/30K/W:ToW pattern emerging over time. Or maybe they'll shift 30K or T:ToW to the November release window usually reserved for boxed games? When you add in BB/Necro/WarCry/Underworlds the release calendar gets very full, very quick!

There is also a heavily rumored Guard box set/release wave to be announced next week. It's easy to imagine these being the anchors with some of the blisters, vanguards, and accessories mixed in (with 1-2 potentially having two-week windows.) + Votann + War Cry + Kill Team + StD Launch box + Gnarlwood + Battleforces If the IG box turns out to be real that's basically the road map to EoY in some order. There are only 8 or maybe 9 release weekends left in the year after next week's pre-order.

I wish they'd have a few categories – best centerpiece, best unit, best solo – and then award a best mini of the year based on whichever got the most votes. Size has historically dominated with big models winning 4/5 times, but I think that's because the bigger sculpts tend to be more notable even if they're less impressive in design terms. E.g. IMHO, the Necron psychomancer is a better 32mm sculpt than Belakor is a 120mm sculpt. I think we'd get more varied winners if the smaller models weren't so heavily overshadowed.

What would make sense: + Order: Lumineth + Death: Ossiarch + Chaos: Hedonites + Destruction: Sons of Behemat (Either a Renegade Knight's style double box, or a single Big Gargant with a pair of the Mancrushers. What I think we'll get: + Order: Fireslayers: Basically the one of every unit style similar to the DoK set from last year. + Chaos: Nugle: but mostly daemons with one of the Maggoth lords as the centerpiece, GUO if we're luck a la the Tzeentch box last year. + Death: FEC, lots of rumor engines point this way, why not prime the pump for a new release. + Destruction: Beastclaws – the SC *3

That was my impression as well, but after looking up the dates of announcements they have actually been shockingly consistent, mostly within a four-day window in the middle of November! Looks like we have a month before we know what's coming. 2016 – November 15th 2017 – November 19th 2018 – November 5th (Two were teased on Warcom on Oct 28) 2019 – November 15th 2020 – November 16th And I'd honestly not be shocked if they skipped them this year given how much stuff they seem to have backlogged and the state of the supply chain. Of course, that's what I thought last year in the midst of the early part of the pandemic so who knows

One goofy idea I'd like to see take hold is just painting an army a single color and then hitting it with a wash and some basing to approximate the look and feel of scenes from fantasy shows where they are wargaming using carved wood and stone tokens as pieces. E.g. Game I empathize with people who have neither the time, inclination, or talent to spend hundreds of hours painting an army even to a three-color standard. Truth be told, many bad paint jobs actually take away from the quality of the models. But a simple approach like this would add a simple level of theme. I think it would work well for the Ice and Fire game in particular, but it could be a decent approach for AoS as well.

Beyond the aesthetic and grog-nardy objections to grey plastic, I think unpainted armies actually skirt into the modeling for advantage category. This is especially true when everything has been primed black. It's just harder to pick out the weapon load-outs from a distance, units blend together more, etc. It's not decisive, but it is a disadvantage to your opponent. As people have said, if this is a noob building their first army, it's not an issue. If its an experienced player running a net-deck it's pretty annoying. Like most of the other commenters have noted, there aren't great mechanisms to force people to paint, but soft reinforcement like making it a requirement for tournaments or awarding points for painting progress during leagues provide good incentive. Hopefully, the FLGS offers occasional painting sessions or at least hosts an FB group or Discord to help new painters get their brushes wet. Overall, I'm with the folks who not that as pure games, GW's offerings are mediocre, it's the art that makes them worth the time/money investment. I wouldn't want to play historicals against a WAAC player and 40K/AoS are much closer to historicals than say StarCraft, IMHO.

I'm kind of amazed things have released as smoothly as they have over the past 18 months. There was a brief paint shortage, and I think the longest gap in releases was three weeks near the peak of the first wave? It's pretty extraordinary given that their supply chain is at least partially dependent on China for printed materials. In the main, it is a tremendous validation of their vertical integration strategy. I get frustrated by delays and slower than hoped for roll outs, but it's worth stepping back and marveling at how well they've done!

I'm trying to map out what releases remain through the year's end based on what we know so far. Here's what I can recollect, with some dates being pure speculation.August+ Sisters of Battle finale+ KillTeam starter+ Thousand Sons/GK dual box+ Stormcast/Orruk BattletomesSeptember + Stormcast/Kruleboyz releases+ Ork Codex/Combat Patrol/model wave+ Beast Snagga general releaseOctober + Aeronautica Imerialis: Wrath of Angels/Thunderhawk + Chaos BattletomeNovember + Black Templars releaseDecember+ BattleforcesDid I miss any confirmed products?Summary: The next two months seem absolutely packed. Unless they double up some weeks, it seems likely that the Aug/Sep releases will bleed into October.Beyond the things we know about, there are some logical products we can expect:- Battletome releases/Combat Patrol Equivalents- Codex releases/Combat Patrols - Rumored 30K Starter Box - New Underworlds season- Rumored AoS Dual Box (GSG vs. BoC)- Kill Team: They're presumably going to release the rules, and potentially, other teams.- Necromunda/Bloodbowl/Titanicus/WarCry will all presumably get something.So somewhere between 4-6 open release weeks not accounted for. Any thoughts on what might fill them? Given the large Stormcast/Kruleboyz releases, seems like remaining time will be 40K focused, but perhaps not?