Wow.
What a week it has been in Wargamingland; news coming out of Adepticon about what to expect from 8th Edition 40K, our first look at Shadowspire, and of course, the sneaky little image of a certain Blades of Khorne Battletome. This whole week has been a bit of a glance into the near future, so let's break this bad boy down!
Firstly, we have the release of what to expect from 40k moving forward into a new edition. From what I've gathered so far from sources ranging from sketchy to GW themselves, Battleshock (as seen in AoS) will replace leadership as a mechanic, the game will follow the Three-Ways-To-Play trend, and each unit will gain its own movement value rather than having a set movement depending on unit type. I think this is great. I love that it will have multiple forms of gameplay, though I suspect that Matched Play will naturally become the most popular amongst 40k gamers. I love that they are willing to shake up core mechanics like movement and leadership. This, to me, shows a willingness to be creative and adventurous moving forward. They seem to be utilising lessons learned from Age of Sigmar, and gleaning guidance from it as to what was successful about that overhaul as well as what was not. We will not experience a 9-month wait for points as we did with AoS. I believe that while the structure of the game seems to be shifting, that it will be completely supported right from the start.
The 40k Generals Handbook (for lack of an actual name) will be a game changer (literally... Eh? EH?), and I think it will be for the best. As it stands, the game suffers from expanding upward in scope for several editions now, while remaining based on the same ruleset from years gone past; each edition has added significantly more mechanics and rules that make 40k an in depth and immersive game, but occasionally struggles to walk under its own weight. Codexes, supplements and expansions have made the barrier of entry surprisingly high, especially in comparison to AoS (where the core rules for the game and each army are essentially free). And I think that this is where we will see significant change! with movement and leadership being restructured, I think we will see publication (most likely GHB40K) that will address this change for every unit, or at least blanket changes for particular armies, so this will be an interesting opportunity to adjust whatever it is that GW choose to. I don't think they will do away with codexes for the reason that they have poured a significant amount of resources into books. It would seem crazy to just make them redundant in favour of a new game...
But perhaps that's exactly what the game needs. A ground-up overhaul.
And reading back over that, I'm reminded that they have done exactly that before. Hands up who remembers the End Times of Fantasy? There's a series of very large books that were essentially made redundant overnight. Don't get me wrong, they are some of the best lore books Games Workshop has ever written for fantasy, but their effect on the game was very, very short-lived. So, who knows. We could be looking at some changes far larger than people expect.
Now, before I begin to sound too much like a Negative Nancy, I want to say I would actually be so pleased if they did do away with codexes and move onto a digital format like the AOS app. It would reduce the cost of the game significantly, and we all know how incredibly popular the decision was to move to an App. I think that the book-keeping is a large part of what is wrong with the game at the moment. If I wanted to play Raven Guard, I would need the rule book, Space Marine codex, and Angels of Death, not to mention another book on top if I want to use the new SM flier. That's before I buy a single model.
By moving to digital, that barrier would dissolve instantly.
I am in a positive mindset about 40k. I'm excited for where the game will go. And despite all the anxiety and fear that we hold around change, I find comfort in the knowledge that despite it not being a perfect transition, they turned Warhammer Fantasy into one of the best games I have ever played,
despite it being totally different to what I originally bought into.
That's all I'm really gonna say on that. Change is needed. Change is coming. I trust GW.
Could have saved myself a couple of hundred words by opening with that...
Next comes Shadowspire, what looks like an arena death match game, and can I say I am KEEN! My hope is that it supports all current post-AoS armies on a scale of a handful of warriors, and continues to be supported with each release. I think this will be great, and while there was some disappointment from those expecting Mordheim 2.0, I can get behind a small-scale tactical game like this! If not, it's not really a loss. Those new sculpts are amazing!!
And lastly, but certainly not least, I want to address Blades of Khorne. As a Khorne player myself, I am overjoyed! I really, truly am. But there was signifcant unrest in some parts of the online community that Khorne (along with Stormcast) were getting undue love from GW while other factions were being neglected. To this, I say that is simply not the case. Stormcast and Khorne are by far the largest ranges in AoS (not counting ranges from years gone by), and it makes business sense to support your poster boys. Just look at Space Marines. These two armies are in the starter box. GW will not allow the two most accessible armies to become obsolete or outdated; they're smarter than that. Not to mention, the existing Bloodbound book is missing half the characters in the range due to its early release.
I think the most important thing to remember is that this is a page 8 release. There are no new models (oh, for plastic Flesh Hounds), and this book is not interfering with any other release schedules; no more than some race-specific dice or a game aid would. This is a repackaging and revamping of Bloodbound and Daemons of Khorne. We may see some points adjustments, but aside from the artefacts and command traits, I'm not expecting anything too crazy.
I acknowledge that I'm very fortunate to be getting an update, and I'm not taking that for granted.
For players of armies yet to get a Battletome, your time will come. It might not be soon, and it might not look how you thought it would. But it will come. I don't think many dwarf players were expecting Sky Pirates, yet here we are, weeks away, and for the most part, Dwarf Players are over the moon.
And recruiting plenty more into the ranks of the Duardin...
I think Sigmar players have a lot to look forward to.
Well, there's my two cents. I hope my opinion hasn't been too polarising. I think there's lots to be positive about Wargaming, regardless of whether you play Sigmar or 40k.
Thanks for reading,
Gabe
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