Firstly, a rant.
For a while now I have been feeling underwhelmed with GW and WHFB but not really sure why. Sure, the price increases have naturally been undesirable but you kind of just accepted that that is how it is. You wanna play you pay. Well, the recent rumours, shock news and tidings of woe have caused me to question myself harder on what exactly it is I get out of Fantasy Battle.
Sigmar's Blood was probably the beginnings of my epiphany into disappointment. I desperately hoped for SB to be something beyond what it was. So much so that I probably let it influence my overview from the last blog post I made. If you remember I was searching for an idea that would kickstart an undead army. A cool theme or concept that would consume my mind with a desperate urge to purchase models and begin converting and painting in an orgiastic hobby flurry. Sadly, it never came.(no pun intended.) Even looking at the Empire side of SB I dont think there was much that went beyond painting certain units in differing province colours. Dont get me started on the Undead.... In an act of desperation I even purchased the companion Black Library novel with the fools dream that it would fill in some of the missing 'inspiration' blanks.
It didnt.
What is the point of retelling the campaign story with ill conceived fantasy stereotypes? I am not about to start having a go at the Black Library but I would go so far as to say that the blurb in the campaign book did a better (poor) job at setting the scene. Each source book, each novel should be a resource to stimulate the hobbyist. Why isnt it working for me?
Thinking about it more closely it struck me that it is theming for kids. I can remember when GW first and foremost were a creative company. The Intellectual Property was a constant source of inspiration, for all ages. It was creative, daring, diverse and above all downright fun to read. Now, armybook fluff tends to read like history lessons. GW has been content to dine on diluted rehashings of it's past excellence for years now, and I think the time has come whereby I have had my fill.
8th Edition Warhammer, in terms of rules, did a lot of good for the game. It is more inherently balanced than it has ever been. But where did the creativity go? Surely, if your business is in selling models then forming inspiration for reasons to buy those models is where you should be investing all your time. Fleshing out the game world is fine, but in the 'real' world of playing the game and theming an army to create a sense of story it does little for you. Armybooks should detail ripping yarns of the crazy, daring, downright insane characters of the Old World. 7th Edition, despite Special Characters being shunned from the tournament scene, were by and large better than todays offerings. Special Characters broke the rules and allowed you to mix with force composition. For the hobbyist it was something tangible for them to get their teeth into. 7th Ed suffered in that there was no consistency. As a result GW now play it safe. Too safe. I get that new ideas are risky from a money stand point but GW are at the point now where they have to take risks if they are to survive. Competitors are nipping at their heels in terms of quality of product and are free from the same logistical constraints GW have placed themselves under.
Prices have gone up and GW are feeling the effects of that... Finally. Maybe. At least I hope they are. I am sure a million and one financial reasons can be found which obfuscate the real reason with the interests of sustaining shareholder confidence. Now should be a time for GW to take stock and ask themselves just what business they are truly in.
White Dwarf is getting a radical overhaul... On paper I like the sound of what they are trying to do. I just doubt they can pull it off. Imagine a weekly White Dwarf that contained rules for new units never seen before, with fluff to go with them. Imagine a White Dwarf that wasnt afraid to give away rules content in order to 'fuel' the hobby. Imagine a White Dwarf that could react to the demands of an ever changing game on a weekly basis with TIMELY updated FAQ'S. Would it be so bad for GW?
I shall be keeping a close eye on the new White Dwarf. For now, I can safely say I will be winding down my WHFB activity until things start to change. Pastures new are calling and I need to find a different system that scratches my itch. It's currently looking like Malifaux may fill that role. I have been looking at a number of boxed games too, Zombicide in particular is one I am keen to get my hands on. If things change, and I like what I see it will be a case of deal me back in. At the current state of affairs I cant see it somehow. I shall keep you posted.
High Elves.
I thought I would take this opportunity to show a few figures from a heavily converted High Elf army that unfortunately suffered from being a mix of finished pieces and speed painting. It was converted such that the units could have filled a role in many different race armies.The basic principle was that this was a High Elf force that had been 'turned' by Slaanesh into these Aphex Twin SOB's. Being something different to Dark Elves, although they could have been used as such, they have a high level of chaos taint running through them. Mixing Daemonette parts with High Elf models was fun and simple to do. Sadly, until Fantasy does something to excite me again, this army wont be finished anytime soon. For now, enjoy these 3 characters. A lore of Fire Archmage, Shadow Mage and a BSB.
Inspiration Corner - Hearthstone.
For those that have never heard of Hearthstone it is Blizzard Entertainment's latest attempt at moving into an existing genre, redefining it in terms of quality of user experience and eventually owning it entirely.It's free to play and gives you the digital version of a card game like Magic The Gathering that you always dreamed Wizards of the Coast would give you in the first place. Needless to say I am hooked for many very good reasons.
Here is the link to the official page http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/
Why is Hearthstone so good? Well, firstly its free. You could in theory play the game as much as you wanted, earn ingame gold by completing daily goals and never spend a penny. For those, with a competitive streak and those who are just plain impatient you can always buy the packs. A pound a pack, and in bigger volume it works out even better. It is also a fair bit cheaper than any other equivilant trading card game. Also, if you get more of a certain card than you can ever use you can disenchant them for Arcane dust which lets you cherry pick cards you do want and craft them for yourself!
But is the game any good? Short answer is a resounding Yes. The game is still at closed Beta but it is going to change to Open Beta very soon and has already garnered THE top players from many pro competitive gaming circuits. Top players from Magic The Gathering and even StarCraft have all got on board and are giving Hearthstone a competitive streak to be envious of. Blizzard being the company they are are already getting fully behind it. However, dont go thinking that competitive has to mean unbalanced. Blizzard are not afraid of changing card values and properties often and seamlessly. The last round of Beta changes saw Blizzard openly nerfing some card stats purely because people were always including them in their decks. Not only that but there is real strategy to the game due to the way mana works. In Magic The Gathering it was entirely possible to be land locked and have no mana because you didnt happen to draw any in your deck. With Hearthstone mana incrementally increases each turn so you can build your deck planning around your Early, Mid and Late game. Do you wanna go aggro or control deck? The 9 races are varied and have different play styles. In short, I am hopelessly addicted and believe that this will with time completely own the digital trading card game market. Blizzard pretty much do this with every game space they invade; Starcraft and World of Warcraft being prime examples.
The artwork is gorgeous and the cards have a further level of feedback with sound and animations. It's a good time to get on board with Hearthstone as there wont be anymore deck wipes in Beta so anything you buy at this point is yours, even after release. At roughly 300 cards, I believe, it is actually possible to own them all without spending a fortune. When Blizzard do create expansion packs you will be in a position where you can dive straight in having all the core deck already.
Dont take my word for it give it a go. The game is now in Open Beta so anyone can join and get duelling. Blizzard believe 100% in letting the punters game test as much as possible. If you do join and fancy a game or two then definitely add my username to your friends list:- Obfuscate#2547
See you on the other side. :)
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