Warhammer Age of Sigmar Starter Set Review - Borehammer, Gorehammer

[Zykon TheLich_v1legacy]

Have to agree with Johkmil, feels like they've seen the shrinking Warhammer market, read the forums about people going off to play KoW & loads of other smaller companies that put their rules etc online for free and make warhammeresque miniatures and thought

"We're not pulling in new players, it's not worth keeping WHFB alive to please a dwindling group of grognards that have been playing for years and already have all the figures they need to play and are entrenched enough in wargaming that they don't need to come to GW to play, so they can use whatever rules set and miniatures they want"

Might as well trash it and go for a different audience, despite having a certain style and it being fairly obvious when a company is making "not quite Warhammer" miniatures, there's not much GW can do about it (thankfully) so they go for a bunch of simple online rules and a bunch of minis that look fairly different to the current lot and see if it sticks. If it doesn't work then at least you didn't waste tons of cash printing loads of rulebooks and army lists.

Personally I'm one of those aforementioned grognards who hasn't moved past 3rd ed WHFB or 2nd ed WHFRP, so technically this doesn't affect me much, but they made good miniatures that I'd buy from time to time purely because I liked the look of them and I don't think the new ones really fit with the aesthetic, though these are only the first releases, it might change.
What does kind of sting though, is that the Old world is officially gone. I imagine FFG will still produce old world material for WHFRP V3 but it remains to be seen if GW will continue with novels etc set in a dead setting.

 

[Roganzar]

Interesting review. I don't agree with your take on it, but interesting.
I mean Games Workshop has had all the previous editions removed from reality by wielding the changing magic of Tzeench. All the old books never existed anymore and angry, skinny men from England have come to take your old armies away. Right, that's happened, right?
Oh wait, no it didn't! For all the angry butthurt I've read here people seem to forget that you still can play the version you like best! It's like the terrible 4e D&D rules. My god were those crap! I still could play D&D with 3.5 and was very happy ignoring, for the most part 4e.
The balance at this time, (cuz that was something they perfected with Warhammer Fantasy), comes from the scenarios. Those are how you use your armies. These are pretty bare bones but with more and more coming this will more than likely work. Or not and people will just play, throw giant armies at other giant armies. Given time to release the new incarnations of the Age of Sigmar armies tactical play will come out, as right now its armored hammers versus bloodthirsty, skull-hungry, berzerkers. So of course it's going to devolve quickly into smashy smashy melees. Get some empire siege engines or some elven magic and archery, and suddenly tactics are going to be needed. Just charging across the field while being pounded by missile weapons will wreck any battle plan built around run at it's face and hit it with an axe.
I've played the old Warhammer Fantasy Battles and by the Skull Throne were those overly complex. I love these new rules. Straight forward and easy to use. Yes, the box should have had the warscrolls as separate things, but hey its GW they have to make mistakes. The new models are really well designed, (yeah yeah, they got Spehss Mahreens! in my fantasy. They're more like viking/paladins or Vikadins if you will.) As far as the lore of the old game, it really is a shame that that's all gone. Oh wait, no it isn't! Its still there in all it's rich glory! So they made a new world with new lore that hasn't been completely published. I can, damn well, promise you that the lore of the Old World took them decades to get to the point of praise that it has reached. Just like the 40K lore. Give it time. Not a fan of it so far, that's cool, give it a year and I bet the lore will be much improved.

Love it, hate it, whatever just stop acting like your beloved, overly complex, rules and damn fine lore are completely gone. I will bet nonexistant money that this will do really well for GW in the long run.
Oh and before I get the "Rarrrrr, fan boy!", "Burn the heretic!", "How dare you have a different opinion than me!!" Just remember, It's okay for you to be wrong.

 

[Burning Bard]

Congratulations I have not logged on to these forums for at least three years and your terrible post roused me from my slumber. Well done.

Interesting review. I don't agree with your take on it, but interesting.
I mean Games Workshop has had all the previous editions removed from reality by wielding the changing magic of Tzeench. All the old books never existed anymore and angry, skinny men from England have come to take your old armies away. Right, that's happened, right?
Oh wait, no it didn't! For all the angry butthurt I've read here people seem to forget that you still can play the version you like best! It's like the terrible 4e D&D rules. My god were those crap! I still could play D&D with 3.5 and was very happy ignoring, for the most part 4e.

There is a difference between playing supported and unsupported games so don't be obtuse. The entire act of having a WHFB community is now a greater task for its death. Maintaining mass interest is harder, getting people into the game is harder and this is now the state of affairs forever. So yes killing Fantasy Battles did harm it, shocking I know.

The balance at this time, (cuz that was something they perfected with Warhammer Fantasy), comes from the scenarios. Those are how you use your armies. These are pretty bare bones but with more and more coming this will more than likely work. Or not and people will just play, throw giant armies at other giant armies. Given time to release the new incarnations of the Age of Sigmar armies tactical play will come out, as right now its armored hammers versus bloodthirsty, skull-hungry, berzerkers. So of course it's going to devolve quickly into smashy smashy melees. Get some empire siege engines or some elven magic and archery, and suddenly tactics are going to be needed. Just charging across the field while being pounded by missile weapons will wreck any battle plan built around run at it's face and hit it with an axe.

Oh boy scenarios which dictate exactly what models I should bring, how electrifying. How can tactical play emerge from such a bland rules set? There's nothing there, really there's bloody nothing on offer for anyone's brain we don't even know if being able to shoot into and out of melee is intentional or just a massive cock-up on the part of the poor fools they got to draft this garbage up. Right now missile troop are objectively the best in the game behind summoners (who are also broke to shit by the way) but not that it matters because the game is basically decided by how the turns fall what with them changing the order all time.

I've played the old Warhammer Fantasy Battles and by the Skull Throne were those overly complex. I love these new rules. Straight forward and easy to use. Yes, the box should have had the warscrolls as separate things, but hey its GW they have to make mistakes. The new models are really well designed, (yeah yeah, they got Spehss Mahreens! in my fantasy. They're more like viking/paladins or Vikadins if you will.)

Great so we have determined you have no comprehension of good tabletop mechanics and have no idea what Vikings look like, great! Out of curiosity does GW pay you for this or do you do it for free because you can be paid for this you know, you have a talent use it.

As far as the lore of the old game, it really is a shame that that's all gone. Oh wait, no it isn't! Its still there in all it's rich glory! So they made a new world with new lore that hasn't been completely published. I can, damn well, promise you that the lore of the Old World took them decades to get to the point of praise that it has reached. Just like the 40K lore. Give it time. Not a fan of it so far, that's cool, give it a year and I bet the lore will be much improved.

There's also nothing going to be added to it, see the point on unsupported games. Why should anyone hold on for AoS to get better, it's already trash why should I give it the time of day? The new lore is just utter drivel to support contrivances and make as few permanent facts about the universe available as possible and beyond the tone shift of the heroes being on the offensive there really is nothing redeeming about it at all.

Love it, hate it, whatever just stop acting like your beloved, overly complex, rules and damn fine lore are completely gone. I will bet nonexistant money that this will do really well for GW in the long run.

See the point on unsupported games. Anyone that found previous edition rules too hard to understand has clearly not tried or has been the unfortunate recipient of a lobotomy. AoS is already doing well, an anonymous report from a London Blackshirt puts AoS realise day as their best since 2008, this is not a good thing as it encourages the production of more trash and informs the direction of GW towards more casual nonsense.

Oh and before I get the "Rarrrrr, fan boy!", "Burn the heretic!", "How dare you have a different opinion than me!!" Just remember, It's okay for you to be wrong.

Please don't act this smug, for your own sake really.

 

[elvor0]

And /tg/ have already found that if you put models on a large base with a slope so that other models can't come close, they can't be engaged in close combat, which means you can sit a ranged unit on these bases and laugh at your opponent.

Wait what? Is that putting units on a large base and then putting them on the slope of a hill on the battlefield, or putting a unit on a large base that is sloped? Either way that's silly but the latter is lunacy.

 

[Burning Bard]

And /tg/ have already found that if you put models on a large base with a slope so that other models can't come close, they can't be engaged in close combat, which means you can sit a ranged unit on these bases and laugh at your opponent.

Wait what? Is that putting units on a large base and then putting them on the slope of a hill on the battlefield, or putting a unit on a large base that is sloped? Either way that's silly but the latter is lunacy.

Because you measure from models not bases competitive modelling and basing is more of a thing in AoS than it ever was in Warhammer. The standard AoS shill response is, "Well no one will play with you if you do that.", as though this somehow excuses terrible design.

 

[vallorn]

No... however the fuck the Eldar keep churning their numbers out. That's never been very clear...

They went into excruciating detail of the Dark Eldar's rapid gestation by making babies in pods that get soaked in pain and torture as well as Dark Eldar who can afford it being regrown from body parts if they die.

Craftworld eldar on the other hand... Your guess is as good as mine.

 

[Mangod]

And /tg/ have already found that if you put models on a large base with a slope so that other models can't come close, they can't be engaged in close combat, which means you can sit a ranged unit on these bases and laugh at your opponent.

Wait what? Is that putting units on a large base and then putting them on the slope of a hill on the battlefield, or putting a unit on a large base that is sloped? Either way that's silly but the latter is lunacy.

Because you measure from models not bases competitive modelling and basing is more of a thing in AoS than it ever was in Warhammer. The standard AoS shill response is, "Well no one will play with you if you do that.", as though this somehow excuses terrible design.

"Excuses terrible design"... isn't that what the "beer and pretzels" argument has always been? Just because it's not designed for competitive play doesn't excuse them asking you to pay for a flawed product. Which seems to be the case here. Measure from model, for f***s sake...