Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

SamusDrake wrote:

tneva82 wrote:
IT might have seen hard sell but it was selling obviously well since warlord was one of their best selling kits of 2018...Nevermind reavers selling out which annoyed me unable to get them right away.

Signs that it was selling hot cakes were out there already in 2018.

At that point it was unclear as to whether GW had underproduced or it was genuinely selling. And was it a case of Titan-lovers buying into the models or the general GW audience into the game itself? Of all the items that did not seem to sell out was the rule set.

But being fair I do remember some models selling out on Wayland. When ordering a box of warhounds, shortly after release, they were going even as I put my order in and sold out by that evening. So glad I didn't dally! The Warlord was always in stock, though, and very surprised he outsold the Questoris Knights...considering their adorable size!

Umm GW knows how much they sell. And if it was one of their best selling new kits...Well that's still pretty impressive or did they underproduce EVERY well selling new kit? We are talking about it rivaling their 40k releases.

The fact they were one of their top selling new kits and weren't all the time out of stock indicates they were infact well stocked. And if they had low stocks they couldn't BE top selling kits now could they? Can't sell what you don't have. By definition they had to have stock levels comparable to their other top selling lines. If you have 2X stock in one compared to other of course the other is going to have bigger sales UNLESS the 2X stocked undersells...

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Hindsight nothing,

Monsiuer Cliquebaít, the OP, posted this really shortly after the release.

The opening posters history of starting doom'n'gloom threads aside, it really doesn't change the doubt felt at the time of release. I personally was more positive about AT, but the general opinion of the game - putting it bluntly - was that it was too expensive, lacking units to field and too unfamilar for the modern GW audience where they couldn't use models in other games.

Just to put paid to the OP:

From the Titanicus seminar:

Oh, and another tidbit from the Titanicus seminar. A number of the Transfer sheets, Command Slates and card packs are appearing as either No Longer Available or have disappeared completely from the online store. This isn't because they've stopped doing them, on the contrary. It's because there has been so much demand that they've massively oversold what they were expecting - Andy Hoare gave the comparison of having a projected years worth of stock and having it sell within a month. They're working on getting more in stock ASAP.

SamusDrake wrote:


The opening posters history of starting doom'n'gloom threads aside, it really doesn't change the doubt felt at the time of release. I personally was more positive about AT, but the general opinion of the game - putting it bluntly - was that it was too expensive, lacking units to field and too unfamilar for the modern GW audience where they couldn't use models in other games.

Not sure why you have that opinion. Apart from the lure of Titans, there was a lot of excitement from the veteran Epic crowd. A lot of that market hadn't touched GW in some time and (anecdotally, obviously) there were a fair few excited people in the various Epic groups and forums that I casually lurk on.

 zedmeister wrote:

Not sure why you have that opinion. Apart from the lure of Titans, there was a lot of excitement from the veteran Epic crowd. A lot of that market hadn't touched GW in some time and (anecdotally, obviously) there were a fair few excited people in the various Epic groups and forums that I casually lurk on.

Yes, those of us who remember the original epic games( I myself played Space Marine 2nd edition ) were happy to see the return of Titanicus. However, I would be lying if most forums, videos and articles I came across - at the time - were positive. It was negative.

To be honest, its why I am here at all because the main news & rumour thread on Dakka was the first positive feedback I came across. It made a change from all the negative crap I was hearing about the game and could follow the release schedule of the Titanicus range without too much noise about why its a "failure". While the OP was jumping the gun on "total bust" I could not deny that was the general feeling I had encountered before coming to this site...

SamusDrake wrote:


If you are just demonstrating the game then you can use open play. You don't have to stick rigidly to the 3-titan maniple minimum, unless playing a more serious game where someone might be practicing for a tournament.

For demo games I use two Reavers a side. I've yet to actually use the Maniple rules in any games I've played anyway. I'm looking forward to using them, but I've not felt the games I've played to be "incomplete" without them.

 AndrewGPaul wrote:

SamusDrake wrote:


If you are just demonstrating the game then you can use open play. You don't have to stick rigidly to the 3-titan maniple minimum, unless playing a more serious game where someone might be practicing for a tournament.

For demo games I use two Reavers a side. I've yet to actually use the Maniple rules in any games I've played anyway. I'm looking forward to using them, but I've not felt the games I've played to be "incomplete" without them.

Then again something like reaver+2 warhounds is also nice giving 2 different type of titans to try. Or 2 of both.

DIdn't GW just make this game to protect their IP? Restart the clock so to speak. If it sells = they make more. If not = they stop producing it for 15 years and reboot again.

 FeindusMaximus wrote:
DIdn't GW just make this game to protect their IP? Restart the clock so to speak. If it sells = they make more. If not = they stop producing it for 15 years and reboot again.

Why would that be the case? They aren't licensing that particular IP from anyone. For LotR, that might be a consideration.

...no? The product is a clearly well thought out labor of love from its designers and the IP is and always has been theirs without any contest? The claim is simply ridiculous.

With news that the GME box will be returning, I am wondering if it is considered a decent way in to playing AT? What are the savings on the box?

I have a pair of Warhounds, a Reaver and a Warlord already (just for fun), but I would love to grab the rules and a mirror force for some beginner games with a couple of friends.

 Eiríkr wrote:
With news that the GME box will be returning, I am wondering if it is considered a decent way in to playing AT? What are the savings on the box?

The original GME was £175 and contained the Rules, 2 sets of Knight and 2 Warlords - which comes to £205, then there's the Command Terminals, Weapon Cards & terrain on top. Some people feel that Reavers would have been a better choice over Warlords.

WarCom says that "the Adeptus Titanicus Warlord Edition is coming back for a second run" (along with a picture of the GME box), so either WarCom got the name wrong or it's a slightly different box this time round.

With news that the GME box will be returning, I am wondering if it is considered a decent way in to playing AT? What are the savings on the box?

You basically get the terrain for free.

GME saves one Warlord or terrain, which way you prefer, and gives you all the stuff you need. Add a box of Warhounds and a Reaver and you're good to go. If it is still available, the four titan box & rules is the best way to start, but GME is decent too.

If you want all in gme it is biggest savings so buying it makes it best choice. If you don't want something less so.

tneva82 wrote:

 AndrewGPaul wrote:

SamusDrake wrote:


If you are just demonstrating the game then you can use open play. You don't have to stick rigidly to the 3-titan maniple minimum, unless playing a more serious game where someone might be practicing for a tournament.

For demo games I use two Reavers a side. I've yet to actually use the Maniple rules in any games I've played anyway. I'm looking forward to using them, but I've not felt the games I've played to be "incomplete" without them.

Then again something like reaver+2 warhounds is also nice giving 2 different type of titans to try. Or 2 of both.

true, but when I was doing demos, I didn't have my Warhounds painted.

If you’re starting out, GME is perfectly fine.

Add in a Battle Maniple set, and you get some flex. A second one, and you’ve pretty much got most Maniples covered.

However, if you’ve already got the rules, GME doesn’t offer anywhere near the same value.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
If you’re starting out, GME is perfectly fine.

Add in a Battle Maniple set, and you get some flex. A second one, and you’ve pretty much got most Maniples covered.

However, if you’ve already got the rules, GME doesn’t offer anywhere near the same value.

Ah but maybe if they were splitting the contents with a second player. The second player could chip in a bit more...

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
If you’re starting out, GME is perfectly fine.

Add in a Battle Maniple set, and you get some flex. A second one, and you’ve pretty much got most Maniples covered.

However, if you’ve already got the rules, GME doesn’t offer anywhere near the same value.

2 maniple boxes AND GME? That's some sick force you are building with 4 warlords Well okay I have those(plus lone boxes) but then again I have 2 legions.

Good evenin' people!

I tried to stop myself from starting AT, but alas...my will is broken and my wallet is trembling. I think I saw someone, in one of the AT threads, mention that a new batch of the GME boxes was planned. Is this confirmed? if we indulge in some rampant speculation (which we never do...*ehum*), when would it be feasible to expect the new batch to hit the stores? Let loose the dogs of guesstimating!

Panzerkanzler wrote:
Good evenin' people!

I tried to stop myself from starting AT, but alas...my will is broken and my wallet is trembling. I think I saw someone, in one of the AT threads, mention that a new batch of the GME boxes was planned. Is this confirmed? if we indulge in some rampant speculation (which we never do...*ehum*), when would it be feasible to expect the new batch to hit the stores? Let loose the dogs of guesstimating!

Yes, it was confirmed over the weekend( "The Horus Heresy Weekender" ).

I doubt it will be in the stores, but I'm sure your local will order it in for you.

I wasn't going to plunge any money into the GME however I deeply regretted not getting the Battlegroup last xmas... The more I thought about it the worst it felt! Out of curiosity I was browsing a store online and opened a couple of tabs from various systems, thinking about what new toys I'd buy to stack on top of all the unpainted armies I already have (marines, primaris, GSC, orks, DE, skitarii, IK, that silly shadowspear box that I didn't fancy that much buf oh well) and found that they had some battlegroups available! Oh joy! Bought two... Figure that by the time I'll have them painted I'd buy the new rulebook (probably AT 3 or 4). Don't regret it, though my wallet hates me even more and I pray that my wife doesn't find out!

So, suggestions on starting out?

Note: I'm selling two warhounds and I'm gifting one of the warlords...

So you have 2 warlords, 2 reavers and 4 warhounds? Not sure how useful it is actually to sell stuff from those as all those can be easily used. Albeit if you don't mind having variety in games it's allright. But with 2 battle boxes worth you have most of maniples covered. Venator with reaver and 4 warhounds? Check. Regalia? 2 warlords, 3 warhounds, check. Axiom checks out at full. Myrmidon lacks just 3rd warlord, no biggie. Corsair maniple(3-5 reavers) is out but you can live with that. Lupercall you have 4/5 of warhouns.

But for future additions since you are selling warlord guess buying the plasma warlord full kit is out of question so one sprue at least. Ditto for reaver sprue(or buy the melta reaver box for 3rd reaver).

Then some knights can be fun.

You definitely want to keep the two Reavers, mainly because their weapons are a pain in the ass to match up due to the melee weapons. You'll have two identical weapon sprues so you can set them up for both sides.

Thing to remember about this game is the extra cost of terminals and weapon cards. If you want to expand beyond the ruleset then chances are you'll need more terminals and cards for extra titans. For example, there are not enough cards for the Reavers and Warhounds to arm two of the same weapon.

Knights are awesome in this respect because they only need their command terminal, which you can easily make additional ones out of foam board as you only need one damage track and enough room to place your order dice and numerical token. This has the additional benefit of taking up less space.

tneva82 is right though - consider keeping all of your titans because you have a lot of options to chose from. You could instead just consider scenery, even the Warcradle stuff is pretty good.

The two reasons I'm selling 2 of the warhounds is that, first of all, I told myself I'd only get a second set if I minimized the money loss. Getting Shadowspear and two Titanicus boxes in the same month is quite the money sink, I feel like I must make a concession at least.

Secondly, I'm selling them to someone who is very active in the 40k local community (though he plans to use them as AdMech). However if he has the titans, he can play AT, so I actually have someone to play against

(also I'm selling them for nearly their discounted price, so if I ever need to buy two more I won't feel that bad paying "regular prices").

The Warlord from the 2nd set will be a gift to my daughter's godfather. That way he'll also have to play the game - it's easier to consider getting into AT if you already have the most expensive miniature available, meaning you only need to buy a reaver, or some warhounds, or those lovely Knights and that equates to a lot less money spent. I do feel like a cheapskate for not buying the kit with box and all but hey, something's gotta give.

Yes, I'm a scheming bastard

I'm still getting up to the maniples part, I assumed that since the GME came with 2 warlords and the knights that those would be a valid way to play? Do I need to make a maniple to play the game or is that only for some bonus?
Also thought that I could just buy the rules next month or something, and I'd be set. But you think I'll need more terminals?

@tneva82 for the price of the plasma sprue alone I'd rather just get the warlord that comes with it by default, if it was up to 20 I could "eat" it but being around 35 from GW I'd rather bite the bullet and get the full kit for, like, 60 or so.

Also, I was thinking about getting a couple of Civitas Imperialis, looks like a fun but expensive kit, so I'll also check Warcradle.

Depending on how it goes I'll either finally start playing a wargame, or at worse I'll have some more expensive miniatures that I can enjoy painting (eventually).

Thank you both for your replies

Maniples provide bonuses yes and for matched play 1 is minimum. Of course you can agree with opponents but another thing is they ensure you have reasonable number of moving parts. 1 or 2 titan per side is rather limited and for example the GME box is not very good intro game forces. 1 warlord duking it out have trouble causing any damage to each other due to shield/repair interaction so it will be basically who gets lucky. However once you add up moving elements(ie titans) into the mix strategy and tactics come into play.

Games rarely are all that interesting with bare minimum.

3 titans per side starts to give you good view of all the potential. 4 to 6 with some knights I find is normal.

edit: To further illustrate why 1 vs 1 is so bad for game. 2 warlords from GME duking it out. While shields down strenght is irrelevant so volcano's are bad usage due to drain. So fire up missiles. 10 shots hitting on 3+. Let's say you roll 7 hits. Opponent likely pushed shields to get reroll 1's so you get average of 1,1666666 2's(shield down) and another 1,166666 rerolls which adds up to 0,7777769555556 more shields or total of 2 shields. Yey! Except you need 5. And you still save on 3+.

Next round you can repair them. 4 rolls needing 5+ so you get 1.33333 back. With emergency repair order you can get them on 4+ and then another set at 5+ so you average 3.33333 shields repaired.

See where this is heading? Sure sooner or later somebody whiffs shields and is toasted but that's long slog and it's not visually even interesting seeing 2 warlords basically sitting up. They are too slow to really go much anywhere and doing so will mean you will get vaporized by the other. Not like you even need to get anywhere!

But add more titans and things get more interesting...Can't rely on shields like that anymore, reactor becomes more of issue, moving comes to play...

The GME uses open play and illustrates the two basic units of the game and how they work together...

Unfortunately the units were at such extremes where the Knights were screwed if the opposing Warlord caught whiff of them. And given the included terrain the Warlord coud spot them no problem due to his towering height. I've not fielded Warlords, but quite a few battle reports for the GME basically resulted in the Knights - on both sides - being eliminated by the end of the second round. Essentially you are back to the Warlords just slugging it out for the remaining rounds.

A more reasonable battle would be a Warhound and a Banner . The banners usually last longer, making for a more interesting game, as the Warhound is much shorter and not sporting a nasty carapace weapon.

Titanicus is more satisfying when you field two different armies. The two set ups my brother and I usually play are...

Setup 1: 2 Warhounds vs 1 Reaver + 1 Questoris Banner
Setup 2: 1 Reaver + 1 Warhound(Mega bolters) vs 1 Warhound(Destructors) + 1 Questoris + 1 Cerastus Banners.

...which usually result in "what the hell is his next move going to be?" instead of "which one of us is going to roll unlucky first?". A well designed board will also keep both sides guessing...

As for terrain, you could get the Warcradle Dark Assembly "Factory" and "City" packs. They are more unique than the GW kit, cheaper and have a similar theme.