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So having been trawling through my stuff I've found a stack of old WD magazines and it got me thinking maybe its time to renew my subscription. It's been probably over ten years since I last got them so I've had quite the gap and I wonder how it is (and I'm stuck far from any retailer that might stock a copy to flick through).

I know that over the last years most magazines have become, well, bloated with advertisements to pay for themselves, I also recall reading that WD had gotten like that during the Kirby era of the company. But I've not really heard much since then, although I've vague recollections of people saying it was getting better.

So how is it now? Is it chock full of gamer stuff and photos and painting and all that or is it mostly full of advertisements, more pictures than text etc....? I know the net changes things somewhat in that it makes news faster and easier to get hold of so there's little chance for WD to surprise one with a big news release like it was in the past.

If I were you, I'd just order a copy of the latest issue from GW and then decide whether or not you want to subscribe. It's not the advertising only rag that it was a few years ago, but it also doesn't have enough quality gaming content to grab my attention. You might feel otherwise.

Aye personal taste always comes into it; though I often find it good to ask around. If everyone gives a similar view then chances are its valid for the majority; whilst if there's variety then it shows more potential chance to be a good idea.

It has stuff again, like designers commentary on new models, battle reports with pretty pictures, high quality army displays, painting guides, art on some theme and so forth. Also a fair share of ads for stuff like new video games based on their IPs. Not necessarily the worst kind, though.

The gaming side is much lighter than say, at the beginning of this millenium, but it's there in some form and getting better slowly. They do for an example publish new Necromunda gangs there (genecults, chaos cults and bounty hunters thus far) and throw occasional new missions for other smaller games. GW nowadays tends to take feedback, so I believe they'll be happy to make some content if you throw enough emails their way and ask for it.

Of course the new line and aesthetic with the company is a bit different from the trippy hair metal days of yore, which might not suit everyones taste. Personally I still like the mag, though it would be cool to have more "out there" ideas in it, like new scenarios or short stories.

The problem for me with WD now is that when I had my subscription I played 40k, WH, Necromunda, Blood Bowl and Gothic. WD catered to all of those, as well as LotR, which I didn't play but that was fine with the rest of the content.

If you play 40k and AoS it's probably worth it at least from the amount of content you'll get. After flicking through a copy recently I have to say the quality of the content doesn't seem much better than it was during the dark days. A gaming magazine dedicated to a single company seems to be quite anachronistic in this day and age. I'd prefer to read stuff online than what you get in WD, TBH.

Having said that, for the cost of a single issue it's definitely worth getting a copy and finding out for yourself.

I remember when it was quite thick, I bought a copy a good few years ago because I hadn’t seen one for ages and it was half the size for near the same price

And I haven’t seen one since

I'm quite enjoying it.

Mind you, I've been subscribed since before it became Warhammer Vision - and I'm pretty sure I've not had a DD come out since monthly WD returned....

Slipspace wrote:
The problem for me with WD now is that when I had my subscription I played 40k, WH, Necromunda, Blood Bowl and Gothic. WD catered to all of those, as well as LotR, which I didn't play but that was fine with the rest of the content.

If you play 40k and AoS it's probably worth it at least from the amount of content you'll get. After flicking through a copy recently I have to say the quality of the content doesn't seem much better than it was during the dark days. A gaming magazine dedicated to a single company seems to be quite anachronistic in this day and age. I'd prefer to read stuff online than what you get in WD, TBH.

Having said that, for the cost of a single issue it's definitely worth getting a copy and finding out for yourself.

That's the main reason I cancelled my sub to the new version as well. Back in Ye Olden Tymes everything in there except LotR was something I had fairly high levels of interest in, and even that was vaguely interesting sometimes as a fan of the books & films. These days 40K content is hit & miss since they're obviously determined to push the advanced timeline and I'm not into it, I have no interest in AoS, and there isn't enough other stuff in there to justify subbing at a discount versus just buying the occasional individual copy that has something I want in it.

But that's a personal thing, not an objective review. I'd say it's probably better than the worst iterations by a fair degree, but still not up to its better years and unlikely to reach that level since the company have moved away from the things that made those years better(the "DIY" attitude).

I guess the answer to the OP's question really depends on where their benchmark lies.

I guess I first started reading in the early 100s, somewhere in the mid-late eighties? In comparison to that, with content that these days would only be published in paid-for expansions, templates to scratch build models, lengthy and really wordy battle reports and editorials, it's still pretty poor.

In comparison to the last iteration that ran alongside Visions? A massive improvement.

My biggest issue is probably that the writing in the latest version still smells more like corporate propaganda than it does of enthusiastic hobbyists sharing what they love. That and that when I took out the subscription offer at the relaunch, they failed to get my copy to me on time on several occasions, and failed to get me a copy at all more than once, despite emailing support. If they'd been able to do something as simple as post it to me, I'd probably still be subscribing.

It's a massive improvement over the darker times for sure, but personally I find the latest batch of issues very hit and miss for the most part, with either little content that appeals to me or having just one or two articles I quite enjoyed, like the return of the Hall of Fame or a good painting tutorial.

They are still gathering feedback over on Facebook though, seeking to improve as they trudge along.

I buy it only if it has Hobbit stuff in it, otherwise I flick through the mag on the newsagents' shelf to see the pretty pictures and then put it back.

It is a lot better than it used to be 10 years ago - there is actual gaming content these days - rules for Necromunda gangs and this month an actual minigame playable with dark elves or something. It just so happens I am no longer very interested in 40k or AoS as game systems or universes, and naturally most of the mag covers those games most of the time, and I have never liked Battle Reports - reading about other people playing games just bores me - and the Bat Rep takes up a large chunk of the mag every month.

If you are interested in 40k, AoS and whatever the latest new game is from GW (currently Necromunda) then it is probably worth a look for you.

I lost interest in it after they switched to Warhammer Visions. My wife had just bought me a subscription and they changed the format.

Been hard to get over that.

I still flip through copies at the FLGS but haven't found anything to pull me back in.

I read a copy recently leant from a friend (having not read WD since the 90s!). There's lots of content and it's a high quality publication.

Things i didnt like included the battle report - it was long and written as a story. I'd rather watch a youtube video battle report where you get to hear the players and see the dice rolls. I also noticed the lack of short stories. Literally none. The short fiction pieces, especially WH40K, was something I used to love about WD.

Having said that, I'd definitely try another issue, but I doubt I'd buy a subscription.

It's fine as a coffee table books, nice to look at the new models and readers models but other than that its just a print version of what is on offer on the community site, which is free and spammed across facebook.

I buy it every month as I like it for something to flick through on the train- I travel about 4 hours a day and it's nice to get away from a screen, as everything else I do is computer based.

However, it doesn't have the, I guess charm is the best word, of the old versions. It feels very sterile compared to the old editions.

My favourite era was the Fat bloke era, those issues felt fun and reading it felt like you just in a room with some mates having a laugh over warhammer.

I like the are including readers models, but I'd much rather see a mix of talent in the books, most of the stuff they print leans towards heavy metal levels/styles. I understand that they want to show off the minis in the GW style and at a top level- it helps sales after all, but really did prefer it when they showed staff armies and 'regular' looking armies with a mixture of paint jobs, styles and (most importantly) Skill levels.

I'll continue to buy it but I never read an issues fully and if I stopped buying it or it stopped coming out I don't think I'd even notice it was gone.

It's probably not as good as when it was at it's best around like 2010 or so when it was packed full of hobby content and included things like Eavy Metal masterclass guides, but it's way better than it's been since those glory days.

I wanna say we're on the 3rd revamp since then, the first would have been around the time 6th ed came out and was pretty boring, then it became the weekly magazine with zero content except an add for whatever was coming out that week and a really basic painting guide.

I bought the Venator gang list issue, and it reinforced my critique of the few issues I've picked up over the last year or so (to look at): the sensation that the layout is designed for someone younger than me.

The amount of visual noise, per page, is like nothing I can ever remember - battle reports have all these images laid over each other, and text describing what's actually happening seems to be an afterthought. Most of what is written feels like salesprint, though as some folks above have mentioned, it's better than it was a few years ago. It's sort of amazing how much color there is, and how little content.

I still have WDs from the way back that I thumb through from time to time, because they were *full* of stuff; heck, entire games were printed. And lore, and stories - Black Library being such a prodigious printer, it feels like they are loath to use the space in the magazine to flesh out the universe; I'd love to see some of the better stories they put on the website in print - and that might happen, it just doesn't seem like a feature.

I couldn't imagine spending what it costs to get a subscription, there's just not enough content.