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It would be nice to finally see updated jetbikes, though I imagine the excitement will quickly fade because at this point GW would probably sell them for $80 a box.

 Kriswall wrote:
1. It supports an environment where "fluff" releases with models are possible. Deathwatch 5 man box with HQ clampack? Add a dataslate and release. Genestealer Cult 5-10 man box with Magus clampack? Add a dataslate and release. Kroot Mercenaries new unit box with Shaper clampack? Add a dataslate and release. There is no reason to wait potentially years for the next Codex to come out.

Literally none of those have happened, and I can't think for a second what would make you think that any of them would.

 H.B.M.C. wrote:

 Kriswall wrote:
1. It supports an environment where "fluff" releases with models are possible. Deathwatch 5 man box with HQ clampack? Add a dataslate and release. Genestealer Cult 5-10 man box with Magus clampack? Add a dataslate and release. Kroot Mercenaries new unit box with Shaper clampack? Add a dataslate and release. There is no reason to wait potentially years for the next Codex to come out.

Literally none of those have happened, and I can't think for a second what would make you think that any of them would.

I didn't say any of them had happened. I said it SUPPORTS an environment where they could happen. The only option in the "olden days" was a White Dwarf release. You would still be spending the money on the White Dwarf, so the rules were never really free. The presentation was also generally not as polished, wasn't available in electronic form (which I consider a bonus) and was frequently out of print almost immediately as the White Dwarf mags sold out.

Anyone referring to "polished presentation" in the context of GW DLC hasn't experienced the eye molestation that is EPub Codexes IMO.

 Yodhrin wrote:

 Kriswall wrote:

 Absolutionis wrote:

 whembly wrote:
So... who else is hoping for a Dataslate for a Harlequin Formation?

Does anyone actually look forward to dataslates?

Here, I'll just make one up:

Harlequin Troupe. - +40 points
Buy a bunch of Harlequin boxed sets.
If you didn't buy them at a discount, they all get free Kisses.
If you buy 10 or more sets directly from Games Workshop, you get a the ability to field an Autarch with the Mantle of the Laughing God for 100points. No model for it, but you can call it a Solitaire.

You can feel free to run that dataslate for free. It'll be as balanced as GW's and just as much "fun". Enjoy your hobby.

I look forward to Dataslates.

I love the "DLC" model that GW has been doing lately. There are several reasons.

1. It supports an environment where "fluff" releases with models are possible. Deathwatch 5 man box with HQ clampack? Add a dataslate and release. Genestealer Cult 5-10 man box with Magus clampack? Add a dataslate and release. Kroot Mercenaries new unit box with Shaper clampack? Add a dataslate and release. There is no reason to wait potentially years for the next Codex to come out.

2. It supports an environment where not all releases and rules have to come in a Codex or White Dwarf. More sources means more rules means more ways to play. I like options. I like that Black Library can drop a random Dataslate on me. My friend is an Ork player. Getting the freebie Heroes of Sanctus Reach was really cool in that it had a named Flash Gitz unit with a relic gun for the "Sarge". This would never have happened under the old system.

3. It's cheaper if you don't want all of the rules. I don't play Eldar. Currently, if I want to play with Harlequin models, I have to buy a Codex and the requisite HQ and Troops Eldar unit "tax". I'm looking at $50 for the Codex and maybe ~$75-100 for models I'm not interested in plus the cost of the Harlequins. A Harlequin dataslate would allow me to pay, we'll say, $20 for a dataslate plus the cost of the models. Cheaper overall. Vindicare Assassins are another good example. I don't want to play Grey Knights, but I do want to play with an Assassin. Dataslate: Officio Assassinorum is cheaper than the old Codex: Grey Knights.

Ultimately, assuming you aren't the kind of person who needs to have ALL OF THE RULES, you now have more options, more quickly from more sources and for less money per option. If you are the kind of person who needs to have ALL OF THE RULES, be aware that you're looking at more than 1500 USD. If this is too much, find another hobby?

Which would be lovely, if they weren't also using the system to release stuff which could and should have been part of a codex. Further, if you wander back into the distant misty past of the early oughts, the sort of thing you're describing would pop up in White Dwarf, or even *shock-horror* for free on their website. This isn't about people who have to have "ALL OF THE RULES", it's about people being annoyed they're often now being asked to pay for a more expensive Codex, a more expensive Supplement, AND multiple Dataslates/White Dwarfs, sometimes not even just to have all the rules for the faction they play but simply to continue playing their army in the same style.

If this was simply a matter of GW releasing random fluff-based units, characters, and allies then you'd have a point, but it's not and you know that perfectly well.

It is extremely rare to require purchase of new materials to continuing playing an army (excluding a codex or rules edition release). I'm not even sure I can think of a recent example.

The system is designed so that new content can be introduced between codices for a faction. I like this, and I don't see how someone can imagine what units are going to be dropped into the game in the future. I certainly don't want to wait two years or or more for my faction of choice for new releases -- that's just the world we live in now.

I get that you would prefer dataslates on new units be given for free, or included with the unit. With GW, often, the stats can be found in White Dwarfs; in any case, if you want the stats and don't want to pay money, there are many, many ways to accomplish this.

 Kirasu wrote:
As many many other threads have said, the main issue is that aspect warriors can't do dual kits

I don't buy this - Hawks and Banshees could easily be a dual kit. With a bit of creative thinking Scorpions and Dragons could be another. Spiders and Reapers is pretty feasible too.

 Yodhrin wrote:
Which would be lovely, if they weren't also using the system to release stuff which could and should have been part of a codex.

This is where I actually start to feel sorry for GW.

Update codexes with a overhaul + large release every 4-6 years = "My faction hasn't been updated for ages, why do you hate me GW?!?!?"
Smaller releases alongside codexes with subsequent releases/updates to keep things fresh = "That should have been in the codex! GW are screwing us!"
Brand new codex for every race every year = "I just bought that codex and now it's useless after a few months, **** you GW"

They literally cannot win.

 Flashman wrote:

 Kirasu wrote:
As many many other threads have said, the main issue is that aspect warriors can't do dual kits

I don't buy this - Hawks and Banshees could easily be a dual kit. With a bit of creative thinking Scorpions and Dragons could be another. Spiders and Reapers is pretty feasible too.

Honestly, all of them could be a single huge kit if someone were so inclined and they got creative with posing and base litter to accompany it.

 xttz wrote:

 Yodhrin wrote:
Which would be lovely, if they weren't also using the system to release stuff which could and should have been part of a codex.

This is where I actually start to feel sorry for GW.

Update codexes with a overhaul + large release every 4-6 years = "My faction hasn't been updated for ages, why do you hate me GW?!?!?"
Smaller releases alongside codexes with subsequent releases/updates to keep things fresh = "That should have been in the codex! GW are screwing us!"
Brand new codex for every race every year = "I just bought that codex and now it's useless after a few months, **** you GW"

They literally cannot win.

Poppycock. GW "can't win" because every new rules release seems to try to bleed you for every dollar they can possibly extract. Looking at stuff like the digital Inquisitor codex for $25 and it reminds me of another user's comparison to the digital products having "gold-plated electrons." The special hard cover-bound books are an even worse.

As soon as they get their rules pricing under control, then GW will easily "win."

 Flashman wrote:

 Kirasu wrote:
As many many other threads have said, the main issue is that aspect warriors can't do dual kits

I don't buy this - Hawks and Banshees could easily be a dual kit. With a bit of creative thinking Scorpions and Dragons could be another. Spiders and Reapers is pretty feasible too.

Hawks and banshees have totally different wargear and current poses.. The current models are great, they're just expensive. If the option for making them plastic is to make them all look generic to one another then I'm going to pass. Banshees are running in their poses usually where as hawks are flying, not to mention the pistol holsters on the banshees.

So .. yeah they could be a dual kit except for the different arms, different torsos, different heads, backpacks, leg poses.. Thats the problem with Aspect warriors. Even Space marines which are basically all the same base model have a staggering number of different kits.

I really hope this is true.

I love Harlies and plastic models are right up there with plastic sob and Arbites for me (hey a man can dream right? ) Every since 6th hit with the BB ally system with DE an CE I have been working on a counts as Harlequin army. I was a bit hopeful after they were not in the DE codex that GW would release a dataslate/supplement etc. I didn't think they would release plastic kits much less new stuff so if this turns out to be true I am going to be one happy fabulously dressed death dealing murder clown

 Accolade wrote:

 xttz wrote:

 Yodhrin wrote:
Which would be lovely, if they weren't also using the system to release stuff which could and should have been part of a codex.

This is where I actually start to feel sorry for GW.

Update codexes with a overhaul + large release every 4-6 years = "My faction hasn't been updated for ages, why do you hate me GW?!?!?"
Smaller releases alongside codexes with subsequent releases/updates to keep things fresh = "That should have been in the codex! GW are screwing us!"
Brand new codex for every race every year = "I just bought that codex and now it's useless after a few months, **** you GW"

They literally cannot win.

Poppycock. GW "can't win" because every new rules release seems to try to bleed you for every dollar they can possibly extract. Looking at stuff like the digital Inquisitor codex for $25 and it reminds me of another user's comparison to the digital products having "gold-plated electrons." The special hard cover-bound books are an even worse.

As soon as they get their rules pricing under control, then GW will easily "win."

Awesome point, aside from the fact that you quoted a post talking about the recent improvement in the release cycle to mention some random gripe about the price of a something released last year. Next time I'm posting in the Tyranid tactics thread I'll be sure to watch out for your insightful points on how to best to use Land Raiders.

That aside, my wallet is still bleeding from those recent Toxicrene and Zoanthrope rules releases. Man were they expensive.

 Azreal13 wrote:
Anyone referring to "polished presentation" in the context of GW DLC hasn't experienced the eye molestation that is EPub Codexes IMO.

Well, that has more to do with the constraints of the ePub format. It's basically one long HTML file with in-line images. The "eye molestation" has more to do with the eBook application you're using and less to do with the ePub itself. ePubs have higher resolution images than a White Dwarf and the text can be copy/pasted and the font can be changed.

I prefer the ePubs because they're easier to work with. You can change the [whatever filename].epub to [whatever filename].zip and Unzip the file. This leaves you with folders of HTML files and images. I can then copy and paste and do whatever I want with the files. This can't be done with the physical codex or the iBooks Interactive Editions.

Fancy layout is more or less impossible with an ePub as the author doesn't know the font, font size, page size, margin size, etc. These factors are all controlled by the reader. If you're a savvy eBook user, then you can make a really nice layout for yourself.

 Azreal13 wrote:
Anyone referring to "polished presentation" in the context of GW DLC hasn't experienced the eye molestation that is EPub Codexes IMO.

Indeed, the e-pubs look fething terrible. Maybe the products for Apple devices look better, I dunno, but I'm not an Apple guy and never will be. People can laugh all they want about how I refuse to "embrace the digital age" but I still very much prefer physical rulebooks for tabletop gaming, and those few e-pubs I've bought from GW have only strengthened that preference.

 xttz wrote:
That aside, my wallet is still bleeding from those recent Toxicrene and Zoanthrope rules releases. Man were they expensive.

Good point. Although personally, I would argue that those are the exception, not the rule.

And while it's surprising to me that they didn't, they could have very easily made the Shield of Baal supplement the only source for the new rules, and if the entire release hadn't caught most people off guard in the first place, it would have been expected.

 Kriswall wrote:

 Azreal13 wrote:
Anyone referring to "polished presentation" in the context of GW DLC hasn't experienced the eye molestation that is EPub Codexes IMO.

Well, that has more to do with the constraints of the ePub format. It's basically one long HTML file with in-line images. The "eye molestation" has more to do with the eBook application you're using and less to do with the ePub itself. ePubs have higher resolution images than a White Dwarf and the text can be copy/pasted and the font can be changed.

I prefer the ePubs because they're easier to work with. You can change the [whatever filename].epub to [whatever filename].zip and Unzip the file. This leaves you with folders of HTML files and images. I can then copy and paste and do whatever I want with the files. This can't be done with the physical codex or the iBooks Interactive Editions.

Fancy layout is more or less impossible with an ePub as the author doesn't know the font, font size, page size, margin size, etc. These factors are all controlled by the reader. If you're a savvy eBook user, then you can make a really nice layout for yourself.

Oh! Right! So I pay for the thing and then spend time and effort making it better?

I might glue little pieces of plastic together and paint them for a pastime, but I'm not prepared to do the same for my rules! If it isn't possible to make a decent product within the constraints of the method they're using, then they've chosen the wrong method. If it isn't possible to make a decent product within the constraints of the technology available, then now isn't the time to be producing those things.

The iBooks versions are better, but seeing as they carry a premium, it would be pretty inexcusable if they didn't show an improvement.

I've also tried multiple e-readers on different platforms, and the files still all look like gak, so I'm dubious whether it would make any difference.

As much as I agree that, in principle, a digital platform does allow for a more flexible approach to rules, it has, in the main, been yet another "great idea, fethed up the execution" affair from GW. Putting aside the presentation, let's not forget they've also failed to update the DLC at the same rate as other formats, leading to two, or even three, official publications in existence with different rules versions.

Digital releases would be an awesome thing in the hands of a company that wanted to drive success by making a quality product, but in the hands of GW circa 2014 it just seems to be used as a way of further driving revenue out of the loyal customers and cutting independent retailers out of the loop. Rather than being celebrated for promoting diversity and variety in the game, it attracts criticism for fragmentation and money grabbing. Now, some of that will be a product of GW's already poor image in many people's eyes, but when mainstays of past codexes disappear from the core book and then pop up as DLC shortly after in some form or another, it is difficult to not see that criticism as partially justify.

Now, to bring all that back on topic, I'm not an Eldar player, but as a 40K fan, I think the game is better with Harlequins in it, even if they're not good in game, they're an iconic piece of the background, and a plastic kit assures us they'll remain around for a good while and not be marginalised and phased out when nobody's looking, but I'd much prefer if there was at least an option of a physical book.

 Azreal13 wrote:

 Kriswall wrote:

 Azreal13 wrote:
Anyone referring to "polished presentation" in the context of GW DLC hasn't experienced the eye molestation that is EPub Codexes IMO.

Well, that has more to do with the constraints of the ePub format. It's basically one long HTML file with in-line images. The "eye molestation" has more to do with the eBook application you're using and less to do with the ePub itself. ePubs have higher resolution images than a White Dwarf and the text can be copy/pasted and the font can be changed.

I prefer the ePubs because they're easier to work with. You can change the [whatever filename].epub to [whatever filename].zip and Unzip the file. This leaves you with folders of HTML files and images. I can then copy and paste and do whatever I want with the files. This can't be done with the physical codex or the iBooks Interactive Editions.

Fancy layout is more or less impossible with an ePub as the author doesn't know the font, font size, page size, margin size, etc. These factors are all controlled by the reader. If you're a savvy eBook user, then you can make a really nice layout for yourself.

Oh! Right! So I pay for the thing and then spend time and effort making it better?

I might glue little pieces of plastic together and paint them for a pastime, but I'm not prepared to do the same for my rules! If it isn't possible to make a decent product within the constraints of the method they're using, then they've chosen the wrong method. If it isn't possible to make a decent product within the constraints of the technology available, then now isn't the time to be producing those things.

The iBooks versions are better, but seeing as they carry a premium, it would be pretty inexcusable if they didn't show an improvement.

I've also tried multiple e-readers on different platforms, and the files still all look like gak, so I'm dubious whether it would make any difference.

As much as I agree that, in principle, a digital platform does allow for a more flexible approach to rules, it has, in the main, been yet another "great idea, fethed up the execution" affair from GW. Putting aside the presentation, let's not forget they've also failed to update the DLC at the same rate as other formats, leading to two, or even three, official publications in existence with different rules versions.

Digital releases would be an awesome thing in the hands of a company that wanted to drive success by making a quality product, but in the hands of GW circa 2014 it just seems to be used as a way of further driving revenue out of the loyal customers and cutting independent retailers out of the loop. Rather than being celebrated for promoting diversity and variety in the game, it attracts criticism for fragmentation and money grabbing. Now, some of that will be a product of GW's already poor image in many people's eyes, but when mainstays of past codexes disappear from the core book and then pop up as DLC shortly after in some form or another, it is difficult to not see that criticism as partially justify.

Now, to bring all that back on topic, I'm not an Eldar player, but as a 40K fan, I think the game is better with Harlequins in it, even if they're not good in game, they're an iconic piece of the background, and a plastic kit assures us they'll remain around for a good while and not be marginalised and phased out when nobody's looking, but I'd much prefer if there was at least an option of a physical book.

To each his own. I don't like paying for the hard back, embossed cover, glossy paper, full color monstrosities that GW has been publishing lately. I just want the text of the rules. ePubs give me that. ePubs are also the cheapest option available.

My hobby extends to the rules. I like to "mix and match" and make custom Codexes using the standard rules and pictures for my ally heavy armies. If you're hobby doesn't extend to the rules and background, that's fine... but it doesn't invalidate my enjoyment.

There are vast groups of gamers who find the idea of buying a game and THEN having to assemble the pieces to be utterly ridiculous. How much we're willing to do is a sliding scale.

Do you know what else wouldn't invalidate your enjoyment?

Digital format books that didn't look like gak.

It would make things nicer for the rest of us though!

 Azreal13 wrote:
Do you know what else wouldn't invalidate your enjoyment?

Digital format books that didn't look like gak.

It would make things nicer for the rest of us though!

It's a limitation of the ePub format. If you want nicer digital format for the major releases, buy an iPad. I bought one. I consider it a hobby expense and spent several months worth of hobby budget on it. If you can afford GW products, you can easily afford a low end iPad. They start as low as 249 USD.

I recognize that different people enjoy different things and have different aesthetic values. I would appreciate if you did the same. The eBooks look bad TO YOU. They don't look bad TO ME. And based on the fact that Black Library is selling a ton of them... others must not mind either.

To bring things back on topic...

If a plastic Harlequin box IS in the cards, I hope the go the route of the smaller Codexes like Legion of the Damned and offer a limited detachment. I'd hate to have to take these guys in rigidly laid out Formations.

 xttz wrote:

 Accolade wrote:

 xttz wrote:

 Yodhrin wrote:
Which would be lovely, if they weren't also using the system to release stuff which could and should have been part of a codex.

This is where I actually start to feel sorry for GW.

Update codexes with a overhaul + large release every 4-6 years = "My faction hasn't been updated for ages, why do you hate me GW?!?!?"
Smaller releases alongside codexes with subsequent releases/updates to keep things fresh = "That should have been in the codex! GW are screwing us!"
Brand new codex for every race every year = "I just bought that codex and now it's useless after a few months, **** you GW"

They literally cannot win.

Poppycock. GW "can't win" because every new rules release seems to try to bleed you for every dollar they can possibly extract. Looking at stuff like the digital Inquisitor codex for $25 and it reminds me of another user's comparison to the digital products having "gold-plated electrons." The special hard cover-bound books are an even worse.

As soon as they get their rules pricing under control, then GW will easily "win."

Awesome point, aside from the fact that you quoted a post talking about the recent improvement in the release cycle to mention some random gripe about the price of a something released last year. Next time I'm posting in the Tyranid tactics thread I'll be sure to watch out for your insightful points on how to best to use Land Raiders.

That aside, my wallet is still bleeding from those recent Toxicrene and Zoanthrope rules releases. Man were they expensive.

Good job entirely missing the point- I was trying to be pleasant with the "poppycock" comment, but it seems like Tom Kirby is your close uncle for feeling the need to attack me personally.

As Sidstyer pointed out, the free unit rules have generally been the exception; almost all of them cost a lot for what minimal rule content they contain. Nobody complained about these free rule releases- it was a universally praised idea and was hoped to be a trend. But with GW, sale strategy changes constantly and there is little consistency with releases. The free rules for the new units are contrasted against the dataslates that together cost as much as the Tyranid book itself.

Furthermore, I think it would have been very hard for GW to sell dataslates for these brand-new kits. Most of the time dataslates represent rules for already existing models, since you theoretically just need to buy the rules (or feel obligated since you have the kits).

GW can win. Their business decisions just prevent that from happening as much as it could.

I own an iPad.

I appreciate people have different aesthetic values and enjoy different things, but I would like you to appreciate that your interests are niche within niche and for most people the epubs are unattractive and clunky to use.

I would be interested to see where you got your info about BL selling a lot of them, because I've not seen any breakdown detailing the unit sales, and last I checked BL were a comparatively minor contributor to GW's overall revenue, which itself is declining.

 Azreal13 wrote:
I would be interested to see where you got your info about BL selling a lot of them, because I've not seen any breakdown detailing the unit sales, and last I checked BL were a comparatively minor contributor to GW's overall revenue, which itself is declining.

FW and BL combined make up 9% of GW's revenue. There are no more detailed numbers available.

Dear Sirs, could we keep this kind of offtopic discussion about DLC and GW's new approach to releasing rules out off this topic? Please As soon as there are WD leaks everyone can decide if he prints those out, or buys the mag, or buys a not yet rumored book or downloads the rules from the BL website and prints them. You can also keep all those files on a tablet/phone and take them with you

Nice one

 Kriswall wrote:

 Azreal13 wrote:
Do you know what else wouldn't invalidate your enjoyment?

Digital format books that didn't look like gak.

It would make things nicer for the rest of us though!

It's a limitation of the ePub format. If you want nicer digital format for the major releases, buy an iPad. I bought one. I consider it a hobby expense and spent several months worth of hobby budget on it. If you can afford GW products, you can easily afford a low end iPad. They start as low as 249 USD.

I recognize that different people enjoy different things and have different aesthetic values. I would appreciate if you did the same. The eBooks look bad TO YOU. They don't look bad TO ME. And based on the fact that Black Library is selling a ton of them... others must not mind either.

To bring things back on topic...

If a plastic Harlequin box IS in the cards, I hope the go the route of the smaller Codexes like Legion of the Damned and offer a limited detachment. I'd hate to have to take these guys in rigidly laid out Formations.

Sorry, no, that's not an excuse. If the ePub format is gak(and it is gak), the solution is not to tell the customer(who you supposedly want to spend their money on your products) to go out and buy some overpriced electronics device, it's to use a better format.

GW could easily provide the non-iPish digital products in PDF format by simply exporting from the digital files they send to their printers to create the physical copies, they choose not to.

PDFs tend to look like absolutely unreadable garbage on an average electronic ink eBook reader. They look great on computers and tablets, but terrible on eBook readers.

 Kirasu wrote:

 Flashman wrote:

 Kirasu wrote:
As many many other threads have said, the main issue is that aspect warriors can't do dual kits

I don't buy this - Hawks and Banshees could easily be a dual kit. With a bit of creative thinking Scorpions and Dragons could be another. Spiders and Reapers is pretty feasible too.

Hawks and banshees have totally different wargear and current poses.. The current models are great, they're just expensive. If the option for making them plastic is to make them all look generic to one another then I'm going to pass. Banshees are running in their poses usually where as hawks are flying, not to mention the pistol holsters on the banshees.

So .. yeah they could be a dual kit except for the different arms, different torsos, different heads, backpacks, leg poses.. Thats the problem with Aspect warriors. Even Space marines which are basically all the same base model have a staggering number of different kits.

Basically that's what they would be, not unlike the Sisters of Avelorn/ Shadow Warriors box. one box two very different looking units. i dont care if 2 different aspects have the same legs.

As for harlequin im sure a plastic kit will look great, but I wont get them. Seems like a high cost outlay (cad/molds) for a very specialized unit when aspect warriors will always sell. I would have much rather had plastic aspect warriors.

 Kriswall wrote:
PDFs tend to look like absolutely unreadable garbage on an average electronic ink eBook reader. They look great on computers and tablets, but terrible on eBook readers.

Why on earth would you be using an ebook reader, a device designed explicitly to display text-only documents in the same style as a paper novel, to view a supposedly-high res rulebook full of pictures? Anyway, "buy a tablet then, sheesh " was good enough advice when you were giving it, now suddenly GW should be catering to people to the extent they should use an inferior product just in case someone wants to view it on a completely inappropriate device?

 xttz wrote:

 Yodhrin wrote:
Which would be lovely, if they weren't also using the system to release stuff which could and should have been part of a codex.

This is where I actually start to feel sorry for GW.

Update codexes with a overhaul + large release every 4-6 years = "My faction hasn't been updated for ages, why do you hate me GW?!?!?"
Smaller releases alongside codexes with subsequent releases/updates to keep things fresh = "That should have been in the codex! GW are screwing us!"
Brand new codex for every race every year = "I just bought that codex and now it's useless after a few months, **** you GW"

They literally cannot win.

The reason they can't win is because they don't put the effort in to actually releasing balanced rules for a reasonable price.

"My faction hasn't been updated for ages, why do you hate me GW?!?!?"

People are unhappy their codices haven't been updated because if you get a crap codex then you're stuck with it agggges, even a good codex usually doesn't stand the test of time and will be outclassed or unbalanced when new editions roll around.

"That should have been in the codex! GW are screwing us!"

Wouldn't be a problem if new codices were more than overpriced rewrites, often with things removed.

"I just bought that codex and now it's useless after a few months, **** you GW"

Wouldn't be a problem if the codices were more reasonably priced.

GW can win, they just can't win when every approach they can take comes with a spoonful of anti-customer excrement.

Games Workshop could make this a multi-troop box set. It would depend on how far back into the rules and fluff they want to go. Back in the Citadel Journal #44 (2001) there were rules for mimes and there leader a mimic.

“Mimes have a specialized role with the Masque. As scouts and infiltrators they race ahead of a Harlequin force, flipping and skipping, setting ambushes and harrying the enemy.
They are also spies and information gathers, using their formidable skills in disguise and mimicry to infiltrate into enemy garrisons and command bunkers to steal valuable information on enemy troop movements and deployments.”

The other thing is how they want to do the characters. Will they be released as separate clamshell packs or as individual parts on the sprue. The Shadowseer, Great Harlequin, and Solitaire (if he finds his way back to the troupe) I would like to see as clam packs. The Death Jesters, Warlocks, troupe, and troupe leaders I think should be on a multi-part sprue.

It would be nice if there was going to be a new jet bike, but I think they will put upgrade parts on the sprue (like in the new wracks) for one of the two bikes, venom, and maybe the viper. Although if they did do a new bike they could have enough parts for craftworld, harlequin, and shining spear.

This is all assuming that they will make the harlequins a standalone army list.