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Greetings Citizens!

I'm undecided in terms of the base situation. Although AoS seems to be going in the fashion of round bases, I'm not sure if I want to convert all of my square basers over into the new era. I know SCGT Tournaments make this a requirement, but do you feel that will be a Games Workshop ruling in the future as well?

Is it worth it to swap from square to circle?

It's worth it whatever. The models look better and pile in moves play smoother.

Even if I was to dig out 8th edition again (or KoW) I'd probably buy MDF regiment bases that fit circle rounds rather than keep them on squares.

Actually I've already finished rebasing my old Empire army.

I really hope we'll eventually get rounds and base-to-base measuring added into the rules.

Yeah, I've always preferred round bases, shows off the model better and makes it feel bigger. It also makes it easier to measure (lets be honest, everyone goes from the base anyway).

Just my opinion though. If you play equal amounts AOS and WHFB, sure, keep the square bases.

This is coming from someone who doesn't play because lack of players. So what do I know.

I say no don't base them if YOU don't want to. GW doesn't require it, only other geeks and nerds require it. Then again it's
"must play my way" and do you really want to play or associate with people who are like that?

Bottle brings up some good points that it might look nicer, but it only looks nicer to Bottle. How does it look to you? It's all personal opinion.

Until GW makes it mandatory to do so, I say don't bother. I don't think GW will do it. They always keep saying using the base that came with it. So if 40K minis came with square bases, perfectly legal to use.

So unless you have OCD and need everything "perfect" I say who cares. Square round, no big deal at all.

AoS probably won't be around a year from now, if you keep them on square bases you can always use them for KoW or 9th age.

hobojebus wrote:
AoS probably won't be around a year from now, if you keep them on square bases you can always use them for KoW or 9th age.

Is this like that GW was suppose to be bankrupt and no longer exist like over 15 years ago?

the rules basically (see what I did there) make bases irrelevant to game play, so its really how do you want it to look? if you like round, go round. If not, nothing in the rules says you have to.

Lady Atia's blog shows a discussion that they have big plans for AoS which will be implemented for 4-5 years.

(See the Sheriff of Nottingham's comment)
https://war-of-sigmar.herokuapp.com/bloggings/811#disqus_thread

So AoS isn't going anywhere for the time being.

@IronMaster, I'd say round bases as they look and operate better and they look ace on those round-base trays for rank battles.

8th and 9th age are the only square base games to actually worry about. Even KoW really doesn't care about square bases as it relies on tray size.

@Baron Klatz

Huh, KoW only cares about the sizes of the tray? Could you explain a little more. I haven't looked into it yet.

Indeed, the game only requires one of several tray sizes (regiment, horde, etc.) to place your models upon.

The models aren't removed nor actually count for anything gamewise besides showing what the unit is, so they're basically decoration. You could put a lone model on a large horde tray and play without any problems. (Though you should surround him with corpses and the like to show why he earned that tray. Immersive experience and all that. )

So you could play a round of KoW with AoS models and bases as long as you can fit them on the trays.

Would easily allow a fun large KoW battle to be fought followed by a AoS skirmish, or vice-versa.

Heroes and monsters in Kings of War do use their individual bases, so basing does matter for them.

But for units, yeah individual basing is completely irrelevant. That combined with the game's height system makes the physical characteristics of your models matter very little. I really like that, since it means the concept of modelling for advantage does not exist and using models from whatever manufacturer you want does not cause gameplay effects.

Just do what you want to do. If you don't feel like changing, just hold off for now and see what happens down the line.

I can't think of any fantasy games that actually require round bases. AoS doesn't yet, though obviously GW can change the rules whenever they like. Most other games use sabots to make movement quicker. For example, in Of Gods And Mortals, skrimish units are put on CD sized bases.

The big thing is that if you convert your troops to AoS size round bases, they will no longer fit a number of the other rule systems around, because most rules use a 20mm frontage not 32mm.

Bearing in mind that and the amount of work it will take to convert the troops, I would leave them on their square bases.

 Kilkrazy wrote:
I can't think of any fantasy games that actually require round bases. AoS doesn't yet, though obviously GW can change the rules whenever they like. Most other games use sabots to make movement quicker. For example, in Of Gods And Mortals, skrimish units are put on CD sized bases.

The big thing is that if you convert your troops to AoS size round bases, they will no longer fit a number of the other rule systems around, because most rules use a 20mm frontage not 32mm.

Bearing in mind that and the amount of work it will take to convert the troops, I would leave them on their square bases.

Of the big fantasy games, though, I can't actually think of any where it would matter.

Frostgrave: doesn't matter
Mordheim: I don't think it matters

Dragon Rampant: Doesn't matter
Kings of War: Doesn't matter, it's all done on unit base size, you can fit 10-12 round bases on a tray equivalent to 20 on 20mm squares and you're good to go
AoS: Doesn't matter.

There are, I'm sure, plenty of mor eobscure systems where it does come into play, but I'd say those above are the ones you're more likely to find players for without having to work to set up a community.

So it really comes down to aesthetics, and to me, round bases win that one by a mile every day and twice on Sundays!

Having a more extensive background in 40k, I do enjoy me some round bases.

That being said, I'm still trying to grow my dwarf army so any funds I'm able to procure I put towards models which is why I'm in the predicament I'm in. I was looking at the 25mm MDF thin ones I could maybe glue underneath the square bases to give my dwarves more height (HA!)

I'm just debating if that's a move I should do sooner rather than later.

 IronMaster wrote:
Having a more extensive background in 40k, I do enjoy me some round bases.

I am curious. Is it really "enjoy" round bases or just "use" to round bases?

I am going to myself simply because lots of people here use the base for measurement not the model. Its easier that way and the game runs smoother with less shenanigans about model placement

If I was playing I would use the base not the model, but I don't think it matters much if the base is round or square from that side of things.

The visual appeal of round bases is that it makes every individual figure look like a display piece. It also allows GW to make the figures larger, which allows more detail to be moulded on to them, and more dynamic poses.

Played a great game of AoS tonight. 100% on round bases. Pile in moves like a hot knife through butter.

The game does better for some reason when the models are all based the same, regardless that base doesnt matter.

 Bottle wrote:
Played a great game of AoS tonight. 100% on round bases. Pile in moves like a hot knife through butter.

Is that because of using the base edge to measure from?

Doesn't really matter. I use square bases for my Stormcast because I use street pavement plastic cards for their bases and it's waaaay easier to cut the plastic cards by following straight lines.

Since I measure from the miniature, using different bases is fine. That was the point of the rule, after all. Size of the base can be a trouble sometimes, but so far, it's mostly a question of personnal taste.

Of course people who did the work to rebase all their previous collection to round bases will say it looks awesome. That was the purpose of their work, after all. I think mine is cool as well, because that's my intent from the beginning. Also, I can use them for KoW.

You can play square vs round bases in AoS, no problem. Just follow the basic rules for measures and agree with your opponent with the occasionnal case happening in game, and you will be fine. It's not like it's a game for competitive tournaments, anyway.

OP when AOS was released I recall GW saying you can play AOS on round, square, rectangular, oval or hexagonal bases. So with a leniant stance like that, and given that base contact / measurement isn't part of the game mechanics, it would be quite change of tune if they decreed statutory base sizes. I'd say just use whatever suits you best, taking into consideration the game system(s) you intend on using the models in.

Round / oval bases: More stable, easier to place, better for sci-fi games and skirmish size games, looks better.
Square / rectangular bases: better for fantasy battle games that involve formations of troops.

 Kilkrazy wrote:

 Bottle wrote:
Played a great game of AoS tonight. 100% on round bases. Pile in moves like a hot knife through butter.

Is that because of using the base edge to measure from?

No, not particularly. I have found that square bases are really awkward for loose formations because of the diagonal corners. A 20mm square base has a bigger footprint diagonally than a 25mm round base has. The corners all hit eachother at horrible angles too. This is made much much worse during the pile-in phase in combat, where as round bases work like a dream in comparison.

 Bottle wrote:
[
No, not particularly. I have found that square bases are really awkward for loose formations because of the diagonal corners. A 20mm square base has a bigger footprint diagonally than a 25mm round base has. The corners all hit eachother at horrible angles too. This is made much much worse during the pile-in phase in combat, where as round bases work like a dream in comparison.

Just put them in old regimental way. You gain some place.

You can also just remove the bases or use the Frostgrave way; a very thin base, a bit like old Gorkamorka orks miniatures. Round bases then look like they devour a lot of space for no reason.

But like I say, it's really a question of personnal taste. It's not that important as a whole, the rules are made in such a way it really doesn't matter. For that, I'm quite happy how they wrote these, in the end.

Oh yes, I wouldn't stray away from round bases mainly because I like the way it looks. Secondly because pile in moves work well with round bases gliding against each other. But I also think it would be very easy to fall into "modelling for advantage" if I used something like thin tabs between legs. Imagine how many men I would have in range in combat!? I'm not sure most players would take kindly to that.

Always like the look of squares in formation trays but squares skirmishing is not too pleasant, in my opinion. Game feels much more natural on rounds and models look better.

 thegreatchimp wrote:
OP when AOS was released I recall GW saying you can play AOS on round, square, rectangular, oval or hexagonal bases. So with a leniant stance like that, and given that base contact / measurement isn't part of the game mechanics, it would be quite change of tune if they decreed statutory base sizes. I'd say just use whatever suits you best, taking into consideration the game system(s) you intend on using the models in.

Round / oval bases: More stable, easier to place, better for sci-fi games and skirmish size games, looks better.
Square / rectangular bases: better for fantasy battle games that involve formations of troops.

the base shape is not important because in the rule set you measure for the closest point on the model. often in games bases will overlap. the only reason for a base in AOS is so you mini will stand up. We house rule it to use bases for measurement.

As a modeler first and a gamer second, I love the round bases as it allows for much more in the way of scenic elements and allows for the designers to make models in more dynamic posing. To me it just overall looks a lot better. This is coming from a guy that has played Warhammer Fantasy for almost 20 years now. I was very reluctant at first but now that I am used to it I much prefer it.

 Bottle wrote:

 Kilkrazy wrote:

 Bottle wrote:
Played a great game of AoS tonight. 100% on round bases. Pile in moves like a hot knife through butter.

Is that because of using the base edge to measure from?

No, not particularly. I have found that square bases are really awkward for loose formations because of the diagonal corners. A 20mm square base has a bigger footprint diagonally than a 25mm round base has. The corners all hit eachother at horrible angles too. This is made much much worse during the pile-in phase in combat, where as round bases work like a dream in comparison.

I agree,AoS plays 100% better with rounds.Squares are just too unwieldy for pile in. Aesthetically squares look a mess on the board,rounds make the game visually more impressive.