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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2019/10/18 23:33:30
Subject: A crazy thought that might actually be good: let's kill Craftworld Eldars
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Longtime Dakkanaut
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As a faction Craftworld Eldars, the very first army I collected, is pretty much stuck in a dead end both in terms of fluff and in terms of models. Their line is so bloated there is pretty much no space for the line to grow without falling prey to the Starbuck problem. With the arrival of the Ynnari in fluff and in model plus a campaign featuring them unraveling, I propose a bold project to your consideration. What if GW was to kill the faction and replace it by something a bit different that allows for a certain growth without throwing all the old models in the garbage like they are doing with the Space Marines who suffered from the same dead end problem. Here's what I would have envisionned.
As the cult of Ynnead grows in the various Craftworlds and even in certain corners of Commoragh, Eldar society falls into inner conflict with most Craftworld rejecting their old way and the Path as defined by Asurmen and others and join the cult of Ynnead as led by both Eldrad and Yvraine. The more conservative elements of Eldar society, those who want to hold on to the Path of the Eldar, self-exile themselves on Exodite and Maiden world to keep on doing what they were basically doing while Craftworld changes to become the bastion of Ynnead. The temple of Khaine is removed and exchanged for a temple to the God of the Dead. Their fear of Slaanesh is abated by the presence of this growing divinity who only needs more Eldars joined in the Infinity Circuit to ascend to full power and save their race from doom. Let's call this event the Sundering.
In effect what that means is a split in the current Craftworld Eldar model line. Models typical of the Path of the Eldar, in other words Aspect Warriors, are now their own faction with Phoenix Lords as their Special Character and some sort of Greater Exarch as their leader with the Avatar of Khaine. These models are joined by GW first Exodite Eldar models who replace Guardians, psykers and the entire vehicle line with their own. So basic sword weilding warriors, rangers/snipers in range combat, World Singer as psykers, dragons and other dinosaur-like monsters as vehicles and heavy support. The faction is renamed the Children of Khaine. The idea is to produce Exodite, which would be useless bloat in the current Craftworld faction, and give Aspect Warriors less competition from Wraith Units all the while providing a bit of space for new Aspect Warriors to take their place.
Ynnari on their side retain the Guardians and the traditionnal vehicle pool of the Craftworld as well, of course, the Wraith Units, which are pretty much their signature units. With the Aspect Warriors gone, new wraith units can be invented to fill their spot as well as bringing some Corsair-like units to represent their more elite soldiers and specialised Warlock/Spiritseer. Wytch-like models can also be added to give them something that calls to Commoragh without being pure Wytches (and maybe throw in a converted Lelith as a Special Character for themThus, the Ynnari gain their own identity instead of being just a soup of Eldars with three characters in the center of it (a terrible idea dragged from the last days of Warhammer Fantasy).
Dark Eldars, having much more room for expension without getting completely bloated remain as they are with the potential future of splitting them between Kabal+Wytch Cult vs Covens+Mandrake/sub-realm shadow monsters.
Of course, that's just some wish list, but I personnaly don't see a bright future for the Craftworld faction. I think they will inevitably suffer the same fate in a way or another then the Space Marines. Do you agree about the future of this faction? Is there another whome you would see being split or rebooted (hard or soft style) in the near future? How do you think GW should handle the rejuvenation of its model lines?
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2019/10/18 23:50:35
Subject: A crazy thought that might actually be good: let's kill Craftworld Eldars
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Morphing Obliterator
The Void
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Aspect Warriors are just starting to get redone, and are getting a massive rules overhaul in Phoenix Rising, so Craftworld's future is looking pretty bright. I'd rather have them than Ynnari.
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This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/10/18 23:51:10
Always 1 on the crazed roll. |
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2019/10/19 00:03:01
Subject: A crazy thought that might actually be good: let's kill Craftworld Eldars
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Fixture of Dakka
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epronovost wrote:As a faction Craftworld Eldars, the very first army I collected, is pretty much stuck in a dead end both in terms of fluff and in terms of models. Their line is so bloated there is pretty much no space for the line to grow without falling prey to the Starbuck problem. With the arrival of the Ynnari in fluff and in model plus a campaign featuring them unraveling, I propose a bold project to your consideration. What if GW was to kill the faction and replace it by something a bit different that allows for a certain growth without throwing all the old models in the garbage like they are doing with the Space Marines who suffered from the same dead end problem. Here's what I would have envisionned.
As the cult of Ynnead grows in the various Craftworlds and even in certain corners of Commoragh, Eldar society falls into inner conflict with most Craftworld rejecting their old way and the Path as defined by Asurmen and others and join the cult of Ynnead as led by both Eldrad and Yvraine.
That's basically the canonical state of affairs at present.
The more conservative elements of Eldar society, those who want to hold on to the Path of the Eldar, self-exile themselves on Exodite and Maiden world to keep on doing what they were basically doing while Craftworld changes to become the bastion of Ynnead. The temple of Khaine is removed and exchanged for a temple to the God of the Dead.
This raises fluff problems for me. I find it hard to believe that the more conservative elements of a given craftworld would hand over their ancestral home, a ship containing grandma's soul and all their stuff, to what they perceive to be a radical faction of suicidal fools. Plus, exodite life is set up to be intentionally difficult and technology-eschewing enough to make a lot of paths difficult to follow in that sort of setting. It's hard to focus on devoting your every waking hour to the path of the poet when you no longer have climate controlled agricultural facilities and all the local wildlife keeps trying to eat you.
Eschewing Khaine feels a bit odd. While many ynnari seem to see Ynnead as a way of avoiding becoming lost to Khaine, they also tend to be hot-blooded revolutionaries ready for action. In other words, tons of ynnari are themselves aspect warriors. Plus, there's the fact that Yvraine's right-hand man shapeshifts into an avatar of Khaine from time to time.
Their fear of Slaanesh is abated by the presence of this growing divinity who only needs more Eldars joined in the Infinity Circuit to ascend to full power and save their race from doom. Let's call this event the Sundering.
Except now a lot fewer eldar are getting tossed in the infinity circuit because you kicked out most of the guys who use spirit stones. I guess getting absorbed by a maiden world's world spirit would maybe count?
In effect what that means is a split in the current Craftworld Eldar model line. Models typical of the Path of the Eldar, in other words Aspect Warriors, are now their own faction with Phoenix Lords as their Special Character and some sort of Greater Exarch as their leader with the Avatar of Khaine. These models are joined by GW first Exodite Eldar models who replace Guardians, psykers and the entire vehicle line with their own. So basic sword weilding warriors, rangers/snipers in range combat, World Singer as psykers, dragons and other dinosaur-like monsters as vehicles and heavy support. The faction is renamed the Children of Khaine. The idea is to produce Exodite, which would be useless bloat in the current Craftworld faction, and give Aspect Warriors less competition from Wraith Units all the while providing a bit of space for new Aspect Warriors to take their place.
Ynnari on their side retain the Guardians and the traditionnal vehicle pool of the Craftworld as well, of course, the Wraith Units, which are pretty much their signature units. With the Aspect Warriors gone, new wraith units can be invented to fill their spot as well as bringing some Corsair-like units to represent their more elite soldiers and specialised Warlock/Spiritseer. Wytch-like models can also be added to give them something that calls to Commoragh without being pure Wytches (and maybe throw in a converted Lelith as a Special Character for themThus, the Ynnari gain their own identity instead of being just a soup of Eldars with three characters in the center of it (a terrible idea dragged from the last days of Warhammer Fantasy).
The unit divisions you've presented feel kind of odd to me. Phoenix lords that have actively saved Yvraine's bacon don't opt to join her side. The farseers that kicked Eldrad off of Ulthwe do. Wraith Lords, which are frequently exarchs without armor to jump into, end up joining ynnari even though other exarchs don't. The more conservative craftworlders who were maybe really into the paths of service or poetry are suddenly "Children of Khaine". Those conservatives on the path of the bonesinger stop making the vehicles they've been using for millenia. And exodites, whose whole way of life revolves around avoiding the use of too much advanced tech, are suddenly highly integrated with the technological marvels of the craftworlders.
I'm all for getting exodite rules, but this seems like a weird way to do it. Sounds like a fun backstory for your own personal craftworld though. I really can't see this being a widespread movement for craftworlders at large, but maybe it happens once on one specific craftworld.
Of course, that's just some wish list, but I personnaly don't see a bright future for the Craftworld faction. I think they will inevitably suffer the same fate in a way or another then the Space Marines. Do you agree about the future of this faction? Is there another whome you would see being split or rebooted (hard or soft style) in the near future? How do you think GW should handle the rejuvenation of its model lines?
I think the eldar model line will be just fine for the forseeable future. We're just now getting plastic banshees, and most of our model line is ancient. All they have to do is keep pumping out new sculpts for anything still in finecast. If they did two aspect warrior releases a year, that alone would keep them busy for the next several years. They could start updating some of the plastic-but-older models at some point too. Basically, most of our line is old enough that they can just release updated versions of the existing stuff without having to add a bunch of new units.
Also, they're including ynnari-specific bits in the banshee box. If they do that with other kits, they could eventually release ynnari-specific datasheets for units built using the same kits. Instead of banshees, stick a certain head or kneepad on your models to build "Shriekers of Ynnead". Functionally, they'd be expanding a new faction (ynnari) without bloating the model range of an existing one (craftworlders).
So not to yuck your yum, but I don't think there's really a model-based reason to start wiping out the craftworlders, and I'm not in a hurry to see them ditch the craftworld lore either. The ynnari have created a bunch of interesting story hooks should they decide to change craftworld life in some way, and I'd rather see them slow burn that than turn everyone into pseudo-daughters of Khaine overnight.
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ATTENTION. Psychic tests are unfluffy. Your longing for AV is understandable but misguided. Your chapter doesn't need a separate codex. Doctrines should go away. Being a "troop" means nothing. This has been a cranky service announcement. You may now resume your regularly scheduled arguing.
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2019/10/19 00:06:01
Subject: Re:A crazy thought that might actually be good: let's kill Craftworld Eldars
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Commander of the Mysterious 2nd Legion
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Yeah no, let's not remove an army people are passionate fans of. Howling Banshee's just got a plastic revamp, and TBH the fact that they're in a boxed set exclusive is, POTENTIALLY a good sign, it could mean a meatier eldar release in the future alongside a revamped codex.
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Opinions are not facts please don't confuse the two |
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2019/10/19 00:14:24
Subject: A crazy thought that might actually be good: let's kill Craftworld Eldars
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Ultramarine Chaplain with Hate to Spare
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That's a terrible idea. @OP.
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2019/10/19 00:22:14
Subject: A crazy thought that might actually be good: let's kill Craftworld Eldars
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Longtime Dakkanaut
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The eldar are stuck in a dead end not just because of lore. They've kind of languished away with little love kit wise but they get lots of love rules wise.
Getting rid of any army is a poop idea.
If the army is languishing that is GWs problem for limited support, not because their lore paints them into a corner.
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2019/10/19 00:28:21
Subject: Re:A crazy thought that might actually be good: let's kill Craftworld Eldars
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Longtime Dakkanaut
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The issue is the backlog of models to be updated and the limitations of GW. For example, when the Wraithknight was first introduced, I recall Jes Goodwin giving an interview where he said he was given a choice between releasing something new (Wraithknight) or updating something old (I think it was jetbikes). He chose to do something new.
While that makes sense from both an artistic perspective (doing something new and creative vs. redoing older work) and business perspective (new model can be hyped for sales), it adds to the backlog. I don't support the idea of scrapping Craftworld Eldar since they are I think the most popular xenos army, or at least up there, but I admit I am doubtful how GW is going to solve this backlog problem. Either they keep up a really constant trickle of updated releases or they would have to do all the updating in the next big wave. I could see people complaining either way, of either "Why do the Craftworld Eldar keep getting something every time?" or "Boring and uncreative! Nothing new here except updated old models!"
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2019/10/19 00:36:30
Subject: A crazy thought that might actually be good: let's kill Craftworld Eldars
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Longtime Dakkanaut
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AngryAngel80 wrote:The eldar are stuck in a dead end not just because of lore. They've kind of languished away with little love kit wise but they get lots of love rules wise.
Getting rid of any army is a poop idea.
If the army is languishing that is GWs problem for limited support, not because their lore paints them into a corner.
In my opinion, they are languishing because they have no where to go afterward. The only thing that could be done for Craftworld Eldars is to remake Aspect Warriors and once this is done, maybe remake some the older tanks like the Vyper and the classic Falcon. Then it's pretty much over and these aren't really attractive updates from a sell point of view, especially remake of old popular units which pretty much all Eldar players have in good quantity. It takes time for these new kit to sell in large amounts unlike new units which usually disapear off the shelves much faster. Ideally, you want new stuff mixed in with remakes to move your line forward. Craftworld can't really do that anymore.
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This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/10/19 00:39:01
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2019/10/19 00:42:28
Subject: A crazy thought that might actually be good: let's kill Craftworld Eldars
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Longtime Dakkanaut
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The IoM has been dying for how long now ? Don't know how to make new tech, living in the dark age. Yet, here they are with fresh new stuff pumping out every few weeks. New tech and updates over and over.
Eldar have plenty of places to go, they just aren't marines so they get very limited new model support. I mean how long has it been since their last new model drop ? Long time, well not counting the upcoming updated models.
How long has it been since marines got new models ? Rarely goes longer than a few weeks these days. I'm not bashing marines for that, but if you only have limited kits you can make, and marines get like 75% of them, you do the math.
GW are why Eldar are so static, they have plenty of room to grow just the will or ability to grow them isn't there for the company.
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2019/10/19 00:47:38
Subject: A crazy thought that might actually be good: let's kill Craftworld Eldars
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Commander of the Mysterious 2nd Legion
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epronovost wrote:AngryAngel80 wrote:The eldar are stuck in a dead end not just because of lore. They've kind of languished away with little love kit wise but they get lots of love rules wise.
Getting rid of any army is a poop idea.
If the army is languishing that is GWs problem for limited support, not because their lore paints them into a corner.
In my opinion, they are languishing because they have no where to go afterward. The only thing that could be done for Craftworld Eldars is to remake Aspect Warriors and once this is done, maybe remake some the older tanks like the Vyper and the classic Falcon. Then it's pretty much over and these aren't really attractive updates from a sell point of view, especially remake of old popular units which pretty much all Eldar players have in good quantity. It takes time for these new kit to sell in large amounts unlike new units which usually disapear off the shelves much faster. Ideally, you want new stuff mixed in with remakes to move your line forward. Craftworld can't really do that anymore.
I disagree, Space Marines are proof that there's always room for something new, GW didn't throw their hands up in the air and say "wait we already have assault marines" when they put out vanguard vets
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Opinions are not facts please don't confuse the two |
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2019/10/19 01:25:00
Subject: A crazy thought that might actually be good: let's kill Craftworld Eldars
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Longtime Dakkanaut
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BrianDavion wrote:epronovost wrote:I disagree, Space Marines are proof that there's always room for something new,
Space Marines are basically being rebooted as we speak. They are the proof that adding stuff while keeping the old has limits. At some point, the old stuff has to go or factions have to split.
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2019/10/19 01:37:31
Subject: A crazy thought that might actually be good: let's kill Craftworld Eldars
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Morphing Obliterator
The Void
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epronovost wrote:
Space Marines are basically being rebooted as we speak. They are the proof that adding stuff while keeping the old has limits. At some point, the old stuff has to go or factions have to split.
Primaris were not put in because space marines needed them to stay relevant. Lots of people hate Primaris as a concept. Primaris was done because of some GW marketing department/model sales decision, not because it had to be done to keep people interested. It was a huge risk of antagonizing the fans.
Marines have no trouble staying interesting because there are a bazillion variant factions/chapters/legions to make rules and some custom models for. Craft World Eldar don't need to be retired, they need to be properly fleshed out. Aspect Warriors haven't been useful for 3 editions. The solution is to make them useful and give them new models, not retire the whole line. And that's what we're seeing.
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This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2019/10/19 01:38:06
Always 1 on the crazed roll. |
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2019/10/19 03:40:39
Subject: Re:A crazy thought that might actually be good: let's kill Craftworld Eldars
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Fixture of Dakka
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I don't care what you do with the fluff - so long as every model in my Eldar case is usable.
As long as that's possible write whatever gak you like about Ynnari cults or whatever.
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2019/10/19 03:54:48
Subject: A crazy thought that might actually be good: let's kill Craftworld Eldars
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Commander of the Mysterious 2nd Legion
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epronovost wrote:BrianDavion wrote:epronovost wrote:I disagree, Space Marines are proof that there's always room for something new,
Space Marines are basically being rebooted as we speak. They are the proof that adding stuff while keeping the old has limits. At some point, the old stuff has to go or factions have to split.
they haven't yet.
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Opinions are not facts please don't confuse the two |
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2019/10/19 05:36:06
Subject: A crazy thought that might actually be good: let's kill Craftworld Eldars
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Gore-Soaked Lunatic Witchhunter
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They've killed my Corsairs, soft-killed my Ordo Malleus, can't be bothered to do 8e datasheets for my 30k Mechanicus. At this point I have two armies left that aren't either nerfed into unplayability, or not updated and then get half the models deleted. I've got thousands of dollars sunk into expensive paperweights right now. And you want to do that to more people?
Why should I buy any GW models if they might say "Nope, your army's dead, can't use any of this anymore" at any time?
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This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/10/19 05:36:19
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2019/10/19 05:40:54
Subject: A crazy thought that might actually be good: let's kill Craftworld Eldars
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Fixture of Dakka
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Lets remove marines then.
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2019/10/19 05:44:57
Subject: A crazy thought that might actually be good: let's kill Craftworld Eldars
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Been Around the Block
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epronovost wrote:As a faction Craftworld Eldars, the very first army I collected, is pretty much stuck in a dead end both in terms of fluff and in terms of models. Their line is so bloated there is pretty much
What are you even talking about?
For such a prominent faction, CWE has a very lean list even when counting FW. Why do they need to be squatted when there's secondary Imperium and Chaos factions who have just as much if not more units?
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2019/10/19 05:50:24
Subject: A crazy thought that might actually be good: let's kill Craftworld Eldars
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Terrifying Doombull
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epronovost wrote:AngryAngel80 wrote:The eldar are stuck in a dead end not just because of lore. They've kind of languished away with little love kit wise but they get lots of love rules wise.
Getting rid of any army is a poop idea.
If the army is languishing that is GWs problem for limited support, not because their lore paints them into a corner.
In my opinion, they are languishing because they have no where to go afterward. The only thing that could be done for Craftworld Eldars is to remake Aspect Warriors and once this is done, maybe remake some the older tanks like the Vyper and the classic Falcon. Then it's pretty much over and these aren't really attractive updates from a sell point of view, especially remake of old popular units which pretty much all Eldar players have in good quantity. It takes time for these new kit to sell in large amounts unlike new units which usually disapear off the shelves much faster. Ideally, you want new stuff mixed in with remakes to move your line forward. Craftworld can't really do that anymore.
Nonsense. There are at least a dozen (likely more) existent, with planetary equivalent populations, with tens of thousands years of history and you think the handful of models that exist represent the totality of their civilization and military equipment? Balderdash.
There is plenty of room to add to the Craftworlds' line. The only thing stopping GW is GW. The eldar have plenty of motivation to open old arsenals, innovate new forms of destruction or bring back ancient ones.
GW just needs to stop being lazy with Xenos armies. Any pretense that eldar wouldn't sell is baseless- regardless of whether its brand new or remade kits. They've spent most of the game's entire lifespan among the top three armies, whether that's popularity, performance, or whatever metric you care to use.
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This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/10/19 05:51:09
Efficiency is the highest virtue. |
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2019/10/19 06:23:17
Subject: A crazy thought that might actually be good: let's kill Craftworld Eldars
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Longtime Dakkanaut
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AT the very least we have a bunch of special characters that could use models.
Wraiths could probably get another unit or two. Guardians with a new box could be awesome, Could be super cool to get he portable shield that got in DoW2.
The aspects have loads of places to go, Corsairs would be so awesome to see done well again alongside the craft worlds.
Ynnari i think are the dead end of there story, and i would hate to see GW follow down that.
They would have been better as a Corsair anyway, They would have made a good Corsair King and Queen. They actually look more the part.
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2019/10/19 08:00:42
Subject: A crazy thought that might actually be good: let's kill Craftworld Eldars
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Combat Jumping Rasyat
East of England
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It's a bad idea, OP. CW Eldar are so integral to the narrative of 40k, I'd sooner see nearly any other faction mothballed. Let me just say this: it's crazy how GW treat their IP. Eldar are one of the truly successful aspects of the 40k universe, monetarily, thematically and in continuous popularity. Go over to look at Infinity (amazing game), and you'll see a rolling system of updates for their existing armies, with the result that people buy and love their faction for a long time. They have the balance perfectly, between new releases and reimagining loved older ones. Trying to make a CW Eldar army work in current 40k requires either a lot of modelling effort and some skill, or just accepting that you're spending money on poor products that should have been phased out ages ago. GW's long emphasis on making new units instead of reimagining old ones is a bit of a problem for the game's grumbly grognard core players, and I do think GW should change strategy for a while. Let's hope Sisters marks a wider revamp, rather than a momentary lapse in their SM obsession...
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This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/10/19 08:02:27
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2019/10/19 09:12:49
Subject: A crazy thought that might actually be good: let's kill Craftworld Eldars
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Walking Dead Wraithlord
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@OP: No... nahhhuh.. noooooo thank you sir. Nope. Nay. Noooooo.
The only thing that should be killed off is the ynnari suicidal cult concept.
Theres pleeenty of new things. Eldar do innovate(see hemlocks wraith knights as an example)
You could have laser space dinosaurs and beast riding space elves... You could have gun slinging space pirates of various designs..You could even make new wraith enttities. I think an automaton wraith beast creature would be mad awesome.
Its not thst there is a dead end creatively, its that there is either no passion for it in the design studio or there is no resources being funneled into CWE and other factions.
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This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/10/19 09:13:25
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2019/10/19 09:14:19
Subject: Re:A crazy thought that might actually be good: let's kill Craftworld Eldars
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Commander of the Mysterious 2nd Legion
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GW's long emphasis on making new units instead of reimagining old ones is a bit of a problem for the game's grumbly grognard core players, and I do think GW should change strategy for a while.
problem is, as much as we complain about it, I suspect kit redos just won't sell what a new kit will. How many people rushed out to buy a buncha new assault marines when they last updated the assault marine pack? unless GW gives a broken weapon to the unit (see grav canon devestators in 7th) people tend not to buy a unit unless it's a Quantium leap in quality. and even then it's an open question (how many CSM players replaced their old CSMs with the new ones?) a brand new unit though, tends to sell a lot more, and, in most cases, be more exciting.
And, leaving aside the busniess practicalities, I imagine from an ARTISTIC POV, making something new is more intreasting.
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Opinions are not facts please don't confuse the two |
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2019/10/19 15:32:09
Subject: A crazy thought that might actually be good: let's kill Craftworld Eldars
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Fixture of Dakka
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It's not the worst idea ever but lordy lord is it a bad one. The issue of Craftworlds being stale isn't a result of their lore or models, it's just that GW don't care enough because they'd rather shove Ynnari down peoples throats. Even in Phoenix Rising they're doing that.
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tremere47-fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate, leads to triple riptide spam |
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 0012/11/19 18:34:58
Subject: A crazy thought that might actually be good: let's kill Craftworld Eldars
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Longtime Dakkanaut
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GW can and should release both Corsairs and Exodites as supplements to Aeldari 2.0 dex with enough model support to make it legit. And I think they will eventually, because I don't think there will ever be a 9th edition. Having played since Rogue Trader, you get a real sense of how much development potential got side tracked into rewriting and remaking edition after edition.
Granted, the development has not been wasted- GW has learned a lot along the way. But I think we're going to end up with dex + supplement systems for Imperial Guard, Chaos Marines, Chaos Daemons, Tyrandids, Tau, Orks and of course, Eldar. It'll take 10 years, because they can't stop doing anything else that they already do; we'll still get at least two big boxes of something per year, and Kill Team, Titanicus, Aeronautica and Blackstone aren't going away either.
GW doesn't need to scrap anything. Legends gives them a way to freeze and immortalize everything that goes out of print.
To get back to Eldar, I think we need a Commorragh Kill Team expansion- Wych Cult Arena scenery, and character models with 40k rules in the box. In conjunction with that, bring fliers to other factions, slowly then drop a Corsairs army timed with an Eldar expansion for Aeronautica.
Whether or not that happens remains to be seen, but I think all Aspects/ Phoenix Lords will be upgraded- Kill Team could again be the vehicle to drive it. If I was GW, I'd plastic up Asurmen, since his Dire Avengers are already plastic. Then release an aspect Kill Team + Phoenix Lord every two months for a year- Scorpions first since they already have KT rules.
Corsairs are more important than at any other time in the history of the game- the conflict that Ynarri have brought to the Aeldari has really carved a niche that the Corsairs could fill, acting as the go between for all of the Aeldari factions and facilitating the movement of detachments in the ongoing civil war through contracts and allegiances of convenience. And as Ynnead grows, I believe Yvraine will lead the army back to the Exodites, where the Ynarri will found a new Aspect shrine, and possibly a wraith-based aspect as well. The Ynarri Aspect would be a troops choice for Ynarri armies, bringing the army to a place where it relies slightly less on punking units from other factions, though that will always be a part of the Ynarri army.
Like I said, it's gonna take a decade or more, but the wheels are actually turning... It has already started. We're going to have to play our way through all of that development via campaign books and releases, ensuring that all 24 factions continue to grow with us.
And yes, some are always going to grow faster than others. But all of them are growing.
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This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2019/10/19 17:39:54
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2019/10/19 18:37:26
Subject: Re:A crazy thought that might actually be good: let's kill Craftworld Eldars
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Furious Fire Dragon
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Yeah, no.
I collect Biel-Tan. I love Craftworld Eldar. I'm not interested in Ynnari - and I'm still irritated that GW fractured my craftworld a couple of years ago in order to introduce them. It would be a horrible kick in the teeth to people like me who've been collecting, modelling and painting eldar for years to just squat the faction. Even if, as you propose, a lot of the models get reassigned to other factions, then sure the models are still valid but not for the army I collected them for.
The Craftworld model line is no more 'at a dead end' than any other large, established faction. If anything we've got more of a future than most factions given that we've got a lot of finecast that needs updating. There's other factions with more complete modern model lines and therefore fewer obvious possible model releases. And there's almost limitless scope for inventing new things, or modelling things that already exist in fluff or other tie-in games.
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2019/10/19 22:37:40
Subject: A crazy thought that might actually be good: let's kill Craftworld Eldars
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Longtime Dakkanaut
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Voss wrote:Nonsense. There are at least a dozen (likely more) existent, with planetary equivalent populations, with tens of thousands years of history and you think the handful of models that exist represent the totality of their civilization and military equipment? Balderdash.
There is plenty of room to add to the Craftworlds' line. The only thing stopping GW is GW. The eldar have plenty of motivation to open old arsenals, innovate new forms of destruction or bring back ancient ones.
That's nice and fluffy thing that is certainly true , but units have niche inside a game system. I have played this game for a good while and produced a couple of fandex of my own and used them with my gaming group and I don't think you can produce new Craftworld unit without having it directly compete with an older existing unit making it almost impossible for either the new unit to carve itself a niche should it be pretty much of equal quality or lower or replacing the old ones which becomes a glorified paper weight (between that a scraping the unit completely there is only a small step, it's pretty much akin to a "shadow ban"). If you would ask me to let's say produce 3 new units for Craftworld Eldars, I don't think I could produce anything that could be qualified as a "new tool" in the Eldar arsenal and would most likely be creating a unit that would compete with an older one for a place in an army list. This is bad for selling and makes internal balancing a more difficult task. The best I could think of right now would be a psycher Wraithlord (but FW already has one) and a wraithlord with a jet pack just like the Wraithknight, but it would make the older one rather obsolete (and things already aren't that brilliant for it in the first place due). I also thought about a close combat Aspect Warrior that would basically serve as a sponge to stop other enemy close combat troops, but that's pretty much the point of Wraithblades. You could try to radically change the rules of some units, but that doesn't mean you are opening more space for new units to be produced. Like in anything, if the army stops growing it has severe problems as now the only source of revenue for this army is new players and GW has pretty much achieved market saturation.
The best I could see to allow growth for Eldar miniature range is to impose a restriction on the number of Aspect Temple any list can have to let say two or three (there are currently 10 if you count the one from FW) and then create non-Aspect Warrior units that can fulfill the same role as Aspect Warriors (but worst or ever so slightly differently), thus forcing each Eldar to use their models and list differently. But from GW point of view, that's a lot of money poored into unit design, inventory, tooling and marketing for less profit then if they simply used that work to create a new army.
Maybe, as mentionned by PenitentJake, Kill Team and other game system will allow some breathing room to the faction has a whole with some units being basically pushed out from 40K into Kill Team by rule changes and difference between the two systems.
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This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2019/10/19 22:43:48
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2019/10/19 23:09:30
Subject: A crazy thought that might actually be good: let's kill Craftworld Eldars
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Been Around the Block
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epronovost wrote:
The best I could see to allow growth for Eldar miniature range is to impose a restriction on the number of Aspect Temple any list can have to let say two or three (there are currently 10 if you count the one from FW) and then create non-Aspect Warrior units that can fulfill the same role as Aspect Warriors (but worst or ever so slightly differently), thus forcing each Eldar to use their models and list differently. But from GW point of view, that's a lot of money poored into unit design, inventory, tooling and marketing for less profit then if they simply used that work to create a new army.
...do you just hate your Eldar or something?
I'm trying to think of a time when Aspect Hosts were ever a problem for balance. Maybe when exarchs were like characters?
But it's always been a nice fluffy list that people enjoy playing from time to time. Why put restrictions on something that usually struggles to be viable?
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This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2019/10/19 23:10:35
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2019/10/19 23:42:46
Subject: A crazy thought that might actually be good: let's kill Craftworld Eldars
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Dakka Veteran
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I'm all for Corsairs and Exodites getting some love, but with the majority here, keep the Craftworlds and add the new stuff. Corsairs would be a good way to soup up Eldar of any faction without having to have them completely abandon their fluff and they could do some interesting things with Exodites leaving their home world. Perhaps they go on a pilgrimage when reaching a certain age, or they've heard about the Ynarri and want to join them? More new stuff is good, but not at the expense of the classics.
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2019/10/20 07:56:03
Subject: A crazy thought that might actually be good: let's kill Craftworld Eldars
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Slaanesh Chosen Marine Riding a Fiend
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craggy wrote:I'm all for Corsairs and Exodites getting some love, but with the majority here, keep the Craftworlds and add the new stuff. Corsairs would be a good way to soup up Eldar of any faction without having to have them completely abandon their fluff and they could do some interesting things with Exodites leaving their home world. Perhaps they go on a pilgrimage when reaching a certain age, or they've heard about the Ynarri and want to join them? More new stuff is good, but not at the expense of the classics.
I don't really disagree, but is it not the case that GWs time/resources are zero sum? Yet another new flavour of Aeldari will inevitably come at the expense of exanding and developing the existing Aeldari lines.
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This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/10/20 07:58:33
VAIROSEAN LIVES! |
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2019/10/20 09:46:01
Subject: A crazy thought that might actually be good: let's kill Craftworld Eldars
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Fixture of Dakka
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craggy wrote:I'm all for Corsairs and Exodites getting some love, but with the majority here, keep the Craftworlds and add the new stuff. Corsairs would be a good way to soup up Eldar of any faction without having to have them completely abandon their fluff and they could do some interesting things with Exodites leaving their home world. Perhaps they go on a pilgrimage when reaching a certain age, or they've heard about the Ynarri and want to join them? More new stuff is good, but not at the expense of the classics.
Corsairs are just an upgrade sprue pack, and their rules are already done, its almost a perfect 1 for 1 fit from 7th to 8th. Also if you remove Ynnari and put them as Corsairs (as Ynnari should have been anyways IMO) its not another faction at that point, its 1 less faction actually (4 instead of 5).
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