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Not having a go at 9th but one thing that the recent changes have shown is that now is a great time to start playing AOS. Now bear with me.....

40K is seeing some of its core elements changing by amending unit and weapon stats. These changes are going to massively alter the balance, especially as most of the changes appear to be buffs. Given the multi-army nature, we’re looking at a potentially long period of imbalance, frustration and uncertainty. There will be many that as with 8th, might just walk away for a while.

So why not walk away and play AOS for a while? The game is now established, the rules are familiar (not the same but familiar) and should you wish to take a more frugal approach, you could always go Daemons which work in both systems.

I love playing 40k but the next 6 months I am definitely shifting primarily to AOS in terms of games (I already have AOS so will still be working on my 40k painting projects at least). Too much salt, too much speculation and fact is I don’t even think GW are fully sure on the new system given the recent FAQs in quick succession before even the first Codex is released. Best to come back when the smoke has settled and everyone is a little bit more sure on how things work and what to expect.

There are other reasons of course - AOS has some Of the best models going, Mortal Realms is still going where you can bag yourself a cheap army and personally I see it as much better balanced.

This is not to say you should give up on 40k or stop playing - just consider the option and give it a try if you haven’t already. It’s a much simpler game and can provide a respite if you are the kind that really hates uncertainty and constant, substantial change.

Suddenly I'm reminded of all the terrible edition war posts at the dawn of AoS. They all, regardless of which side of the argument the posters were on, had the same bitter apple tone, trying to foist the chosen game system on people by poisoning the well of the other.

Seeing it again isn't a happy thing.

Voss wrote:
Suddenly I'm reminded of all the terrible edition war posts at the dawn of AoS. They all, regardless of which side of the argument the posters were on, had the same bitter apple tone, trying to foist the chosen game system on people by poisoning the well of the other.

Seeing it again isn't a happy thing.

His point isn't poisoning one game but say take a break until the codexes are out more properly so there's some semblance of balance.

Unfortunately it fails because GW isn't interested in balance so it will always be mess in balance.

I'm already playing the best fantasy miniatures game with some of the greatest models ever made. It's called Lord of the Rings.

Well this should be an entertaining thread.

If you like oldhammer 40k back when tanks were tanks, the character rules made sense, and there was at least a token attempt to have the game anchored in the lore, there's also 30k.

But AOS is fun too.

(LOTR is better.)

I never would have called it back when AoS was new, but 40k is starting to feel so much like AoS that I'm half-sold on the idea.

The AOS turn rule makes it impossible for the game to function competitively, that one roll just determines the game too often.

I started an Ogor army and had my first test game at home a couple weeks ago. The simplicity of the rules is refreshing. I can see how there might be issues with the double turn but that is easily house-ruled to simply alternating turns.

there's a global pandemic going on. are people really playing tons of games right now anyway?

w40k is the best I have ever since, and I started at the start of 8th ed. If someone were to leave, because it is bad now, then the people probably left a long ago.

Karol wrote:
w40k is the best I have ever since, and I started at the start of 8th ed. If someone were to leave, because it is bad now, then the people probably left a long ago.

unless they were holding out hope that a new edition would fix 8th editions issues instead of doubling down on nonsense and gameyness

AoS had the exact same issues (maybe somewhat worse even) at the beginning.
It’s still far from perfect, but it’s a decent enough game and it’s good fun to play.

hahaha... No

Taking a step back while they roll things out is a perfectly reasonable thing to recommend. People could even consider taking a step outside the GW bubble (shock, gasp)

 Eldarain wrote:
Taking a step back while they roll things out is a perfectly reasonable thing to recommend. People could even consider taking a step outside the GW bubble (shock, gasp)

There’s dozens of free rule sets online so people don’t even need to buy new minis to try a new game.

I’d recommend trying a (miniatures-heavy) board game for something different from40k.

If ranks and flanks have returned making maneuver mean something, then sure I'll give it a shot. Otherwise I'm sticking to pre-steadfast WFB.

Conquest, Game of Thrones (aSoIaF) KoW all seem good in their own way.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:

 Eldarain wrote:
Taking a step back while they roll things out is a perfectly reasonable thing to recommend. People could even consider taking a step outside the GW bubble (shock, gasp)

There’s dozens of free rule sets online so people don’t even need to buy new minis to try a new game.

I’d recommend trying a (miniatures-heavy) board game for something different from40k.

Its what I did - I've wheeled out my old fantasy army and am now heavily playing KoW & Vangaurd and other gaming systems (Crisis Protocol, Wild West Exodus to name a few). I'm more interested in painting GWs models these days than actually playing the game - 9th seems fun but considering i've just bought 2.5 space marine books and a chapter approved over the last 6 months and I'm now expected to buy another one because they are changing to rules in such a significant way for how the guns etc work I'm just going to take a step back until my armies have been released so I can dive back in again.

I'm pretty sure the correct answer is still "There's no good time to learn to play AOS."

If you want to play a Fantasy game, go KoW, WHFB (probably 6th or 7th ed), or wait for the return of The Old World.

There are certainly no shortage of other quality games on the market, I actually think too many as I keep jumping between them! (Although not like I can play any games at the moment so I guess it's not too much of a problem..)

Personally I would say try a skirmish/small model count game as it's less of a cost investment after 40k/AoS. Fallout Wasteland Warfare is really cool, or something like Infinity or Necromunda.

 Dysartes wrote:
I'm pretty sure the correct answer is still "There's no good time to learn to play AOS."

If you want to play a Fantasy game, go KoW, WHFB (probably 6th or 7th ed), or wait for the return of The Old World.

I’m pretty sure that’s just an opinion.

If it’s staying in house with GW, give LoTR a shot.
I was pretty sceptical at first but they need the rules team from that on all of their games.
It’s a well balanced and decent game without unnecessary bloat.

Scary to think the same company is in charge of all these games.


AoS isn’t perfect, but it’s been refined a lot since it’s release.
A good amount of the people shooting down AoS either haven’t played it or played it back when it was an abortion of a game.
As it stands now, it’s miles above the train wreck that is 40k.


30k is a decent game.
It has some wild balance issues so better off for friendly games only.
The main drawback to most though is prices, resin and a dwindling model line.
Key items keep being discontinued at a worrying rate.


I like the KoW rules, but their model line is a bit lacking in terms of visual appeal for me.
Just seems like a lot of it was the quality GW put out in the late 80’s.





Edit: as a final point about AoS it has something that most games lack.
It has a huge player base.
Couple that with constant support and updates and you have a very active game that’s quick to play and easy to find other players.
The reason some stray away from other companies is they don’t always have a huge player base, meaning in some areas, it’s almost impossible to find a game.
Fantasy hit this stage towards the end as a lot of the interest for it had just gone.

Or try a non-GW game.

Jackal90 wrote:
I like the KoW rules, but their model line is a bit lacking in terms of visual appeal for me.
Just seems like a lot of it was the quality GW put out in the late 80’s.

The thing with KoW, of course, is that the rules don't care if you use Mantic models or not. So if you don't like their sculpts for an army, find a suitable replacement line, and use that with the rules instead.

And I wasn't recommending the LotR rules purely because I have no experience with them, so cannae comment on their quality.

Not sure suggesting AoS is sound advice for those that want to keep away of 40k. If you are concerned about balance, constant changes, speculation, etc, the best thing you can do is look outside GW.
There are plenty of other games, many with free rules, that offer better gameplay experience. Or that are miniature agnostic.

Staying in the gw-frustration-cycle is a choice.

I would actualy say now is a good time to learn Titianicus. Core rules are solid, more solid then 40k will ever be.

 Dysartes wrote:

Jackal90 wrote:
I like the KoW rules, but their model line is a bit lacking in terms of visual appeal for me.
Just seems like a lot of it was the quality GW put out in the late 80’s.

The thing with KoW, of course, is that the rules don't care if you use Mantic models or not. So if you don't like their sculpts for an army, find a suitable replacement line, and use that with the rules instead.

And I wasn't recommending the LotR rules purely because I have no experience with them, so cannae comment on their quality.

That’s true.
The rules are actually pretty decent.
I’m honestly hoping mantic kick their model quality up through the roof this year.
If they can offer quality close to GW and rules (their rules are already ahead) it might give GW the kick they need.
Sadly they have the market as it stands though.


I would honestly recommend it to anyone.
It’s not just the overall balance and rules but also internal balance.
You can pick an army comprised of anything you love the look of and run it against a pure tournament army.
Granted, it won’t be easy, but it’s nowhere near as skewed as other GW games.

Just a shame a lot more people don’t play it.

AOS has continued to make me view it as a sort of beta testing ground for 40k. GW can experiment with different options with a smaller subset of customers who pay for the privilege.

BrianDavion wrote:
there's a global pandemic going on. are people really playing tons of games right now anyway?

Americans be like "what pandemic" as they cough out their lungs over their gaming tables.

chaos0xomega wrote:

BrianDavion wrote:
there's a global pandemic going on. are people really playing tons of games right now anyway?

Americans be like "what pandemic" as they cough out their lungs over their gaming tables.

It's depressing, it really is.