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Total newbie. I've been putting together a DA squad (from Dark Vengeance, Ravenwing Battlebox and some eBay auctions) and have been doing some general forum diving. And I understand a new codex for DAs is imminent. That information came from White Dwarf, I gather.

So... what exactly is the benefit of WD? Is it a must-subscribe or is it more generally for the hardcore?

It's a great way for GW to put pretty pictures on paper with the hope you'll buy them.

Occasionally there's a codex update. That's the only time it's ever worth buying.

I haven't bought WD since 2005, and i've missed very little in the grand scheme of things.

hobojebus wrote:
I haven't bought WD since 2005, and i've missed very little in the grand scheme of things.

Than you missed the Codex Daemons update, the SoB WD codex, Flyers updates IE; StormTalon; Ork Bommer; Etc.

Not much in the grand scheme of numbers vs issues made. However these were to me at least very important issues.

jdjamesdean@mail.com wrote:

hobojebus wrote:
I haven't bought WD since 2005, and i've missed very little in the grand scheme of things.

Than you missed the Codex Daemons update, the SoB WD codex, Flyers updates IE; StormTalon; Ork Bommer; Etc.

Not much in the grand scheme of numbers vs issues made. However these were to me at least very important issues.

Not everyone plays Warhammer 40,000, or Daemons and Warriors of Chaos in fantasy ether.

 blood reaper wrote:

jdjamesdean@mail.com wrote:

hobojebus wrote:
I haven't bought WD since 2005, and i've missed very little in the grand scheme of things.

Than you missed the Codex Daemons update, the SoB WD codex, Flyers updates IE; StormTalon; Ork Bommer; Etc.

Not much in the grand scheme of numbers vs issues made. However these were to me at least very important issues.

Not everyone plays Warhammer 40,000, or Daemons and Warriors of Chaos in fantasy ether.

You have a pretty good chance of running into someone who doe play those armies. It's always good to know what an Enemy can bring against you, and it also helps keep people honest if you know their rules, as well as your own.

jdjamesdean@mail.com wrote:

hobojebus wrote:
I haven't bought WD since 2005, and i've missed very little in the grand scheme of things.

Than you missed the Codex Daemons update, the SoB WD codex, Flyers updates IE; StormTalon; Ork Bommer; Etc.

Not much in the grand scheme of numbers vs issues made. However these were to me at least very important issues.

So rules updates amongst other things.

I'll probably grab a copy of January's edition. Is a subscription worth it?

If you own an iPad - the digital subscription is about half the cost buying it in print month to month. You get some additional content as well. You do miss out on the occasional poster they print though.

People will generally have a negative opinion of WD but I still like it.

SavageRobby wrote:

jdjamesdean@mail.com wrote:

hobojebus wrote:
I haven't bought WD since 2005, and i've missed very little in the grand scheme of things.

Than you missed the Codex Daemons update, the SoB WD codex, Flyers updates IE; StormTalon; Ork Bommer; Etc.

Not much in the grand scheme of numbers vs issues made. However these were to me at least very important issues.

So rules updates amongst other things.

I'll probably grab a copy of January's edition. Is a subscription worth it?

Depends on how you personally would evaluate "Worth it" I pick it up some times, but it's never been worth a full subscription for me.

 Sasori wrote:

 blood reaper wrote:

jdjamesdean@mail.com wrote:

hobojebus wrote:
I haven't bought WD since 2005, and i've missed very little in the grand scheme of things.

Than you missed the Codex Daemons update, the SoB WD codex, Flyers updates IE; StormTalon; Ork Bommer; Etc.

Not much in the grand scheme of numbers vs issues made. However these were to me at least very important issues.

Not everyone plays Warhammer 40,000, or Daemons and Warriors of Chaos in fantasy ether.

You have a pretty good chance of running into someone who doe play those armies. It's always good to know what an Enemy can bring against you, and it also helps keep people honest if you know their rules, as well as your own.

I'd generally imagine people who play such armies would have purchased the concerning issues, but I'm not going to buy a poorly made magazine to get rules for models my opponent might use.

 blood reaper wrote:

 Sasori wrote:

 blood reaper wrote:

jdjamesdean@mail.com wrote:

hobojebus wrote:
I haven't bought WD since 2005, and i've missed very little in the grand scheme of things.

Than you missed the Codex Daemons update, the SoB WD codex, Flyers updates IE; StormTalon; Ork Bommer; Etc.

Not much in the grand scheme of numbers vs issues made. However these were to me at least very important issues.

Not everyone plays Warhammer 40,000, or Daemons and Warriors of Chaos in fantasy ether.

You have a pretty good chance of running into someone who doe play those armies. It's always good to know what an Enemy can bring against you, and it also helps keep people honest if you know their rules, as well as your own.

I'd generally imagine people who play such armies would have purchased the concerning issues, but I'm not going to buy a poorly made magazine to get rules for models my opponent might use.

Then you are opening up the possibility of being poorly prepared against someone with those rules.

 cvtuttle wrote:
If you own an iPad - the digital subscription is about half the cost buying it in print month to month. You get some additional content as well. You do miss out on the occasional poster they print though.

People will generally have a negative opinion of WD but I still like it.

Heh. I'm reading this on my iPad right now. :-)

I'll check that out - thanks.

jdjamesdean@mail.com wrote:

hobojebus wrote:
I haven't bought WD since 2005, and i've missed very little in the grand scheme of things.

Than you missed the Codex Daemons update, the SoB WD codex, Flyers updates IE; StormTalon; Ork Bommer; Etc.

Not much in the grand scheme of numbers vs issues made. However these were to me at least very important issues.

Dont play demons and have not until a few weeks ago ever faced anyone who does, My friend who plays SoB stopped using the army after that update, and as a SW player i cant use and dont want the flying potato.

So what i did was save myself a fortune.

It's by and large a waste of paper. I would suggest not getting a subscription, just buy issues you think might interest you. If you REALLY like the magazine, then get a subscription.

Don't get a subscription. Just pick up a copy from your FLGS(they usually carry copies for sale) if there is something important inside.

Do not subscribe to the WD. If there are new rules and you don't want to download them from the internet, just buy 1 magazine for your entire group and copy it for everyone else.

The main benefit of a WD subscription is that you will now have less money to spend on crack, which will lead to a healthier lifestyle and a longer life.

The only time I bought a white dwarf was for the recent poster.
Although there wher some cool fantasy conversions in it,

I like looking at the pretty pictures and reading Jervis Johnson's thingy where he talks about stuff.

And it's a nice change from rulebooks and comic books as far as bathroom reading goes. ^^

The battle reports are also a helpful tool on how NOT to build an army list and play with it.

I also like playing "Spot the rules mistakes"

Benefits of White Dwarf?

You can use it as Loo Paper when you run out of Toilet paper? Thats about it really...

I tried, it doesn't even do a decent job of that

By and large, printed media sucks. it's a compilation of articles and pictures that someone else thinks you might like to read, when in the age of the internet it's the easiest thing in the world, even on the loo or the train, to peruse hundreds of articles and pictures, hand chosen by you.

So yeah, White Dwarf sucks.

Having said that, ~$10 isn't much money, you occasionally get some cool stuff in there, and I see it as an opportunity to help support my local store as well. I've sometimes thought "Geez, what a waste of time that was" after flipping through an issue, but overall I consider it a worthwhile purchase.

GW has a general blackout on new products until they are actually up for pre-order. So, WD was supposed to be the way to find out about them.

Unfortunately, pre-order and the internet have caused several recent limited release things to be out of stock before the WD even hit the shelves... sometimes by a few weeks.

This WD is apparently going to be a full week overdue (in order to not spill the beans early) and will be released simultaneously when the DA codex is. So, rather than making it a great source of info, it's been further relegated to possibly the last place you want to bother looking in order to find out what's going on.

That said, it does have lots of pretty pictures... and the occasional rule does show up.

----

To be fair, I do subscribe to the iPad WD.

I had done so in the hopes that the expanded content would be a great help when painting. Unfortunately, the paint articles aren't that great -- pictures are tiny and you can't zoom in. Also, it's often difficult to tell exactly where that particular color was supposedly put on a model.

If I had my way, the paint articles would be the large fully rotating images of the models... But I'm a modeler first, gamer second. (supposedly their target market).

Also, the Blanchitsu models are more than a bit weird. Not sure exactly what he's going for but I haven't seen anything that I've been impressed by.

I'd say, if you are really interested buy exactly 1 issue (whether physical or digital) and check it out. Or rather, just browse it at your local store each month and decide if you want it. Of course, they now come in those little baggies in order to make browsing difficult prior to purchase so hopefully your store goes ahead and unbags one for you.

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the input.

I downloaded the app, and I'll try a digital copy or two.

Benefits ...

It makes your wallet lighter.

It forewarns you about how much the latest models will cost you, how crap they will look in Finecast, and serves to save your wallet still more pain.

It's a numbers game. Sacrifice some to save a lot more.

It is GW advertisment that you pay for.

 KingDeath wrote:
The main benefit of a WD subscription is that you will now have less money to spend on crack, which will lead to a healthier lifestyle and a longer life.

You can get a subscription and switch to meth though.

I haven't picked up a copy of WD in years, so I am not really capable of telling you whether current WD is worth it. But given that the last one I picked up was little more than a glorified catalog, I doubt you would be missing much.

I remember when the Battle Reports were more in depth, with more talking and fewer, more vivid pictures amplified the actions.

I remember when advice on building unconventional armies, or interviews with particular gamers would dominate the pages. I remember when the upcoming releases were limited to one or two pages, rather than half the magazine.

I still think my favorite ever issue was from the 4th edition Tyranids release issue. The Crimson Stalkers of Tenebra Prime is my favorite battle report/kill team ever.

 Sasori wrote:

 blood reaper wrote:

jdjamesdean@mail.com wrote:

hobojebus wrote:
I haven't bought WD since 2005, and i've missed very little in the grand scheme of things.

Than you missed the Codex Daemons update, the SoB WD codex, Flyers updates IE; StormTalon; Ork Bommer; Etc.

Not much in the grand scheme of numbers vs issues made. However these were to me at least very important issues.

Not everyone plays Warhammer 40,000, or Daemons and Warriors of Chaos in fantasy ether.

You have a pretty good chance of running into someone who doe play those armies. It's always good to know what an Enemy can bring against you, and it also helps keep people honest if you know their rules, as well as your own.

Two problems with this idea:
1. Most people do not own ever codex, so owning every update for forces you don't play is obviously not a main priority for hobbyists.
2. In the rules of almost all tournements, games groups and stores in is required for the player to have all neccesary rules required to play, this includes copies of updates or new units. All the opposing player has to do is politely ask to see said rules.

To the OP: the vast majority of content found in WD is freely available on the internet, a glossy photo of the a new release (which take up a massive amount of the magazine) can be found on the GW website and are often better online (360 views). The actual unique content covers less than a dozen pages (interviews with creatives, heavy metal painters), it is highly likely that those pages will not be worth 5 pounds to you and you would be better off saving the money to get a new unit every now and again.

I would stear clear of subscribtions and look to see what is involved in the WD that month. It is a better use of your money.

There are none. As an avid editor of Lexicanum I've only encountered 1 issue that could be even have any relevant fluff to put on there. It's just all catalogs and smug editorials about how great everything is like it's the fething Cultural Revolution or you should be collecting mini's rather above all else.