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I'm starting to see more and more in communications that players and groups as a whole are content with everyone buying a GHB 2018, and one person buying the core rulebook and malign sorcery and then sharing out the book to everyone else via photocopying, mobile phone pictures, what have you.

Like... I'm seeing a lot of that.

I guess we could call that a symptom of the issue where GW has spread the rules out over three sources.

Additionally, I've seen a fair few calls to make sure the only thing tournaments use (and therefore pick up games at the store) are the rules contained solely within the free rules and the general's handbook, with rules found in core rulebook and malign sorcery considered not valid.

We were going to start a ladder league in a couple weeks, and have had a couple of the group (primarily tournament-only players) push to make sure no other rules were needed other than GHB 2018.

Was interested to note what your group is doing?

Don't forget the core rules are still online for free as well from the Website, and if I recall right isn't there an army building app that would otherwise summarise all the army specific rules inside it?

I think GW has made the big rule book as they always have and if they didn't make it many would get confused or even annoyed at GW (and worried that rules were going away again - esp for Sigmar).
It's a shame GW never sells the mini-rule-books separately outside of the big boxed games (or puts two of them in each box) though now that the core rules are online that covers it I think.


Maligan I think is a once off and I think its GW's method of trying something very new and pushing it into the market by putting the models and rules for it specifically together. It's a smart move as it means if it fails its an "expansion" they can drop; and if it works it means that the majority of people buying into it will be using the great looking official GW models for the spells on the tabletop. So visually speaking it advertise itself for GW. That they've used pre-coloured plastic also improves the chances of the spells at least looking special an an unpainted army and increasing the chance of casual painters throwing a colour or two over the base plastic colour.
Just as your group is doing not including the endless spells is an option and chances are right now its a good approach; in a few months time when most people might have bought into it and using them you might find there's greater call to include those spells in the game.


The Generals Handbook would have been out this year without the rule book. I think the generals hand book idea is a solid concept, but becomes a bit iffy when there's also a new big rule book released in the same year. At the very least with the new speed of FAQ/Errata and changes that GW is putting out an annual summary book is a very good concept - it saves faffing with paper and many people like updated formal rules. I think so long as GW can, providing proper updated printed rules is good - it puts a more attractive professional book on the table instead of sheets of badly printed paper.




Personally I've always treated expansion game packs and Forgeworld unique units as expansions to the game. Ergo if I arranged a match with someone and wanted to include those elements I'd specifically say "hey lets play AoS and include Maligan spells ok?"
no drama and no hostility just a confirmation of what would and wouldn't be included in the game.

Also don't forget that GW is going to release more endless spells in the future, specific to factions. So via that method I think after this soft introduction, Maligan is going to be pushed through as a formal addition to the game. Or at least as close as GW can make it for an expansion.

The free rules are the same as the ones in the Core book so that is not an issue. The Core book also contains background lore, battle plans, and basically anything not Matched Play. Only having 1 for my group isn't a problem. Malign Sorcery is an add-on and not necessary unless you want to play with realm specific spells and artifacts (which are really cool) or want to use the new endless spells. I feel like you're missing out if you don't use Malign Sorcery but then I'm a casual/narrative player

I've ordered the core book and the General's Handbook, though I expect there may be some overlap between them. I'm not sure if I will get Malign Sorcery but I don't think other players should be restricted from doing so just because others choose not to. As far as I'm concerned it's all good unless specifically excluded by organizers.

That said, I hope we see people run leagues set in specific Realms, and if the battle plans are different in the core book I hope they see play in the rotation. None of these necessarily require more than one person in the group to have the big rulebook, so as long as a couple of people in the group get it of their own volition I say it's fair game to use.

As for your league, I suggest you go all-out: rotating Realms (or a pre-picked realm for the whole league, or pre-picked Realms for each stage of the league), full range of battle plans, malign sorcery, no artificial restrictions on the mechanics that people are whining about now, play the game GW released as it is and let your community get a taste of that before they apply house rules.

Core book does have some things for matched that isn't in the free download

 Skimask Mohawk wrote:
Core book does have some things for matched that isn't in the free download

Specifically rules for apocalypse level games. Like 5k+ points. Forgot to mention that bit

My league rules will be RAW no houserules. Will likely follow whatever the new "tournament standard is".

I reserve the houserules and realm specific fun for my campaigns.

I'll put it to a vote with the people participating if they want to deviate from the GHB with malign sorcery for league play. Right now I know only a couple of us ordered that, the rest just ordered GHB 2018 and that was it.

It will be interesting to see what your group says in regards to endless spells, especially since new ones will be in the battletomes (assuming you have any Nighthaunt players since they will have three).

I'd say treat the endless spells like an army supplement, seeing as you pay points for them to include them, let those who want to include them in their army do so, it's not like the people who don't have the boom are at a disadvantage, that said don't use the scenarios, artifacts or realm spell lores because then you are putting the people with the book at an advantage because you don't pay points for those.

I think the confusion is that the Core Book doesn't seem to be necessary. I'm still going to pick it up because of the lore, though.

I think largely it will depend on what LVO and Adepticon and NOVA do. If they allow endless spells I think they'll be fine with it since that would be considered standard to them.

Right now there is no info and some of them don't want to buy anything but the GHB and they feel they'll be "screwed over" if someone shows up with those spells and they don't have access to them (self inflicted yes I know, but this is the same reason why people don't want forgeworld as well)

The same holds true with stuff from core rulebook. They don't feel its necessary to buy and thus also don't want the material present in the competitive league games.

The fun half of our group will use everything and eventually be pushed out by the tryhards who insist pn playing by ETC standards all the time. Then we'll go looking for a new game and the tryhards will complain how small and fractured our gaming scene is and how we can't even put a ETC team together.

 lord_blackfang wrote:
The fun half of our group will use everything and eventually be pushed out by the tryhards who insist pn playing by ETC standards all the time. Then we'll go looking for a new game and the tryhards will complain how small and fractured our gaming scene is and how we can't even put a ETC team together.

Man, reading things like this I realise how lucky I'm. If I can ask, how old are those tryhards? I know a couple of guys in my group that are very, very competitive, like, they go to high end tournaments in spain, germany, france, etc... but then when they play in the store they use casual list, like eldars with banshees, an Avatar of Khaine, etc... and they still win because they are better players, but are totally relaxed. They have 0 problems changing the mentality from playing in a tournament or playing in the casual monthly tournaments of the store.

But at the same time, they have 40-50 years, kids, etc...

The rest of the group goes from 19 to 3X years, with one 12 years old boy, and we are mostly casual. When we play w40k we normally play only matched play, but with Age of Sigmar we are doing narrative games all the time, inventing rules, etc... so we are absolutely gonna use the Endless Spells, unless theres some ones that are broken, then we won't use thoses.

auticus wrote:
I think largely it will depend on what LVO and Adepticon and NOVA do. If they allow endless spells I think they'll be fine with it since that would be considered standard to them.

Right now there is no info and some of them don't want to buy anything but the GHB and they feel they'll be "screwed over" if someone shows up with those spells and they don't have access to them (self inflicted yes I know, but this is the same reason why people don't want forgeworld as well)

Tell them to get over it. Anyone who bought the box has a warscroll card they can share, if it's that big of a deal. FW doesn't have that--the situations are different.

The same holds true with stuff from core rulebook. They don't feel its necessary to buy and thus also don't want the material present in the competitive league games.

It's the core book. So because it's not in the little 14 page rules it's invalid?

I don't know about invalid, more like they are seeing it as an optional expansion and they don't want to buy it. The real reason is ... they don't want to buy it.

If it turns out that the standard big tournaments allow it in, I have a strong feeling they'll end up buying it. Right now since nothing is known about how what the major-league world championship scene will be doing, they want to keep their expenditures as little as possible.

auticus wrote:
I don't know about invalid, more like they are seeing it as an optional expansion and they don't want to buy it. The real reason is ... they don't want to buy it.

If it turns out that the standard big tournaments allow it in, I have a strong feeling they'll end up buying it. Right now since nothing is known about how what the major-league world championship scene will be doing, they want to keep their expenditures as little as possible.

Given the strength of some of the Endless Spells, I'd be more surprised not to see tournament players using them. The question (to me) is the new artifacts and items. I haven't really seen much about them.

I'm hoping. Enough people here are loading up on Soul Wars starters and GHB that I can pick up the core book cheap.

Gonna buy Core book and GHB right away, playing Khorne so might wait a little before I buy Malign Sorcery.

Seem like most people here are going to buy most of it.

Preordered the new starter box, General's Handbook, and Malign Sorcery. Where I play, pretty much everyone is picking up at least the General's Handbook and Malign Sorcery. Endless Spells will be pretty much a given... think we'll have to wait and see though regarding realm specific spells/artifacts. The area I play is pretty relaxed though so I'm sure the future will be all good.

Does that Malign Sorcery book come with the endless spell models? Or are those all separate?

Really on the fence about just getting stuff on my phone or getting books. I hate using my phone all the time.

BomBomHotdog wrote:

 Skimask Mohawk wrote:
Core book does have some things for matched that isn't in the free download

Specifically rules for apocalypse level games. Like 5k+ points. Forgot to mention that bit

Pretty sure I've heard from other members here that they implement a point restriction for allies in addition to unit count, as well as axing new generals on death.

I'd be glad to be wrong. It'd save me the money on buying the thing.

 Malathrim wrote:
Does that Malign Sorcery book come with the endless spell models? Or are those all separate?

Really on the fence about just getting stuff on my phone or getting books. I hate using my phone all the time.

Malgian is a single boxed set with the models and rules in one box. So you buy it and you get everything you need to use them. The book that comes with it also details all of the artifacts and such as well not just the endless spells. So its a pretty big upgrade to the magic and items possible in the game.

I might have to get that then.