During vacation I’m just putting up some bad drafts that have been clogging up my wordpress block. Not everything is content and these should be skipped.

I use to play a lot of Age of Sigmar. So much that I started writing about it for a website and due to a series of unfortunate events became the head of Age of Sigmar Coverage in the leadup to 4th edition. I wrote about events that I went to, provided some ideas on how to get more engaged in the community, and generally was a positive force up until I was asked to be the editor for Sigmar.

Earlier I had been asked if I wanted to contribute to the “pre release” coverage and get to see the rules under NDA from Games Workshop. I declined because 1) I didn’t want to and 2) a website in 2025 can’t provide healthcare and mortgage money. I ended up accepting the editor role because my friends needed help and I wanted to do something new and provide a vision for coverage that wasn’t just talking about product releases and how to play an army.

The day after the NDA lifted for 4th edition I quit contributing to the website and quit playing Age of Sigmar, although I didn’t know it at the time. I told myself I needed a break from the game but I couldn’t find a way to get involved in a way that felt natural. Getting exposed to the NDA crap had broken my ties to my friends since the only topic they wanted to talk about is “what is in fourth edition” and it was the only topic I couldn’t talk about with them.

It didn’t help that Age of Sigmar stopped making the warscrolls free and the quality of the battletomes was horrible. New editions are great for being messy and creating all sorts of weird interactions and just like the 4.0 patch in Stellaris there were some weird things happening in the beginning. I personally wish that I had been a little more forceful in talking about how good hexwraiths were but I just wasn’t sure.

I was also tired of the maps. The GHB had used similar maps to prior editions that appeared to be a good idea but many of the edition changes and the way the battle tactics worked just didn’t make for a fun game. The new GHB, with the progressive tactics taken at list construction, feels different and fun enough to make me excited to play games when I get back from this trip.

What I’m not excited for is the physical book. It is a HORRIBLE product that doesn’t compare to the spiral bound books that were the perfect blend of form and function. Instead we’re left with a bunch of cards that will be lost by all players. The objective markers are nice.

I also think the monetization of the game is a turn off. It hasn’t helped that my two primary armies, Orcs and Goblins, have both been released and I can’t look at them without rebuying the books again. I think that it is a long-term enshitification of the game as GW becomes a better corporation. I use to spend a lot more on the game and know I’ll be spending less and less on product going forward.

There are some bright spots. I’m legitimately excited to play the game with my friends at the end of July. My son is excited about his 40K army and we are back to playing epic battles together. However, long-term my desire to be part of the GW content creation project is completely gone. I might want to contribute and miss seeing things I write get 1500+ views with very little effort but for now I’m content to make non-content on this website for just myself.