Your comment about incompatibility of editions is particularly important.

At $25 each, the army books are a major investment, even if you just choose to buy a few. I bought several just before the new rules came out, and now I am told that they are not compatible with the new system, and new ones are out.

Of course you could (1) Play with old rules, or (2) Win the lottery and upgrade whenever Games Workshop needs an inflow of cash, but I just prefer to steer clear of the whole mess. An upgrade path probably would have changed my mind.

Urhixidur (#3730),


Um I wouldn't say extreemly uncompatable. The bulk of this Games is allways compatiable with the next set of rules. And you DON"T have to upgrade. I play the majority of my games still in the 1996 version. With a couple of the newer rules added in.

Nagash101 (#3898),

You don't have to upgrade if you play with a bunch of regulars, but if you intend to go down to the local games store and play, you need to be up to date with the versions (again, unless you play there with a bunch of regulars who all agree not to upgrade).

From what GW people tell me, the switch from 5th to 6th edition was a significant change. A player I know tells me it was brought about because of players being able to create cheesy armies in 5th edition.

bengkohn (#3914),

It was a signifigant change as far as how you build your army, but as far as pieces and general rules hardly a thing changed. By far the old peices are still good.

I personally stay clear of Games Workshop in general due to their annoying habit of "upgrading" games constantly. Can't see why they managed to fit all the armies in a single book in the mid-eighties, but now you need to buy a brand new book per army - makes it very costly to compare the different sides. Obviously it's all finance & marketing and you've got to respect them for what they've done, but it's the same kind of respect you have for Mr Burns.

The 3rd edition was my personal favourite because of it's detailed rules that focused on advanced troop formations and unit manoeuvres. Also it was free from the excessive amount of cards and army suppliments that started to appear with the later releases.

I haven't bought any GW stuff since the late eighties. I think they just started to get a bit too greedy with their constant re-working and re-releasing...

Buying new rulebooks is no major investment. The game is much better in the sixth edition (apart from magic, which is quicker without the cards, but still too easy too exploit). And old minis are for the most part compatible. The prices for new minis though, are simply horrendous! It can really ruin you! The cheapest way to get into the hobby is IMHO to buy an old army from someone at a reasonable price and then add as you go...

Third Edition is the only one worth playing. The points were balanced, skirmisher's worked, formaitons, better command and control. The battles in this edition are fun, tense and exciting. They completely screwed the points scheme from 4th edition on. They changed the "to-hit" tables to make models with low WS more effective and with high WS LESS effective, but they never changed the points value!!!!!! That's moronic!!!

Grendel wrote:
Buying new rulebooks is no major investment.

Yeah right...do you realize how many GOOD board games you can buy with the "minor investment" of upgrading all the time and the cost of the miniatures? Doesn't the rulebook cost like $50?

All the time?...Bah, there is a new edition every five years. But for us enthusiasts, playing and painting miniature games is a lifestyle. Tournaments are fun as well. As I said, the rules are not the big cost, the minis are! And you don´t have to buy new minis when the rules are updated. The ones I have for Empire works fine. And there are plenty of proxies you can use from other manufacturers. When was the last time you played this game?

I agree with Grendel. A new edition only comes around every five or six years and is invariably a good thing for the hobby. It stops the game getting stale, adds heaps of new sculpts and options for armies, fine tunes the rules systems and generally creates lots of gaming activity for people in the hobby.

So a rulebook costs $50, so what? Its the same for Flames of War, Wargods of Aegyptus or any other comparable big hardback glossy release.

As Grendel said - painting, modelling and collecting miniatures is a lifestyle and hobby in itself, not some chore foistered upon us by a heartless games company. It's all part of the hobby.

Army books don't neccessarilly become redundant each time that a new edition comes along. The progression from 4th to 5th edition did not make the army books redundant. The progression from 5th to 6th was a major change did make army book sredundant but the books were released over about a five year period. Progression from 6th to 7th has not made any army books obselete. Players will eagerly await their new army book sas they are gradually released over the coming years. Until then their book stay current.

The current rules system as written by Alessio Cavatore is a really good ruleset and I'm looking forward to collecting up all the new army book sas they are released.

A fun game, great production values, wonderful miniatures and a vibrant scene.