I've not randomly mused for a while so why not squeeze one out!
The upcoming new edition of 40K has got me musing over editions of games past and present.
Having been knocking about the hobby for longer than is sensible I've seen a fair few editions come and go.
But is newest always the best?
The poll (see right) is for fantasy battle as I'll wait til the new 40K has been out a few months before checking on that one.
Fantasy has been/is my favourite GW game and I started with 2nd Ed. I then played an awful lot of 3rd (level 25 heroes anyone?) with solid units of troops making their presence felt which is what I think the game should be about.
4th passed me by as I was in Uni and drinking far too much booze to play games.
5th I hated due to the "herohammer" nature of the game and actually refused to play it (tricky as I was working for GW at the time!) for years, sticking to 40K and the specialist ranges.
Then came 6th which was a breath of fresh air! Units of troops were worth taking again!
7th and the herohammer was creeping back into the army books but still much fun.
8th (current) edition was a big upheaval but on the whole seemed a good move. Big units of troops are back in thanks to steadfast and horde rules. However the later army books seem to be bringing a "big thing" for each race to the game and upping the "monsterhammer" level with an element of "herohammer" (hellheart, chaos puppet, anyone?). Still enjoying the rules but this needs keeping an eye on!
So whats your favourite edition of the game? And is change always for best?
Poll to the right, comment below!
2nd ED for me. When all you needed was the rules and ONE army book that covered every army out there. I've loved the way that the models have evolved, and gotten so much better than they were, but there are some real classics in the range from that era. And let's not forget the Realm of Chaos books: The fun of rolling up random chaos spawn (I once rolled a hunchbacked frog with a chainsword, among other mutations)!
ReplyDeleteI approve of the various changes that streamilned the rules from the earlier versions, but can't help feeling that something of the original character of the game was eroded by "herohammer" and "monsterhammer".
Of course, I may just be wearing the rose-tinted spectacles of nostalgia...
The figures are better than ever but the 'big thing' for each army is a problem. we could just leave them out? Not the Hydra, that gets to stay :7)
DeleteI came to WFB quite late. 5th or 6th must have been underway when I looked and all you need was big hero on a big monster to win, the rest of the figures were very much a supporting cast.
ReplyDeleteI'm mostly with you Mr Papa, should all be about the troops.
ReplyDelete8th is smashing the poll though which means we either have a lot of new to WFB gamers (yep) or change really is a good thing.
In a few months I'll run the same poll for 40K and see what happens there....