Au Revoir GW

noreply@blogger.com (Rob) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 00:24:00 +0000

That's it. I'm done.

With GW that is. Not the hobby.

This isn't a knee-jerk reaction to their newest price jump, nor the crap-tastic "Finecast" quality. This is the result of SEVERAL price hikes. Every time I ended up sticking with GW... Why jump ship on a game I enjoy? Well, I enjoy other games too. This latest round was the straw that broke this camel's back. The sheriff isn't getting the message if everyone just deals with it and toughs it out b/c they don't want to stop playing Warhammer. You don't have to; I'm not stopping playing, just buying. I'm not buying anymore GW models or books or tools or paints.

I'm not arguing that GW should open-source their books, or sell models at a loss. If they want to care about their profit more than their customers, then it's their choice. Most companies reward loyalty in some way or another, but GW seems to do the opposite. I look at all my old metal Grey Knights with Halberds and I know I haven't got it in my to run a mostly Purifier army, and converting them to something useful would be a nightmare.

I think their tactic of taking advantage of their customers and abusing their trust will backfire at some point and cost them dearly.

Maybe I'm wrong.

I hope I am.

I think I've got enough options to keep me going though:

Malifaux
Hell Dorado

Infinity
Blood Bowl (yeah, yeah it's GW... but FREE Rules and you can play it without supporting GW)

Warmachine/Hordes
MERCS

Flames of War

All Things Zombie: Better Zed Than Dead
Firestorm Armada
Field of Glory

AE-WWII
Uncharted Seas

Dust Tactics
Kings of War/Warpath

Classic Battletech

Dystopian Wars
Incursion
Elfball

Earth Reborn

Descent: Journeys in the Dark

Dr. Who Miniatures

Sedition Wars

Options are out there. Many are better than 40k. Most are better than WFB 8th.

Don't be afraid to try a new game.

You don't have to give up any current game to try something new and most of these games are INSANELY cheap compared to GW. Hell, I can buy Malifaux's Rule Manual for less than the cheapest Finecast model. Seriously. For around the same as the Vampire Counts Blood Knights, I can get their Rules Manual, 2 Faction Starters, and an extra clamshell for each. That's at retail price too (insert shameless FLGS plug).

A Few Minis: Tabletop Gaming

Au Revoir GW