My thoughts on Age of Sigmar & the current route of Games Workshop

When the old World was destoyed by Games Workshop, I didn't really mourn it, I was already at a state where I just didn't care much anyway, 8th edition was imo one of the less fun versions of warhammer fantasy, only 7th edition was worse imo.
I was looking at other games such as Fantasy Warriors & Kings of War several months before Archaon managed to destroy the old World.
I read the fluff of the End Times, I enjoyed the little nods to the fans by bringing back old characters all the way from the 80's into the story & I really looked forwards to see what would come next.
Then came the Age of Sigmar, it was nothing like warhammer, but the rules were free so I gave it a go, 2 games later, both involving Nagash, & I was sure that this wasn't the game for me. It was not the mass combat system I craved & yearned for, but neither did it feel like a skirmish game, it was something in between. The rules were unbalanaced & without a pointsystem it was open to abuse. The setting lacked the depth the Old World had etc etc.
I moved on to Kings of War, started playing X-wing as well as older versions of warhammer instead.

As unbalanced as it looks...

Lately a few guys at the local hobbyshop has started showing some interest in Age of Sigmar, as I have played Kings of War beside them I have gotten minor glimpses of their games. In my opinion Age of Sigmar  is a game for children, built around a hobby for adults. The kids the rules are made for are unable to really do the necessary work to get to play (& probably lack the funds as well), the adults that actually can do the necessary work and get some fulfillment out of doing so are bored by the simplicity of the rules and disappointed by the lack of any kind of balance (well at least me & my friends are).
Yet what I've come to realize is that this game might not be for me, but it is a great gateway to get new people into the hobby, especially younger people, with that in mind I bought the new mini-starter box, Storm of Sigmar:

It's a rather cheap box, I got mine for less than 20$. In it we find 13 models, 5 Stormcasts, 3 Chaos Warriors (Bloodbound) & 5 Chaos marauders along with some nice unit cards. There is a small rulebook which contains some minor fluff, the rules & a short campaign. This will be a perfect start for any new player, I will introduce this to my son once he is old enough.

About a week ago, Games Workshop released a new expansion for Age of Sigmar, this is called Warhammer, Age of Sigmar: Skirmish

 

While I prefer Warhammer 6th edition skirmish or Song of Blades and Heroes for my smaller games, I must admit that this cheap book is yet another perfect gateway to get new players into the hobby. The book is rather cheap & to start playing you only need a small warband of 4+ models.  The rules in skirmish are very simple as they basically work just like Age of Sigmar, which might not be everyones cup of tea, but it's perfect for new players, you just have to stay away from certain models which GW somehow missed (yes I'm looking at you Knight Azyros). As said, the core rules are the same but the army construction is tweaked and unit movement is removed, now all models move as individuals. This 40 page book starts with some fluff just like Storm of Sigmar, although more detailed, then it tells the backstory of the setting the skirmish games are set in, namely Shadespire, a place cursed by Nagash. There are 6 scenarios in the book, 3 of them are great for single games but you can connect them all for a larger campaign.

Each model is assigned a renown cost, & you decide before the game how much renown you can spend on your army. Almost every faction is represented here, but all of the big models are left out. This is a Skirmish game, so monsters would be a little odd. However sadly several of the old World races are missing as well.

 

Imo these two sets form a great way to get new players into wargaming, I reckon that if I convert the free Stormcast elemental from White Dwarf to a character & add a nasty character to the Bloodbound (maybe the free Slaughterpriest), I will have two 40pts armies, so in total 10 scenarios to play through with a mere 15 models. If we change sides this means 20 games for less than 40$, not bad imo. I can go even further by buying another Storm of Sigmar starter, this leaves room for changing around the lists in skirmish as well for a mere 20$ extra. After the introduction of this game, one can move on to games that are more complex.

While I doubt I will ever fully embrace Age of Sigmar, this along with a lot of other interesting releases made by GW lately (especially Slambo, specialist games & Made to order), does show that Games Workshop is once again on the right track, who knows, maybe my son will get to experience the same kind of magic I felt when I started 23 years ago with the magical World of Warhammer Fantasy. I really do hope so.