Sooo, get back home and go to the FLGS and there is a new box on the shelf. Age of Sigmar... who is Sigmar...
Ut-oh, sounds of fun coming from a mini table, have to check it out... Hah... just losers playing warhammer fantasy... or... wait a minute... no slidey trays, no masses of troops... laughter... mirth. What the hell is going on here??? Don't these guys know they are playing a GW game. No laughing, no fun. Get your noses into that 500 page rulebook and look something up. Argue about spells and magic, damnit.
"Hey, wanna join us, it's the new warhammer fantasy. Just grab some models and set them down, we'll work you in." One of the mindless fantasy players asks.
"Sure, I'm going to read a few hundred pages of rules, scrolls and other drivel so I can join in." I reply, smug in my knowledge of 7th edition 40k.
"Nah, 4 pages of rules. Super easy. In fact, you probably don't need them. Here are some sheets for the units over there. Grab some and lets rollllll....."
Holy crap! in 3 minutes I'm in the game, fighting, moving, rolling and learning a few hard lessons. 4 pages may be misleading, this game has some serious mechanics hidden in 4 pages.
Yes, I picked up the new Age of Sigmar box, and yes I am building the minis. Why? It was fun. I mean crazy kind of fun. Very easy to learn, but I think mastering it will be a stretch. There are holes in the rulebook... big ones, big enough for trucks to drive through, but maybe they meant for them to be there? Like no prohibition from shooting and fighting in melee in the same turn? Did they mean to allow that? It sure seems like they did. Units have some interesting special abilities and hero's have a real impact. Things interact in really weird ways.
The game has no points, no endless hours of list building, net-listing and perfectly balancing. Just grab some models and get going. The guy with more "stuff" is the attacker. The game is supposed to be scenario based, and that might be interesting going forward. I also see some situations where people will take advantage of the no points and beat up the unsuspecting fluff player. But that is self correcting, don't play with jerk-offs.
This is NOT your father's Warhammer Fantasy. In fact, I can see where this is going to royally piss off the Fantasy players that have a big investment in the game. It is stripped down to the absolute most basic miniatures game and I'm not sure that is good in the long run. Time will tell.
I see GW putting this out there as a pusher gives you your first few bags. Get ya hooked then suck ya in. I can also see that this game may scale up or down pretty well in the long run.
But for now, check it out. It really is strangely fun. It is also a gateway drug, use it wisely :)
