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Vipoid

Necromancer
Apr 27, 2012
873
Hello all.

I doubt anyone even remembers me, but I used to visit this forum quite regularly. That was many years ago, though. I fear Age of Sigmar was the death knell for Fantasy in my area.

However, not long ago I found a different gaming group and whilst I've manly been playing 40k, some of them are apparently getting into Age of Sigmar. Well, since I still have all my Vampire Counts, I thought I might give it another try (apparently it has improved since I played it, though from what I've heard most of the aspects I despised are still in full effect).

Anyway, I thought I'd look for a little advice here, in order to try and understand the rules and muster some much-needed enthusiasm on my part.
 

Unas the slayer

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 1, 2017
1,863
Northern Italy
Welcome back!

regarding AoS, well, if you like to play 40k (8th ed), AoS is not all that different, and certainly the system has vastly improved since its first release.
What were the aspects you despised about the game? that would help to understand your issues.

In AoS the are no more the classic "Vampire Counts", but the Death Faction can actually be divided into 3 main groups, each one with its battletome and its own rules / abilities / bonuses: Flesh Eater Courts, Legions of Nagash and Nighthaunts.
While FEC and Nighthaunts are pretty much stand-alone allegiances, LoN includes the largest part of all undead forces and includes also some units from FEC and Nighthaunts.

Each unit is then identified by keywords, so we have still the distinction between deathrattle, soulblight, nighthaunts, deadwalkers...
 
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Vipoid

Necromancer
Apr 27, 2012
873
Welcome back!

Thanks.

regarding AoS, well, if you like to play 40k (8th ed), AoS is not all that different, and certainly the system has vastly improved since its first release.
What were the aspects you despised about the game? that would help to understand your issues.

It's been a while since I played, but off the top of my head:

- Lack of point values. I'm really not a fan of both players just putting a load of stuff on the table and hoping it's even vaguely balanced.

- The turn mechanic wherein one player can potentially take two turns in a row. In the (admittedly few) games I played, it amounted to flipping a coin each turn to see if one player would win the game.

- The effective removal of movement trays (I know you can technically still use them, but as soon as you get to combat you have to move off them). Moving and piling in 80 skeletons and 40 ghouls is quite possibly the least fun I have ever had in a game.

- The lack of customisation for characters.

- The move towards 'centrepiece' models as being the only worthwhile leaders of an army, with anyone on foot - even supposedly powerful Vampire Lords and Ghoul Kings - basically being relegated to the level of 'minor support hero'.

Those are the main issues that I can remember.

If it matters, there were some positives. I much preferred the new magic system - both in terms of how spells are cast and in terms of the move away from instant-death spells. Also, unless I'm mistaken, undead don't get obliterated by morale anymore.


In AoS the are no more the classic "Vampire Counts", but the Death Faction can actually be divided into 3 main groups, each one with its battletome and its own rules / abilities / bonuses: Flesh Eater Courts, Legions of Nagash and Nighthaunts.
While FEC and Nighthaunts are pretty much stand-alone allegiances, LoN includes the largest part of all undead forces and includes also some units from FEC and Nighthaunts.

Each unit is then identified by keywords, so we have still the distinction between deathrattle, soulblight, nighthaunts, deadwalkers...

Yeah, I can't say I'm a fan of this.
 

Unas the slayer

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 1, 2017
1,863
Northern Italy
It's been a while since I played, but off the top of my head:

- Lack of point values. I'm really not a fan of both players just putting a load of stuff on the table and hoping it's even vaguely balanced.

that was an issue of the past. Now each unit got its point value, which increases with the number of models. Balanced battles (as a GW game can be really balanced) are a thing

- The turn mechanic wherein one player can potentially take two turns in a row. In the (admittedly few) games I played, it amounted to flipping a coin each turn to see if one player would win the game.

It's still there, but it's more difficult. If you went first in the prevous turn, you win in the case of a tie.
The chance of a double turn it's still there, it forces you to be somehow more cautious, as you don't have the certainty given by the mechanic "it's me, it's you, it's me again"

- The effective removal of movement trays (I know you can technically still use them, but as soon as you get to combat you have to move off them). Moving and piling in 80 skeletons and 40 ghouls is quite possibly the least fun I have ever had in a game.

I feel your pain

- The lack of customisation for characters.

- The move towards 'centrepiece' models as being the only worthwhile leaders of an army, with anyone on foot - even supposedly powerful Vampire Lords and Ghoul Kings - basically being relegated to the level of 'minor support hero'.

We don't reach the same level of customisation of WHFB, but it's definitely possible, much more now than with the first release of OaS or the whole first ed.
 

Vipoid

Necromancer
Apr 27, 2012
873
Thanks for answering those. :)

One more thing I forgot about - do you still measure from model to model, rather than from base to base? Because that was quite possibly the worst rule I've ever seen in a game.
 

Irisado

Ancient Vampire Lord | Siphoner of Spammers
Staff member
True Blood
May 22, 2010
718
Nottingham, UK
Welcome back :).

I didn't like Age of Sigmar when it first came out, but there have been significant improvements since then. As a result, if you have a gaming group which is interested in playing, I'd recommend giving it another go.
 

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