40K RUMORS: “Sisters & 8th Coming Soon”
The Rumorsphere is blowing up as one blogger chimes in about their trip to Warhammer World!
On Blood of Kittens, TastyTaste recounts his trip to Warhammer World from the perspective of an American. He talks about his experience at the GW Corporate headquarters, has a ton of cool pictures of the miniatures on display and has a sit down with Phil Kelly. It’s a good read so be sure to go read the full article when you get a chance.
Pic via Blood of Kittens
Aside from that, TastyTaste did drop in some juicy rumors to report:
via TastyTaste
“Now of course if you have read this far you are curious about any gossip. Well the only things I have to report are what we have heard. First is Sisters of Battle and second is 8th edition are both coming very soon. What was news to me though, was even GW was surpised[sic] by Age of Sigmar sales since the release of the General’s Handbook. So I guess Sigmar is here to stay. Other notes, were staff expressing fatigue with Warhammer 40k. What this means I have no idea, but I imagine it has to do with need for a new edition. It also makes me wonder if 8th isn’t just a tweak, but a BIG change.”
This is a pretty big one-two punch of info! This seems to point toward what we’ve been hearing for awhile – 8th Edition is on the way. But the bit about “First is Sisters of Battle” is what has me…concerned. Allow me to explain.
We’ve got the arrival of the Sisters of Silence which is awesome. It’s very easy to see Games Workshop using those basic sculpts and parlaying them into Sisters of Battle. But what has be worried is the way in which BoK presented the information. Now, this could just be the literal order in which TastyTaste heard or was reporting the info so keep that in mind. But what if that was the actual order of the releases? “Why would they release Sisters of Battle and then follow that up with a new edition?” Well…It’s been done before:
This book might be a relic for some and a sore spot for others. If you played during 2nd Edition you might recall that this book was introduced and than roughly 2 months later 3rd Edition dropped. Not only was it a new edition of the game, the shift of game play from 2nd to 3rd was so massive it completely invalidated this book. Sisters of Battle players, all I can say is, “Ouch, that had to sting a bit.” This book was the last time the Sisters had a “proper” codex. They have had some digital releases and some supplementary materials, but this book was the last time they got their own physical codex all to themselves.
The Sisters of Battle are also the heralds of change in the meta-context of 40k as a game system. It seems like every time they get put to print it’s only a matter of time before the game shifts around them and leaves them behind. That bit about the studio feeling the “40k fatigue” and the release of Sisters could once again line-up for the dawn of a new game-changing edition.
Warhammer 40k has had the same basic gameplay for awhile now – pretty much since 3rd. We’ve had 4 editions that have been bolting-on new rules and tweaking old ones to the same core for years now. Will the Sisters be the heralds of the new edition? We won’t be able to say until it happens. For now, all we have to go on are the hints that Games Workshop is teasing and bits of rumors from around the web.
What do you think – are the Sisters of Battle going to herald in 8th with the last 7th edition codex or do you think 8th will drop and then the Sisters will get their due?
