8-Part Age of Sigmar Wish List
As we begin AoS’ second year, I thought it could be valuable to hear what fans have on their wish list for the game.
A guest column by Scruby & Wells
Warhammer Age of Sigmar recently passed its one-year mark. After a rough start, Games Workshop has built momentum over the last half year, especially with its Start Collecting boxes, Ironjawz and Sylvaneth releases, Warhammer Quest Silver Tower, Season of War campaign, General’s Handbook, and re-entry into social media.
Here are eight ideas. Many more were received, so if this proves beneficial, a follow up could be put together. It’d be especially great to hear your (positive) ideas. If you had a wish list for AoS and its community, what would be on it?
1) Army Builder App:
Warscroll Builder has become an indispensable resource for writing and sharing AoS army lists. At the same time, even its creator, Tony P, has said “although I love my site, I’d much rather use an official app from Games Workshop, and I would help make it if they’d let me!” An AoS Army Builder app has been one of the most common requests.
2) Tokens and Markers:
Another popular request is official tokens and markers. While simple on the surface, AoS has many moving parts. A lot of players are using tokens or dice from third parties (e.g., Mortal Realms, Scenery Dice, Six Squared Studios, LITKO, et al.). As part of the recent Season of War campaign, GW created a small set of tokens for players, which hopefully signifies they are aware of the demand for a comprehensive, high-quality set of markers and tokens.
3) A Dedicated AoS Website:
In July, GW released a “Getting Started with Age of Sigmar” booklet. It’s an excellent intro for newcomers, but it’s essentially a magazine. A lot of folks won’t ever see it or buy it, and while GW’s website is great for learning about their products, it isn’t ideal for learning about the world, game, and community of Age of Sigmar itself. They’re really missing a dedicated one-stop-shop website – a visually-stunning and information-rich place to dig into AoS.
Such a website could, e.g., maintain a “State of the Game” overview, provide background on the realms and factions, offer how-to-play guides for Open, Narrative, and Matched Play, feature battle reports and tactics, showcase community members and their collections and insights, and curate resources from both GW and the community.
4) “Why I ♥ Warhammer” Series (AoS/40K/etc.):
The “why” is quite absent from Games Workshop’s website and communications, which is heavy on “what” and “how.” What if, though, they were to release a content series bringing to life the diversity of meaning behind Warhammer?
As a starting point, they could create a Facebook post from Warhammer TV, inviting fans to record a video expressing why they love Warhammer (AoS, 40K, etc.) – in two minutes or less. Fans could share their videos on Facebook Live, YouTube, etc., with the GW community team highlighting their favorites. An incredible range of views and passions would be uncovered, and the most compelling examples could become part of a featured “Why Warhammer?” video.
5) Incentivizing All Three Ways to Play:
A strength of AoS is that there’s no single way to play. The rules are modular and gathered under three different and interesting playstyles. Fans have said they’d love to see new content, supplements, events, etc. for all three styles of play. In particular, multiple players mentioned Wizard of the Coast’s organized play system for Magic: The Gathering as a guide Games Workshop could use to help craft their own organized play system for events and tournaments.
In terms of incentivizing Narrative Play, battle reports and high-quality photos from games in a 2017 Season of War campaign could be submitted to GW, who could select and feature their favorites in multiple ways. They could even provide prizes for the finest Season of War games played, which could further encourage this style of play.
6) An Outlet for Rules Q&A:
In March, GW invited players to submit questions through their AoS Facebook page for potential inclusion in a FAQ. This was tremendous to see, and the subsequent FAQ clarified multiple issues. Since then, though, they’ve said the AoS Facebook page isn’t a place for answering rules questions (any answers are unofficial, but questions might get passed to the rules team). An official outlet for rules Q&A and regular FAQ updates would be a valuable next step.
7) How-to-Build-Scenery Guides:
Many of us fondly remember White Dwarf magazine’s in-depth terrain-building guides from years past. Now is the perfect time to bring them back with White Dwarf’s relaunch as a monthly resource for hobbyists. In the magazine’s September 2016 issue, they showcased the Ruins of Dras’Shiel gaming board designed and built for Warhammer World. One of the board’s focal points is the stunning Tower of Dras’Shiel, a soaring structure of jade and gold. Imagine if they had also included an in-depth guide on how to build and paint your own Tower of Dras’Shiel.
8) Templates for Warscrolls + Battleplans:
Blank digital templates for warscrolls and battleplans would make it easier for fans and event organizers to create custom versions. This could be significant for promoting Narrative Play and creating narrative events. In addition, a number of players requested smaller warscrolls optimized for printing, with multiple warscrolls placed on one page.
~What about you? If you enjoy AoS, what would be on your wish list?
Contributions:
Thanks to everyone sharing their ideas. More can be found at The Grand Alliance Community. I’d like to especially recognize the following, whose ideas were highlighted: Pete Allison, Aaron Bostian, David Griffin, Carnelian, Tom Lyons, MechaBriZilla, Tony Pacheco, Dave Roke, Rolling Bad podcast, Sleboda, Luke Vassh, and Vince Venturella.
Tyler hosts the Scruby & Wells podcast. A couple of loons have called it “the thinking person’s Warhammer podcast.” He also maintains the ageofsigmar.org resource directory and has an obsession with retweeting pretty toy soldiers.
