GW Grognard: Not missing the “Good Old Days” Part 2

Hey everybody! Adam, from TFG Radio, here to stir the pot that is 40K!

We are just over 2 years into the latest edition of 40K. This edition has already lasted longer than six edition, which lasted a whopping 22 months. With new codexes and armies being released at a fast rate we have a lot of information that needs to be processed. There are a lot of new combos, reading interpretations, and  new units among a lot of other little details that a lot of players dig into when a new codex is released. The sometimes rapid release of new codexes, campaign book, or even White Dwarf articles, doesn’t give one enough time. There was a time, however, in days past when you had plenty of time to look over a codex.

Back in the day, you were sometimes lucky to get a codex that was relevant for the edition of the time. In the time before 8th edition, you would maybe get a few releases a year. Each month there would be either a codex, for 40K, or an army book, for fantasy. This didn’t include Specialist games. If they were doing a release for Specialist games, then that would many times replace either a 40K or fantasy release. This extended the delay for a codex even longer. There were times when a codex wouldn’t get a release at all for the current codex. Going into 7th edition, there was a time where there were a couple codexes that were made back in 5th edition. Part of the problem with this is the amount of time an edition would be in circulation. 5th edition was the longest one in use, while 6th edition lasted a mere 22 months. 7th edition lasted almost 3 years. The long intervals between having a current codex allowed for players to really find the hidden gems in a codex. You usually had enough time to really sift through all the info in a codex and squeeze every bit of info from it. At the same time, it can make the codex very static and bland. Due to knowing everything you need from a codex, there isn’t usually  lot of variety to the successful armies that are fielded, so people look forward to a new book. Don’t get me started about the long wait if your book happens to be sub-optimal.

Thankfully those days appear to be behind us. Although we sometimes have a rapid fire amount of releases that are sometimes hard to keep up with, we are getting a good amount new codexes. More importantly, we are always getting an update to almost all our armies. With the White Dwarf updates and the semi-annual FAQs, Games Workshop is constantly making corrections and adjustments to the game. Although not a real living rulebook,we are getting closer and closer to the game being one. I, for one, enjoy the attention and rapid response to many of the game’s issues. I look forward to what is coming down the pipe and seeing where the game takes us.

That’s all for this week, I hope you enjoyed the read. Let me know your thoughts, and what you think about the release schedule for Games Workshop, in the comments section. Don’t forget to visit our Facebook, Twitch, and Patreon pages to stay up to date on what we’re up to and when episodes drop!

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