So, I've seen the new rumors regarding the end of codexes and the possibility of 40K becoming AoS-ized. Not so long ago, I would have scoffed. But not anymore. I've seen the future, and I don't like it.

Let me backtrack a bit. I've played 40k since the beginning, when my brother and I learned with Rogue Trader back in 1988. We dabbled in other GW games -- Fantasy, Blood Bowl, Necromunda, etc. -- but we really only stayed loyal to 40k. For my brother, it's always been Orks. For me, Chaos. Oh, we've both played other armies, him more than me, and we both have several armies, but our true loves stayed the same. To this day, we talk each week, mostly about gaming, and in particular about 40k. So seeing AoS burst onto the scene was a mild surprise. I don't think either of us really believed GW would go this far... And now this week, we see the 30k sprues, and we know that that rumor too was true. I don't think either of us really believed it would be either. So speaking to my brother today, he says to me he thinks that it's gonna be AoS-like too. I argued against the idea, saying what many on the net have been saying, "Nah, why would they mess with something that is working so well? Fantasy, sure. It was dying. But 40k, and 30k too, are doing fine." I wanted to believe this. Maybe I even did once. But everything I was saying sounded so hollow this time, even to me. And this was all before either of us saw the rumors regarding the end of codexes and all the rest Hastings was saying.

So why am I posting all this? Well, honestly, perhaps I'm hoping for some sorta cathartic purge of my spirit. Because, honestly, I believe it IS a done deal. Looking at the trends over the last year, even before AoS, we all know/knew GW is gonna release a new edition of 40k next year. Knowing that, and looking at how 40k is rapidly sliding into the same sorta 'extremely large armies to play' model that ended Fantasy (i.e. Formations that gift 500+ free points), I don't think it's that hard to see the writing on the wall, once I turn off my bias. The things that Hastings was saying just ring true to what GW has done as of late. The next edition, which will come next year, will be some form of AoS. And I find that depressing. I hate the whole idea of AoS.

And that's the real kicker. I hate AoS, but both my brother and I are fluffy players. We should love it, right? Turns out, not so much. We play the armies we like, build them the way we like, and then get on with the losing. We attend tournaments occasionally and mostly lose there too. We've railed against 'power-gamers,' 'beardy players' and whatever other spiffy term that was in vogue at the time. And we carried on doing our thing. So, oddly enough, over the course of the last year, while debating this or that horrifically broken net list or dreary Goatboy article where he tries to convince everyone that he loves and embraces the fluff and then attaches a power/spam list at the end that proves otherwise, we found ourselves agreeing with many of the opinions of those 'dirty power-gamers' or event organizers when they began arguing for, and then implementing, slight rules corrections/modifications (for example, nerfing Invisibility, D weapons, etc.). We began to openly question each others sanity. How can this be? How can we be agreeing with these guys? After some soul searching, the answer is simple really. We just want a fair game. We love 40k and we don't mind losing, but we want it to be fair. I want a fair fight. Or at least, I don't want it to be so obvious that it isn't a fair fight.

So, I know that's a lot said, but not really a topic for a discussion, right? Well, if you've come this far, and honestly, I wouldn't blame you if you didn't, as I think I might be sorta talking to myself, let me give you one. So after feeling a bit depressed about the coming apocalypse as I see it, I realized I'd probably just stick to 7th edition (why can't I quit you!). Likely to just play against my brother once or twice a year when we get together. Because, I've played all the editions, and I honestly feel it's the best, most closely evocative of the fluff GW has produced. At least, it was at the beginning. There are a number of things I think could and should be changed, but realistically, Formations and some of the altered detachments are the biggest problem. I originally thought they were just a cheap method to push product on us, and then somehow I was hypnotized to believe some were kinda cool and not so bad, and now this year, we see them is all their naked glory. Marketing has taken complete control of the ship and they are steering us into the iceberg. Anyway, back on track. So here's the crux of it. I think 7th in its purity is great and I'll keep playing it. But when GW turns to the AoS version of 40k, and I find myself playing a defunct version of the game, why not tweak it in such a way that I know is just more fair? And if I'm willing to do that, would others be too? So, what I'm asking is, are there fans out there that would consider joining me, and likely my brother, to form a cabal of limited size to tweak the 7th edition rules to be fair and fun? I'm not interested in writing a whole new edition, or creating our own codexes wholesale blah-blah-blah...I'm talking about taking what we've got, ironing out the stuff that we all know to be unfair, broken and/or stupid underpowered, and straight-up fixing it. Build a living, breathing 7.5 and doing what GW refuses to do -- identify the stuff that doesn't work, throw out ideas and debate them with one another and then just fix it.

So, would there be an interest from the fans in doing such a thing? Am I just talking to myself at this point? Why am I even still up???