I started collecting a High Elves army at the start of last year, my 1st army for WHFB, as part of a challenge with a gaming friend of mine. Part way through my doing my 1st 1000 point army, Age of Sigmar dropped and bang went our challenge as, like many other gamers, we did not know what was going to happen. In fact he sold his models, after trying AoS as he couldn't get his head round the massive changes to the game rules. Me- I hadn't played WHFB at that point and wasn't throwing my hard work away without trying the game first.

As a game, I didn't mind AoS at all, the rules weren't too hard to learn (all 4 pages of them...) and to be fair, if someone said to me that they were interested in trying out wargaming, that is probably where I'd start them, as its fairly easy to pick up and thus get people the idea of wargaming.

However, there are still many people in my gaming area who bemoan the loss of WHFB and have not and refuse try AoS; in fact our local gaming club are going to be trialling the fan written 9th Age rules - which just shows the strength of the following that WHFB has- and I have found it difficult in finding local AoS players (my area has a massive 40K following, never a task to find a fellow 40K player for a game). The Sigmar Marines look of the Stormcast Eternals is just one gripe.

I personally like the new, blank canvas of AoS, though I also wish that The Old World was still around (I remember WHFB being around and as big as 40K back in the 90s when my brothers and I were at school, before we "moved on" and then later returned to 40K).

So, could WHFB have been saved? Could Forge World run it as a "Specialist Game" alongside the returning Bloodbowl (which has survived in the wilderness for years on fan written rules, without support from GW)?

Taking a look at WHFB, is there something that GW could have done to help save it?

How about changing the way the armies are organised?
It was (if I remeber rightly from what I was learning when I was doing the callenge) your army selection was split up as...
25% Max on Lords and Heroes
25% Min on Core Units
50% Max on Special Units
25% Max on Rare Units

So Tyrion, a model at £23, could not have been used in an army list any less than 2000 points.

If GW had changed the way the armies were organised, along the lines of the way armies are built in 40K, would that have attracted more people to the flagging system, so players who were used to the 40K way of army building, would not have been as restricted?

ie

Min 1 Lords and Heores, 2 Core Units
Max (additions) 1 or 2 Lords and Heroes, 4 Core Units, 4 Special Units, 3 Rare Units ?

And an allies chart of

Min 1 Lords and Heores, 1 Core Units
Max additions 2 Core Units, 2 Special Units, 1 Rare Unit?

Also, with all the WHFB novels that I have read, The Empire and High Elves were the 2 most prevailant "Good Guys" in the stories , while Vampire Counts, Skaven and Chaos were the most prevailant "Bad Guys". In fact, I only read one book with Brettonians in "The Red Duke" and Tomb Kings (R.I.P.) were only a mention in 1 book and were in another, a Gotrek and Felix book. Would more books with these armies in have attracted more players?

Actually would releasing a new army book and new models in 10 years have helped the Bretonnians cause?

Yes, I find it sad that the old world has gone and that so many lovely models are leaving the GW range and yes, it would be nice if they could be continued with, even as a Forge World game and armies (hasn't done 30K/Horus Heresy any harm).

Would there be players who would do all 3 games (WHFB, 40K and AoS)?