White Dwarf going back to Monthly

[Cammerz]

So clearly changing it to a weekly release didn't work out for them. I myself was very disappointed with the change, I'd been subscribing to WD for about a decade and whilst the weekly WDs looked alright, they changed the subscription to the abysmal Warhammer: Visions. This change was probably one of the main reasons I stopped getting GW things, I cancelled my subscription and didn't advance from 6th ed 40k to 7th.

I'm glad it's back as a monthly subscription, but sadly for me I think it's a bit too little, too late. I play 6th ed 40k and if I were to pick up my fantasy models I would be playing Fantasy 8th, not AoS, so WD doesn't really have that much to offer me anymore.

I think this is a good move by GW, one of the (hopefully many) ways they're starting to correct the mistakes of the past.

[Irisado]

It's a good move on the face of it, I agree, but they also need to improve the content and writing style significantly to persuade me to buy it ever again.  Well written turn-by-turn battle reports in which both sides have a chance of winning would be a great start, as would fewer pages just saying 'buy this amazing new stuff'.

[Narric]

One of my favorite parts was their showcasing of conversions, as well as general hobby advice and ideas. When it shifted from being hobby focused to a glorified catalog with a bare amount of articles, it really lost my attention, and from that point on my general attachment to any GW steadily declined.

[BigToof]

I'm also pleased to see that Kill Team is coming back with simplified rules.
It's a game that you don't need to buy models for and is quick to play?
.
..
...
Just when I thought I was out they keep pulling me back in!

Best,
-BT

[Masked Thespian]

I'm also pleased to see that Kill Team is coming back with simplified rules.
It's a game that you don't need to buy models for and is quick to play?
.
..
...
Just when I thought I was out they keep pulling me back in!

Best,
-BT

For me, I looked at it and thought, "Huh, £40?  I probably won't be picking that up."  Then I get an email from Warhammer Digital telling me that because I own a digital copy of the current edition of Kill Team (that I picked up whilst I was still living in Japan) I'll get it updated to the new edition for free come September 3rd.

'Twas a pleasant surprise.

[Thantos]

For me, I looked at it and thought, "Huh, £40?  I probably won't be picking that up."  Then I get an email from Warhammer Digital telling me that because I own a digital copy of the current edition of Kill Team (that I picked up whilst I was still living in Japan) I'll get it updated to the new edition for free come September 3rd.

'Twas a pleasant surprise.

Wait?! Wha-? .. Free? Somebody slap me coz i must be dreaming Since how long ago was it since GW did free stuff?

I liked kill team, small band of highly converted unique models all with a theme? What's not to love? A refreshing change from spamming the table top with too many models.

And glad WD is back to monthly, but I agree with Irisado and Narric - it needs to devolve back into the friendly hobby magazine with conversions, fiction, good battle reps and cool project ideas.

As opposed to a general ... "Look at this new model!!! It's frakkin' awesome on the battlefield, you should buy one!! Buy one NOW! What is better than 1 of these new awesome models? ... TWO of these new awesome models, of course!!"

[Mabbz]

Kill team you say? I still need to get my hands on the previous version.

[Masked Thespian]

Well, my copy of White Dwarf came through my door today (a late birthday present!) and I've taken a quick flick through.

I've got to say that I'm pretty impressed.  It has loads of articles that I want to read, previews of a game that I've not heard about on the internet before now, a load of new ways to play games (basically, pick a board game GW has produced in-house over the past 7 years and there's new rules for it), a new A Tale of Four Gamers Warlords, a battle report, and much much more.

All in all, it's everything I wanted Warhammer Visions to be, but it wasn't.  I'm very happy with the new White Dwarf and I hope it stays this good for a long time.

[Irisado]

That sounds more promising than I was expecting.  Which armies were featured in the battle report?

[Narric]

Would you say the mag is as good as it was about five years ago? Before 6th/7th edition 40k?

I may pick up the odd one or two, but maybe that would be a bad idea when I wanna focus on MtG

[Masked Thespian]

That sounds more promising than I was expecting.  Which armies were featured in the battle report?

It's Age of Sigmar, featuring Stormcast Eternals against a mixed Khorne force of mortals and Daemons.

Would you say the mag is as good as it was about five years ago? Before 6th/7th edition 40k?

I may pick up the odd one or two, but maybe that would be a bad idea when I wanna focus on MtG

Yeah, I'd say so.  It's probably worth mentioning that I've got a continuous collection of White Dwarfs from issue 179 onwards, so I've been around during the golden age of White Dwarf.  It's also probably worth mentioning that I'm somewhat of a GW fanboy, so whilst I'm trying to give an unbiased opinion, there's a non-zero chance that I'm a little biased.




To give a better idea, here's this month's list of contents:

4: Latest News: Planet Warhammer (news on what's going on with regards to GW, including non-miniature stuff like video games)
13: In Stores Now (latest releases)
22: Contact (letters page where people write in)
24: 'Eavy Metal ('nuff said)
26: A Tale of Four Warlords (a new A Tale of Four Gamers, updated and taking place with regard to Age of Sigmar)
32: Hall of Fame (celebrating a particularly historical miniature each month)
34: Army of the Month (celebrating an individual gamer's army, including 2 fold-out pages)
44: Boxed Games Bonanza (introducing new rules for Deathwatch Overkill, Space Hulk (2009 and 2014 versions), Betrayal at Calth, Lost Patrol, Assassinorum: Execution Force, Warhammer Quest Silver Tower, Gorechosen (a new upcoming game), Age of Sigmar, and Stormcloud Attack)
70: Golden Demon (showcasing particular GD entries/winners)
76: Illuminations (showcasing GW artwork)
82: Battle Report (more narrative than the older WD battle reports, possibly due to being Age of Sigmar but might be reflective of battle reports from now on in general)
98: The Ultimate Guide (everything you need to know about the background of a particular part of 40k/Age of Sigmar/etc.)
106: Temporal Distort (a review of an old White Dwarf, in this case one from almost 20 years ago)
108: Battleground (showcasing a gaming table, in this case one from Warhammer World)
114: Blanchitsu ('nuff said)
118: Parade Ground: Kill Teams (showcasing 6 Kill Teams glued and painted up for the upcoming Kill Team (re)release)
124: Sprues and Glue (guides and tips on modelling your miniatures, focussing on some recently released/upcoming models)
128: Paint Splatter (guides and tips on painting your models, again focussing on some recently released/upcoming models)
133: Subscriptions (advert for subscribing to White Dwarf)
134: Army Focus: Designers' Notes (discusses the thoughts of the designers of the new Deathwatch codex)
142: Readers' Models (reader submissions of their painted models)
148: In the Bunker (what the White Dwarf team has been up to recently, kind of like a printed blog entry)
Inside rear cover: next month's previews

Out of the 148 pages, 13 of them are specifically adverts (as in, not with some kind of written article): 1 double page splash of new Deathwatch models, 1 page for Warhammer Digital, 1 double page splash of boxed games (WQ Silver Tower, Betrayal at Calth, A: Execution Force, and Deathwatch Overkill), 1 double page splash of Age of Sigmar books (the new General's Handbook, Grand Alliance books, Getting Started with Age of Sigmar), Find Your Local Store (advertising the store finder at the GW website), the aforementioned White Dwarf subscriptions page, 1 double page splash of Black Library and its upcoming book releases, and 1 double page splash for Warhammer World right at the end of the magazine (pages 146-147).  That's under 10% and seems like a reasonable amount.

Don't forget that the free Slaughterpriest model being given away with the magazine this month would cost you £18 to buy it brand new.  At this point, I don't know if I'm going to be playing the Age of Sigmar faction it belongs to, but if I don't then I'm sure I'm going to be using it for bits in my 40k Chaos Space Marine army.

[Narric]

Tempted to pick up a copy just for the Model XD Might pop into my LGS for it at some point

Whats the retail price? £5?

[Masked Thespian]

Whats the retail price? £5?

Close: £5.99.

[Cammerz]

A free model? I can't remember the last time they did that. I know they used to give away one from each army with the release of a new starter set (I've still got the dwarf warrior and night goblin from Skull Pass). This certainly sounds like a stride in the right direction.

[Narric]

A free model? I can't remember the last time they did that.

Last I remember was Black Reach Orks and tiles for Mighty Empires.