Welcome to 9th Edition!
Or not…
What a way to start the new edition. Since, what, 3rd edition, there has been a starter box to help people get into the whole thing – if someone walks into a GW and asks how they can get started with this crazy thing, this is what they get pointed to. The boxes have been a varied mix of greatness that, recently at least, have always included miniatures that were exclusively available through that box. Sure, a lot of them were push-fit models, the sort of things that go together one way only as they’re designed for those folks new (or fairly new) to the hobby. Somewhat paradoxically, I’ve always enjoyed these kind of sets because of the variety they offer – you get static poses, for sure, but somehow the miniatures have different detail to the inevitable multi-part models.
Anyhow, the point being that previous editions have a starter set with which to get into the game. Indomitus has been sold as a limited release “launch set”, much like we saw with the Sisters of Battle set back in November, and the recent Lumineth Realmlords set. They’re a set of models with which to launch a model line, or in this case, a game edition. Much like the Sisters set, the box sold out within minutes – the GW site crashed six times during my attempt to buy it, after my LGS site simply failed to load due to the traffic.
It feels as though GW has decided this kind of limited-release run is, once again, a good idea to get a load of quick sales. Remember the End Times nonsense? I thought we’d put all of this behind us, but clearly not! Why do they keep doing this? For the money, clearly, but seeing the boxes up on ebay today for well over triple the original asking price (and higher still!) must make them thing, if they made just more of their product, people would be giving them the money… Of course, people have been talking about this topic for so long now, and there are plenty of people who have crunched the numbers better than I could, but once the initial design and moulds have been paid for, producing the actual plastic kit costs just pennies. With a set this good, they could keep it as a line item and I’m sure it’d fly off the shelves.
Launching 9th Edition with a box that sold out in quarter of an hour has left a weird aftertaste – you can still join in the fun of the new edition from July 25th, albeit only with the rulebook. No box full of fancy miniatures for you to enjoy, just the book.
It feels weird, and has robbed it of any sense of excitement for me.
Did you manage to get a copy of Indomitus? What are your thoughts on this latest GW limited release?
spalanz.com 
Yup, very much agree with you. I too missed out on a copy in exactly the same way and (after the initial swearing) I found myself thinking pretty much the exact same thing. For me the models were the draw, another new edition of 40k doesn’t really mean much to me as I don’t really play but the models were a big hook – and after all the build up it seems very anti-climatic. I especially found myself thinking of people like yourself who’re Necron fans, if this was a Chaos or Ork themed release (my two main factions to which my soul will always be sold) I’d have been raging to have missed out. I remember all the excitement that surrounded the release of 8th, people looking forward to getting their box – and if you weren’t it was either because you didn’t want one (in which case fair-do’s) or you couldn’t afford it right now in which case you’d still be able to get it later. This on the other hand has left a bit of a bad taste all round. Social media seems to be choked with people who’re hacked off that they missed out, and those who did manage to score a copy often seem to be a bit subdued, rather than jubilant – instead of sharing their excitement with the wider community I’ve seen people keeping it on the down-low so they don’t come across like show-offs. Then there’s all the other releases that have been pushed back, first by C-19 and now by this. I’ve been looking forward to new Necromunda for ages for example but I was happy to wait a while longer because I know 40k is the biggest show in town – and I was after a copy of Indomitus myself. Seems a bit of a waste to have pushed my Eschers back down the release queue for something that was over in 14 minutes though.
I know it’s easy to say “I saw this coming” after the fact but I did, and I’m just some dude on the internet – how did GW themselves walk into this so blindly? Why did they chose such a high-profile moment, and drum up so much attention and hype, for something that has so swiftly turned into an own-goal?
That is so true – all the hype for all these weeks, and it just fizzled out to nothing because so many people missed out. Through sheer luck, I think, it looks like I did manage to get a box – but like you say, I’m not really wanting to shout about it. It might be different when the time comes, of course, but I’m likely to be wary about doing much with it (beyond the rules) until the hubbub dies down. I also managed to get a Sisters box back in November, but had kept that quiet until the new year… weird times, all round!!
At this point I don’t know if I got my copies (or even one). I preordered and prepaid from a retailer but given how this is all looking I somewhat expect a “sorry….” email on Monday morning. We shall see, I guess…
I went to GW simply because none of the independent retailers’ sites would load for me, and after that Indiana Jones-style checkout, I think I’ve got one. But I hope the people like yourself, who have had the confirmation, actually end up getting what you want. Not the most auspicious start to a new edition, though!
To be honest I wasn’t really hyped by the 9th edition announcement, the teases and slow pacing (the hype was ehhhhh……) just made me less interested in getting into the new edition. I’m not sure why though, probably because 8th ed felt short. After buying the rule book, codex’ and miniatures I have this feeling that I don’t want to spend a whole chunk of money on new codex’ and the new rule book.
How long will 9th ed last? Two years?
I’ll stick with 8th ed and play games with my dad or anyone I invite around. 🙂
That sounds like a much more sensible thing to do! 7th to 8th was the first edition change I was around for, and it was so positive that I haven’t really given much thought to 9th, beyond that it’s happening, and my beloved Necrons are getting almost a range refresh! I play most of my games at my local GW though, so to a large extent, I feel as though I have to move with the times!
I really hope, though, that we don’t see the ridiculous bloat happening again. They said 8th wouldn’t result in you requiring a library to play games, but I’ve just been writing a Chaos Marines list and needed 3 books and a booklet to do so… 🤨
I have no real idea yet what to properly expect, although I’ve seen enough social media posts to make me think it’s not going to veer too far from 8th? I guess we’ll see, though!