I like this thread. It has offered some perspective.
It has been my plan, since Abington has the space to host events, to experiment more and more with FW. You can expect to see the events there incorporate FW more and more.
One thing that I think should be discussed is the incentive that allowing FW offers a person to NOT start a new army either ever, or for an extended amount of time. How much longer does the life of an army last when you're not only limited by mixing and matching codex units to form army lists, but also the FW options for your army?
I really, truly want people to love the army or armies they have. I also want them to start new armies as often as possible. I am not sure the widespread allowance of FW at our events helps this more than it hurts it, although based on what people here are saying it might be closer than I first thought.
If it's fair to assume people start new armies because they are bored or mostly "done" experimenting with their current choice (which may or may not be true), does allowing FW extend or eliminate the time in between army 1 and army 2?
Does it end a players incentive to buy, say, 4 boxes of Thunderwolves or Bloodcrushers just so they can try something crazy at an event? (in favor of spending the extra 150 on something cool from FW) A bad example, but it happens.
Does the new, younger player save up for something awesome from FW instead of buying 2-3 more boxes of stuff, which represents 2-3 months worth of his spending?
Do people start buying FW models primarily because they're veteran gamers who have explored the hobby to the extent that they see fit? Will these people buy FW models anyway? Is BG worried about this?
How much do people actually consider their spending when new army books come along? Do people think about and consider the investment or do they just do what they want? If they do consider it, would they also consider investing X hundred dollars in the FW stuff they've been eyeing instead of the new army book now that they know they can use it in all / some / most of BG games and events?
How do people / players weight their "wants" and how does allowing FW factor in to that? If a player skips out on the Chaos Demon release because he'd prefer to pick up 2-3 models for FW instead, that hurts quite a bit long term. (And comes back to the delaying of a new army due to FW. Same point really.)
These are just some of the easier points to communicate via text.
If we are assuming that the allowance of FW is primarily based on the impact it'll have on sales at both BG locations in the present and near future the discussion boils down to:
Are there more players that would be incentivised to buy GW models from BG by the allowance of FW than there would be players that use FW to supplement exsisting armies / ideas, therefore delaying or totally eliminating GW purchases into the future?
It is my belief that the allowance of FW in all /many events increases the "life" of an army a considerable amount. Secondarily, it's likely to increase FW awareness and FW "culture" in and around the stores (Plainville, mainly). I believe that both of these things are less than ideal for the business. This is also to say nothing for the buying habits / trends in the long term (years), and how I believe the allowance of FW to adversely effect that.
It would be fantastic to be convinced that I am wrong and that these are not legitimate concerns. Either way I think players can expect to see more BG events that do allow some or all FW models than we've ever done before. I'm a lot less against FW now than I was 1 year ago. Lots of what's going on here is dramatized for effect, although the points are probably not less valid.
I'm interested in how many events out there allow FW and are NOT put on by clubs. I feel like every time I see an event that allows FW it is not put on buy a store (a for profit business). I suspect there's a reason for that.
