Another digital supplement was just launched - Be'lakor

[Chase]

Is that resellable by Chase/BG?

As a special order item only.

Usually, anything with the little "Available to Order" icon is "Special Order Only."

GW does not want me putting those items on my shelf, sends them in small white or brown boxes, and sells them to me for a very small discount off of the retails price.  Some great examples of how stupid this system is would be the Eldar Wave Serpent, Thunderfire Cannon, or basically every single special character out there.

[PhoenixFire]

i'm all for only allowing codexs and supplements that only come in hardback and thus sold at BG

Sure there will have to be exceptions in certain cases (the aforementioned Sisters of Battle codex) but these will be rare

these new mini 4 dollar rules things will almost assuredly never be for sale in hardcover form

Personally i like the feel of a book, and i understand some people prefer digital formats. But in the last couple tournaments twice people have started telling me about some random new rule and proceeded to show me this codex on their phone.

[Vermillion]

You could always give digital releases shakedown time. As part of the normal copypasta for tournaments you could add a line in where digital releases are not legal if they were released in the current year or a set time frame like a 3 months. That way we can see what the bigger tournaments do before committing to allowing it.

[andalucien]

I kind of like the feel of a book too, but I have to admit, I'll probably never buy another paper book again (fiction, cookbook, 40k codex, anything).  Why?  Because I'm a space case and I tend to lose things.  The other week I left 2 cookbooks in the cart in the grocery store parking lot.  I think I've left a codex at Battlegrounds twice, and I can't even count the number of times I've been walking around like "umm, did I leave my codex at this table"?  I don't leave my phone anywhere because I've learned to feel naked without it.

[MM3791]

Ironically I bought the Be'lakor model 10 months ago and have been using him since as a proxy for Fateweaver, so its nice that I will be able to field him as himself. His mastery of the Telepathy lore will allow me to mind control Riptides, Wraithknights, and even Brad's Furiuoso Dreadnaughts  Those things are a pain in the ass lol

[Benjamin]

Part of me likes where all of this is headed.  It certainly promotes a much more casual feel and play environment where players can expect they won't know everything (anything?) about their opponents army and how it works.  They can just take what they want, roll dice, and have fun with some cool models.

The other part of me things that it's ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE for the longevity of the game.  It is my experience that healthy "organized play" is paramount to the success of hobby games, specifically at game stores.  GW releasing small, poorly worded, sometimes inconsistent "rules updates" that are not always available to everyone at the same time, through the same channels and then expecting the events in your area to immediately include all of them is a really, really bad thing for everyone.

I agree completely. The competitive scene has helped BG promote 40k events. If that suffers, I don't see how BG doesn't suffer too.

[Typhus]

It's extraordinarily easy (and free) to convert a .mobi or .epub format to .pdf, which you can then print out and bring with you to show your opponents any relevant rules questions.

[andalucien]

Typhus, to me the main issue isn't that the supplements are digital, it's that they're so numerous, badly done, and direct-order-only. 

So, it looks like there is going to be one of these new supplements every day until christmas, they're calling it "Digital Advent" which implies a new thing revealed every day.

Today's digital release is a lot more disappointing than the initial promising Bel'a'kor:   Anyone remember that dig I made about "Codex: Broadsides"?   Well, that's pretty much exactly what they just did.  You can ally in 2 units of broadsides and a Riptide as a SEPARATE detachment (not using allies slot).  If you do so, they all get Tank Hunters and Preferred Enemy: Space Marines.

[Sir_Prometheus]

So, this bothers me a few different ways:

1) I, as an in the know competitive player, didn't even hear of this until now.

2) it doesn't actually look all that balanced, sorry, Matt.

3)GW has gone from a "we re not a game company, we're a model company", to a "we pump out rules for money" company.

4) this has destroyed any expectation a player may have of actually knowing all the rules available in a game

I will note, Matt, that the Tau expansions is a dataslate, meant to apoc only. I feel like this should be seen in a similar light. It certainly doesn't feel like a "real" expansion. No, I have no idea what easy marker there is for a codex to be "official" anymore. The Supplements (like clan raukaan), I think should count, codex inquisition I am less sure about. Little $4 one a day thingies really shouldn't.

[andalucien]

Hi Sir Prometheus,

I didn't buy the Tau one, in what manner does it say that it's for apocalypse only?   ALL of these releases are called "Dataslates".  There's no link between "dataslate" and "apocalypse" other than that a dataslate can contain rules for apocalypse (just like a Supplement can).

[Typhus]

It's 40k, not apocaplyse.

"ALLIED FORMATIONS

Formations do not count as your army’s Allied Detachment, even if they are made up of units from a different codex to your Primary Detachment, and they do not stop you from taking an Allied Detachment in the same army. However, the Levels of Alliance rules from the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook do apply to them and units chosen from a different codex that
are in the same army."

[Mad Dok Rob]

Today's digital release is a lot more disappointing than the initial promising Bel'a'kor:   Anyone remember that dig I made about "Codex: Broadsides"?   Well, that's pretty much exactly what they just did.  You can ally in 2 units of broadsides and a Riptide as a SEPARATE detachment (not using allies slot).  If you do so, they all get Tank Hunters and Preferred Enemy: Space Marines.

This....stuff like this really does not make me want to play 40k anymore (oh wait, I am on 40k hiatus).

It is a tough go for Orks right now, but some of this stuff is just mind numbingly insane.

I guess it is cool that they are giving you rules for those big boxes you buy...but at least PP gives you those rules in the box and doesn't expect you to pay an extra 5$ for them.

[Tharcil]

from looking at the one rule set released so far I think these are great.  Nickle and dime for rules is not great, but no one is going to need to buy all of them.  Each person might get one or two.  The fact that you can access something that could update a codex that isn't going to be overhauled for who knows how long is great! 

My 2 cents.  These should be allowed in tournaments, but not necessarily all of them.  We occasionally allow IA, and these are far more accessible than those books.  Have some tournaments where they are allowed and some where they are not.  Every tourney that has allowed IA, I have never heard of the unit, seen the model or had any idea what it could do before playing. The player has always had a hard copy (book or print out) that they shared.  I really can't see how allowing these as often as we allow IA stuff to be that much of a game changer to the tournament scene.

[andalucien]

Yeah can we all agree that if an event is going to allow Forgeworld, it should also allow digital?  I don't think these types of releases introduce issues that wouldn't already be present in a FW event.

IMHO the more uncertain discussion is really whether to allow them in the types of events where ForgeWorld ISN'T allowed, the more "competitive style" events.

[Chase]

Have some tournaments where they are allowed and some where they are not.

This is what will almost certainly happen.