"Cities of Sigmar? Links to TOW" Topic

Cities of Sigmar is an Age of Sigmar expansion.

It came out a while after to games initial release.

I'm looking at its links to the upcoming old world game.

So, some questions.

Was COS made to try to appease angry (any not so angry) WFB players? Those who don't want to touch AOS with a squigg stick.

Was it just used as a way to shed old stock of WFB figures?

Was it used to test the market for TOW, by putting WFB figures back in the spotlight?

Or all of the above?

On the site, the COS rule book is no longer available. Coincidence, as TOW looms ever closer?

Is it being pulled so the rag tag range (many shown in rank and file units on square bases), can be reboxed for TOW? Or otherwise, because it's done its job, now TOW is on the way?

Thoughts?

Well, talking of shedding old stock, remember the numbers involved.

Whole metal and resin figures can be made by the 10s quite easily, plastic is another beast entirely.

At the end of the old world, GW would still have been sitting on possibly 1,000s or even 10,000s sprues (I won't mention the possibility of 100,000s, as that is just revolting) of the latest plastic WFB figures, not to mention the remainder of earlier sprues.

That's a lot for the bin, especially as it would be money they are throwing away.

Far easier to put some rules in a new book and rebox (if they did?).

That's a look at that question, anyway.

As far as I can tell they are redoing them for AoS.
link

The Old World is Bretonnia and Tomb Kings then Orcs and Dwarves (maybe)

Thank you.

That makes me more suspicious.

So, perhaps, on the whole WFB sales were not as good as they should be. Computer games and GW space marines seemed popular, so a plan was hatched to end WFB and replace it with computer game marines, or AOS.

GW probably thought they did to well a job, with the forces of chaos (disgruntled fans) snapping at their heels.

"Quick," perhaps said a GW executive, "throw something at them."

Enter Cities of Sigmar.

I think this had another effect of keeping the models in the catalogue and not in a dingy part of the website.

Getting to my point,

I suspect COS was a success. But for what reason?

Because people were actually playing AOS!? Or because people were still buying WFB figures from the AOS line?

Also being the most, um, human figures, there may have been a lot of sales from folk buying them for other games.

It would be hard to say which is most true. Sales figures in the COS book could help, but in reality it may not have had a large print run anyway, especially if only being used to clear a warehouse.

Point is, perhaps GW don't really know either. COS figures sell well, so they bring back TOW, but they also renew COS, not knowing which is really more popular. Hense the smaller sounding TOW release until they can figure it all out.

Best of luck to them.

Of course it could also be that, with TOW coming out, they just wanted to get those figures slid over from COS, meaning new ones to be made to fill the gap for COS.

Confusing.

The COS book is no longer available because a new version of the COS book is coming out around September. There are also new Cities of Sigmar sculpts and new units like the Freeguild Cavaliers:

and new infantry:

Thanks for the pics.

It will be very interesting to see if GW are now definitely splitting the mini lines, or just using these new ones for both AOS and TOW.

My guess is that the WFB figures will be reboxed for TOW.

This is because there is now a definite difference in in game time between TOW and AOS. So early Empire soldiers would look different to AOS equivalents.

This is something GW will need to do going forward. You could get away with demons, but having the same chap in tights in two games supposed to be centuries? apart is ridiculous.

I just hope the changes stay on the AOS side.

All that said.

Those Empire? chaps look cool. They may just include new head and shield options for TOW. But put next to men in tights, they have a great contrast, so a defined split is probably what they are going for.

I do wonder if mixed units will occur in TOW.

Like shown above, one chap looks a tad overweight with an eye patch, one has dark skin, and the other appears female, perhaps Asian? Ticking some boxes.

That's fine and dandy for AOS, even some particular units/armies in TOW, but I hope they stick to one type units on the whole.

For example, female and ethnic Bretionan bowmen would seem weird to me.

Female witch elves and so on, ok.

Again this is hopefully just another welcome contrast between TOW and AOS.

I remember when darkeldar came out and had male and female warrior bodies. That was cool for that particular army.

Black marauders also featured and appealed to me.

I think new TOW kits will probably have diversity, for diversities sake, though. It would make good business sence, either people have nothing to complain about on one hand, and those who don't need female troll slayers have to buy extra boxes on the other.

In the end I think this is really case by case.

Remember WFB/TOW mirrors historical armies, not modern ones.

Its hard not to sound old fashioned (or is that sensible?). But it's just another point to explore.