There has been recent talk that people buy models on their aesthetics, and not by rules, and that may very well be the case for most of us in the hobby. What happens though, when rules stop you from buying models that you otherwise would? I know for a fact that this happens. It's recently happened to me.
Before I go any further, I want to clearly state, that this is not a rant or related to the new Astra Militarum codex. After all I do not have it, or have access to it at this moment.
So back to topic. Yes, this has happened to me more than once. I have been itching hard to start a new army. I currently own a very large Imperial Guard army, an equally large Dark Eldar one, a good sized Eldar army, and Grey Knights. Oh yea, I have some Dark Angels, and a lot of Inquisition as well.
So when it came to looking at a new army, I wanted to field a solid army that would align with a couple of my others. Space Marines were my first choice. I also wanted an army that did things that my others could not. Some variability is always fun, and gives you lots of good options to play.
While Tau would be great on the tabletop, I have never been a huge fan of the aesthetic from the first day they were released. I can appreciate the models, but just not my cup of tea. There ya go, there is the aesthetic aspect that GW believes sells or does not sell models.
So when Space Marines came out with their new codex, I was sold on it. Hook line and sinker. I was going Space Marines. An entire army that scouts forward quickly and fast was calling to me. The White Scars. You remember it if you are a follower here. Everything White Scars was where I was going. I was going to do a White Scars army, and it would work great with my other forces.
So what happened? Why did I not get one? One simple reason. The Inquisition. The Inquisition codex came out, and suddenly for hardly any points, servo skulls were everywhere. Tournament reports confirmed it shortly there after, that most competitive play included a token cheap point investment to bring servo skulls to the table.
This completely blew away a full army idea, and one that I wanted to play. The rules literally killed what I wanted to do with an army, so it was time to look at other options. Some of the forgeworld chapter rules looked good, but until they are completely integrated into the community this idea still sits on the backburner.
Then I looked at other gaming systems. In the three gaming systems I was looking at, all three were working on new rulebooks, so I would have to wait. Dark Age, Malifaux, and Helldorado. I did end up going with Dropzone Commander, but I was going to buy those already.
So in the end, new rules literally killed my purchases, and I decided to wait on these. All of them.
There has been other cases as well of this, and that includes when Dark Eldar came out. I love the Void Raven for instance and do not care for the razorwing jetfighter. Mandrakes, bad rules awesome model. Court of the Arcon, and the list goes on. I have tons of warriors.... literally over 200. I wanted the Talos to work and to get more, and webway portals (only a limited edition model). Instead I bought very little of the new stuff.
So yes, rules can kill purchases. They have for me, in this case halting me from buying an entire new army, and I am sure in the future they will do so again.