I am a massive Games Workshop fan. I can’t help it. No matter how much they bend me over and smack my cheeks, they always find a way back into my heart. Nostalgia is a sumptuously abhorrent thing my friends. Because of this history, and love of their product, I overlook a lot of their nonsense. Not anymore. Kill Team: Pariah Nexus is an insult. Plain and simple.
Let me set the scene: Games Workshop announces and teases brand-spanking-new models for Necrons and Space Marines. These are the beautifully resculpted Flayed Ones, the opulent Chronomancer, the chonka Heavy Intercessors and a pretty sweet Primaris Captain. We even get Codices showing us how awesome these models are on the table. This was six months ago. There hasn’t been a peep about these models for a whole six months.
As a Necron player, and with a son who is an avid Marine-head, these models would be perfect for our collections and, in the case of the thiic-boys and time-wizard, would round off our armies nicely. So what does Games Workshop do? Make the most anti-consumer marketing decision they have ever made. Considering who we are talking about, that is a seriously big dose of douche-baggery.
Instead of giving 40k fans new kits in which to purchase separately, they bundle these models in a new starter set. Again. This starter costs almost £100 to pick up and contains only 12 models. 12. I told my partner this and she choked on her scone and died (the funeral is next week). This is an affront of the highest order. The unit size for Flayed Ones is 20, and you get 5. Most Necron players want 2-3 Chronomancers in their force. Marine players want at least a full squad of 10 tubby-lads. It could, theoretically, cost you £400 to get a single unit.
Don’t come at me and say I could just buy them separately off of eBay. Of course I can, but that’s not the point. Whales and scalpers will suck these sets up and overcharge for the models individually. Once again screwing over the consumer. What’s even worse, is that this set is terrible for Kill Team. I don’t play Kill Team, but I know a fair few people who do. They have been gasping for new content, and Games Workshop shafts them in the arse with an awful set that is designed to milk 40k players dry. How classy.
Eventually, these units will be released individually. How long do we have to wait though? Weeks? Months? We are STILL waiting for some units to be released from Indomitus. Crypt Thralls and Plasmancers are practically forgotten about. Heck, remember Assault on Black Reach? That set from like a decade ago? Ork players haven’t gotten all the models from that set yet. It took months to get Ragnar and crew released from their god-awful themed set. It’s just not acceptable.
The big GW can dismount this horse and go screw someone else’s Shetland. Their fandom deserves better than this. £100 for 12 models. Come on people. That is so expensive that I am pretty sure Australians would need to remortgage their house if they wanted to pick it up. First, the buggers raised their prices during a global bloody pandemic, then they demand we deepthroat their anti-consumer dingus. Speak with your wallet and tell them to get porked by Slaanesh.
Feel free to lob abuse in the comments. I am available at all hours to sprinkle salt on your chips.
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Games With Toasty 
First time reading your stuff. All of this is spot on. Well written and funny as hell!
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Thanks dude, that means a lot. Glad you enjoyed it!
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As an Australian what they will charge £100 over here is likely to be upwards of $240-280 on average. The other killzones which are just re-releases of original killzones are £80. I remember they were all $140 each here.
So while I wont have to get a mortgage it is becoming unrealistic to maintain the hobby at its current expenses. I abandoned full 40k or fantasy a long time ago. And transitioned to Kill Team because it was more balanced and a lot cheaper to maintain the balance.
This current kit if all the hype is correct is going to totally destroy what game balance Kill Team has. And yet to even have a hope of staying up to date with it I will still have to buy at least one copy of it.
So there is that. Or I could just stop playing GW games all together. Guess I will make a decision in the coming week.
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It’s a shame they are pricing people out of the hobby. Thankfully, there are other wargames out there and plenty Skirmish sized ones. I’m stuck with GW out of childhood nostalgia. Been on their brand of crack for 20 years now haha
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110% agree. You might as well buy a resin 3d printer and print off all those, the price is cheaper than you think nowadays.
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I genuinely wonder if GW will eventually sell the files to 3D print in the future. I imagine it would be highly profitable for them.
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They’d be wise to do that… I have a $300 printer, and it produces the same quality that they use for their prototype machines (ever notice they actually use a 4k high-resolution SLA printer for prototypes? when they announce a new model, like the last Eisenhorn, you can actually see the stratification between layers)
Look up sites like Warlayer.com, or The Maker’s Cult. Their sculpts are fantastic, and they get a pretty penny. plus the models are recognizable enough that it’s easy to enforce copyright
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Hopefully one day. Plenty of places, like you said, sell files. I think I saw a subscription service advertised on social media the other day.
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I’m in stitches – I absolutely agree, and am going to second your “choked on a scone” joke.
Also a new big fan of your site!
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You’ve made my day, I’m glad you enjoyed the article 🙂
Second away, just try not to choke like my dearly departed!
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This is so old. They’ve been overcharging and profiteering off of models ever since the mid 90s when they started prioritising profit over fun by taking the old blister packs out of circulation and introducing single model pack for double the price. Nothing new here.
I came to the conclusion I care only about playing the game, not the modelling aspect of it. For this reason I started using models that were “close enough” and just got the books where necessary.
They think they will make more money but in actual fact they out price the general public and loose money.
They are not clever they are led by idiots who think they hold a monopoly on the market and fail to see the missed opportunities they could have if only they made themselves more accessible.
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Yeah, this is certainly the case. I honestly feel like some (big ol’ emphasis on that) of their practices are better than than they were, say, 10 years ago though. I got back into the hobby because, if I’m being frank, they weren’t as obviously douchey. Things like this, however, shine the spotlight back on their cock-wombley ways, and it makes me sad.
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If you think this box is expensive… wait for the separate kits.
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At least then I can buy a singpe Chronomancer haha
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I’ve seen the chronomancer sell for £8-£18, flayed ones for £15-20, and even some nidempaired sets for invetween those prices. Yes some sellers are trying to get more but GW will take you for a ride.
The new £68 set of 5 necron models from indomitus is a scalp in itself from GW can pick them up in EBay for like £28.
You’d be better off with the scalpers.
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You are retarded. If you don’t want to play kill team, wait until the models are released separately. All this article is saying it that you are impatient and poor.
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Not everyone wants to spread their cheeks for GW ma dude. You do you though, no judgement from me.
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You buying an overpriced game box just for models that will be released in May, is in fact spreading your cheeks asking for it. EBay scalpers as you out it for the most part are selling these kits cheaper than GW will, yes they make a decent profit but the buyer also makes a saving.
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