September>December 2024: Nuclear winter has struck, leaving room for the N5

So, the point of Kosmo is that they formed the sectorial with the best from the other nations. But that's just Vanilla N5. Axe Kosmo and bring us back the classic sectorials

 

The video doesn't really tell us anything we didn't already know save for: "Until they are scheduled for a comeback."
This leaves me to believe the earlier statements from CB that some Sectorials will not be available on launch but will return later. There is still some faint hope for the Scots and French. I'll be collecting bakununs in the meantime.

 

So if I want to play Vanilla, I basically need to play TAK ? Usarf gets 4... just four units in vanilla and no mention of a come back at this time. I mean, it's not a problem for me as I own most all the USARF stuff, just a bit harsh if I wanted the fun of Vanilla.

 

I think there will be a problem for new players to play vanilla due to needing to get say one model in a box of three or more. Who wants to buy figures they can't use? Here's an an example. The only way to get a Hac Tao right now is to get the White Banner Expansion pack, which also includes the Hundun and Ye Mao. The Ye Mao is NOT in vanilla. So are you going to buy that knowing you can't even play one of them? Here's more, Invincible Army pack, you can't use Tai Sheng in vYJ. Or how about the Zeros box, Bran is no longer in vNomads. I'm sure it's the same for other factions as well. I tend NOT to get something in this situation. I can't afford to have figures I can't use. Even as proxies.

 

Well, CB does what they do every time so often.

Paradigm shift.​

From the days of N2 HS, which introduced the very concept of a sectorial, Vanilla armies were "every troop the army has (that is, until - I think - N4 started to introduce Sectorial-only units and profiles) save for a few sectorial-only mercs - but you don't get Fireteams (well, maybe Duos)".

That was true to the last day of N4.

N5 vanilla is, from what we were told, a completely different beast: a kind-of sectorial, that mixes troops form all the true sectorials, but not all of the troops available. It'll, however, have a wider access to Fireteams than N4 vanilla. Whether it'll be as wide as in dedicated sectorials, we are yet to see.
My personal guess is not as wide access, but that's just a guess.

Tempora mutantur et nos mutamur in illis.​

 

My guess is that as the essentials line is going to be the "official" entry point to play vanilla armies

 

My new favorite quote from the forums that someone else wrote is "proxy rich"!

 

Looks like CB were thinking about, how people would easily start PanO vanilla and JSA (may be. I dont remember their list). But not the others. Sadly.
Unless there would be future repacks and new boxes for essentials.
The only problem is, that it requires time. And plan to make a better purchase packs for beginners would not be finished before N6. And there could be a new plan...
I like some things CB are doing, but this one is not of them.

The other question is about action packs. Not all of them were good, but it looked like a better start for a new player instead of 3 generic units. There are pluses and minuses in this essential box we saw. In our case there are enough units in local club to play first games and help people to understand something.

 

Since N3 I've got the feeling (which was only reinforced with N4 and N5) that Sectorials are better starting points for newcomers than "everything and kitchen sink" vanilla. More manageable amount of units, easier purchase choices, less rules to learn from the get-go, more cohesive theme etc.

It seems (for me) CB is thinking something similar making vanilla a quasi-Sectorial itself. I would not be surprised if 4 years later with N6 there would be no vanilla armies just secotrials, and terms like PanO / Yu-jing are just umbrella flavour terms for groups of sectorials . (Like "Chaos" / "Imperium of Man" is for 40k currently)

 

I’m not sure they have done that knowingly but being the one that runs the local meetup and doing demos, I have steered new players into buying a sectoral myself. This is so that they have a focus on what to get and starts a little cheaper. I tell them not to think about doing fireteams yet. That can be done as you start playing more. This is something I’ve been doing for years.

 

From the moment Sectorials got introduced Generic list was supposed to be the place when people can use their "factions collection", N5, however altered, keeps this tradition, yes, the selection is more limited and the sectorials are much more rich than all previous iterations, but, in my opinion, this is better for the game, its balance and the overall health.

 

N5 is not rushed... At this rate we wont see it until 2025

 

Rushed 100%.
Second time postponed.

 

N5 was the star product for Gencon '25 and in this hill im gonna die

 

I'd rather see a finished product than a rushed release, so I'm not too concerned about the delay. But Team Rushed increasingly seems to have made the correct guess.

Also, this has been rolling around the depths of Arachne...

 

I found out I don't really care that much either about the actual release date or whether it was rushed or not. It'll come out when it'll come out, hopefully in a good state from the start. It's a good opportunity to practice your Spannungsbogen. And in the meantime I have some models to paint which are waiting since forever.

Don't know if true, but even if not, it's pretty nicely lied ;)

 

It is.
With all the due precautions of "my differ from final form"

 

This sure makes me think N5 it's gonna be an awesomely tested quality product and isn't being rushed for cashflow



100%

 

I'm flat out.
What to do, what to do?

Also, I personally do not see it as a situation that would disqualify CB in my eyes.
It doesn't, however, put them in a good light.

We shall see. As I always repeat when something goes wrong with a business deal I have my fingers in:
It is not an achievement to perfrom correctly when everything goes according to plan. It is how you handle the situation when things get askew (and, sooner or later, something will undobtuly do) that determines your quality in a given business.

CB, however, still has a chance to handle the daage control.
No, I have no idea what could they do to amend the situation for me.