A bit of satire out there is causing a stir comparing the Warhammer hobby to a game of just throwing money at each other. Is it really that bad?
What does 40k boil down to when you take away all the flashy plastic minis, sweet paint jobs, and fluffy backstories? A satirical article on The Hard Times is making the rounds out there on how some players at a fictional tournament managed to “see past the plastic crack”.
Stripping Away the “Appeal” From 40k: What’s Left?
The article jokingly talked about guys at a hobby shop that “ascended beyond the plastic models”. They realized that they could get the same amount of enjoyment by just throwing money at each other…But hey, on the bright side, there’s no more wasted hours of painting or piling up unused sprues!
The shop caused a bit of an uproar among it’s usual participants when it announced that September’s tournament would be bereft of actual figurines, as per Citadel’s newest revision to official tournament rules. After an initial period of trepidation, however, players warmed up to the new competitive format of simply chucking wads of cash at one another until a victor was declared.
“My wife is so much happier since she’s been able to put my Warhammer stuff in the basement,” he said, dodging a flying roll of quarters. “I’m spending about the same amount of money every month, but our dining room isn’t covered in a bunch of plastic sprues anymore.”
They’ve got a point…If you just want to play the game and not have to do XYZ before you can play, you could just throw cash at each other! But watch out for metal money y’all that hurts!
Is 40k As Expensive as the Jokes Make it Out to Be?
On a serious note, 40k has had a bad reputation of being already expensive enough to get into. However, here lately the meta-chasers are having to shell out extra wads of cash just to keep up with what’s competitive. True, we’ve never seen so many meta shifts hit a single edition, and Games Workshop’s stock is still holding strong since 2016.
As for the players that enjoy the fluffy-side of things, the game may have a high initial cost. But, once they gather everything they want to play with, the cost is to actually maintain the hobby is really just the books at that point. A Leman Russ could be fantastic for six months and the meta-chasers will buy them out only to ditch them as soon as an FAQ nerfs them.
On the other side of the spectrum, it doesn’t matter if they’re bad or good to a fluffy player. They’ll take what they want and still have fun. Because of this, the fluffy players usually hold on to whatever they gather and end up saving money as well as having more fun. Ultimately, you have to remember that there are people out there that like the competitive scene more. They view winning and rolling with the “big dogs” more fun than watching lore-accurate battles unfold. (Even if it costs them some extra cash).
But overall it may just be that the Warhammer hobby is just one that is expensive because hobbies tend to be expensive in general.
What are your thoughts on 40k’s meta shifts? Do you sell your old models to buy the hottest new thing? Do you play fluffy games with a close group of friends? Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group.
About the Author: Wesley Floyd
Wesley Floyd
Job Title: Staff Writer
Joined: 2018
Socials: @RealmbrushPainting
About Wesley Floyd: Wes has been in the Warhammer hobby since 2015 and joined the Spikey Bits writing team in 2018. He is known for his satirist takes on trending topics and imaginative yet amazingly affordable hobby solutions to painting Warhammer miniatures.
Imperial fanboy, tabletop fanatic, and the self-proclaimed King of Sprues. He knows for a fact that Mephiston red is the best-tasting paint and is the commission painting equivalent of a Wendy’s 4 for $4. If you like what he writes and want to contact him or have your tabletop minatures painted (to a mostly okayish standard), message him on Instagram.
