Sorry GW, Legions Imperialis will be a hard pass for me, at least until I see a community that actually plays the game.
After Titianicus, I feel that there will only be four groups of hobbyists who will be involved with Legions Imperialis, and honestly, I am not sure any of those people will even play it much.
Unfortunately, I saw nearly the same thing with Titanicus and the 2022 Horus Heresy reboot, both of which I went in on it pretty heavily.
Now, five and one year later, respectively, I’m going to take a bit of a backseat with Legions Imperialis.
Sorry GW, Legions Imperialis is a Hard Pass For Us
So, why am I bringing up Titanicus? Well, this release looks like it will be almost the same thing. First, when Titanicus came out in 2018, GW launched a bunch of models with the game and rules. At launch, a lot of people jumped into the game and bought minis and rules.
However, as the game went on, GW gave the game less support, it was harder to get the miniatures, and maybe most importantly, GW started paywalling all the new rules.
This means that even if you had a few minis for the game, you would have to keep paying for rules throughout the release; this really turned a lot of people off the game, and it’s slowly fallen off. I have two entire painted armies for the game, but getting anyone to play is still hard.
I fear this will be the exact case for LI. Just think about your local shop; how often did/do you see people playing AT ( or even the latest Horus Heresy?) It’s such a small part of the community, and LI looks to be following the exact same course.
I think that while the models are dope, the game will again become more of a meme than an actual living game system.
Who Will Actually Get the Miniatures?
I see four main groups of hobbyists that will interact with the game. Let’s start with the most obvious, people who will complain about Xenos not being included!
This will probably be the most vocal group out of all, and to be fair, many people were hoping for an actual revamp of Epic and not the Horus Heresy version.
The second group of people will be the 2018 Titanicus players who have all their older miniatures and finally want to use them in a game. They will most likely buy the starter and try out a few games. And who knows? Maybe they will get hooked, but already having about half an army would be nice.
The third group will be convention players. People who build and hobby on the minis and maybe a couple of times a year go to a convention to play with other people—basically more collectors than full-time players.
Lastly, that leaves the collectors. People who just like the small scale, the giant Titans, and the ships. However, while hobbying on stuff is always cool, it means they won’t be playing much.
Will I Play?
Honestly, I am not going to sink a lot of time into the game until I actually see people playing. With how Adeptus Titanicus went, I just don’t expect the game to really get a large player base and be worth the money and time to collect and build.
Looking back at all of Games Workshop’s “side games,” I just don’t see this game having a real player base or having engaging local communities actually to get games in with. Plus, as history also shows, expect Games Workshop to paywall rules moving forward, just like they did with Adeptus Titanicus.
After paying hundreds of dollars for all the miniatures in my army, Im just not willing to pay another $50 two to three times a year for some rules to play with.
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About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
