Psychic Awakening is generating a lot of excitement in the community. Here’s why it may just fix everything “wrong” with Warhammer 40k.
Psychic Awakening is the next lore event that’s taking the form of supplement support to every faction on the 40k tabletop. Once we begin to see each faction’s new releases and rules, some of the chief complaints by hobbyists may start to fall to the wayside…
Complaint #1: No Lore Advancement
From the start of 8th edition, we’ve only seen the Devastation of Baal and the Fall of Cadia occur as massive lore advancements. It’s been around a year since we’ve heard any kind of lore advancement (outside of the localized events on Vigilus) to keep us engaged on that end. With things growing darker and darker for the Aeldari in Phoenix Rising, we’re hoping that each faction will have a massive swathe of new lore to read through.
The Aeldari are the first focus and it seems like something sinister between the Dark Eldar and Slaanesh is involved. If as much plot is thrown into each faction as GW is putting into Phoenix Rising, promising lore-rich times might be ahead.
Any way you look at it since 8th edition started, the 40k timeline has started to move a lot quicker than it ever had before!
Complaint #2: Codex Creep
With so many factions in 40k, it takes time to produce entire books of rules. Because of this delay from book to book, codex creep is always relevant. Depending on the speed of which these books come out, this could level the playing field for factions that might have an insane advantage vs. factions that haven’t had any attention for a while.
Fewer gaps between updates could lead to more balance in the game itself, as we are starting to see evidence from the September 2019 Big FAQ.
Complaint #3: Out of Date Models
As GW goes through faction by faction, we may see old models move from Finecast to scaled-up plastic Primaris/newly posed renditions. Mephiston, Tycho, Azrael, Ragnar, and Njal are just a few models that desperately need an update on the Imperium’s side.
All in all, if GW is sticking to 8th edition, these expansions of lore, support, and new models are always good for sales coming from a business standpoint.
As of right now, it comes down to keeping our eyes peeled for the Phoenix Rising Aeldari expansion. That should give us a pretty clear picture of what the rest of the factions may be getting.
What do you think about Psychic Awakening? What are you hoping your faction gets? Would you like to see old models get updated or brand new units/characters drop instead?
Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group, and sign up to get your free hobby updates newsletter (with discount coupon codes) each morning as well!
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.
