What looks to be a Leagues of Votann market crash may be in full swing after the giant NERFs to the faction before a single 40k tournament game had been played…
Obviously, there was a lot of debate on both sides of the argument, but no matter your feelings on the matter, Games Workshop caved to the vocal minority and NERFed every single unit in the army (in terms of points) and also how judgment tokens work. It seems like this was a move from them to try and save sales, but it looks like it may have started to backfire.
It seems like GW didn’t want people to stop buying the Votann army boxes due to them not being allowed in tournaments, but the “competitive scene” is honestly such a small portion of players, perhaps 2000 worldwide. Considering this is really the major Warhammer 40k release meant to hold us over until Winter (and the Imperial Guard), they needed it to sell, but stores are starting to report something very different.
The Great Leagues of Votann Market Crash of 2022
So, with all that said, what does this actually mean? Well, the majority of stores we polled are deeply discounting the boxes because they are sitting on shelves since the giant NERFS. They said the boxes just aren’t moving, and after the first round of people grabbed them, since then, not much is selling (which could be good news for you if you want to grab another box or so).
Prices are still holding on in the secondary market, though. Keep in mind because sold out GW, stores can advertise whatever they want price-wise… We have seen Army Boxes sell for $75 to $100 over the last week or so
Generally, they can only discount a certain amount, however, since GW doesn’t have any, they can do whatever they want with prices. Meaning, if they were selling hotcakes, they could also raise the price.
As you can see, the listed selling price has stayed basically identical from release to now on eBay (click here to get yours on eBay), and this could actually be a bad sign in itself.
Generally, when GW does a limited edition box (and they sell well), after a short time, the secondary market goes higher in price (not lower or stagnant, from the initial price from GW).
This snapshot doesn’t show a dozen or so completed sales below this price, as well as offers that were accepted on these box sets either.
As you can see, Amazon (click here to get yours on Amazon) is also priced the exact same. So if online sellers can’t seem to move them as fast, or even at a premium, it means local stores with a much smaller customer base are having serious issues as well.
So is Leagues of Votann “Worthless” Now?
No, not at all. While the market is experiencing a bit of a drop in demand for the Votann currently, in the long run, it could stabilize as more units are released, and the Votann start to see competitive play.
However, Games Workshop pandering to the vocal minority has certainly caused a wobble in the market, at least at the local store level for sure. If a price drop occurs on the broader secondary market in the near term, that could be a very bad indicator indeed.
Furthermore, Games Workshop’s new 40k rules balance process is debatably the only thing they have actually gotten to work process-wise in the last few years. However, they went completely against themselves on nearly day one for this release, and may or may not have created a bigger issue that could untimely cause the release of Votann to flop completely.
Have you noticed cheaper prices signaling a crash of the Votann Army Box Set? Do you think the nerf was too fast?
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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 has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including the Adepticon Team Tournament and American Team Tournaments, and is on a first-name basis with almost every major company in the space.
He’s all gaming all the time. With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. 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 1908s, 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.
