It is definitely not more complex. Having actually played both I can say definitively that 8th is not more complex. Longer rule book does not make a more complex game.
I guess I've been over this more times than I can count. No point in regurgitating the same talking points.
However, one of the key issues lies with the player base. When WFB was scraped,
most (key word most, not all) of the tactically minded and skilled players went elsewhere (T9A, KoW, Oldhammer or even sticking with 8th ed.). As a result the main (key word main, meaning most but not all) player base of AoS was comprised of a more casual "beer & pretzel" players that for the most part were less tactical and less competitive; as well as younger people coming into the hobby (due to what was made available). This is the conundrum I now find myself in, how do you convince someone of WFB's greater level of tactics, when tactics are not the strong suit of the person you are trying to convince? In the end you can't. Ignorance is bliss I suppose.
A couple of key points of clarifications:
- my claim is not that all 8th players are highly tactically minded
- my claim is not that all AoS are not highly tactically minded
- my claim is not that one group (AoS vs. WFB) is "better" than the other, but instead they have different interests and strengths
Chess rules are only 2 pages.
You're not trying to compare AoS to chess I hope.
If your point is merely that rule book page count does not necessarily equate to a game's upper tactical ceiling then I agree. 8th edition isn't more tactical than AoS because its rule book has more pages, but it is more tactical none the less.
Besides, AoS's rule book is deceiving because it has it's rules spread out over a greater area, whereas in 8th edition the rules are more concentrated.
AoS actually made a profit, unlike it's predecessor.
There is so much wrong with this statement...
- according to every official account, WFB was profitable (though maybe not profitable enough)
- as to how much profit each game garners, none of us really know for certain. GW financial reports are not specific enough to make any sort of accurate judgment
- even if AoS is more profitable, you have several confounding variables... GW is massively pushing the game through advertising, tournaments, FAQ support, community engagement, media, etc. 8th edition never got any of that attention.
- CEO Tom Kirby < CEO Kevin Rountree; the man in charge during 8th edition was an imbecile. The same man who likely played a part in killing WFB. Rountree inherited AoS and made some very significant and positive steps to turn things around.
- WFB existed for 30 years. We'll see where AoS is in 28 years time. If you think it will still be around and thriving I have some magic beans to sell you.
You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink.
