I missed out on the first couple of editions of Warhammer 40,000. I ended up getting into Third edition around the same time as a big break up that left me with plenty of free time and a bit of extra cash. I bought the starter set (which didn't come with the nice little compact rule book), my first codexes (Space Marines and Dark Angels), and the softcover rule book. I knew little to nothing about the Warhammer universe at all, but I did remember snagging a few of those nice little mini catalogs they used to have in what I would guess would have been Second Edition days, while I was still in high school. In those very fliers, I was intrigued by what were, at the time, amazing minis. Back to Third Edition, I played maybe 4 games of Third and watched at least two dozen at my local gaming store. These games were by the only three players that seemed to still be playing 40k after an apparent mass migration to Warhammer Fantasy. So I watched Chaos Space Marines versus Vanilla Space Marines versus Tyranids, over and over. As you can imagine, it got stale. My armies got packed away, until I moved out of the city, and then only unpacked for a single game with an interested country local. After that, my armies went on eBay, except for a few loose miniatures that I donated to a friend who created really fun dioramas.
I briefly looked at Fourth Edition but I didn't have any friends willing to commit to play, even if we split the starter box and I honestly was spending my free time playing mostly video games or doing other things.
And then, Space Hulk Third Edition happened. I began listening to gaming podcasts, due to finding hobby board games. Several podcasts talked enthusiastically about Space Hulk and got me excited about it. A friend and I acquired copies of the game and got in a bunch of plays. At the time, I had not played any of the previous editions but I had been reading Black Library novels for years and have always loved tactical games. This, of course, got my curious about the state of 40k. A good number of the models had improved and the T'au and Necrons had shown up to the party while I was away. I built 1000 points of Ultramarines Space Marines and T'au, while my friend dug out his Eldar army and we proceeded to get a few games in. The best part about my return was it had been at least 10 years since I had attempted to paint anything and I had gained patience and a careful hand with my maturity. Though I was proud of both of those armies and would have loved to expanded them, no matter what folks say about either, I was moving to another state and needed money more than models so they went up on eBay. I didn't make a ton of money on those models but I did better than I would have ever expected and it got me here, so hooray.
And now here we sit, on the horizon of a new edition of Warhammer 40,000 and I'll be here to witness it. I'll be the first to admit that no matter how bad the botch this rule or nerf that unit, I'll still be happy to paint and play. I would like it if they followed their Lord of the Rings style of I move, you move, I shoot, you shoot, etc, but I won't get my hopes up. I'll just be happy to be a part of it and hopefully get the huge pile of models I have waiting for me assembled and ready for battle. I won't win every game and I won't have the best painted army on the table (perhaps the only painted army as cases tend to be) but I'll be having fun pushing toy soldiers from the future around the table, rolling dice with new and old friends, and scrubbing paint off my hands at the end of a satisfying night of painting. Its not about what the best wargame on the market, for me, it's about creating moments in a fictional universe I have always enjoyed. So please, Games Workshop, just get my book into my hands safely... and swiftly! I'm not a fanboy, but I am a fan.
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