To the attention of all Swordbrothers.

[redmapa]

 If they didn’t do you really think we wouldn’t have appeared in gathering storm?

 

We only appeared there because we didnt get anything in the supplement for the codex that we were part of, if they were truly listening during 7th then why didnt we get a formation detachment? Why were we ignored in the Angels of Death supplement while the rest of the chapters got stuff? They know we exist about as much as they know SoB exist and thats not exactly a compliment, now I agree that we are not neglected NOW but using Gathering Storm to say that we were not neglected THEN is not evidence of it because we were neglected of the benefits of being in the SM codex in 7th edition and what we got in Gathering Storm was pitiful and insulting as it was the end of the edition.

 

We are NOW in a better spot and something like Vows would be a great addition and further specialize us as a close combat army.

[Schlitzaf]

Literally the last thing I would ever want is a formation detachment personally. It completely would go against the spirit of Black Templars being a Chapters without any true formal organization.

 

As strong as the Battle Company was, forcing a formation like that onto the Black Templars would been terribly backwards to me personally.

 

And I felt Castallens of the Imperium basically perfectly represented what I would have wanted to be a Black Templar formation. I mean I point to that as an example, because it shows that they cared. And the SoB who also represented in Gathering, are now amazingly solid in 8th.

 

I think it’s a sign of things to come.

[Jacques Corbin]

 

 

If any of you Crusaders truly want to effect policy change regarding the Black Templars and how GW handles them, then I suggest that you buy GW stock, because MONEY TALKS, not whiny, convoluted protest letters.

There's no need to be insulting. Anyway, yes, money is the key motivator. The trouble there is that there isn't really a Templar 'range' to buy in bulk. We have an upgrade sprue (and just about every Templar has several at least) and our Characters. That's all. The upgrade sprue can't even be used if you don't buy generic marines, and so generic marines remain the income source that grabs attention, rather than a niche faction of marines.

 

If you literally meant purchasing stock, then I can't see that comment as anything but outright dismissive. There's no way you can be serious that Templar players buy enough GW stock to influence business decisions.

 

If a letter is polite and well thought out, it won't hurt anything (if not, it's more harmful than helpful). That said, I haven't any confidence in them making a difference either, as money remains the key to it all. But with our limiting factor above in mind, the most that could be done to draw attention to Templars as a popular faction is a wide presence in, say, tournaments. Not a likely scenario, given our limitations compared to soup lists and/or Guilliman lists. Templars simply aren't a tournie-level Chapter on their own, just as most of C:SM is mediocre in a truly competitive environment.

 

A large presence of Templar armies appearing in pics on social media, their website, what-have-you also couldn't hurt, but again, I wouldn't count on that influencing GW into paying us special regard.

Obviously, you did not get good grades in Economics during high school, and you do not know enough about the markets. Allow me to explain (or your esteemed moderator to explain far better). While it is true, that a single investor is highly unlikely to make any significant impact upon company policy, all the investors that own tiny percentages of GW are represented at the stockholders meetings by a single proxy, which is sometimes elected by them, sometimes chosen by the board of directors. So, if any of you are still following, many of you, can buy up as much GW stock as you can afford, to put some money away for retirement, get in contact with the other minority share holders, and in theory you could all decide to elect @Firepower as your proxy to represent all of you at the stockholder meetings and events. This is totally possible, but if you do not believe me, ask @Acebaur because he knows how these things work far better than I do.

[Acebaur]

That's not really feasible or realistic to expect that small shareholders would care about what kind of mini's GW makes or what army's rules they put out. 99% of those people invested in GW because it was either a solid stable stock or they don't even know they are invested because their 401K's put stock in there without them knowing.

 

However money does talk, and if GW sees their (limited) BT products being purchased heavily they might, might consider investing additional time and money into new sculpts. The problem with that is aside from the upgrade kit(which I'm personally flush with at the moment) there aren't really any models purchasing more than once.

 

Regarding Formations, they are dead and will almost certainly never appear in 8th.

[Jacques Corbin]

That's not really feasible or realistic to expect that small shareholders would care about what kind of mini's GW makes or what army's rules they put out. 99% of those people invested in GW because it was either a solid stable stock or they don't even know they are invested because their 401K's put stock in there without them knowing.

 

However money does talk, and if GW sees their (limited) BT products being purchased heavily they might, might consider investing additional time and money into new sculpts. The problem with that is aside from the upgrade kit(which I'm personally flush with at the moment) there aren't really any models purchasing more than once.

 

Regarding Formations, they are dead and will almost certainly never appear in 8th.

And there, the Marshall schools the Initiates, hopefully deciding at least some are worthy of promotion to Swordbrother.

 

Still, if you want to influence GW's handling of the Black Templars, then consider that after all the codices are released, we just may see campaign books. I agree that formations are dead, but there is the possibility of new Stratagems, and missions, maybe even relics.

 

In terms of products, the best thing you can do is get a concensus of what you would like, within reason, and remind GW that if they make it, you will buy it. Think about it from their POV, how do they get Marshals and Chaplains, with sizeable forces already, to spend more money on their products? Also, what could they do to encourage new players to build a Black Templar army?

 

A Start Collecting box with the new Chaplain, an Assault Squad, and a Scout Squad? With or without the upgrade, or perhaps just a mini upgrade? Stuff like that, it's a starter Crusader Squad with an HQ, for an out of the box patrol detachment. GW has learned that the smaller the out of the box to on the game table gap is, the more players will buy to add to their collections.

 

See, they already have @Firepower's money, and mine. So, in our cases, we are either tempted by another faction (Ad Mech in my case), or the Forge World products. GW is less worried about prying more money out of us, and more hoping that we expose more gamers to the hobby, who will start investing in their own armies.

 

So, if there is a BT campaign book coming out, perhaps instead of your existing named characters featuring prominently, it should feature a newly anointed Marshall being sent off on his own Crusader. It is a great opportunity to explore fluff, but it is also a dressed up guide to collecting a Black Templars Crusader of your own. A brand new Marshall, assigned an experienced Chaplain to advise him. He chooses a Castellan from among the Swordbrethren that were once his own peers. He is even allowed to choose a very few to accompany him, at least one to be the Ancient to carry his heraldry into battle, as he builds his crusade. And, of course he will need an Apothecary. That just put the idea of buying a Command Squad box out there. The focus can be on his decision making regarding what to start off with, and what he will have to add as he goes. He will need a Techmarine, to maintain the Tanks and bikes, and (with the Apothecary) inter severely wounded brothers into Dreadnought sarcophagi.

 

See, that marries the opportunity for great writing with a collector's guide and/or escalation campaign. Quite possibly a product experienced players would enjoy, but also a product to lure someone else down the rabbit hole,and they will be shouting "ZEEEEEEEEAAALLLL!!!" the whole way. Mass appeal, and the opportunity for GW to make money for their shareholders. Properly pitched, and developed, that could be a real golden goose.

[Firepower]

:redacted:

Edited January 12, 2018 by Firepower