What is Games Workshop actually doing with the tried and true Codex?

Over the last 24 hours a rumor now confirmed has hit the Internet both confusing and startling. If you haven’t heard, Tau are not getting a new a new Codex. Now, let me clarify they are getting a “new” codex.Games Workshop is saying if you want all the new rules you can either get a updated/revised codex or keep your old one and pick-up a new War Zone campaign book. This is inline with the split campaign box sets, but is yet another change GW is bringing to rule releases.

Now, before I get to a rant, let us see what this could mean going forward. Older codexes might be getting simple updates soon as well. Imagine the Orks getting a new codex with all the Formations and Detachments from Sanctus Reach and Ghaz Supplement with a Decurion style mega Detachment for added value. This could also explain why we haven’t seen a new Chaos Space Marine codex or Daemon codex. If you think about it, we only saw minor changes in the Khorne Daemonkin book. If this new pattern holds we can see a repackaging of the Chaos Space Marine or Daemon book with a small campaign. This also explains the misinterpretation of rumors saying codexes are going to be killed off; codexes are not dying, but instead tweaked with some other release. We will see units staying exactly the same with changes only for recasts or new units.

GW in theory could save money on book production, and they can focus more on making the best models in the world…at a “reasonable profit”. It also gives players choice in a sense, they don’t have to pick up the codex, the supplement, and campaign books to get all the rules at once. They can go a more À la carte route. Maybe this is GW response to complaints about the rise in rule book costs.

This all sounds well and dandy, but let me tell you why it isn’t or at the very least SO fraking annoying!

Since the creation of the codex back back in the 90s GW has had problems keeping to an internal codex format. The format at times could be just about looks, but other times it was about breaking up factions, putting them together, then breaking them up again a few years later. These changes while annoying weren’t too often, because of GW slow release schedule. Over the last few years though GW cannot seem to make up its mind on how to design and define codexes. It has a lot to do with the open design rules they are currently executing. It came to a climax with the unexplained differences between the Blood Angels and Necrons codex. Now every codex since has had Decurion and or certain unit combinations never seen before. It has made many codexes like Blood Angels and Dark Eldar unplayable or very limited. These changes are happening only months apart and isn’t fair to armies before and after.

Today we get another change with the Tau being only “updated”.

Why couldn’t his had happened with Blood Angels originally and what will stop GW from doing this to Blood Angels next month? The total lack of continuity hurts everyone! It is sloppy design, giving the impression GW doesn’t have any idea what they are doing and/or reacting to player complaints in the wrong way. It is easy to get into the weeds about power creep or poorly written units, but much of those complaints would have gone away if GW could keep some consistency for at least one codex cycle. Everyone, thought consistency was happening, but the Necron release blew that hope away. The Tau represent another change the third or fourth in the last year! This is getting ridiculous and since we never know GW overall plans we can only assume this sort of knee jerk/lazy drop of the hat changes will continue in ad infinitum.

I am getting tired of it and I am pretty sure lots of players are too.