As I alluded to in previous articles Games Workshop is deploying a risky strategy to control how we play and buy their models. It is dependent on our complicity for wanting shiny new things and mastery of information dissemination.
The information dissemination comes in the form of the new White Dwarf where every day a new toy or rule is revealed enticing all to lap it up like a kitten to milk. Now we finally have the release, a weapon of mass destruction without peer.
The Imperial Knight.
It is the pinnacle of mass-production tabletop miniatures, a crowing jewel for all other game makers to bow before in awe. Now, the detractors can claim better sculpts from various obscure publishers and they are probably right, but for the mass market must have, the Imperial Knights' brilliance is, for a lack of a better word titanic. Then the trolls and haters will question its beauty and, claim products like the Dreamforge's Leviathan superior, but we all know denial is a powerful emotion.
This is only going off a blurry White Dwarf image, when we know reality the Imperial Knight will only get look better in person.
With a price point of $140 bucks (cheaper than the Khorne mower) it definitively worth its weight in discount online retailer gold. The Imperial Knight, while amazing, is an insidious tool for conversion. It is designed to break all resistance, especially resistance to Super Heavies. The Imperial Knight's rules are carefully crafted; point costed right, not overly powerful, and plugs right in to the vast majority of players armies.
Then the novelty of having an Imperial Knight only armies. Childhood dreams of large-scale Adeptus Titanicus are finally becoming a reality. The narrative potential for games devoted to just taking down the titan are already planned across countless stores. Sure, titans have been around, but with Forge World pricing and imperfections of resin the Imperial Knight is the gateway to what GW really wants.
The blending of the Apocalypse world and normal 40k world is almost complete, and IF the rumors of 6.5 are true, the amalgamation is almost here. If this integration comes to fruition it will be bloodless and without of whimper of resistance because of the Imperial Knight. The culmination of Stronghold, Formations, Supplements, Apoc all leads to this this. What will the tournament organizer do when faced with a many players wanting to use their Imperial Knight? How will they react when Destroyer weapons are so easily slipped right into general play? The answer is only acceptance, because alienation is the worst possible outcome.
This is it, GW has won.
Sure the haters are going to hate, but their tears of jealousy will feed GW coffers. The Imperial Knight is a statement to all other wargaming makers: GW still owns all your bases. The Imperial Knight reasserts GW top dog status, even in the face of stock fall shock, it reminds everyone that they are still the most powerful miniature company and have the best design team around.
As someone always critical of GW I do not say these things out of fandom, but out of reality, because watch as everyone with the means will buy at least one Imperial Knight, and that is not even scratching the surface of what painters and artists will do with them. The Imperial Knight is GW new flagship and devoting an entire White Dwarf and month to one model isn't a sign, then I don't know what is.
Warning
Meat for Meta is rated editorial nonsense. These articles are meant to complain about some group, somewhere, that is playing the game for all the wrong reasons or simply to just make fun of 40k nerd rage.