My First White Dwarf!

Hi everyone,

Today I bought my first White Dwarf in the new format.  I have been collecting White Dwarf since the early eighties.  My first White Dwarf was the one with the Rogue Trader cover - I think it was issue #97 but I am not sure.  Well I collected the mag religiously up till the mid-90's when my interest in the publication started to wane a bit.  By the turn of the century I only bought one every year or two, when there was something to do with the Space Wolves, Wood Elves or when a new edition of 40K came out.
So when the Wood Elves came out I opted to buy the new White Dwarf and check it out, and I have to admit I like the return to and older style - it's like they have gone back to form so to speak and are trying to find what made the mag so popular way back in the day.  I especially like the fact that rules have finally come back!, and the quality of the paper and presentation is still top notch as expected.

BUT IS IT WORTH IT!

To be honest, I do not really know.  The mag is about five times thinner than before and under half the price, but comes out four times a week - also you can only buy the physical copy at your local FLGS.  I guess it all depends on your perspective, money flow and preferences.

Personally, I will still keep buying the White Dwarf once in a while, when it has a topic that interests me - like the Wood Elves in this issue.  I will probably buy next week's issue as well if there are more Wood Elves - then I will wait until 7th edition 40K comes out to see what has changed and what has remained the same.  I doubt I will buy more than that!
So, speaking personally, I will keep my normal buying trend with this new version of the White Dwarf.  The new weekly schedule will not make me go down to my FLGS more often nor will I be affected by the hype and expectation it is supposed to create.  Yet I am thankful for the changes - it shows that GW is finally beginning to listen to its customers. Maybe there is still hope for them.
As for the Wood Elves, I have to say I am quite pleased with the new miniatures.  I think the Treemen are fantastic.  They seem like something out of the mind of Guillermo del Toro, like Pan's Labyrinth for example.   They have that feel in my opinion.  The increase in size from the standard GW treemen is also refreshing.  In fact I will probably be using the old treemen as Wood Kin.
This has to be my favorite model overall.  The basic treeman.  I like everything about him and prefer him to the Ancient and Durthu configurations of the kit.  The vines coming out of his palm are really a nice touch.

As for the fluff, I am a bit worried considering the author.  I have read the Blood Angel codex and wept for the fluff!  So I am a bit apprehensive as you can imagine.  After reading the article, I think I should give Mr Ward the benefit of the doubt.  He seems to have interesting ideas, but I will have to read them before I judge.