It is definitely not more complex. Having actually played both I can say definitively that 8th is not more complex. Longer rule book does not make a more complex game. Chess rules are only 2 pages. AoS actually made a profit, unlike it's predecessor. So much so that 40K is following the AoS example. Duly noted. Lack of profitability equals inferior product.
I guess I've been over this more times than I can count. No point in regurgitating the same talking points. However, one of the key issues lies with the player base. When WFB was scraped, most (key word most, not all) of the tactically minded and skilled players went elsewhere (T9A, KoW, Oldhammer or even sticking with 8th ed.). As a result the main (key word main, meaning most but not all) player base of AoS was comprised of a more casual "beer & pretzel" players that for the most part were less tactical and less competitive; as well as younger people coming into the hobby (due to what was made available). This is the conundrum I now find myself in, how do you convince someone of WFB's greater level of tactics, when tactics are not the strong suit of the person you are trying to convince? In the end you can't. Ignorance is bliss I suppose. A couple of key points of clarifications: my claim is not that all 8th players are highly tactically minded my claim is not that all AoS are not highly tactically minded my claim is not that one group (AoS vs. WFB) is "better" than the other, but instead they have different interests and strengths You're not trying to compare AoS to chess I hope. If your point is merely that rule book page count does not necessarily equate to a game's upper tactical ceiling then I agree. 8th edition isn't more tactical than AoS because its rule book has more pages, but it is more tactical none the less. Besides, AoS's rule book is deceiving because it has it's rules spread out over a greater area, whereas in 8th edition the rules are more concentrated. There is so much wrong with this statement... according to every official account, WFB was profitable (though maybe not profitable enough) as to how much profit each game garners, none of us really know for certain. GW financial reports are not specific enough to make any sort of accurate judgment even if AoS is more profitable, you have several confounding variables... GW is massively pushing the game through advertising, tournaments, FAQ support, community engagement, media, etc. 8th edition never got any of that attention. CEO Tom Kirby < CEO Kevin Rountree; the man in charge during 8th edition was an imbecile. The same man who likely played a part in killing WFB. Rountree inherited AoS and made some very significant and positive steps to turn things around. WFB existed for 30 years. We'll see where AoS is in 28 years time. If you think it will still be around and thriving I have some magic beans to sell you. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink.
8th edition was not around 30 years ago the game frew and evolved over that time. I hope gen1 AoS is not around in 28 years, the same old game, I would like to hope the game continues to evolve and grow. Maybe a new age of something or other. Doing things the way they have always been done just hinders progress. Only time will tell.
I didn't say 8th edition was around for 30 years... look above, I clearly said WFB, which includes editions 1 through 8. Once again, I never challenged gen1 AoS to be around for another 28 years, I just said "AoS" in general. For comparisons sake, any "edition" of something recognizable as the same "base game" or similar would be fair. That was my challenge and I feel AoS will fail in that endeavour. It may survive quite a long time (which I feel it will), but it will not match the legacy of WFB.
I don't think this is true. Both the games can be played at a high tactical level. Just take a look at some of the tactica written by Matthijs Mentink, just for zoning and area denial, AoS offers a whole world of tactical movement and placement. I've won many games due to bad placement of my opponent. 8th edition can be played at a high tactical level... but also not. It's not that a ironguts deathstar with Rune Maw banner, backed up by a hellheart and a couple of Ironblasters, that just moves forward crushing your lines, requires so much tactic... And tactic is not required to purple sun your enemy away. (and I'm winning again, just to stay on the thread's topic)
To answer your question, they got what I consider to be the Orange AoS President! In seriousness though, I believe you understand that I use the word complex to infer that it is more tactical, thoughtful, demanding, skillful, etc.
Well a more complex magic system doesn't necessarily mean that the game is more tactical (demanding, yes. it really depends on what we do mean with tactica). And Aos is developing magic with each new manual, which means more options for any army. On a related note, magic in 8th was even too much weird, and needed some balance. On an unrelated note, I'm winning the thread again.
Movement was most definitely not more complex. Move the block or choose to reform. Fairly simple concepts. Now you have to choose whether to toghten up, or space out, your unit, and maintain cohesion, having a whole army of skirmishers. Choosing when and how to move comes down to the same concepts and tactics of a free flow game table. The complexity is the similar, but different. The magic had more risks and random elements. So in order to make it worthwhile definitely had nore intricacies to it. AoS has instead a hero phase, that focuses more on Synergies as opposed to the wizard casting the big bad spell. The strategy is different, but the complexity levelis on par. Unfortunately at this point it's not comparing the same things. So magic alone, I must concede that WFB had more complex magic. Though balancing was needed. Go play some first edition WFB and let me know if it's recognizable as the same base for 8th edition. I pose to you that it is the same base for AOS, unfortunately the aesthetics of movement and the fact it is easier for people to get started. First edition was easy for people to get int with simpler rules. They added in a second (or fourth) book Forces of Fantasy for the hard core gamers. Kind of like AOS and the general's handbook. Same base. You don't have to like that AOS is the progression of WFB, but it is. Just like the people who quit when 8th came out, because now the opponent was allowed to measure before shooting, or the people who quit when 7th came out beforehand, it is Warhammer. It is Fantasy. There are Battles. Warhammer Fantasy Battle: Age of Sigmar. So the fact is also includes Age of Sigmar.