Hobbyside Thunderdome
WHO RULES BARTER TOWN??! WHO RULES???!!!
MASTA BLASTA!!!!
All-right kiddies. I've got a little something something for you all to mull over. A comparative review of GW's 6th edition Warhammer 40k vs. Corvus Belli's Infinity rulebooks. That's right! vs. BOTH the Human Spheres and Core rulebook. Why you ask? Because between the 2 books they only come out to 10 pages (roughly 408 pgs.) short of the GW behemoth (418pgs.).
SO HERE WE GO!!!
In the Grimdark corner, all the way from England, we have the reigning Champion...
WARHAMMER 40,000 6th EDITION RULEBOOK!
And the Challengers, Hailing from Spain, In the Neon Glow of the future we have the tag team....
INFINITY CORE AND HUMAN SPHERES!!!
Alright. For those who don't know the rules, here they are:
- Price is a factor, and since the match-up came out of my (And Richards...) wallets, It'll be reviewed in CANADIAN DOLLARS (CAD).
- Paper quality, binding quality and image quality all play a factor.
- Kill-a-man-ability is important as this is a fight and being able to lay the opponent out is important.
- Frills, such as poncy ribbons don't count. Seriously... Most people use the friggin receipt as a book mark, and since I'm a huge reader I have my own fancy (leather!) bookmark. Cause I'm a nerd... And seriously If the Ribbon cost GW $25 to add, then they are morons.
- Let's keep the fight clean. No eye gouges, bag shots or dirty language. Commenters do what you will.
NOW You know the rules... so LET'S GET IT ON!
FIGHT!
Note: Pictures will be posted Infinity books on the left and 40k 6E on the right.
Price (Before taxes):
6th Edition 40k: $94.95
Infinity Core Rulebook and Human Spheres : $34.95 each. Total $69.90.
Alright, let's get the bugbear in the room out of the way. 6th edition is expensive. Stupidly expensive.
Ostensibly the reasoning behind it's mega-high price tag (according to GW) is due to the high quality full color interior with premium quality paper and a fancy-dancy ribbon bookmark. This is absolute bollocks. The Infinity books are of the same quality as the 6E book and their artwork is in much brighter more intensive colors... They are a real visual treat. So I can only surmise that the cost is purely based on the Bookmark ribbon.... or GW's love of money. Most likely the latter.
Edge - Infinity.
Paper Quality, Binding, Image Quality:
6E and Infinity both are laced hardbound books. They both use quality stock paper that is satin finish which makes for less grubby finger marks left on the pages and mean the pages will stand up to heavy use. With 6E GW marketed the book as being of the highest quality going for such a premium product. The Infinity books are printed on effectively the same stock paper, their pictures are of the same quality if not slightly better . The Infinity books suffer less pixellation on the larger interior miniature pieces used in both books. There is no loss of quality on any of the actual artwork pictures in either book that I was able to find. As for the actual print quality, I actually have to give it to GW in this regard. The Infinity pages, perhaps due to the high pigment levels required for such vibrant artwork DO have a change to smear and mark if fingered too much by oily/dirty/human pig hands. It's unfortunate but not uncommon.
Kill-a-man-ability:
Hands down, The 6E book wins. the thing weighs a frilling tonne. You could easily crush a mans head with this if you put enough momentum into it, as this massive tome weighs more than the two other books combined. This does come with a downside though. For the physically disadvantaged (aka a debilitating back injury that requires the use of a cane to walk around.. *cough cough*), this massive weight is a major issue when combined with moving a big-ass army and all that entails (models, Codecii, rulebook, templates). Infinity is a much smaller game with much less to be carried, which favors the disadvantaged. But still... IF you want to kill a man, use the 6E book.
Edge: GW
Wow! what a fight! Both fighters made it the full 3 rounds. We're going to have to take this bout to the judges table to get a final tally.
And the results are....
GW 1.5
Infinity 1.5
A TIE!
Or is it... Because in this day and age, MONEY TALKS! And that $25 will buy me an extra couple of Ariadna models or a TAG for my Pan-O.... It's 2/3 of the cost for the Paradisio campaign book! Which throws Infinity over the top for me. But that's just because I'm cheap!
So what do you all think? Pipe up in the comments section and let Us know you're thoughts.
Until next time,
Break a Deal, Spin the wheel!
Bean out~
Infinity for me. Throw in the need for at least 1 more book to even start a 40k game vs 0 for infinity, and that price bracket shifts another 60 bucks(according to the GW Canada site, for one of it's current edition codexes). I'll refrain from going into relative costs of building an army and finding a pick up game, etc. As the 2 games are in different stages of market penetration/size of game. Personally, that again tips the scales in Infinity's favor(quality over quantity IMO).
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