The Drawback of Theme Forces as a Buisness Strategy

I dunno, I take his point (though you may be right about Rowdy specifically).

Theme forces may reduce the barrier for entry for new players getting into the game (though they may not, being as they also reduce overlap between viable tournament lists, but I digress). I can see how breaking factions down into more manageable chunks might make it less daunting for a new player to get into the game*.

On the flip side, though, making all of these theme forces largely independent, with little overlap, increases the cost of buying in to new models for veteran players. As much as 'buying into a theme' is less intimidating than buying into a faction, buying into a theme is now highly comparable to buying into a faction.

For instance, previously, if a bunch of new releases came out, I would have to evaluate each individual release in light of what it adds to my previously owned models and lists. Some stuff makes the cut, some stuff doesn't. But with theme forces being the primary sales unit of the game, that's no longer an option - I have to evaluate all of the releases holistically, determine whether I want to buy into whatever theme list they're attached to (which means determining if it's going to be viable competitively, or at least, add anything new to my competitive pairing). Rather than probably buying some of the models, I will either buy few/none of the models OR most/all of them. Obviously, there's some overlap between themes, but most models are (currently) locked to a single theme. 

* though seriously, if that's their goal, they need to reformat their website stat. I've had numerous new players feel discouraged because they bought a bunch of models for a faction, only to find out that they bought little pieces of a bunch of different theme lists. 

Roger what you said oncom.

battle boxes are a pretty good deal for what you get and get people to pop their foot into the door; but after that initial investment, there is a marked decrease up to the point where people obtain enough of an army to enter into a tournament or a non-starter league.

people will continuously state that themes are not necessary, but I've not met anyone in person who is under the illusion that free points and some other perks does not make up for the flexibility. it has become apparent that PP believes that Mk3 shall be played in-theme. so now that the game has been broken down into sub-factions for all intents and purposes there are a host of different market forces at work than there were previously.

PP could address this with discounted theme force boxes; give a discount but sell a substantial number of minis at once.

Aye. And given that I'm convinced that PP did not initially intend for Mk3 to turn into Mk.Theme, I'm not convinced that they've fully grasped the ramifications of this change. Obviously, I have no idea what their sales numbers look like. But I've already seen a fair number of Troll players scared off of Storm of the North because of the cost of the new models (Hooch Hauler especially) and I'm starting to feel that once the legacy stuff is in a better place, picking up new models is going to be a lot less...necessary than it ued to be. 

Used to be, if a faction got a new model (And it was strong) it changed the faction's playstyle and the meta as a whole. Now any new model has to be evaluated in the context of the theme first, then in terms of how that theme fits into your pairing. Suppression Tankers could have released as they were on day 1 of CID, but if the rest of the theme was crap, few people would have bought them. Definitely is something PP needs to look at, if they haven't already. 

It is not just theme forces (and the cost of and amount of models), it is also that the is meant more for a build up league type setting. Sure there are different point amounts people can play, but when was the last time most people played a 50 point game, let alone a 35 or 25 point game. One of the reasons I wanted to buy in was I had seen people playing 35 and 50 point games, perfect size for someone who walks and bikes everywhere...but most people now seem to play 75 point games (not quite exclusively, but enough that it seems that way).

Which is funny, because one YouTube channel that I love to watch is wargamer girl, and she seems to play 50 point games almost exclusively on her channel.

But themes also can complicate things, added rules, benefits, restrictions. Right now my 50 and soon to be 75 point lists will be out of theme. Just so I can make sure I am getting everything done right, in order, and remembering all of my models benefits and actions.

Personally I think battleboxes should be 25 to 35 points...a caster, battlegroup, unit, and solo, but all that are under a theme if they are pushing the theme. Instructions on how to best play the game with said box, recommended product to upgrade the box, and links to forums so people can get help, ideas, and guidance.

Then have the theme force boxes at 50 points, and then bundle boxes which have 100 points of models (after battlegroup), 2 casters with same or close BG points, and instructions on the themes (yes multiple themes) the box can be played in (being a circle player I will use circle themes as examples.) I.E. Devourer's Host and Call of The Wild, or Bones and The Wild Hunt, or Secret Masters and Bones. All of the pairs could have models that overlap it would be an easy way to get into theme lists and learning what to drop into what armies. They wouldn't even have to load the boxes with the best models.

But single theme force boxes (are they even 75 points worth of models?) to me, they should keep them in stock until mk4...but should have put box exclusive models for the specific theme, at least for one season of SR.

I'm probably wrong on all this, but hey, that's my random wall of text for the day

I think their gallery and their webstore should be formatted around themes. You select a faction, there are sub-categories for each theme that you can select, which shows you all the models that are available in that theme. If a model gets added to a theme, it gets added to that section, same goes for removal. I've seen too many players with a unit of MoW, a unit of Winterguard, and a unit of Iron fangs to not think that this is a fairly significant problem. 

You could even have a subsection for mercenaries/out of faction models linked to a theme for something like DOA or Llaelese Resistance. 

I like the themes as a design choice, but I see why it's bad as a business choice.
They set a high monetary bar for entry and create uneasiness with existing player base over constant changes that exist mostly to push new models (nerf your jacks, buy some mows in our case). The non-theme should absolutely return as a valid competitive choice, be it Irregulars for everyone or free stuff out of theme.