White Dwarf at 400

Some time in the last few months, "White Dwarf" magazine started appearing in Tesco. I was finding it increasingly difficult to resist the urge to pick up a copy and have a look, despite not being a particular fan of Games Workshop, despite not being a customer of Games Workshop, and despite my extreme dislike of their handling of that "Space Marine" copyright thing.

When issue 400 appeared a few weeks ago, complete with a Tau battlesuit on the front (basically, it was Shockwave), I finally weakened and picked up the issue. Which I duly read, and finally finished yesterday.

My first, and most immediate, feeling about the magazine was that it is frankly a travesty that "White Dwarf" made it to 400 issues, while "Dragon" got cancelled at 359. And no, the electronic version doesn't count.

My second reaction is that it is, absolutely and unashamedly, a big paid-for advert for Games Workshop's latest products (specifically the newly relaunched Tau army for Warhammer 40,000). But... it is an entertaining and well-made advert for their products. Indeed, it was actually considerably better than I remembered - at least this issue bothered to include genuine painting tips and advice, and some stuff about modelling backgrounds and the like. Plus, the battle report was the highlight, as always, pitting the Tau against Tyrannids (the Tau won, of course - the new army wins these things at least 90% of the time).

My final reaction, though, is that this was actually a really dangerous purchase. Because having read it, I really want to invest in a shiny new Tau army. Purely because those battlesuits are very much the descendants of Shockwave, and that's cool. (And, indeed, I felt a similar pull to the Necrons a little while ago. But it's all nonsense - if I were ever to go back to 40k, it would of course be to expand and update my Ork force.)

Anyway, that's that. Given the cost, it's not really a purchase that I regret, despite not actually having any huge interest in the subject (and despite definitely not wanting to get back into that side of the hobby). But the question now is: do I buy issue #401?