Warhammer — Local services in Ann Arbor

The Rules ‐---‐---------------------- I only give it a 2 because Josh seems like he is well intended. However, my 3 week experience with this shop, and Josh's incorrect info, has wasted a bunch of my time.

The Lore I went into the shop because some friends of mine had recently got into 40k. I don't know much, but I wanted to get into the hobby with the AD Sororitas. Unfortunately, the store didn't have any when I went. Thats fine I get it, places sell out of stuff.

Good news though: Josh, the worker there, informed me that the Piety & Pain box would be going on pre-order the following weekend!

Now, I have been into other hobbies that are hard to get items on launch so I asked specifically if the pre-order was going to be a problem, and he assured me it won't be an issue, and to just call the store when the pre-order drops. We'll I did and they were all sold out right away.

Being sold out was annoying, but not Josh's fault, even though he told me there DIDNT need to be any urgency, so I called like an hour after they opened. Oh, and I put all my eggs in that one basket... Ok so he didn't know, I can understand.

Where I get frustrated, is in that same conversation he informed me that they WOULD FOR SURE have some boxes the following weekend. All I needed to do was get to the store early and wait until they open.

So I drove the 45 mins it takes to get there, with my 3 year old kid (couldn't get a sitter), and waited outside the store early before they opened. Well.... they didn't have any boxes.

So 3 weeks into my warhammer adventure and I still don't have a single AD Sororitas model, but I have $300 in space marines, paint, core rules, a codex and 4 hours of driving.

At least my local store told me they weren't going to have any of the boxes and didn't waste my Saturday. I think I will just be going there instead, even if they have half the stock, and I have to wait for things to show up...

There are two kinds of GW stores; this is the good kind. The manager, Josh, has a genuine love of the hobby and will enthusiastically mentor newcomers and advise old grognards in building, painting, and list-building. More than once he's stated a desire to make it a center of the hobby community where everyone is welcome and comfortable, and I do believe he's succeeded. The shop's regulars are also a credit to the hobby, with the painters and the players alike being welcoming of newcomers. The painters are happy to show off their own work and gush over yours (or offer tactful advice, if you need it - I've yet to see someone be rude about this), while the players take quite well to polite observation and inquiries about their games (and if you catch them between games, will happily talk tactics with you). Then, of course, there's the true test of any hobby store: What happens when you bring your wife. In the bad kind of stores, you come away with horror stories about poorly-socialized nerds acting unpleasantly - which is why most experienced hobbyists scout ahead before bringing in their better halves. Here? She was greeted just like any other customer and soon got into a discussion about Space Wolf lore. She even had fun.

I'll be honest, at this point this place is pretty much the only reason I'm still in the hobby and buying GW product. It represents the best in...

An excellent store in a convenient location, with extremely friendly and helpful staff(the manager, Ian, single-handedly got me back into the hobby after a five year break), and practically everything you'd need for the hobby. The only (extremely minor) complaint I'd have is that there just aren't enough tables for how busy the store is! On some days I've been there, there have only been two or three games going on at a time but there's definitely been a few games where people are waiting for tables to open up to play. Even so, I'm definitely going to come back...