While reading up on some reviews from first-time Kings of War players I inevitably stumbled into some more of the Age of Sigmar hate and counter-hate for the haters. I'm taking away a few things:
1) AoS is fine for pushing toy soldiers around, rolling dice, and counting bodies, but there's not much beyond "kill more of them than they kill of you" or "table your opponent" at this point. Maybe that will improve over time as they release new scenarios (though if they aren't selling rulebooks at all, where's the incentive? Why not just go back to the old school and put the stuff in White Dwarf plus online?).
2) I still think Wrath of Kings does it better- it also plays fast with simple rules, yet there is plenty of strategy involved and they even managed to work asymmetrical goals into the mix (Malifaux is the only other game I know that does it well). The fluff is good, too. Each faction has some shades of grey- some heroic, some harsh but pragmatic, and some brutally evil.
3) There are multiple alternatives for people who still want block movement based fantasy combat. Kings of War is only one of many.
4) AoS was a deliberate strategy to both make more money by drawing in newer, younger, and more budget-minded gamers and to drive off the neckbeards who were dragging them down in one fell swoop.