Surely it should be the other way round... All masters are legal unless the TO wants to run a narrative event... and you know what? I don't think many would show up to such an event which would be quite telling as to how many are in this hobby for the story and how many value game play above all else. I love a good story as much as anyone, but its absolutely not what I come to war gaming for and for the gameplay/peoples investments to suffer to appease the lore lovers (which in my experience is the minority in this hobby) is just a terrible decision. This could potentially lead to dividing the community too, when you have certain events where all masters are legal and others where its not. Somehow I get the feeling that the real decision behind this move is to sell more models without creating too much bloat though.....
The whole theme forces thing has me concerned, its what Warmachine did with 3rd edition... and the game now is basically (last time I checked) theme vs theme as alternative lists just don't offer you the same bonuses and a lot of people have left the game as a result of this. A big part of war gaming for many is thinking about the game when you are not playing it.... the whole list building aspect, the theory crafting, developing combos, understanding you enemy etc... I mean sure when the models hit the table there's still plenty of tactical play at work regardless which we all enjoy, but by removing alot the pre game strategy you are diluting the game as a whole. There something incredibly satisfying about brewing up some unique list/combos in your 'laboratory' and turning up to a game/event with it and nobody's prepared for it, its true for any wargame... it can even be be quite enjoyable being on the reviving end of that and then you go away thinking about how do I counter that. I don't want the game to devolve into am I taking theme A, B or C. Sure maybe things have gotten to the point where its the same lists a lot of the time now, but that's what new editions and updates should address, make things that are not picked better alternatives, add new models that shake up the meta etc.... Again though, I feel like this is just another business decision that a) brings more new players into the game as the what do i buy next question is quite common and b) allows for big shiny themed boxes sitting on retail shelf's (fully expecting to see this soon.)
I Agree about what was said earlier in the thread about the two master in one crew thing being awful... Just horrible thematically, I really don't want to see that on the table even if it can be balanced well.
I'm glad 3E is still a ways off and they still have time to take a lot of these criticisms and concerns into consideration....
