Gotta keep random turns. It make AoS different and in my opinion better. You have to strategise with turns in mind and it adds complexity and difficulty to the game. IMO 40k is often won on the first turn dice roll and is therefore more unbalanced.

You're absolutely right that AoS doesn't need the massive culling that 40k 9th did. The random turn mechanic I think is now too ingrained in how AoS plays to be removed IMO. I'd really like a random battle tactic mechanic like 40k has with the deck as it goes a long way to making games feel more different turn by turn. Tournaments obviously get the fixed/variable decision. I would like to see as you note some sort of reaction mechanic across the whole game. MW issue came about because of save stacking so if that is limited more then you have less of a need for MW spam. I'd like to see shooting units moved to the woefully underused artillery keyword unless they're incidental shooting units (like wildercorps or skinks). That would limit the number of them on the battlefield and force the more combined arms approach GW obviously wants.

I would LOVE if heroes could join squads... i just want my small boys to be used

All i want to know is, wheres my standard "Nothing Personal" command ability where on your turn when you shoot at me, before you get to shoot i teleport one of my units instantly behind you and attack you - but wait wait wait its at -1 to hit so its balanced! Why shooting armies get to have their cake and eat it too with a crazy benefit from double turn and a reaction that is insanely strong just doesnt make any sense and seems to make them basically un balanceable in 3rd ed. Morathi snakes, kharadron, kroak nuke, lumineth and cities - how many months of 3rd were at least one of these not posting 58+% winrates?

I think the double turn is important. I would, however, add in a Star Wars Legion priority type mechanic. Right now, having turn orders be pure d6 roll offs can lead to bad games. SWL though, has each player select a priority type card, with higher priority getting less general benefits and lower priority getting buffs. If each player got priority cards, it would give agency and make the mechanic more interesting. If I absolutely needed a turn and used my highest priority card while my opponent used a lower priority card that allowed them to cast a spell in my turn or gave 2 free all-out-defense buffs, it would still allow for double turns, but give more interesting decisions to make.

If they buff going second so people choose to do it then winning the priority roll is even stronger. That doesn't solve the problem of the roll being random its just an even larger swing.

You know how you fix the random turn...alternative activations.

1: While adding attack ranks, imo just remove Weapon reaches imo, it just really punishes beginners thinking they'r screening something and Unit X having 3" reach attacking over. 2: Foot Heroes joining units like 40k 10th is like a MUST happen! limit what units heroes can join on their warscroll, not every single one have to be able to join, but most. Foot heroes, especially melee, and even more so the ones without a clear synergy buff they give, are just pointless, and thematically boring, they cover in the back, what HEROES they are.. Common, let foot heroes join units and lead from the front! It also speeds up the game a bit, change most of the buffs they offer to the unit they joined instead! this saves time having to remeassure all the time that you'r not moving out of all the 12" bubbles. It also helps balance certain lists that does AOE mortal wound bombing with spells or abilities, in most cases they are balanced, but against 30% of the armies that like to bring 5-6 heroes and more a few more min sized unit, they quickly become super OP, whiping out whole armies. It also makes equiping smaller foot heroes with Artifacts sometimes instead of just putting them on the big Monster heroes since they scale better with them, since the Unit they join helps protecting them a bit and make them able to go out and fight, using the Command trait / Artifact benefits. 3: Removal of Battletactics & Grand alliance is good, and instead they could introduce like 2-3 Battletactics linked with each battleplan instead! instead of having super complex rules for some battleplans, all of them can have just basic scoring hold 1-2 /more, BUT add 2-3 Battletactics per Battleplan, and that makes them more uniqe, and instead of Spending 1-5 min per turn choosing battletactic, just have them all activated through the battle, you can score all 2-3 in 1 turn, (They could make like 8 Battleplans in total if they'd like, and just affix 2-3 of them per battleplan, so more generic but uniqe combinations per battleplan. This would make the Battleplans feel more thematic, and what the armies are trying to accomplish is linked with the battleplan, IF they want to, they can introduce 3 Battletactics per army, and you choose 1 in your list, make it thematic, something your army would want to achive, but make it accomplishable in any turn, NOT just at the end like most Gradstrategies, closer to how battletactics work. This alone could save 20-30 minutes per game, the players not having to struggle and figuring out what battletactic they can achive, OR a few factions just having it super easy. 4: 40k way of battleschock is better! make units who lose the roll take a more definitive ammount of losses instead of based on number of models lost total, that would be great. Also if they do that, Nerf Bravery ammount of most stuff, make Bravery 10 super rare! not all undead and daemons.

You started off really strong. Good takes, but around the tables section you started to lose me. You're talk way too much about wanting the game to be more like 40k and as far as I know 10th is not any better than 9th. I'm assuming by tables you're actually referring to enhancements. Which ya they do generally have to do better with most enhancements and allegiance abilities as well as terrain rules

I hope they kill it. Give it it's own end times and move everyone back to a real game like tow.