When they released Apocalypse, everyone was like "Cool, dude, I can use all the junk that I haven't used in years!" So that is what we did. We combined armies, made unholy alliances, and played with all our old toys.
Then we realized that we needed super-heavies to be considered more than a speed bump in a 20,000 point battle, so we bought them.
The problem soon came to light when most of us realized that spending that much money on a model that we will only use twice a year didn't make much sense. Apoc games are really cool, but take too darn long for those of us with wife, kids, family, and work.
When they release Battle Missions, everyone was like "Cool, new ways to play with our toys". So we finished painting our armies, tweaked a few things, maybe bought a specific model to fulfill a roll. Some of the more bitter fellow-geeks even took back some of the bad things they said about GW in the past.
Tucked away in the back of Battle Missions was a way to play three super-heavies against a normal army and everyone pulled the Baneblades out of storage again. Then there is Kill Team, which made all the IG players actually buy a whole squad of snipers.
Some of the love the geeks were feeling allowed GW to raise the price again - and this time the uproar wasn't as bad as it was in the past.
Then they release Spearhead. Now, even the tread-head Guard players sitting at their painting table looking at their collection of Leman Russ', Manticores, Basilisks, and Hellhounds are saying "Dude, I don't have enough!"
Yet another way to play our beloved game. For all you FoW players and your puny little tank divisions - BUZZ OFF! WE HAVE TWIN-LINKED LASCANNONS ON A TRIO OF FREAKIN' WALKERS!
What - you want to dust off those Baneblades and bring them against that nasty Ork horde that's been kicking your butt for the last year? BRING IT BABY!!!
Finally, big mean models for a game that doesn't take eight hours to play three turns!
In eight pages of their plastic porn magazine, GW released the rules that once again showed us the game ain't about rules - it's about building your stuff and shooting big guns.
Fair? Unbalanced lists? Who gives a flying rats rear-end! Guard players can now legally build their Armored Company list. Ork players will be bringing 180 grechin with S7 bombs and still be throwing a Stompa at you. Space Marine players will be fielding six to twelve Dreadnoughts along with their normal list. Eldar skimmers will be hitting you from every single direction. And the Nids will be fielding nothing that fits on anything less than a 60mm base.
Tournament play? Competitive? That's all thrown out the window now. There's no telling what you are going to be facing. The concept of a "balanced list" is trashed. Those rules-lawyers who look down upon us that don't care about math-hammer and super-killer list theory will soon be the uber-minority as the rest of us are laughing the dried paint off our hands as we demolish and get demolished in new and interesting ways.
GW has come around and reminded us what the first rule of the game is: have fun.
Will I buy more now? ABSOFREAKINLUTELY! I need more tanks! I need a platoon of Dreadnoughts! Good Lord there is SO much more I need.
Here's what the game is about: play what you want to play and enjoy the heck out of yourself. It ain't about winning. It's about playing.
PLAY HARD!
In case you don't troll the blogs, I'd like to tell you about the Storm Wardens project. Some of the best painters this hobby has seen are building a Storm Wardens Space Marine force. Dave Taylor, Thomas Wynn, Ron Saikowski and others are building and painting one of the best forces you've ever seen.
Here is perhaps the cheapest way to get some very cool looking bases. Just think of the different painting possibilities (cracked road, desert, lava, etc.). 
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