I don't know if I like the idea of points and army list. I guess we'll have to see if its points or pools, but I have the feeling that AoS Match Making is only going to have 5-7 competitive lists. Sure you can play around with them a little bit, but for the most part unless you are running X1, X2, X3, X4 or X5 army and the list that goes with it, then you're not going to really be competitive. That's basically how it has became in Magic with the top 100 guys running slightly different metas of 3-4 different decks. Which is okay if you have 250-300$ to spend on a deck or cards, for everyone else thanks for making your snowflake deck, but you'll never going to break the top 500. And to my understanding that is how it was in the 8th is that people basically didn't play Tome Kings or Brettonians cause in a tournament you were just expected to lose.
I'm also wondering if this point system is going to be free or if it is going to be released in a Codex or battletome. I asked this question on the announcement picture. I was give "we"ll get back to you." So I get the feeling the it is going to be that way an people are going to be locked out of playing unless they pay for the Battletome. So don't know how excited I am for that. If it free and we can see the lists, pools, and points on a pdf then great, but considering that in the recent Order Battletome all the Warhost were behind a pay wall on the APP then I don't see this being given to us out of the kindness of GW hearts.
Another thought is that right now I think most people are thinking that these are List are all going to be part of the same faction or sub faction. Now I hope that is the case, but GW being a model company and they are going to want to promote the sell of models that these list are going to cross faction jump. So say a 3000pt game or what ever you need to have one unit of artillery, well there used to be two Aevles options for that, now there are only dwarf or empire cannons, and while I like they looks of those models, they don't fit the rest of my army. But I need artillery to have a legal list so I have to buy one. UGH!!! That puts me to where I was with 40k when my gaming group just started and found out that if I wanted to play Eldar or Dark Eldar I needed to spend $400(models are expensive in China.) for the basic army. It why we choose Age of Sigmar, was because we had a lot of freedom and now it looks like it's being taken away (more on the below). If the pools and points stay in the same faction or sub faction then awesome, cause it could also mean some new artillery models and everything else, but if we have to cross faction to make an army, then I really don't want play. Mostly cause nothing else matches my army.
My last thought on the Match system is that I have the feeling that it is going to be the only way a group of people want to play and that while there Narrative and open are going to be pushed to the way side, and those players that want to play open or narrative are going to have to play in basement and backrooms, while the "big kids" play the competitive game stairs. Or in the case of my gaming group the leader said last night that we"ll only play Match Play once released. I told that I had little interest in match play preferring Narrative or open play, he basically said I needed to find a new group (which is some bullshit considering there are only 5 people in the city that play). So I feel like I'm being forced into a system that I really don't want to play. That said out of spite if he forces me to play this way I will drop $500+ on the perfect counter to his army and just beat the hell out of him.
P.S. I want to add that I am very competitive and I do like to play competitive games, but for the past year I've been choosing models based on what I like and how they look because when I started the hobby I was told that is what I should do. If I knew that it was going to turn into a competitive play system then I would have chose the Stormcast as my army. Cause they are getting all the love at the moment and in the foreseeable future. And while I don't like all the models there are some cool looking ones that I build and army around. Or I would have paid the upfront cost and just started with 40k and slow build up a 2500pt of Eldar or Dark Eldar. So I am at a lost of what to do, cause now I'm doubting my Army choice and if Dark Aelves are even going to be competitive in the upcoming meta.
P.S.S. Part of me hopes that this is a giant troll by GW and everything is just given points based on it wounds. HAHAHAHA