Hi guys,
here in Barcelona (and I could extend this analysis to Spain) 9th Age is the rulebook most used. Largely.
I'm far from a competitive player, but still, I think 9th could be the way until GW returned to Fantasy, something I'm sure they will.
All members of my group play only 9th Age, and the rest of wargamers I know (a lot) has changed from 8th to 9th.
In Spain there are minor groups who play other fanmade (or adaptations) rulebooks: Warhammer 8.5, Warhammer Reforged, 6th edition with Manuscritos de Nuth... but the most has changed to 9th.
BUT
I'm not happy with the way 9th Age are turning to. Each edition of their rulebook is more different from the original 8th edition. Each edition introduces more rules. Now you need a calculator to make the simpliest army list. They points has doubled (which makes every comparison with previous editions wrong in terms of scale). Now they have created their own background...
In their obsession for balance in competition games they forget the spirit of the game. But the problem is not the rulebook. Never will be a perfectly balanced rulebok; the problem is the players who squeeze their lists to win at all costs. And these types of players will always exist. So, stop updating the rulebook constantly, because it already tires ...
No, I love Warhammer not only for the rules, games or miniatures but also for their stories: about Gotrek and Felix, about the Empire, about Nagash, about Von carsteins, about the War of the Beard, etc...