This is what happens when we dont have basic rights like universal healthcare or stable jobs. And the "lesser evil" political party has nothing to offer besides vague phony optimism.
More and more people are being pushed to the fringe right due to the failures of capitalism.
We need better.
I completely understand the price point. That was one of the reasons I spent most of my time painting/creating. I'd painstakingly spruce up a small set or a special (read: metal) second hand figure because I couldn't afford enough pieces to join in many games and none of my friends could afford any figures at all.
It's a real shame. I live in hope that someone will come up with a rather simple open source version that you can play with any figures, rejecting the apparent rule changes that mean people buy/paint pieces and then discover they can't use them in the next edition of the rule book.
Down with capitalists.
Luckily, someone's already made just that! The starter set even comes with paper templates to cut out for paper standees. (I guess it's only arguably open source but they have a custom tool that you can use to make your own armies so that's good enough for me)