Editorial: Shifting the Metagame

This article has been on my mind for some time now.  If you have not already seen it, I recommend familiarizing yourself with the concept of 'Imperfect Balance', which is mentioned in the video found here.  This video has been a big topic of conversation in the miniatures gaming community because there is a certain sci-fi miniatures game which is notorious for its balance issues and the very vocal fanbase which complains about it.  Today I want to use this topic as a point of difference between certain miniatures games and the design strategy outlined by this idea of 'Imperfect Balance'.

Thinking Cap: The Underdogs Part 2

Yesterday we discussed the advantages of looking at the often underrated models/units in each faction.  While I often will look for these underdogs to a fault, playing with them can be a valuable exercise for keeping one fresh in their gaming skills.  Today I want to look at some examples of underdogs in each faction.  Naturally, they can find their way more easily into some lists than others, but are found less often than some of their counterparts in the same faction.  Also, consider that these are my observations based on the tournaments I've attended, the reports I've read from tournaments, as well as personal observations in the game clubs that I frequent, but your meta may vary (of course).

Thinking Cap: The Underdogs Part 1

I've always been supportive of the "underdog", regardless of game or genre.  This affiliation of mine with the under appreciated could be seen as a fault occasionally, but I see it as an advantage.  Regardless of what game you play (miniatures or otherwise) the player base is always capable of discovering the most 'optimal' tools at their disposal, it's part of being human and wanting to win.  I believe, however, that trying to make units or models which are generally considered 'sub-optimal' is a great exercise for a number of reasons which I wish to share with you all.  Today I'll discuss the benefits of playing with these underdogs and what you should be looking for in order to make them work.  Tomorrow, in Part 2, I'll discuss some of the most under-appreciated underdog models/units and reasons why you should reconsider trying them out and making them work for you.

A Gentleman's Tournament

Today I want to share something that’s a bit old but good fun.  About two years ago, before I really started playing Warmachine/Hordes, I was still playing Warhammer 40k fairly regularly.  The crowd at my local game store was fairly strong but some grumbling had begun to creep into the community – people were starting to become a little unhappy and bored with the armies regularly seen at events like tournaments.  My friend, Jon, and I came up with an interesting and fun idea: what if we had a tournament where winning didn’t matter?  I’m not just talking about including “Comp” or Composition scores on army construction (still a controversy in the 40k community), but winning legitimately did not determine the winners of the tournament.  It was a radical idea and some in the community didn’t like the thought of having a community where winning didn’t matter.  Really, who blames them?  What’s the point of a tournament otherwise?  Me and Jon were convinced that this could work and actually be quite fun, however, and thus, the Gentlman’s Tournament was born!

Two Caster Tournament - Lulz

So the Whiz store is holding a tournament that is one-list required, but you're allowed to bring two-casters and it's battlegroup only.  It sounds like a lot of fun but all kinds of shenanigans are almost assured to ensue.  I have come up with a hilarious list that I intend to try but there are, of course, lots of different combinations of warcasters/warlocks that will bring about similar hilarious pairs.  Today I will share my combination that I came up with (should I even attend this fiasco - I say that in a loving way!), some others that have been shared with me, and maybe a couple others as food for thought.  This is a great exercise in thinking about power multipliers and synergy in the most simple of ways, since there will be no units or solos on the board.

Road to Templecon 2012 - Standard Issue Tournament

Lately I've been really busy with work (hooray real world) and so I haven't devoted as much time as I should to coming up with effective lists for Templecon.  While I've already discussed my team tournament lists here, I'm faced with a different challenge when it comes to the Standard Issue tournament which takes place Saturday afternoon into the evening.  While I have no allusions of being a a top tournament player, I want to try my best and my goal is to at least make it into the top 25%.  While I had some success over the summer at the NETT, I need to focus my lists more than I did for this tournament.

Editorial: Should playtesters be allowed to compete?

This is a difficult topic for me to bring up since I know some playtesters personally, but in light of the new SR2012 rules I started thinking: should playtesters be allowed to compete in tournaments if they're playtesting that same game?  I'm not talking about small, local tournaments, but rather the large conventions like the upcoming Templecon.  It's an issue that I'm not sure has been addressed before and it's something that I think is worth thinking about as Warmachine/Hordes - and miniatures games in general - become more popular.  It essentially boils down to the question: does advanced knowledge of rules provide an unfair advantage over the rest of the gaming population?

Road to Templecon 2012: List Building

So if you have not had the opportunity to read my two articles on List Building, you should check them out in the Learning Center (the links towards the top left of my blog).  In those articles I discuss what kinds of things you should be considering when designing a good list.  While having fun is first and foremost, the best way to have fun is to make sure that you aren't screwed by a particular playstyle of something that you "totally forgot about."  It happens to the best of us, and bad match-ups will always be a part of the game, but this is why multiple-list tournaments are so popular.

Today I will be discussing a couple lists that I have been considering bringing to Templecon 2012 this year, to play in the team tournament (also mentioned in my last Road to Templecon article here).  I have four lists on the chopping block, and I'm only allowed to bring two.  I already have a good idea of which ones I want to bring, but I won't tell you, so that I can keep the surprise ;-)

List Building 101: Playstyle

I've been seeing a lot of articles on the internet lately discussing list-building.  What I've been finding most interesting is that these articles are popping up on web sites that have traditionally been focused more on Warhammer 40k.  Perhaps it's a sign of the extreme growth that the Warmachine/Hordes community has seen in the last year, but I think that one thing that is often neglected in these list building articles is the issue of Expectations.  What do I mean by that?  I'm talking about both what you expect of your own style of play, which I mentioned yesterday when I was talking about faction loyalty.

Editorial: Character Restriction

So recently I've been reading a lot of chatter about the new SteamRoller 2012 tournament rules.  These rules have not been finalized yet, but they are certainly causing a stir for one big reason: character restriction as a standard.  What does this mean?  Well character restriction already exists in SR 2011, and what it means is that model that is FA:C can only appear in one list if there's a multiple list format.  This also means that you cannot use the same warcaster/warlock in multiple lists, but in the SR 2012 format, you can have a prime and epic version of a caster in two of your lists.  So if I wanted to run pBaldur and eBaldur, I'm totally allowed, but I can only take Megalith in one of the lists since he's FA: C

List Building: Darius Tier 4

Lately my Circle have been getting lots of love from me.  I am "playing" them in the LGS Journeyman League which started two weeks ago, so they have been foremost in my mind.  I also plan on taking them to Templecon this year for the team tournament.  I'm still trying to convince my teammates to run all Tier lists so that we can name our team Trail of Tiers (too much?), but I digress.

Today I want to give some love to everyone's favorite protagonists, the boys in blue, the swans, Cygnar.  Specifically, I want to highlight one of the better tier lists in the Cygnar book, Captain E. Dominic Darius' Wrecking Crew.  This tier list is great for several reasons that become more apparent at the 50 point level.  I will start with a 35 point list, however, as it will probably be easier to achieve for some of you out there who want to think of ways of making this neat caster work for you.  Author's note: Darius is actually one of the rare casters who can achieve a Tier 4 list in 15 points!

Editiorial: Being "Competitive"

"I never really played sports when I was younger because I'm not really a competitive person."

EXTREME!!!

I have said that line on many occasions and I now believe that there are many flawed assumptions in such a statement.  Yes, it's certainly true that I never really played sports, not even baseball, soccer, football (aside from a brief exploratory period in high school), nor any other kind of sport.  When I was young I never really had the drive to try any of these activities and my parents never had me try because of that.  In hindsight, I find that a little strange considering that they always encouraged me to try new things, but I digress.