Steamroller 2012: 6 months in

Believe it or not, it's been about 6 months since we've had the Steamroller 2012 rules in-hand.  Okay, it's really been more like 7 months, but there were no major events using SR 2012 until the first week of February as everyone was adjusting to the new set of rules, so I figure I can still say it's been 6 months.  So what have we learned in 2012?  How are things different from SR 2011, if anyone can even remember that far back?  There have been some big changes, some of them controversial, but I think that all of them have been for the betterment of the game.  Today I will discuss some of the major changes and speculate on what kinds of changes we could see in SR 2013 based on what I've heard the community saying (no spoilers, though!).  Let's start looking at the 3 biggest changes and how it looks now.

Steamroller Theory - Reinforcements Part 2

Steamroller 2012 brings a lot of new elements to the table in tournament games, and the most different of these is the idea of reinforcements.  Yesterday we took a general look at the rules for reinforcements and analyzed the kinds of considerations one needs when choosing what models to take for said reinforcements.  The biggest factors, in my opinion are: low time usage, ability to dislodge an opponent from a scoring zone, and defensive capabilities or staying power.  I already looked at the choices that a Circle player might have to fill the 7-point reinforcement slot in a 35 point game, and that seems to be the trickiest to fill, compared to the 10 points that a 50 point game would have to fill.  Consequently, today we will look at some solid choices (in my opinion) for each faction that attempt to fit all three of the criteria established yesterday.

Steamroller Theory - Reinforcements Part 1

One of the biggest additions to the Steamroller tournaments in 2012 has been the Reinforcement scenarios, often referred to as "flanking" scenarios.  What these entail is a squished deployment zone with the expectation that additional models will enter on the other side of your deployment zone in future turns.  This has been a little controversial with Warmachine/Hordes players because this is a very different mechanic introduced en masse into the game.  While yes, there were units that could utilize an ability called Ambush, they typically are more expensive for their abilities than other comparable units (Bog Trogs, Kossite Woodsmen).  Today I want to focus on the rules for Reinforcements, discuss considerations for and differences between the 35 and 50 point levels of games, and highlight a couple of reinforcement options that may be overlooked or underestimated.  Let's first take a look at the scenario rules first.