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Post by coolguyclay on Jan 14, 2020 20:25:13 GMT
Picture this. You're playing a game of WarmaHordes and it's the top of turn 4. No one was assassinated and the spread in control points is reasonable. No one has some jank army or lousy matchup where victory is inevitable. Units are decimated but still standing, damage has been taken, battle lines are blurry and options are limited due to earlier losses. Clock is winding down too.
And yet, it is still anyone's game! These next few rounds are the most fun and exciting you'll play, but it took 3 turns (and 1-2+ hours) to get here.
Two questions:
Do you find the fun, strategy, positioning, risk of rounds 4+ more fun than rounds 1,2,3?
How can that feel be recreated? Smaller point games (35pts or less) don't play the same with scenarios and board size that can handle more. It works, but isn't the same feel of rounds 4+. Any way to have the fast, tactical skirmish game without having to fight through an army?
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privvy
Junior Strategist
Formerly The Nomad on PP's forums
Posts: 317 
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Post by privvy on Jan 14, 2020 21:13:14 GMT
You could try min units only, 25-35 points, smaller table size. In Heroscape, there's a variant called Heat of the Battle, where you take turns deploying models anywhere on the field instead of the typical deployment zones.
I'd bet you could recreate that middle of the game feeling by making a rule like: Place the leader model of a unit/solo/warbeast/warjack/battle engine completely within 20" of your table edge and then scatter them D6" from that point. Then deploy the rest of the unit within command. And just not scatter your caster or lock.
I think that rule, with min units only, would help get the feeling that combat has been happening.
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zhoe
Junior Strategist
Posts: 254
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Post by zhoe on Jan 15, 2020 1:14:33 GMT
my favrite round is 6
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Post by streetpizza on Jan 15, 2020 3:36:48 GMT
My favorite round is the after game beers.
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Post by charlzheimer on Jan 15, 2020 16:31:09 GMT
sometimes you don't end the game in 1-2-3.
and the game becomes tense as resources dwindle.
now with the exception of a few lists [Cough]Harby[/cough] as the game progresses it becomes nasty for all.
heck i recall a tournament where we ended on turn 7 and the last 2 turns was morghoul and kreos3 running in circles as we both tried to not lose those last few models we had.
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gupp
Junior Strategist
Posts: 134
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Post by gupp on Jan 18, 2020 18:12:12 GMT
Sometimes this happens to me, but I usually feel it happens when both players messed up their opportunity to get ahead
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mrtuna
Junior Strategist
Posts: 117
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Post by mrtuna on Jan 18, 2020 23:30:59 GMT
I think it’s fun because of the buildup. Skipping right to the end and say playing 10 points isn’t the same.
Turn 6 rewards you killing that support solo turn 2, and punishes you spending 15 minutes measuring threats turn 3.
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Post by gedditoffme on Jan 19, 2020 3:46:02 GMT
One of my favourite (untimed) games ended round 7 on AP tie breaker, with just Goreshade2 and a desecrator vs Madelyn and Reznik2. Bizarre couple of turns circling - Reznik able to kill anything and immune to everything except Desecrators melee, but vulnerable if madelyn died.
Was a hell of a grind to get to that point though. Those late game scenarios are always beautiful because the winner starts scoring multiple times with each model (eg sitting a warcaster on the corner with a rectangle and square zone, or flag and zone). You have to get clever balancing threats vs scoring, and contesting starts to go out the window with so few models.
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Post by coolguyclay on Jan 20, 2020 22:02:38 GMT
I think it’s fun because of the buildup. Skipping right to the end and say playing 10 points isn’t the same. ... That's the part I want to replicate without all the investment. Maybe there is not a good way. At NOVA Open a few years ago I played in a 15pt Speed Machine event. It was 3 or 5 minute turns (I forget if we got an extension) and a variety of lists. The beauty was both sides were army limited and the speed timing made for typical late turn "quick thinking and quick mistakes". Scenario was tense though as scoring options and contesting pieces were limited. It did take some randomness out of the equation though, as like you mentioned, having that key solo scalped out turn 2 "would have changed the whole game if I just made that tough check" : ) Wasn't there a format that was played on a smaller board? Or dropped setup and units just moved on from the table edge? |
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Post by dogganmguest on Jan 21, 2020 1:34:04 GMT
Wasn't there a format that was played on a smaller board? Or dropped setup and units just moved on from the table edge? Rumble. It was interesting and played very differently to standard games, but it was effectively ignored by everyone for a few sins, the biggest of which was "it's not the 75 point steamroller I am used to, don't move my cheese". There were a handful of stupid "I can win by being a dick" cases that were never addressed, like if you bring Vayl and two units of raptors, you can crowd the enemy side of the board on turn 1 so they can't legally deploy. A fun mental exercise (breaking the game) that unfortunately warmautism turns into "THIS FORMAT IS FUNDAMENTALLY FLAWED AND I WILL NEVER PLAY IT" |
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privvy
Junior Strategist
Formerly The Nomad on PP's forums
Posts: 317
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Post by privvy on Jan 22, 2020 17:00:58 GMT
I mean, if people find that format attracting that kind of cheese and it makes the game not fun, it shouldn't be played. PP could release 100 formats, but it's really up to the community to filter them out or propose rules to prevent that sort of game state.
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