I'm not going to write a huge long blog post how PP is evil and I think they are turning into GW because it's not worth the time or effort, but I am being more and more disheartened in the PP community and company.
I look at the way PP is acting and it feels more corporate and less fair than it did before. People say "PP have great customer service" and act like this is a defense, but GW have flawless customer service to the point where you can steal from them if you really wanted to, I don't see how this is a magic bullet that solves all.
The community seems to have shifted since MKII hit as well. We're starting to see less of a "everyones a bro" and more of "OMG BNF! OMG LISTEN!" with several people in the community. BNF (big name fans) belong in the livejournal communities not in the Wargaming one, we're more mature than that (or I'd hope we were). But instead I've seen several names start to pop up and favouriteism and and all the bullshit I can't stand. I could go "Bobaferret did X" and "Gdaybloke did that" but lets be blunt. I don't do BNF type bullshit and I feel the Warmachine community is now doing just that. Either I changed or it did and either way, it's making me feel like I would rather not be part of it.
To go along with the above point, the community quality has dropped below an acceptable standard. We have Podcasts like Focus and Fury, Guts and Gears and to some level Iron agenda that is just releasing terrible quality podcasts that aren't enjoyable to listen to. Then PP goes and gives the worst of these favourtism out the ass, when EVERYONE hates their damn podcast. The only podcast I feel is worth listening to any more is Boosted damage and at times they skirt the quality line as well.
Maybe I've outgrown warmachine and it's time I found a new game or maybe the community has grown, either way I've lost interest in Warmachine. MKII has killed most my interest and PP has finished off the rest of them.
Wednesday 17 March 2010
Tuesday 2 March 2010
Vyros uses a Trackball mouse
Yesterday I finally got to play some Warmachine again for the first time in months.
I played with the following list
Vyros
-Hydra
-Hydra
10 Sentinels + UA
Stormfall archers
Eiryss
2 Mage hunter assassins
It's a list I use on Vassal and enjoy using, it's low model count but high quality and it can do a bit of everything. I knew my opponent would play Cygnar (probably Stryker) but I didn't build an anti Stryker list, I built what I wanted to play. My opponents list was thus
Stryker
-Old Rowdy
-Hunter
Squire
Stormblades + UA
Full Long gunners
Black 13th.
So he had a similar list to mine except I had another heavy and our unit sizes were switched around, then we both had a set of killer solos (even if 1 is a unit persay). We discussed his list while playing and I asked why he didn't include Jr. He had discussed it with another player and they had decided both Jr and Eiryss was "just because" and had no real point in the list and I pointed to my Eiryss on the right flank and went "Is Stryker ever going over that side of the table?" his response was "No" and then he finally got why 3 points was worth it, My Eiryss did nothing but kill 1 Stormblade all game, but she funneled Stryker into the side of the board I was controling. I only include Eiryss if I'm left with 3 points after I add the solos I want, she's not an auto include, but if I have the points I will take her as a tool box solo.
He decided to set up second, so I deployed my sentinels in the middle with hydras flanking either side, Vyros a bit back, Eiryss and the stormfalls on the right flank (hilly goodness) and my 2 MHA on the left flank.
He deployed Stryker, old Rowdy and the squire center, long gunners with the B13th mingled among them on the left flank and the Stormblades on the right with the hunter just ahead of them.
Turn 1 I moved everything up, Eiryss playing distance games with the Hunter and the stormfall taking a hill in range to attack it next turn with snipe rounds if it didn't move. The MHAs moved up and hid behind a tower.
His turn he just moved the Stormblades, Old Rowdy, Stryker, Hunter and the squire about a bit, nothing exciting.
Turn 2 the hunter gets wrecked, Stormfalls brutal shot it to death with the final shots coming from a hydra with 3 focus. I positioned my Sentinels in groups of 4 and figured he would kill 1 or 2 in the coming turn giving me vengenace and getting some face raping in. Everything else just moved up into higher ground positions or looked scary and shuffled a bit.
His turn 2 he pops feat and stormblades kill 4 sentinelss (arm 19 is a bitch to crack) and takes more shots with the long gunners but can't crack the arm on my dudes.
So my turn 3 I decided I wanted those storm blades gone and took my vengenace move my left bubble moved towards the long gunners and my right bubble took some swings at the stormblades, 2 were dead from the vengenace attacks (arm 23 VS weapon masters, yum yum). My opponent was just like "what the hell?" and I'm like "I did tell you everything is a weapon master". I use Eiryss, Stormfalls and the hydras to clear out some charge lanes in the stormblades to get my extra dice and then charge with the sentinels, they clean up the unit except for 1 or 2, they constantly pass command checks and hold though). The other sentinels run up to engage the B13th and long gunners, with the MHA moving forward ready to hit Stryker next turn. At this point I had Stryker staring down 2 fully loaded Hydras, 2 MHAs and other nothing but Old Rowdy to protect him.
So his turn is pretty much going "oh shit.." and trying to clear out the Sentinels in his long gunners, which he fails to do leaving 2 alive and just in command range of the officer on the hill. Some sentinels die and next turn I forget my free movement and swings, which I knew I would at some point. My sentinels are pretty much wiped out as are his stormblades.
So turn 3 hits and I know I can nail him to the wall, except my dice disagree. Sentinels miss, MHA misses, Stormfall miss, Eiryss misses, Hydras miss. I just can't hit that def 16 and had it been a tournament I would of been frustrated, but it was not so meh. Old Rowdy is all up in my face at this point and I have to wiggle around his 6" bubble of countercharge insanity. I put Vyros on a hill with the sentinel standard bearer blocking the charge lane (and Vyros is just a bit out of range incase) and pass turn.
His turn 4 is trying to work out how to get an assassination, but it just doesn't happen, the B13th can't clean out the Sentinels and the long gunners can't really kill Vyros, Old Rowdy turns up and engages Vyros and we decided turn 4 was the end since we had to leave soon after.
So my turn 4 involves everything shooting at Stryker with everything it has and doing absolutely nothing to drop him below 4 boxes. I always underestimate Def 16 and it's not like Stryker has low arm either. I was wishing I had Ravyn with me as I could have wrecked Stryker, but I think Vyros's +2 arm spell is so insane on sentinels that he played a good roll in the game and I really enjoyed that. He even got to cast Elimator on Stryker at the final attack of the game, boosted to hit and just got no where.
At this point we shook hands and called it a draw. We added up points of models lost and I had killed 16 points of his stuff and he had killed 15 of mine, but it was a draw as far as I'm concerned. Both armies were wrecked and it was all down to the dice as to who won on turn 5.
I think Vyros is a competitive 'caster and can not only support the 2 Hydras but his infantry at the same time. His 6 focus is the perfect point for him, he uses 1 to upkeep Resolve then 2 to cast mobility and has 3 to play with each turn or just camp, which is generally enough to restock your Hydras if they need it since they won't spend more than 2 a turn unless they are in melee at which point your other one should still hold his focus. He has insane mobility and can threaten people from miles away if you want him to. His feat is pretty lame but it's extra focus if you really need it, the problem with Hydras is that you can't load them up only restock them due to the focus on them counting for allocation purposes, but hey I'm a focus 12 'caster already so whats a narrow feat? Sure I'd love something insane, but it's not needed.
I think I will be playing Vyros for the near future, I really enjoyed the game and found he had more options than Kaelyssa did and while you lose the focus stealing your army becomes a real problem to deal with unlike with her who just can't support them beyond "No Magic plz, oki".
Hopefully I will get to make it again next week and play some D&D (I want to play a Dwarf based on the MMORPG fanbase), but as a back up plan I'll play Warmachine. My other Wargaming club is meeting Sunday, I may venture out to it if I'm up for it.
I played with the following list
Vyros
-Hydra
-Hydra
10 Sentinels + UA
Stormfall archers
Eiryss
2 Mage hunter assassins
It's a list I use on Vassal and enjoy using, it's low model count but high quality and it can do a bit of everything. I knew my opponent would play Cygnar (probably Stryker) but I didn't build an anti Stryker list, I built what I wanted to play. My opponents list was thus
Stryker
-Old Rowdy
-Hunter
Squire
Stormblades + UA
Full Long gunners
Black 13th.
So he had a similar list to mine except I had another heavy and our unit sizes were switched around, then we both had a set of killer solos (even if 1 is a unit persay). We discussed his list while playing and I asked why he didn't include Jr. He had discussed it with another player and they had decided both Jr and Eiryss was "just because" and had no real point in the list and I pointed to my Eiryss on the right flank and went "Is Stryker ever going over that side of the table?" his response was "No" and then he finally got why 3 points was worth it, My Eiryss did nothing but kill 1 Stormblade all game, but she funneled Stryker into the side of the board I was controling. I only include Eiryss if I'm left with 3 points after I add the solos I want, she's not an auto include, but if I have the points I will take her as a tool box solo.
He decided to set up second, so I deployed my sentinels in the middle with hydras flanking either side, Vyros a bit back, Eiryss and the stormfalls on the right flank (hilly goodness) and my 2 MHA on the left flank.
He deployed Stryker, old Rowdy and the squire center, long gunners with the B13th mingled among them on the left flank and the Stormblades on the right with the hunter just ahead of them.
Turn 1 I moved everything up, Eiryss playing distance games with the Hunter and the stormfall taking a hill in range to attack it next turn with snipe rounds if it didn't move. The MHAs moved up and hid behind a tower.
His turn he just moved the Stormblades, Old Rowdy, Stryker, Hunter and the squire about a bit, nothing exciting.
Turn 2 the hunter gets wrecked, Stormfalls brutal shot it to death with the final shots coming from a hydra with 3 focus. I positioned my Sentinels in groups of 4 and figured he would kill 1 or 2 in the coming turn giving me vengenace and getting some face raping in. Everything else just moved up into higher ground positions or looked scary and shuffled a bit.
His turn 2 he pops feat and stormblades kill 4 sentinelss (arm 19 is a bitch to crack) and takes more shots with the long gunners but can't crack the arm on my dudes.
So my turn 3 I decided I wanted those storm blades gone and took my vengenace move my left bubble moved towards the long gunners and my right bubble took some swings at the stormblades, 2 were dead from the vengenace attacks (arm 23 VS weapon masters, yum yum). My opponent was just like "what the hell?" and I'm like "I did tell you everything is a weapon master". I use Eiryss, Stormfalls and the hydras to clear out some charge lanes in the stormblades to get my extra dice and then charge with the sentinels, they clean up the unit except for 1 or 2, they constantly pass command checks and hold though). The other sentinels run up to engage the B13th and long gunners, with the MHA moving forward ready to hit Stryker next turn. At this point I had Stryker staring down 2 fully loaded Hydras, 2 MHAs and other nothing but Old Rowdy to protect him.
So his turn is pretty much going "oh shit.." and trying to clear out the Sentinels in his long gunners, which he fails to do leaving 2 alive and just in command range of the officer on the hill. Some sentinels die and next turn I forget my free movement and swings, which I knew I would at some point. My sentinels are pretty much wiped out as are his stormblades.
So turn 3 hits and I know I can nail him to the wall, except my dice disagree. Sentinels miss, MHA misses, Stormfall miss, Eiryss misses, Hydras miss. I just can't hit that def 16 and had it been a tournament I would of been frustrated, but it was not so meh. Old Rowdy is all up in my face at this point and I have to wiggle around his 6" bubble of countercharge insanity. I put Vyros on a hill with the sentinel standard bearer blocking the charge lane (and Vyros is just a bit out of range incase) and pass turn.
His turn 4 is trying to work out how to get an assassination, but it just doesn't happen, the B13th can't clean out the Sentinels and the long gunners can't really kill Vyros, Old Rowdy turns up and engages Vyros and we decided turn 4 was the end since we had to leave soon after.
So my turn 4 involves everything shooting at Stryker with everything it has and doing absolutely nothing to drop him below 4 boxes. I always underestimate Def 16 and it's not like Stryker has low arm either. I was wishing I had Ravyn with me as I could have wrecked Stryker, but I think Vyros's +2 arm spell is so insane on sentinels that he played a good roll in the game and I really enjoyed that. He even got to cast Elimator on Stryker at the final attack of the game, boosted to hit and just got no where.
At this point we shook hands and called it a draw. We added up points of models lost and I had killed 16 points of his stuff and he had killed 15 of mine, but it was a draw as far as I'm concerned. Both armies were wrecked and it was all down to the dice as to who won on turn 5.
I think Vyros is a competitive 'caster and can not only support the 2 Hydras but his infantry at the same time. His 6 focus is the perfect point for him, he uses 1 to upkeep Resolve then 2 to cast mobility and has 3 to play with each turn or just camp, which is generally enough to restock your Hydras if they need it since they won't spend more than 2 a turn unless they are in melee at which point your other one should still hold his focus. He has insane mobility and can threaten people from miles away if you want him to. His feat is pretty lame but it's extra focus if you really need it, the problem with Hydras is that you can't load them up only restock them due to the focus on them counting for allocation purposes, but hey I'm a focus 12 'caster already so whats a narrow feat? Sure I'd love something insane, but it's not needed.
I think I will be playing Vyros for the near future, I really enjoyed the game and found he had more options than Kaelyssa did and while you lose the focus stealing your army becomes a real problem to deal with unlike with her who just can't support them beyond "No Magic plz, oki".
Hopefully I will get to make it again next week and play some D&D (I want to play a Dwarf based on the MMORPG fanbase), but as a back up plan I'll play Warmachine. My other Wargaming club is meeting Sunday, I may venture out to it if I'm up for it.
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