1643, yet 0 and 12

October 31, 2008

I get that it takes a while to learn a new game.  I also understand that it takes even longer to become good at any game not to mention being able to win consistently.  What I don’t grok is why I have yet to win a single game of Warmachine.  I have my suspicions, which I’ll present below, but understanding does not entirely erase a certain degree of frustration.

Too much variety

As I mentioned before, I’ve fallen for this game, and my chosen faction, pretty hard.  Like any new love affair, caution is thrown to the wind and a great deal of cash is expended in desirous pursuit.  I’m up to 1643 points in Cygnar and Mercs / Minions, and while I have a great deal of variety to choose from, I haven’t let myself get familiar enough with specific ‘casters / units / solos to really come to grips with their synergies.  I can grasp them at a theoretical level, but once the metal hits the table, it’s like all of my book learnin’ utterly fails me.  Although I want to play with all the new toys, perhaps, as my frequent Cryx opponent suggests, I should scale back and concentrate on a few specific models at a time, mastering them, and then moving on to the next via slow integration.

Too many Hordes forces

Other than the aforementioned Cryx army, I have yet to see another Warmachine force in the league.  While I’m not about to state that Hordes armies in any way superior to those of Warmachine, they do erase the Cygnar advantage of disrupting opposing ‘jacks because, simply, they don’t have any.  I’ve had to invest in models such as Alten Ashley and Professor Pendrake to directly counter the advantages warbeasts have on the battlefield.  I’m particularly sick of playing against the Legion of Everblight: their mobility and ability to ignore effects that block lone of site put Cygnar’s balanced force design at a distinct disadvantage.

Too late to the party

Warmachine has been around for, what, 4 years now?  There’s tons of material in 8 books.  The sheer amount of information to absorb in order to become familiar with all 9 factions is staggering.  Facing models on the table that, at best, you have a middling idea of their capabilities, or at worst, have never seen before puts a new player at a huge disadvantage.  You do learn from experience but seeing as Warmachine is so far along in it’s development, players who have been there all along have a leg up on the newb competition.

Too infequent play opportunities

There are players who have a lot of time on their hands.  High school students and adults without children are such people.  I am not one of them.  My play time, and therefore the amount of practice I get, is extremely limited and depends on my wife’s work schedule.  If I could, I would play twice every two weeks, which I think is more than enough.  Sadly, this hasn’t been possible of late.  I can read every entry on Battle College, peruse every book or scan the official forums until the cows come home, but nothing can substitute for actual gametime.

The dice betray me

In short, my dice consistently disappoint me.  One recent game saw me roll, whether boosting or not, nothing higher than a 4 five times in a row.  I’m starting to become risk averse, stacking buffs and focus and thereby wasting resources, to ensure an attack succeeds.

Written by kingmob | Filed under: Warmachine |