Friday, August 19, 2011

Getting Monstrous

Recently I've picked up playing a little bit of Hordes from Privateer Press. This isn't so much a review as it is a write-up of Hordes through the eyes of a Malifaux player.

Backtracking to a little over a year ago, my experience with miniature gaming conisted of Uncharted Seas. Since naval combat is quite different than skirmish games, I didn't have any idea what to expect when I picked up Malifaux.

So with Malifaux being my benchmark, and with all the minis players that have come to Malifaux from other games, I wanted to share a breach-side view of Hordes.

Disclaimer: I am not switching games, Malifaux is still my favorite, just diversifying my miniature collection.

I picked up a Legion of Everblight battlebox. I chose Legion, because, as a painter, I liked the color scheme. Sure, I could have painted another army with the same color scheme, but with no other real reason, I didn't have a reason not to start with Legion.

First of note, is the attacks. Obviously Malifaux's card-based system is different than any dice-based game, but it's still different because the defender doesn't have a chance to defend. They only have a set number you have to beat. In Malifaux, you could win a duel against the same model in two different situations, with two very different numbers, and conversely lose those duels just the same. So it is different to get used to that the defending player doesn't get any real interaction except for providing their model's stats.

I picked up the Hordes MKII rule book. This is truly a rule book from a company that has been in the gaming industry for too long. So much is spelled out in the book that you can tell PP has been dealing with people who try to work around the rules for a very long time. MKII goes so far as to tell you that a model with an ability can be referred to by that ability, for example, a model with say the "tracker" ability, can be referred to as a "tracker". If that's not desperation in the face of extreme rules lawyering, I don't know what is.

Fixed heights based on base size is another interesting aspect. All models with a large (50mm) base have the exact same height (2.75"). In Malifaux, the base size and height are independent; though there is some correlation, that doesn't stop Pere Ravage from being Ht 1 on a 40mm base.

Hiring works much the same way, including the Warlock's warbeast points, which they add to your hiring pool, but only for hiring warbeasts. The difference being, that you don't get to use your leftover points in game. It seems to me like you'd want to make sure to have a few extra low cost models just to fill in your points, otherwise they feel wasted.

Encounter sizes become more various as Hordes supports much larger sized games. From a small duel, to a 4+ Warlock Apocalypse.

A big difference in gameplay is when the game is over, sure there are scenarios to gain VP, but if your Warlock is eliminated, it's game over, and your warbeasts just wander away. This is largely different from Malifaux as not only can your Masters die and your crew keeps going, but some Masters have a nasty habit of dying excessively and coming back to life (looking at you Outcasts).

Activating your whole army at the same time is a little bit daunting as well when you're used to being able to respond to your opponents moves. It definitely seems to take more strategy so as not to walk right into your opponents trap, especially when you don't really know what all the models do.

Overall, Hordes is a good game, and much easier to pick up than Warhammer. I like the idea of bonded warbeasts over campaign or league play, and look forward to getting some more games in.

Feel free to leave your comments, especially if you'd like to see any games reviewed.


Friday, August 12, 2011

Quarriors!


(Basically, it's a Dice Building Game)
-Some Lawyer Guy


WizKids has just released their new game of uber strategic hexahedron monster combat mayhem. Well, dice game for short.

Quarriors! works like most deck-building games, specifically I find it plays a lot like Ascension and Nightfall; the only difference is instead of shuffling a deck, you shake a dice bag.

Drawing six dice per turn, the dice add an additional randomness to the game. That means the dragon die that you just paid for, may only add to your quiddity pool (quiddity is the currency of Quarriors! used to buy additional dice and summon creatures)

Added cards mean that your dice act differently and cost different with every play.

Included are four colored dice bags, which match the four colored glory markers, along with a glory tracker that marks victory levels for 2, 3, and 4 players. The collectible tin is an exact replica of a dragon die. Not sure how 'collectible' that is, but hopefully we'll see some expansion tins in the future.

Unfortunately, my set had some misprinted dice, although another set in the same shipment was perfect. I'm confident WizKids will make sure my problem is solved, or else I'm sure you'll hear about it here.

Great game, and great replayability!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Nightfall


If you've ever played Ascension, you know how awesome it is to build a deck with a lot of power; and how disappointing it is to have to hit the Cultist 10 times with all that power. When Night Falls, things change and your opponents become the targets of your attack.

AEG's new game Nightfall is now available in stores like Neverland Games.

Unlike most deck-building games, Nightfall allows you to attack your opponents; but unlike many popular Trading Card Games, players don't start with a life total. Instead, wounds are tracked by wound cards which are shuffled into your deck along with all of the cards that you bought.

The player with the fewest wound cards at game's end is the winner, but beware, the more wounds a player gets, the more ferocious they will become.

Every game is different as the cards that are used are drafted at the beginning of the game, so strategies are sometimes hard to develop since players have to work with what's available.

Gameplay works with a 'chain' which allows players to play as many cards as they wish during their turn or their opponents turn, so long as those cards can be 'chained' together. The chain also grants bonuses to certain cards, called kickers, if they're chained off of the right kind of card.

Overall, Nightfall is an excellent deck building game that fills gaps left by others and has great re-playability. And up until April 10th, head over to AEG's The First 100 Days and enter to win a free copy of Nightfall.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Malifaux Rules Manual


Have you ever played that game .. you know .. the one where there were great rules, but a bunch of those rules got changed? Sure they were good changes, but it left you flipping back and forth trying to find the most recent rule. Or just the most relevant rule.

After several long months of flipping through the rule books, errata, FAQ, and online rulings, the answer has finally come in the form of Wyrd Miniature's new Malifaux Rules Manual.

Announced in December, the Rules Manual is Wyrd's answer to a quickly expanding rules set that often calls for rulings to settle in game disputes due to a large variety of interacting abilities. In addition, the Rules Manual is packed full of new artwork, including some never before seen puppets!

Several tools have been added to help players navigate the Rules Manual to find exactly the ruling they are looking for, including colored section tabs and an extensive index (something everyone wished for in the first rule book).

In order to help players understand interactions between models and terrain, including 3-Dimensional terrain such as overhangs or rooftops, diagrams have been included throughout.

The quick reference section is a great tool for use throughout the game and for quick and easy encounter set up. Speaking of encounters, strategies have been rewritten to provide 2 or 4 points and schemes to provide 1 or 2, with an official cap on the number of VPs any player can earn in an encounter (8 in a scrap, 10 in a brawl). So no more Jack Daw + Steal Relic to smash your opponent in a 10-0 win.

At a low price of $15 and including all the rules needed to play Malifaux, this Manual is a great deal, now anyone wishing to get into the game can do so for less than $50. And current players now have a great resource for playing their games, and a compact book to keep track of their VP requirements.

This book is a perfect candidate for rebinding. I had mine rebound in plastic spirals at Staples for a fair price, and now I can lay my manual flat on the table for set-up and for being able to check my VP requirements.

Wyrd continues to do good by their players, and at the end of this month will be releasing a PDF version of the rules manual, without the artwork or list of strategies and schemes. So players are not at all required to purchase the rules manual to keep up with the rules, but who wouldn't want one of these?

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Through the Breach


Greetings to everyone who might catch a glimpse of this blog. With encouragement from several of my players, I have started this blog to cover the various Malifaux events that I run as a Wyrd Henchman through Neverland Games in Waynesboro, PA.

In addition to covering Malifaux, I will also be reviewing other miniatures, board games and card games.

For today, I have nothing but an announcement for the next month's worth of Malifaux events, found here. Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have for me regarding Malifaux or anything else!