We’re passing
2 years into Warmachine MKIII—well past the honeymoon period with several CID
cycles in the rearview mirror. So it’s
time for my hot takes on the game state, community, faction, and hobby. Obligatory disclosure, I’m a casual player
with less than 50 games under my belt this edition. Please do not take my opinions too seriously.
The game:
I got
into warmahordes back in the early days of MKI—back when there were only 4
casters per faction and the model range was in its infancy. This edition is functionally an entirely new
product. MKIII is a better rule set in every
particular. Privateer press has
obviously put a lot of thought into making jacks and beasts integral list
elements again. While I do not appreciate
all their design choices, they have done a ton of work to insure a clean
flavorful experience at the model VS. Model level.
After that
point, the experience degrades for me.
PP’s continued insistence on basing its game on a straight 75-point SR
tournament pack—it’s the only model discussed or tested these days—restricts
the scope of play. Company of iron and
colossal wrestling do not represent serious alternatives in my experience. Company of iron may come into its own—it is a
very new product and will benefit from more publicity and manufacturer
support—but for most of us steamroller is the game entire. If you are a serious player desiring
meaningful competitive play that’s fine.
If however, you’re like me, it’s difficult to choke down the steamroller
experience even after a couple journeyman cycles. SR is a huge animal with 2 static formats, an
ever-changing model set, and a high skill requirement. As a result, Warmachine has become more about
objectives, flags, and zones and less about the narrative three dimensional
skirmish interactions that drew me to the property.
To be
fair to Privateer Press, I want a game that has a low bar to entry that is
played at many point-totals. I like the
way PP unapologetically sets the bar; I just wish there was more diversity in
accepted points levels and formats.
Themes fall into the same hell mouth—they are the way PP wants the game
played—not the agent I want driving my list construction. We just have different visions for the desired
end state.
The community:
I have
this temptation to think of the community as a monolith heralded by the vocal
contributors on lormahordes, chain attack, fully boosted, battle driven, combo
smite, dark guidance, dominate for two, and all the other random places I go for
my PP fix. In practice, I suspect they
represent a small percentage of players worldwide. So, when I say “community” I’m talking about
all the casual people catching a game here and there not just the globetrotting
tournament goers. I have not seen a demo
day, tournament, or PP open gaming event since March 2017—and I live near 3
game stores that used to have regular MKII events. The edition swap was always going to drive
some attrition. Stores come and go. People move on—these things happen. Even so, I hear a lot of people suffering
from the same malady.
I used to blame the end of the
official PP forums and the press ganger program for this “decline.” Upon reflection, I was wrong. Those programs did not drive the hobby—they
just provided a convenient forum for hobby development and community
interaction. I used to be the guy
running demo games as people walked into the LGS. I used to be the guy helping run small
events—I just don’t have the time or resources to do that anymore. MKIII’s launch killed warmachine in my area
but the local community’s inability to reconstitute around a flagship store,
organizer, or forum is what has kept it in the ground. I feel honestly bad about that. I want to help—I just do not have that much
hobby time. Organizing events and
running demos is work—rewarding work—but still work. I’m talking to a local game store about doing
a twice monthly warmachine day. There
have to be other players like me out there.
Maybe an open game day will be enough to start the ball rolling
again. It makes me worry about the
game’s future. Where is PP’s
outreach? What about all the people not
in a thriving meta? These things trouble
me.
The Faction:
Khador
is in a weird place. There was a time
when a Khador list was Sorscha and some destroyers killing your caster by turn
2. Then it was butcher 1 with 2 MOW
kovniks and 3 devastators. Khador’s
shtick has always been quality of stats be it armor, boxes, or elite
infantry. If you listen to people
discussing armored korps, you’d think Khador was back in its hay
day—unbreakable elite models requiring an unusual effort to repel. The days of berserker spam and defense 19
assassins must have scarred the community.
The thing is, Khador is not that faction any more. Gone are the days of armor 25 devastators. Heck, those dirty Swans have a reach jack
with armor 21 that can’t be charged most of the time and SPD 5. I think people remember all the good parts of
big red and forget how much less unique we are now and how much we’ve lost in
translation.
It feels like
people focus on the armor 20 34 box aspect and completely ignore the defense
10, SPD 4, RAT 4, no light, no arcnode part.
No other faction is defined as much by the game elements it lacks than
Khador. Every other faction breaks the
rules in some meaningful way—whether through theme, model design, or caster
impact. Khador just tries to out-fundamental
its opponents. In a world where Other
factions have access to themes providing mass carapace, RFP, and free
battlegroup models I feel just a little homely in comparison.
On the other side of the coin, I
have never had this much jank to build lists with before. My demolition korps are fixed and the rest of
my MOW are playable again. Old Witch II
(if I ever find someone to build and paint her) is mind blowingly amazing. Victor is everything I wanted him to be at a
price I can afford. Khador is…in a weird
place.
The Hobby:
Warmachine is a top-tier wargame
with a constantly changing meta and a responsive community. It used to be a small skirmish game with a
low entry threshold. Now, the larger
relative points values and the massively evolved product line make it a more
daunting challenge. I feel as the game
has improved—and it has whatever my reservations—it has also become a little
more insular—a little more elite—a little harder to start. The fluffy narrative books of my youth are
gone in favor of a more competitively focused experience—one where the glorious
art and writing of old has given way to a clunky app and articles in NQ Prime. The game is different now and I don’t know
what to think of that.
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