So a lot of things are going on with NOVA on the sponsor / vendor front.
First off, our vendor list continues to grow, and with standbys like The Game Room (infinite bits and used minis and the like) and The Warstore (discount goodies of all varieties), we've also got Grex Airbrush and Greenman Designs and Tectonic Craft Studios and more.
The Demo Alley we're adding this year is becoming crowded to say the least, with a host of companies yet-to-be-unveiled attending to show off their games. Drop Zone Commander is certainly included in this mix.
Malifaux is returning to NOVA in about as big a way as you could possibly imagine. We'll have limited goodies you can't get almost anywhere else, autographed rulebooks and art prints, awesome swag, the possibility of a Malifaux Mini in every single swag bag (remember, only the first 400 registrants get one, and those are about to be out!), and more. Perhaps more importantly, Malifaux's Lead Designers will be present, with Wyrd and a fantastic convo with the company's owner committing to helping us get Justin Gibbs out as well. Justin is the lead dev for Malifaux, and will be bringing an extra special bag of goodies of his own to hand out on top of all the other things already mentioned. In a lot of ways, the event will rival GenCon almost in terms of cool things to do, folks to talk to, and sweet rare swag to come by. Also, Will Urban of Urban Laser Craft is looking to hook EVERY attendee (swag bag recipients) up with NOVA Open laser cut scheme markers, and Malifaux attendees should get their own super swank mahogany laser cut scheme markers. These are all limited to first come first serve by event, so get off your keister and register!
Infinity is increasing its awesome support from last year in almost unbelievable ways. NOVA should be the site of at least one world-first Infinity Reveal. This will be something other than the typical big reveals to happen at GenCon only a couple weeks earlier. Furthermore, members of Corvus Belli's ownership are busily fighting over who gets to spend a week touring DC, signing things at NOVA, giving out sweet swag, giving a seminar on the new Third Edition and the cool aforementioned reveals, and giving free lounge talks over a tasty beverage in the Charity Lounge. I hear the current leader in the fight for that right is none other than Corvus Belli owner Carlos, aka "Bostria." This can't be confirmed yet :)
In addition to the sweet presence and reveals, there'll be some incredible swag for every Infinity attendee, and a very high likelihood of something special and new in every swag bag. Custom signed-for-NOVA Third Edition English rulebooks are also on the docket, plus signed artwork and more. It should be pretty incredible!
The NOVA Open Narrative has the coolest terrain you'll see at a 40k tournament ... anywhere. I mean, seriously. The Warlords Track of Day and Night games is going to be played on 16 custom tables creating Mad Max style wasteland, futuristic Urban, and extraterrestrial Lunar table sets, all thematically tied together and oozing with crunchy NOVA Narrative Universe goodness. This complement the already-radical DC Monuments we play on in the Narrative every year with their LED-lit craziness. There's also a hint of rumor in the air that the NOVA crew is hard at work conceptualizing and designing some ultra radical boutique boards ... not the least of which is a post-apocalyptic shantytown and a cross-sectioned crashed Virtue spaceship laid to rest in the asteroid belt (complete with low-gravity effects).
The NOVA Open 40K Events, Including the GT will be working with 7th Edition, with FAQ and rulesets likely out within 2 weeks to a month of the release of the new edition. We'll be hard at work cracking it apart, including collaboration with folks like Reece from FLG/BAO/LVO, Tom and Pierre and more from the ETC, and of course all the awesome guys from other "NOVA Style" events such as Aaron Aleong of the Indy Open, Ed Miller of the Battle for Salvation, Jesse/Matt/Matt and co of the Kiladelphia Open, Neil Gilstrap of the 11th Company Open, Tim Royers of the Bugeater GT, and many many more (gosh I must be forgetting some, the Delawarr Open, the Redstone Rumble, I can't keep track of all the awesome events!).
We're under half our tickets left for 40K, and the CAP price for your con access increases in June. Get off your keister and register already!
If you aren't receiving it, e-mail novaopen@gmail.com asking to be added to the newsletter. We send it out on the 1st and 15th of every month without fail, and it includes tons of updated information, links to updated primers and rules, etc.
This NOVA Open is shaping up to be truly epic in celebration of our 5th Anniversary, with everything from industry special guests and epic tournaments to incredible seminars and brand spanking new "everybody gets to do it" additions like Demo Alley and the Tabletop Olympics.
Get your hotel room, get your CAP, get your event tickets, and get on out to the 5th Annual NOVA Open this August 28-31, 2014.
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
AdeptiCon 2014 Recap
So another AdeptiCon came and went, and here are my $.02 on
the experience.
As usual, I loaded up the Highlander with a couple of
buddies and a ton of miniatures and embarked upon the 12-14 hour (depending on
stops) drive to Chicago on Wednesday.
Random Cracker Barrels were visited
Arriving Wednesday night, we all got together at the nearest Giordano’s (best Chicago style pizza in the Chicagoland area according to many in the know) and talked life, love, and the pursuit of better tournament experiences. There’s more to come on that in the future.
Much good pizza and beer was consumed.
At some point I went back to the hotel and crashed. This was
the first time I’ve stayed at the Westin where the actual event is held, and I
gotta say it was pretty darned convenient. That said, it was also pretty darned
expensive. Mixed feelings … I wish AdeptiCon could figure out a way to
negotiate the hotel deal down. Paying $120 a night makes me feel pretty good
about the $89/night at NOVA in a comparable hotel.
More after the jump ...
More after the jump ...
Monday, April 14, 2014
Heavily Revised Independent Mission Catalog - Sample Tournament Packet
This weekend saw the first widespread use of the Mission Catalog (missioncatalog.com) in a large-format tournament, the 5-round Delawarr Open.
The sample packet for player/TO use can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XJ20WB96DzRE635aokDX3XbhOHzw4Xt0UobUZ5j56JM/pub
Here are some short notes to the changes:
1) The missions that were already out there are now revised and improved, with a lot of input from the community. I want to give special shout-outs to Bill Kim and Neil Gilstrap, both of whom were very active in comment/posting/etc within the google docs group. Anyone who would like to join in participation and is not already linked in, just let the missioncatalog know via comment, or ask me via mvbrandt@gmail
2) The approach to secondaries was scrapped and improved. Instead of having the 3 basics every round and requiring you to "change" one into a sort of half measure escalated version, we've gone with 9 independent secondaries. The three book secondaries plus 6 new ones. If you prefer book mission, the 3 secondaries from the book are ALWAYS in every mission, plus 2 other ones chosen from the list as a whole. TOs can select whichever pairings they want, but we encourage always having the three presented in the rulebook plus two others. In play this weekend, it was noted that plenty of people chose to just "play book," selecting the three book secondaries and the primary that most resembled book missions ... which is totally great to hear! It's probably unintended, but a consequence of the catalog mission design is players can choose to play very in-line with the standard 6th Edition book missions by custom-tailoring the round to that style for purposes of their score.
3) Simplification of each mission by presenting the majority of the how-to rules in the front as a guide.
4) Addition of new missions, bringing the total in the catalog at present to five.
Take a swing at this, and please continue to provide feedback - these will change and refine with time.
NOVA ATTENDEES - YOU SHOULD TREAT THIS SAMPLE PACK VERY MUCH LIKE THE MISSION PRIMER FOR THE OPEN AND INVITATIONAL EVENTS.
The sample packet for player/TO use can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XJ20WB96DzRE635aokDX3XbhOHzw4Xt0UobUZ5j56JM/pub
Here are some short notes to the changes:
1) The missions that were already out there are now revised and improved, with a lot of input from the community. I want to give special shout-outs to Bill Kim and Neil Gilstrap, both of whom were very active in comment/posting/etc within the google docs group. Anyone who would like to join in participation and is not already linked in, just let the missioncatalog know via comment, or ask me via mvbrandt@gmail
2) The approach to secondaries was scrapped and improved. Instead of having the 3 basics every round and requiring you to "change" one into a sort of half measure escalated version, we've gone with 9 independent secondaries. The three book secondaries plus 6 new ones. If you prefer book mission, the 3 secondaries from the book are ALWAYS in every mission, plus 2 other ones chosen from the list as a whole. TOs can select whichever pairings they want, but we encourage always having the three presented in the rulebook plus two others. In play this weekend, it was noted that plenty of people chose to just "play book," selecting the three book secondaries and the primary that most resembled book missions ... which is totally great to hear! It's probably unintended, but a consequence of the catalog mission design is players can choose to play very in-line with the standard 6th Edition book missions by custom-tailoring the round to that style for purposes of their score.
3) Simplification of each mission by presenting the majority of the how-to rules in the front as a guide.
4) Addition of new missions, bringing the total in the catalog at present to five.
Take a swing at this, and please continue to provide feedback - these will change and refine with time.
NOVA ATTENDEES - YOU SHOULD TREAT THIS SAMPLE PACK VERY MUCH LIKE THE MISSION PRIMER FOR THE OPEN AND INVITATIONAL EVENTS.
Friday, April 11, 2014
Charitable Foundation First Raffle is Tomorrow! Don't Miss Out on Free Stuff!
So for anyone who doesn't know, the Charity Raffles are bigger and better than ever. In addition to the major drawings at the end of the year at NOVA, there'll be drawings for $25+ gift certificates and other goodies from the charitable sponsors every week. Winning one doesn't render you ineligible for the big raffles - it just gets you more cool stuff!
This week's is a $25 gift cert to Secret Weapon Miniatures (thanks Justin!) ... check out the press release from the Foundation below!
Even if you aren't that interested in the charity armies, do a little good, contribute a little wargamer love, and drop a few bucks into a few raffle tickets. The worst that happens is you win $25 of cool stuff ... the best that happens is you've contributed a few bucks you didn't entirely need to one of the charities supported by the Foundation - all of which give well over 90% of their inputs directly to the charitable work (the NOCF chooses wise ... no wasted funds on inflated salaries here!).
The NOCF is a non-profit organization operated
by a Board of Directors in accordance to charitable organization by-laws. Donations are tax deductible; purchase of
raffle tickets is not. If you have any questions, comments or ideas, please
send them to: novacharities@gmail.com.
This week's is a $25 gift cert to Secret Weapon Miniatures (thanks Justin!) ... check out the press release from the Foundation below!
Even if you aren't that interested in the charity armies, do a little good, contribute a little wargamer love, and drop a few bucks into a few raffle tickets. The worst that happens is you win $25 of cool stuff ... the best that happens is you've contributed a few bucks you didn't entirely need to one of the charities supported by the Foundation - all of which give well over 90% of their inputs directly to the charitable work (the NOCF chooses wise ... no wasted funds on inflated salaries here!).
CHARITY ARMY RAFFLES OPEN APRIL 1, 2014!
Press Release: April 11, 2014
The NOVA Open Charitable
Foundation (NOCF) is currently selling tickets for the 2014 charity army raffle
season. Visit www.novaopenfoundation.org
and join the “Compassionate Force” by taking chances on winning one or more of
the amazing armies being offered this year and supporting deserving charities
in the process!
NOCF WEEKLY DRAWINGS:
NOCF weekly drawings begin
tomorrow (April 12, 2014). This week’s
prize is a $25 online gift certificate to Secret
Weapon Miniatures. Anyone who
has purchased tickets in the raffle before midnight tonight is eligible to win
as the winner will be drawn from the pool of raffle ticket holders.
Winner will be announced at www.novaopenfoundation.org
tomorrow.
WEEKLY PRIZE ANNOUNCED ON SUNDAY:
Remember to check the Foundation
website ( www.novaopenfoundation.org
) every Sunday between now and August 17, 2014 to see which of our amazing
sponsors is offering a gift certificate for the weekly Saturday drawings!
Saturday, April 5, 2014
Adepticon Team Tournament Time
It's been a great week and the weekend's big event is upon us. With nearly 500 players, the adepticon team tournament is the largest 40k event on the planet!
Our team, Business Athletic (pix to explain later), will be running quad fire dragon / hawk / jetbike / serpent eldar. We all played in the two front doubles event along with 38 other teams yesterday (80 players, many quite good) and collectively went 12-0, securing both best overall and warmasters (Kurt and Tony edged me and Neil by two battle points out of a possible 195).
On the way for Neil and me, our toughest match came against Aaron Aleong and Hans Krueger, two mighty GT winners in their own right, but we were able to eke a win over them, 54-40.
The team tournament is so huge, with so many variables and so many great people, all you can do is sit back, roll some dice, and enjoy the ride.
So here we go!
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Classing it Up at AdeptiCon 2014
Writing from a mobile hotspot as we make our final 30 minute run into AdeptiCon 2014 in Lombard, IL.
This year I'll be teamed with Tony Kopach, Neil Gilstrap, and Kurt Clauss. We're calling ourselves "Business Athletic," a play off "Business Casual." We'll let attendees and forthcoming photos explain why.
I'm tempted to slip into the 40k singles after all tomorrow .... presuming the inevitable wait list evaporation. Despite the likely struggles it'd face, I'll bring a slimmed version of my BFS Eldar/Space Wolves list should participation occur.
On Friday I'll be participating in the Two-Front Doubles along with Neil, while Tony and Kurt team up as well. For this event I'll likely be fielding ....
5 Wave Serpents, Servo Inquisitor, 3 Hawk Squads (yup, pretty boring, but it's what I've got models for at 1500 points)
Meanwhile I think Neil will be running some form of mini-Ovesa.
In the team event we're running serpents and other goodies, four easy to play identical lists that should be competitive enough without yielding a stressful weekend experience.
I can't personally bring myself to play any of the Bro-stars, but that doesn't mean I won't play decent lists :)
AdeptiCon is always a really fun social experience, and an excellent one for making positive contacts within the hobby. Snag me if you see me ... look for the vest :) ... I'll be at Giordano's talking with other hobby names and TOs about the state of the game while enjoying good pizza (the Giordano's closest to the Lombard Westin).
That'll do for typing from the car for now ... I'll try to update photos and results and the like as the weekend goes on, but never any promises when at AdeptiCon, always one of the best events on the annual calendar.
In other news, take a gander at the concept art for the Virtue, the unique race generated and built as part and parcel of the NOVA Open Narrative over the past several years. Artwork by Cedric Debled.
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This year I'll be teamed with Tony Kopach, Neil Gilstrap, and Kurt Clauss. We're calling ourselves "Business Athletic," a play off "Business Casual." We'll let attendees and forthcoming photos explain why.
I'm tempted to slip into the 40k singles after all tomorrow .... presuming the inevitable wait list evaporation. Despite the likely struggles it'd face, I'll bring a slimmed version of my BFS Eldar/Space Wolves list should participation occur.
On Friday I'll be participating in the Two-Front Doubles along with Neil, while Tony and Kurt team up as well. For this event I'll likely be fielding ....
5 Wave Serpents, Servo Inquisitor, 3 Hawk Squads (yup, pretty boring, but it's what I've got models for at 1500 points)
Meanwhile I think Neil will be running some form of mini-Ovesa.
In the team event we're running serpents and other goodies, four easy to play identical lists that should be competitive enough without yielding a stressful weekend experience.
I can't personally bring myself to play any of the Bro-stars, but that doesn't mean I won't play decent lists :)
AdeptiCon is always a really fun social experience, and an excellent one for making positive contacts within the hobby. Snag me if you see me ... look for the vest :) ... I'll be at Giordano's talking with other hobby names and TOs about the state of the game while enjoying good pizza (the Giordano's closest to the Lombard Westin).
That'll do for typing from the car for now ... I'll try to update photos and results and the like as the weekend goes on, but never any promises when at AdeptiCon, always one of the best events on the annual calendar.
In other news, take a gander at the concept art for the Virtue, the unique race generated and built as part and parcel of the NOVA Open Narrative over the past several years. Artwork by Cedric Debled.
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
NOVA Open Charitable Foundation - 2014 Raffles Open - Information! BATTLE FOR MACCRAGGE CHARITY ARMIES (plural!)
CHARITY ARMY RAFFLES OPEN APRIL 1, 2014!
Press Release: March 31, 2014
The NOVA Open Charitable
Foundation (NOCF) will open its 2014 charity army fundraising raffle season
tomorrow, April 1, 2014. Visit www.novaopenfoundation.org
and join the “Compassionate Force” by taking chances on winning one or more of
the amazing armies being offered this year and supporting deserving charities
in the process!
BACKGROUND:
The NOCF was created to assist
international miniature painters and artists who produce armies as fundraising
vehicles for charitable causes.
Recognizing the immense generosity of the worldwide tabletop wargamer,
the NOCF was formed to bring this “Compassionate Force” together under a single
banner with a broad international outreach.
Every raffle ticket purchased in support of these charity armies will contribute
to causes which address the needs of humanitarian emergency relief, children’s
concerns, medical research and the military.
In 2013, the worldwide tabletop
wargaming community’s support of the NOCF charity army raffles raised over $10,000
which was donated to Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres,
The Fisher House
Foundation and The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The three
charity armies from 2013 were shipped from Washington, D.C. to winners in
Washington State, Missouri and as far away as Tasmania, Australia!
2014 CHARITY ARMY RAFFLES:
*A Consortium of professional
and award-winning artists from within the tabletop wargaming community has come
together in support of the NOCF Macragge Project. Learn more about each HERE.
The proceeds from these two armies will support Doctors
Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres.
The NOCF expanded the work of
the Consortium to two separate armies in 2014, representing Battle of Macragge,
the epic clash between Tyranids of Hive Fleet Behemoth and Ultramarines led by
Marneus Calgar. Both of these armies are full 1850-tuned armies, including
numerous extra models for force flexibility.
● ARMY
#1: Battle of Macragge Ultramarine List
o Marneus Calgar
and Honor Guard
o Chief
Librarian Tigurius
o Chaplain
Cassius
o 5 Tyrannic War
Veterans
o 1 Drop Pod
o 30 Tactical
Marines with a variety of weapon load outs
o 10 x Scouts: 5 w/ Sniper Rifles and Camo Cloaks, 5 w/ Bolt
Pistols and Close Combat Weapons
o 3 Storm Talons
with Skyhammer Missiles
o 3 Thunderfire
Cannons
o 1 Knight Titan
o 3 Centurion Devastators
with Hurricane Bolters and Heavy Graviton Cannons
● ARMY #2: Battle
of Macragge Tyranid List
o Flying
Hive Tyrant w/ 2 Twin-Linked Devourers
o 5
Tyranid Warriors w/ Magnetized Weapon Options
o 1
Tyranid Prime w/ Norn Crown, Magnetized Weapon Options
o 60
Termagants
o 2
Mawlocs
o 1
Carnifex w/ Magnetized Weapon Options
o 20
Gargoyles
o 2
Lictors
o 1
Deathleaper
o 1
Venomthrope
o 3
Tyrant Guards (expected magnetized options for either tyrant guard or hive
guard)
o 2
Hive Crones
o 8
Genestealers
*Stiff
Neck Studio, under the leadership of Capt. Wesley Cogdal, is once
again donating an exceptional army for the NOCF charity raffles. This year,
they are expanding our army range to include the first NOCF Fantasy army,
lovingly entitled “Man Eaters of the Great Maw!” The NOCF proudly donated funds
from last year’s Stiff Neck Studio army to The Fisher House Foundation, and we hope the
Compassionate Force will come together in 2014 to double those funds for this
charity.
●
ARMY #3: Fantasy Ogre Kingdom List
o 1 Ogre Tyrant
o 6 Ogre Bullz
o 5 Ogre Iron Gutz
o 4 Lead Belcher's
o 1 Stone-horn
o 1 Scrap launcher
*Built by a combined force of
hobbyists associated with the Penny Arcade forum, the Deathwatch Army has been donated to the NOCF with
the request that it be raffled as a fundraiser for Child’s Play
Charity. Forty pages of forum posts followed this army from musings
on a “general 40K” thread to each model being painted by a different person
over the course of a year, culminating in the most recent post which announced,
“The army is
in the care of the Nova Open Charitable Foundation. . . .” The handler,
who wishes to remain anonymous, recognized that a lot of people had given of
themselves to create this Deathwatch Army, and it had a lot to give back to the
community. A staff member of the NOVA Open Tabletop Wargaming Convention, Martin
Bagley, has agreed to take on the task of repairing and restoring this army to
its original grandeur over the next few weeks.
● ARMY
#4: Deathwatch Army List
NEW IN 2014:
NOCF sponsors have once again
exceeded all expectations of generous giving. Each Sunday alternating sponsors
will donate a $25 gift certificate for raffle; the following Saturday, the NOCF
will draw from the pool of raffle ticket holders and announce a winner. The
more raffle tickets you purchase, and the earlier you acquire them, the better
your odds of winning a gift certificate you can use toward the purchase of any
item at our sponsors websites.
2014 Sponsors:
Remember to check the Foundation
website ( www.novaopenfoundation.org
) every Sunday between now and August 17, 2014 to see which of our amazing
sponsors is offering a gift certificate for the weekly Saturday drawings!
KR Multicase
is once again donating customized KR transport cases to safely nestle each of
our amazing charity armies for their travels.
TheWarStore contributed dozens of models to the
two large Macragge armies and the Ogre Kingdom army this year.
Secret
Weapon Miniatures stepped up again in 2014, providing all bases and
Masterclass scenic products for the Macragge armies.
Powered Play Gaming
joins the NOCF charity efforts in 2014 to offer products for the lighting of
models and, more particularly, for the full-on 4’x6’ Macragge Project Terrain
Table being created by Michael Frazier.
NOVA Open also donated the dozens of models
necessary to complete the Macragge and Ogre Kingdom armies.
Special thanks to the 11th Company
who will podcast the drawings internationally during the NOVA Open Tabletop
Wargaming Convention, August 31, 2014.
Monday, March 24, 2014
Why 40K is Becoming Better for Social Groups and Tournaments ... But Worse for Pick-Up and LGS Gaming
So as time goes on, more and more becomes visible and apparent about the design intent of Games Workshop.
It's probably been apparent for a while, but something Neil Gilstrap and I were chatting about further reinforces the point and I think hits the nail on the head.
Many of the chief design folks in Games Workshop (i.e., JJ) come from the original D&D / home gaming era, where things like 40K were not so much played at big tournaments or local game shops, as they were played among a group of friends with a bunch of reference books and a few brews and pretzels in the nearest available basement (or loft, whatever).
If you look at 40K now, with it costing nearly $1,200 to obtain all the core rules (not counting Forgeworld here, folks), it's a game that is nearly impossible for one person to legally be up to speed with.
Now, if any GW folks are reading this, please chime in or share in. Your competitors actually do cross blog posts and share their $.02. Community engagement and all that. You have no idea how motivating it is when the designer of a game drops by and gives his $.02. I say this because I don't think many can fathom the logic or reasonability in charging over one thousand dollars (and counting) to own the basic unit and game rules.
But I digress. A healthy social gaming club/group is going to have access to all the rules in aggregate. A tournament organizer is going to have access to all the rules via their resources, volunteers, other TOs, etc. A random gamer is not, at this point, going to ever have access to them. A new gamer is certainly not.
Why 40K Today is Good for Social Groups/Clubs
Because of the incredibly diverse and dense quantity of rules now in the game of Warhammer 40,000, any social gaming group or club can effectively sift through the mass and decide what is or isn't kosher for the weekly activities of the group. Don't want to see D weapons? Cool, make a group decision and you won't have to. Do want to see Knight Titans? Cool, make a group decision and you will. Don't want to see super battle bro deathstars (hereafter known as Brostars)? Cool, make a house rule and they're gone for good.
40K is at this point by its very nature an optional/modular ruleset game. Social groups and clubs can establish what modules and rules are and aren't OK. They can also use and ratify rules changes / house rules.
I think this is the prime target of the design studio, maybe just of Jervis. I *wonder* whether they know how much worse they are making their game for the random and new gamer, but we'll get to that.
Why 40K Today is Good for Tournaments
In many ways, Tournaments are like Social Groups/Clubs. They have an online presence, they establish mission and rules guidelines, they establish FAQs for how they're going to play fuzzy rules, etc. They're also club-like with other Tournaments, and while each TO may have his closer buddies within the club or even a couple clubmates they don't care for, generally speaking they're all roughly aware of what the other guys are doing and want to do, and thus try not to stray too far from the established understandings (while still doing what they really want to do most). You could spend an article drawing meaningful parallels.
The biggest note to be drawn here, however, is that a Tournament can and will set forth a clear understanding (or at least it should) of what will and won't be legal, how questionable things will be played, etc. Generally speaking, a TO will make these rules based upon what he believes is best for his attendees' enjoyment (again, at least he should).
So just like a social gaming group, attendees to a Tournament have a clearer understanding of what is and isn't kosher from amongst the horridly dense and divergent components of the 40K of today.
Long and Short on the Upside
If you aren't attending tournaments or joined to a club/social group that communicates well, YOU SHOULD. It's in these environments you'll be able to enjoy the game most, because it's in these environments you'll most be able to know what parameters you'll be gaming within. Yes, that means go to the NOVA Open and participate in the Narrative or the brass tacks GT, but this isn't really the point of the post. I'm just as encouraging of you to either form or join a social group or club in your local area. You'll enjoy the game far more. You'll also have a much better idea of what things you actually should spend your money on.
THE most frustrated hardcore hobbyists I see these days are the ones who aren't part of a tight social gaming group or club and tend to buy what they think looks or sounds cool from within the entire range of GW products ... from Forgeworld through Stronghold. These folks end up really frustrated when tournaments ban or outlaw certain things, or when their local game groupings do the same. They never knew what the expectations were before they made their investments (or those expectations have changed over time, that does happen, though it's not really applicable to investments like knight titans or recent forgeworld escalation units, etc), and so they end up with all manner of rationalizations for why the community (locally, tournament-wise, or just at large) is just scared to use new units or doesn't understand what GW intends balance wise, or whatever other rationalization works better than "I just didn't know I couldn't regularly find opponents to use this against if I bought and lovingly built/painted it."
This leads to ...
The People Whose Enjoyment Games Workshop is Directly Harming
New players. People who lack the social interest in or local group availability for joining a social game group/club. Hardcore hobbyists who spend their time buying and painting models, and game only occasionally.
You can go on with the list, but it's a large subset ... I think actually a pretty substantial subset ... of the hobby.
These people are worse off for what GW has been doing lately. While TOs have a little more work and stress on their plates, attendees of tournaments are going to have just as much fun as ever. If any part of GW hopes to negatively impact tourney success, sorry ... that goal has failed miserably. If any part of GW hopes to increase the fun of beer and pretzels weekly game night folks ... that goal has succeeded admirably (there's more stuff from which to choose when establishing acceptable list building protocols for the group).
It's the people who don't exist within a group that has already-established frameworks of acceptable use who are harmed here. They often end up buying the coolest, newest thing, then end up subsequently frustrated at the community at large (or probably, eventually, GW) for not letting them routinely find playing opportunities.
So the point here I think is (if there is one beyond simple observation and opinion sharing) ... any game that requires veteran players to lead you by the nose into it is not doing its job well from a "find new customers" vantage point. Any game that punishes more socially introverted hobbyists could arguably not be doing a good job ... but, it is a social game by nature.
Regardless, rather than hate on Games Workshop for whatever rampantly short-term, short-sighted "meet the quarterly report and don't lose our jobs to the customers we REALLY care about - shareholders" business decisions they make (and who knows if it's that or just beer/pretzels-home-hobby-focused-at-the-cost-of-all-else decision making within the design studio) ... either fix the problem by playing in more tournaments and joining social game groups / clubs ... or fix it by finding a game whose balance and design by nature levels the playing field for all player types (whether you're fluff/paint-first, competition-first, or somewhere in between), like Malifaux.
There's a lot of doom and gloom out there about 40k ... I don't think it's actually warranted. As always in life, take a look at what's really in front of you, find a solution, and carry on.
In fun news ... we had THIRTY people at the Terrain Build this past weekend, and it was awesome. Here's the prototype for the Lunar/Asteroid tables for this year's Narrative.
It's also a good sneak peak at the layout with double the center LOS blockage. This layout will be in play at all the 40K events ... so expect a lot more LOS blockage than last year, where Tau and Eldar gunlines/serpentlines had a field day in the alternate layouts, etc.
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It's probably been apparent for a while, but something Neil Gilstrap and I were chatting about further reinforces the point and I think hits the nail on the head.
Many of the chief design folks in Games Workshop (i.e., JJ) come from the original D&D / home gaming era, where things like 40K were not so much played at big tournaments or local game shops, as they were played among a group of friends with a bunch of reference books and a few brews and pretzels in the nearest available basement (or loft, whatever).
If you look at 40K now, with it costing nearly $1,200 to obtain all the core rules (not counting Forgeworld here, folks), it's a game that is nearly impossible for one person to legally be up to speed with.
Now, if any GW folks are reading this, please chime in or share in. Your competitors actually do cross blog posts and share their $.02. Community engagement and all that. You have no idea how motivating it is when the designer of a game drops by and gives his $.02. I say this because I don't think many can fathom the logic or reasonability in charging over one thousand dollars (and counting) to own the basic unit and game rules.
But I digress. A healthy social gaming club/group is going to have access to all the rules in aggregate. A tournament organizer is going to have access to all the rules via their resources, volunteers, other TOs, etc. A random gamer is not, at this point, going to ever have access to them. A new gamer is certainly not.
Why 40K Today is Good for Social Groups/Clubs
Because of the incredibly diverse and dense quantity of rules now in the game of Warhammer 40,000, any social gaming group or club can effectively sift through the mass and decide what is or isn't kosher for the weekly activities of the group. Don't want to see D weapons? Cool, make a group decision and you won't have to. Do want to see Knight Titans? Cool, make a group decision and you will. Don't want to see super battle bro deathstars (hereafter known as Brostars)? Cool, make a house rule and they're gone for good.
40K is at this point by its very nature an optional/modular ruleset game. Social groups and clubs can establish what modules and rules are and aren't OK. They can also use and ratify rules changes / house rules.
I think this is the prime target of the design studio, maybe just of Jervis. I *wonder* whether they know how much worse they are making their game for the random and new gamer, but we'll get to that.
Why 40K Today is Good for Tournaments
In many ways, Tournaments are like Social Groups/Clubs. They have an online presence, they establish mission and rules guidelines, they establish FAQs for how they're going to play fuzzy rules, etc. They're also club-like with other Tournaments, and while each TO may have his closer buddies within the club or even a couple clubmates they don't care for, generally speaking they're all roughly aware of what the other guys are doing and want to do, and thus try not to stray too far from the established understandings (while still doing what they really want to do most). You could spend an article drawing meaningful parallels.
The biggest note to be drawn here, however, is that a Tournament can and will set forth a clear understanding (or at least it should) of what will and won't be legal, how questionable things will be played, etc. Generally speaking, a TO will make these rules based upon what he believes is best for his attendees' enjoyment (again, at least he should).
So just like a social gaming group, attendees to a Tournament have a clearer understanding of what is and isn't kosher from amongst the horridly dense and divergent components of the 40K of today.
Long and Short on the Upside
If you aren't attending tournaments or joined to a club/social group that communicates well, YOU SHOULD. It's in these environments you'll be able to enjoy the game most, because it's in these environments you'll most be able to know what parameters you'll be gaming within. Yes, that means go to the NOVA Open and participate in the Narrative or the brass tacks GT, but this isn't really the point of the post. I'm just as encouraging of you to either form or join a social group or club in your local area. You'll enjoy the game far more. You'll also have a much better idea of what things you actually should spend your money on.
THE most frustrated hardcore hobbyists I see these days are the ones who aren't part of a tight social gaming group or club and tend to buy what they think looks or sounds cool from within the entire range of GW products ... from Forgeworld through Stronghold. These folks end up really frustrated when tournaments ban or outlaw certain things, or when their local game groupings do the same. They never knew what the expectations were before they made their investments (or those expectations have changed over time, that does happen, though it's not really applicable to investments like knight titans or recent forgeworld escalation units, etc), and so they end up with all manner of rationalizations for why the community (locally, tournament-wise, or just at large) is just scared to use new units or doesn't understand what GW intends balance wise, or whatever other rationalization works better than "I just didn't know I couldn't regularly find opponents to use this against if I bought and lovingly built/painted it."
This leads to ...
The People Whose Enjoyment Games Workshop is Directly Harming
New players. People who lack the social interest in or local group availability for joining a social game group/club. Hardcore hobbyists who spend their time buying and painting models, and game only occasionally.
You can go on with the list, but it's a large subset ... I think actually a pretty substantial subset ... of the hobby.
These people are worse off for what GW has been doing lately. While TOs have a little more work and stress on their plates, attendees of tournaments are going to have just as much fun as ever. If any part of GW hopes to negatively impact tourney success, sorry ... that goal has failed miserably. If any part of GW hopes to increase the fun of beer and pretzels weekly game night folks ... that goal has succeeded admirably (there's more stuff from which to choose when establishing acceptable list building protocols for the group).
It's the people who don't exist within a group that has already-established frameworks of acceptable use who are harmed here. They often end up buying the coolest, newest thing, then end up subsequently frustrated at the community at large (or probably, eventually, GW) for not letting them routinely find playing opportunities.
So the point here I think is (if there is one beyond simple observation and opinion sharing) ... any game that requires veteran players to lead you by the nose into it is not doing its job well from a "find new customers" vantage point. Any game that punishes more socially introverted hobbyists could arguably not be doing a good job ... but, it is a social game by nature.
Regardless, rather than hate on Games Workshop for whatever rampantly short-term, short-sighted "meet the quarterly report and don't lose our jobs to the customers we REALLY care about - shareholders" business decisions they make (and who knows if it's that or just beer/pretzels-home-hobby-focused-at-the-cost-of-all-else decision making within the design studio) ... either fix the problem by playing in more tournaments and joining social game groups / clubs ... or fix it by finding a game whose balance and design by nature levels the playing field for all player types (whether you're fluff/paint-first, competition-first, or somewhere in between), like Malifaux.
There's a lot of doom and gloom out there about 40k ... I don't think it's actually warranted. As always in life, take a look at what's really in front of you, find a solution, and carry on.
In fun news ... we had THIRTY people at the Terrain Build this past weekend, and it was awesome. Here's the prototype for the Lunar/Asteroid tables for this year's Narrative.
It's also a good sneak peak at the layout with double the center LOS blockage. This layout will be in play at all the 40K events ... so expect a lot more LOS blockage than last year, where Tau and Eldar gunlines/serpentlines had a field day in the alternate layouts, etc.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Progressive Scoring vs. Asymmetrical / Choice-Based Mission Design - Devil in the Details
The next renovation of the approach to the Asymmetrical Missions represented at missioncatalog.com will be to develop a broader range of Secondaries, and enable players to choose from a set # of them for each mission. So, instead of more restrictive and typical ones, you'll see perhaps 6-7 to choose from, and select the ones that best suit the match-up (which your opponent will of course be doing also).
There's an important nuanced difference to be found between progressive mission scoring (which the asymmetricals espouse in large part) and choice-based mission design.
Let's jury rig an example for comparison here ...
1) Asymmetrical / Choice-Based Mission ... Choose either to have your objectives count for X points each at game end, or Y points per turn. Your opponent chooses independent of you. Further, choose what secondary goals you're pursuing (i.e., KP, Linebreaker, Warlord, Quarters, whatever). Select 2-3 from a list of 7. Again, you're choosing your mission independent of your opponent.
2) Progressive Scoring Only Mission ... Both players accumulate points on a per turn basis or throughout the game along identical scoring metrics.
The difference here should be more clear when presented in this way, but it's an important one in assessing the intent and purpose of missions. One of the key goals behind Asymmetrical Mission design is the avoidance of harm to the status quo "power lists." If missions are designed that broaden the competitive field, all is well. If all they do is change the competitive field, you're simply shifting the bar to a different status of what a power list is.
These differences are important, because there's been a lot of inspiration throughout the community from the mission catalog - across forums and blogs everywhere you're seeing a lot of really creative and productive thinking toward how to build a better mousetrap ... how to make missions that are more effective at making the game more interesting for players.
THAT SAID, keep in mind as you are designing your own, and as you are talking about the ones we've built, the key for these missions is NOT the progressive scoring in and of itself. The key is the freedom of choice for players, so that the actual mission you are playing is determined based upon the match-up, the round, etc., and not predetermined in a very fixed way in the mission primer.
By making mission design partly in the hands of the players, and not determined until you actually start the mission, you prevent gaming the system more effectively. You also demolish the notion of a predictable meta and of knowing what list you should or shouldn't take to do well.
In this way, a broader range of list styles are activated as able to do well without harming the effectiveness of the lists that are "best of" by the nature of the game designed by Games Workshop. In the same way that you do not want to completely abandon the rules of the game, you do not want to structure a tournament that completely abandons the naturally good lists of the game. This is true both because you do not want to harm one set of players' investments just to give other players a chance (ending in a net-zero change and no true improvement), and because you want to remain respectful of the game you're choosing to play / put on an event for.
Food for thought.
There's an important nuanced difference to be found between progressive mission scoring (which the asymmetricals espouse in large part) and choice-based mission design.
Let's jury rig an example for comparison here ...
1) Asymmetrical / Choice-Based Mission ... Choose either to have your objectives count for X points each at game end, or Y points per turn. Your opponent chooses independent of you. Further, choose what secondary goals you're pursuing (i.e., KP, Linebreaker, Warlord, Quarters, whatever). Select 2-3 from a list of 7. Again, you're choosing your mission independent of your opponent.
2) Progressive Scoring Only Mission ... Both players accumulate points on a per turn basis or throughout the game along identical scoring metrics.
The difference here should be more clear when presented in this way, but it's an important one in assessing the intent and purpose of missions. One of the key goals behind Asymmetrical Mission design is the avoidance of harm to the status quo "power lists." If missions are designed that broaden the competitive field, all is well. If all they do is change the competitive field, you're simply shifting the bar to a different status of what a power list is.
These differences are important, because there's been a lot of inspiration throughout the community from the mission catalog - across forums and blogs everywhere you're seeing a lot of really creative and productive thinking toward how to build a better mousetrap ... how to make missions that are more effective at making the game more interesting for players.
THAT SAID, keep in mind as you are designing your own, and as you are talking about the ones we've built, the key for these missions is NOT the progressive scoring in and of itself. The key is the freedom of choice for players, so that the actual mission you are playing is determined based upon the match-up, the round, etc., and not predetermined in a very fixed way in the mission primer.
By making mission design partly in the hands of the players, and not determined until you actually start the mission, you prevent gaming the system more effectively. You also demolish the notion of a predictable meta and of knowing what list you should or shouldn't take to do well.
In this way, a broader range of list styles are activated as able to do well without harming the effectiveness of the lists that are "best of" by the nature of the game designed by Games Workshop. In the same way that you do not want to completely abandon the rules of the game, you do not want to structure a tournament that completely abandons the naturally good lists of the game. This is true both because you do not want to harm one set of players' investments just to give other players a chance (ending in a net-zero change and no true improvement), and because you want to remain respectful of the game you're choosing to play / put on an event for.
Food for thought.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
MSU'ing Your Way Around Deathstars, PLUS Malifaux Terrain for NOVA 2014 Works in Progress
First, a bit of a sneak peak here ....
Malifaux registration is off to a roaring start for 2014, and with good reason! There are "bad things happening" every single day and night of NOVA with regard to this particularly excellent game.
Coupled w/ inputs from the Malifaux leads, we've been working through the terrain concepts for this year's 26 tables, with swamp/Gremlin hoocheville, badlands, desert, frosty, and grassy plains themes in the works.
I laid a couple of the early concepts - Badlands and Frosty - out for our regular Malifaux Mondays this week .... Obviously the tabletops themselves at NOVA will match the themes ...
Now, onto the 40K thought of the month ...
Something I started playing with about a month ago and have become increasingly enamored with is the concept of working your way around deathstars and eventually knightbuilds by leveraging MSU - most especially highly deployable/redeployable MSU.
What you do not want to do is have a mostly static or "I have to either deploy or come on standard reserves" force if you do this, because many of the common deathstars these days have split fire, and multi-assault capabilites that they are readily willing to use due to their extreme durability.
There are 2 in particular that have seen a lot of use; one is Eldar primarily, with Tau allies, and the other is Farsight/Tau, built to help Justin Cook of Team America work through a similar concept that he's been mulling.
Can you tell me why these work? I'll do a follow-up article with vassal screenshots to explain how these have been used to beat the snot out of common Jetstar, Centstar, Screamerstar, etc., lists, even on Kill Points (yup!).
(p) Eldar / (a) Tau MSU List
Baharroth - 195
Shadowsun - 135
5 Striking Scorpions - 85
5 Striking Scorpions - 85
5 Striking Scorpions - 85
Crisis Suit w/ Fusion Gun, Burst Cannon, 2 Gun Drones - 71
3 Guardian Jetbikes w/ Shuriken Cannon - 61
3 Guardian Jetbikes w/ Shuriken Cannon - 61
3 Guardian Jetbikes w/ Shuriken Cannon - 61
3 Guardian Jetbikes w/ Shuriken Cannon - 61
3 Guardian Jetbikes w/ Shuriken Cannon - 61
3 Guardian Jetbikes w/ Shuriken Cannon - 61
10 Kroot w/ Kroot Hound - 65
6 Swooping Hawks - 96
6 Swooping Hawks - 96
6 Swooping Hawks - 96
4 Pathfinders - 44
Devilfish Dedicated Transport w/ SMS, 2 Seekers - 106
Skyray - 115
War Walker w/ Scatter Laser, Bright Lance - 70
War Walker w/ Scatter Laser, Bright Lance - 70
War Walker w/ Scatter Laser, Bright Lance - 70
___________________________________________________
(p) Farsight / (a) Tau MSU List
Codex: Farsight - Primary Detachment
Commander (85) w/ 2 Fusion Blasters (30), Warscaper Drone (35), Vectored Retro-Thruster (5) - 155
3 x Crisis Suits (66) w/ Bonding Knives (3), 2 x Flamers Each (30) - 99
Crisis Suit (22) w/ Bonding Knife (1), 2 x Missile Pods (30) - 53
Crisis Suit (22) w/ Bonding Knife (1), 2 x Missile Pods (30) - 53
Crisis Suit (22) w/ Bonding Knife (1), 2 x Missile Pods (30) - 53
Crisis Suit (22) w/ Bonding Knife (1), 2 x Missile Pods (30) - 53
Crisis Suit (22) w/ Bonding Knife (1), 2 x Missile Pods (30) - 53
4 x Pathfinders (44) w/ Devilfish Dedicated Transport (80), SMS Upgrade (10), 2 x Seeker Missiles (16) - 150
4 x Pathfinders (44) w/ Devilfish Dedicated Transport (80), SMS Upgrade (10), 2 x Seeker Missiles (16) - 150
4 x Pathfinders (44) w/ Devilfish Dedicated Transport (80), SMS Upgrade (10), 2 x Seeker Missiles (16) - 150
Skyray Missile Gunship (115) w/ Black Sun Filter (1) - 116
Skyray Missile Gunship (115) w/ Black Sun Filter (1) - 116
Skyray Missile Gunship (115) w/ Black Sun Filter (1) - 116
Codex: Tau - Allied Detachment
Commander Shadowsun - 135
Crisis Suit (22) w/ Bonding Knife (1), 2 x Missile Pods (30) - 53
10 x Kroot Carnivores (60) w/ Kroot Hound (5) - 65
4 x Pathfinders (44) w/ Devilfish Dedicated Transport (80), SMS Upgrade (10), 2 x Seeker Missiles (16) - 150
Skyray Missile Gunship (115) w/ Black Sun Filter (1) - 116
Total Points - 1836 (aka you have points to play with)
Let's see who can figure out the details and nuance of how this works, and why it works (hint: it's not just to have lots of threats ... there are a few keys to many of the unit choices and other things that is critical to the way it all works)
Malifaux registration is off to a roaring start for 2014, and with good reason! There are "bad things happening" every single day and night of NOVA with regard to this particularly excellent game.
Coupled w/ inputs from the Malifaux leads, we've been working through the terrain concepts for this year's 26 tables, with swamp/Gremlin hoocheville, badlands, desert, frosty, and grassy plains themes in the works.
I laid a couple of the early concepts - Badlands and Frosty - out for our regular Malifaux Mondays this week .... Obviously the tabletops themselves at NOVA will match the themes ...
 |
| Badlands Theme in Progress |
 |
| Frozen Tundra Theme in Progress, some inspiration from Certs on the Infinity Team |
Something I started playing with about a month ago and have become increasingly enamored with is the concept of working your way around deathstars and eventually knightbuilds by leveraging MSU - most especially highly deployable/redeployable MSU.
What you do not want to do is have a mostly static or "I have to either deploy or come on standard reserves" force if you do this, because many of the common deathstars these days have split fire, and multi-assault capabilites that they are readily willing to use due to their extreme durability.
There are 2 in particular that have seen a lot of use; one is Eldar primarily, with Tau allies, and the other is Farsight/Tau, built to help Justin Cook of Team America work through a similar concept that he's been mulling.
Can you tell me why these work? I'll do a follow-up article with vassal screenshots to explain how these have been used to beat the snot out of common Jetstar, Centstar, Screamerstar, etc., lists, even on Kill Points (yup!).
(p) Eldar / (a) Tau MSU List
Baharroth - 195
Shadowsun - 135
5 Striking Scorpions - 85
5 Striking Scorpions - 85
5 Striking Scorpions - 85
Crisis Suit w/ Fusion Gun, Burst Cannon, 2 Gun Drones - 71
3 Guardian Jetbikes w/ Shuriken Cannon - 61
3 Guardian Jetbikes w/ Shuriken Cannon - 61
3 Guardian Jetbikes w/ Shuriken Cannon - 61
3 Guardian Jetbikes w/ Shuriken Cannon - 61
3 Guardian Jetbikes w/ Shuriken Cannon - 61
3 Guardian Jetbikes w/ Shuriken Cannon - 61
10 Kroot w/ Kroot Hound - 65
6 Swooping Hawks - 96
6 Swooping Hawks - 96
6 Swooping Hawks - 96
4 Pathfinders - 44
Devilfish Dedicated Transport w/ SMS, 2 Seekers - 106
Skyray - 115
War Walker w/ Scatter Laser, Bright Lance - 70
War Walker w/ Scatter Laser, Bright Lance - 70
War Walker w/ Scatter Laser, Bright Lance - 70
___________________________________________________
(p) Farsight / (a) Tau MSU List
Codex: Farsight - Primary Detachment
Commander (85) w/ 2 Fusion Blasters (30), Warscaper Drone (35), Vectored Retro-Thruster (5) - 155
3 x Crisis Suits (66) w/ Bonding Knives (3), 2 x Flamers Each (30) - 99
Crisis Suit (22) w/ Bonding Knife (1), 2 x Missile Pods (30) - 53
Crisis Suit (22) w/ Bonding Knife (1), 2 x Missile Pods (30) - 53
Crisis Suit (22) w/ Bonding Knife (1), 2 x Missile Pods (30) - 53
Crisis Suit (22) w/ Bonding Knife (1), 2 x Missile Pods (30) - 53
Crisis Suit (22) w/ Bonding Knife (1), 2 x Missile Pods (30) - 53
4 x Pathfinders (44) w/ Devilfish Dedicated Transport (80), SMS Upgrade (10), 2 x Seeker Missiles (16) - 150
4 x Pathfinders (44) w/ Devilfish Dedicated Transport (80), SMS Upgrade (10), 2 x Seeker Missiles (16) - 150
4 x Pathfinders (44) w/ Devilfish Dedicated Transport (80), SMS Upgrade (10), 2 x Seeker Missiles (16) - 150
Skyray Missile Gunship (115) w/ Black Sun Filter (1) - 116
Skyray Missile Gunship (115) w/ Black Sun Filter (1) - 116
Skyray Missile Gunship (115) w/ Black Sun Filter (1) - 116
Codex: Tau - Allied Detachment
Commander Shadowsun - 135
Crisis Suit (22) w/ Bonding Knife (1), 2 x Missile Pods (30) - 53
10 x Kroot Carnivores (60) w/ Kroot Hound (5) - 65
4 x Pathfinders (44) w/ Devilfish Dedicated Transport (80), SMS Upgrade (10), 2 x Seeker Missiles (16) - 150
Skyray Missile Gunship (115) w/ Black Sun Filter (1) - 116
Total Points - 1836 (aka you have points to play with)
Let's see who can figure out the details and nuance of how this works, and why it works (hint: it's not just to have lots of threats ... there are a few keys to many of the unit choices and other things that is critical to the way it all works)
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