Donnerstag, 9. Januar 2014

First games of High Command - an impression

Strangely enough, I'm cranking out Blog articles, like I'm out of homework to do (Spoilers: I'm not, actually). This time, I'm going to talk about Warmachine: High Command.

I'll try to keep it brief, because first of all, we (that is, Arides, Fiona, and me) haven't even played all detachments, or the whole Cryx card pool, for that matter.

So what do I, a biased layman gamer, think about this boardgame? Well,
apparently, I can do cliff hangers. ;) And I really like it! All games so far have been really tense (which'd be about six intro games and only two full-length ones), and it's still exciting. All fights went pretty much to the wire, with some memorable moments.* Last year, I've been on the verge of buying Level 7: Escape (which is certainly cool), but I feel that I'll not regret buying High Command. Because it appears to be way more relaxed (than L7:E) - and Fiona enjoys it, too, so I'll always have somebody around that'll play with me.

For a kid that grew up with only one sibling at a time where most boardgames were for 3+ players, that is a effin' huge deal.

I've seen (on the PP forums at least, which is a pretty small sample of a very special people, too) that WM:HC somehow polarizes and that there is disappointment. Strangely though, I've not encountered that. I will, however, admit, that I can easily imagine getting to a certain point of burnout when you're playing the heck out of this game (as with any game, IMHO). Also, Protectorate seems to play on the backfoot, and Khador with an advantage, but that's okay - because in my "meta", I can just pass Khador on to Fiona, who's not an overly ambitions gamer, and take one of the other factions. And since everything comes with the box, swapping factions never was easier.

My advice thus far:
• I wouldn't go and buy a second box for extra customisation options, because a) that may be the origin of apparent imbalances, and b) in the first expansion, there's an indicator for how many of the new cards can be in a detachment ever. This, to me, implies that the same applies for the original cards.
• Go grab friends, preferably some that aren't into regular Warmachine, relax and have fun with the game. I know that tournaments could be done, but I don't think there will be - and I'd stay clear of that. Tournaments tend to take the fun out of every game.**
• Get "The Big Guns".
• If you're playing Protectorate, make sure you forge the faithful so hard, your army deck hardly ever exceeds 20 cards. ;)

Well, that's my initial impression! You may or may not agree, and you may or may not tell me so in the comments, but don't expect a discussion. Because boardgames, IMO, boil down to questions of taste, and you can't discuss those, because everyone is entitled to their own.

Until next time,
farewell!


*Two Kodiaks have a standoff against an Ironclad at Steelwater flats. My turn, I rush Nemo and another Ironclad, wipe the Kodiaks. Her turn, she rushes Butcher, Kovosk War Hounds, and Doom Reavers, wipes my Ironclads. My Ironclads destroy the War Hounds, and after her attack, Butcher goes the occupying forces pile, and Doom Reavers are destroyed due to Berzerk. Steelwater Flats are peaceful again. :D

**With the possible exception of WM/H, which were designed for it, and Chess, which was never fun in the first place.

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