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Thursday, July 30, 2009
WOTR 2K Bash (Mordor vs. Rohan)
Last night Eric Orth and Brandon (playing Mordor plus allies) teamed up against me (Eric R) and Josh (playing Rohan and allies) in a 2000 pt per team WOTR game - a lot of models. The battle was a straight-up Field of Swords pitched battle where victory was determined by points for banners captured and troops and generals killed. Both sides set up half their points, and had half come in Turn 3 as reinforcements, possibly on a flank.
The Rohirrim began the game with Rohan bowmen and Outriders on the left flank, then in the middle Minas Tirith warriors captained by Gandalf and Haldir, Minas Tirith archers, and Rohan militia; general Theoden led a large formation of Riders on the right flank. They faced a tightly compressed mishmash of evil troops massed on the left side of the field: providing a missile screen in front were two formations of Isengard Uruk Hai pikemen and some orcs with two-hand weapons; behind them lurked 3 Mordor Trolls grouped together, a big formation of Morannon Orcs, and a big formation of Easterling warriors. Gothmog commanded. (see attached photos)
The first two turns the two lines slowly approached each other, with the Good forces peppering the screening troops with arrows on the left and Theoden's Riders sweeping toward the enemy's flank on the right (turn 1 photo leaves out the Rohan archers in the woods on the left).
- Turn 1 (Midturn)
The movement of the 3 trolls and big evil infantry formations was hampered by the slow progress of the leaderless screen troops. Gandalf transfixing one of them for a turn didn't help. Then reinforcements arrived and the battle heated up in a hurry: Evil arrived first, with a Nazgul on Fell Beast supporting the left, while on the right a large formation of wargs, some Orc Tracker archers, a company of super tough Isengard uruk Beserkers, and 3 (!) more Mordor trolls all moved into position to flank Theoden's cavalry. But the Good reinforcements soon arrived on the right board edge - Rohan Royal Guard, Sons of Eorl, and a formation of Riders, all mounted, led by Eomer and Erkenbrand - in perfect position to flank the enemy flankers! (see end turn 3 photo).
- Turn 3 (End)
On the left, with most of the orc screening troops now shot away, Haldir (counseled wisely by Gandalf for extra Might) commenced to use his Epic Shot at the now exposed and in-range Mordor Trolls. One by one, they died, one each turns 4 through 6, crippling the Mordor left flank. The Nazgul fled Gandalf's magic, redeploying slowly toward the right, where things were going just as badly: Royal Guard and Sons of Eorl charged and slaughtered the Wargs, one Mordor Troll (Eomer using Epic Strike against him), and most of the company of Beserkers. Back on the left the Easterlings managed to engage Haldir's Minas Tirith Warriors and slowly began to grind them down, but Haldir slew their Dragon Knight champion and Rohan shooting added some casualties.
Gothmog had left the formation to try to speed the Morannon orcs into position, but they still moved too slowly. (see Turn 5 photo)
- Turn 5 (mid turn)
By the end of turn six of eight (at 2 am) things looked grim for Mordor. On the left flank the Easterlings looked to be surrounded; on the right the Nazgul's magic had slowed the progress of the elite Rohirrim, but there was no doubt they would win that part of the field eventually, especially since the two remaining trolls over that way both had 2 wounds. Gandalf now rode at Theoden's side, making it extremely unlikely that the Rohan general would be slain. Orth conceded the game. Good led 6 victory points to 2.
It was a great game of WOTR - at least from where I was sitting! The superior mobility of the Rohirrim really paid off, as Theoden's Riders were able to threaten the enemy and then quickly withdraw to safety when the evil reinforcements appeared right on his flank; in contrast, the flanked Mordor troops were trapped by all the elite cav reinforcements, and from the beginning Orth had fits trying to get all his infantry to move where they needed to go. Orth also suffered from insufficient leaders (for "at the double" moves) and Might for much of the game, while the Good forces had plentiful leaders and Gandalf to top them up with Might through Renewal/Counseling. (Full disclosure: I was probably illegally using Counselor during the game b/c of the ambiguity about Epic actions vs. abilities; but since I could have been using Epic Renewal instead with almost the same effect, the illegal advantage gained was minor).
But, all that aside, luck was very much with Good on this night. Good usually won Priority rolls; there was only a 1 in 6 chance the Rohan reinforcements to come in at exactly the right place, and they did; Orth missed multiple important "At the Double" rolls; and Josh and I rolled hot dice for Haldir's Epic Shots - "6" was rolled every time either on the number of auto hits or on the "Hard To Kill" table for the result, meaning a dead troll all 3 times. (Dang, since we are ruling Epic Strike can't be used in duels, Epic Shot has got to be best epic action going, at least if the enemy brings monsters...) And then Haldir up and kills the Easterling Dragon Knight in a duel where the bad guy had a +2 going in to the duel! Yup, the dice gods favored the Rohirrim that night. Theoden returned to Meduseld a proud and victorious king.
WotC - Axis and Allies News
It seems they are making Anniversary Editions of A&A Europe and Pacific the same way they made the huge $100 Anniversary Edition of the main game.
However, the cool thing about the two releases is you can put the two maps together and play a giant sized game of A&A. There will be new rules on how to combine the two games and everything. I'm not sure how a player will get this on their kitchen table. Just one map alone is HUGE. I guess they will have to go to their local gaming store to play a mega game. :)
The 1942 edition is first and then the Anniversary Edition of Pacific is due in October/November. Then Europe get's the large treatment in the Spring.
From what I understand, the 1942 edition will still be a 5 player game and the board is regular size not Super Size. I got the impression it was a hybrid of the Anniversary Edition and the standard edition.
street date listed is August 18th: WOC250660000 Axis & Allies 1942 $30.00 SDI
Axis & Allies celebrates it's 25th Anniversary in 2009 with a new and updated edition of it's original classic game. Axis & Allies 1942, designed and developed by Larry Harris, will utilize the updated rules established in A&A Anniversary Edition. Cruiser class ships will make their debut in A&A 1942, forever changing the naval line-up. Newly sculpted playing pieces and all new packaging will position this game as the cornerstone of the Axis & Allies game line for years to come. Decide the fate of a nation in a few short hours!
Arcane Legions 3 - Reply to Store Review
OK, I got my demo kit and am getting the mini’s ready for running some games.
I can say first off no way these are 25 MM, more like 20MM. Scale is way off.
I deal alot with mini lines and I am still on the fence about this line. People who are into either GW or Privateer Press won’t even give these a second chance and that is coming from those I have already showed these to.
The game play MAY and that’s a big maybe make a difference but I am reserving judgment yet.
Going for ultra cheap may have bite you in the ass as your marketing a mass combat line to go up against GW and the like without the level of quality those lines of miniatures have to offer. These remind me of those cheap bags of army men we all bought as kids. Painting these won’t be easy either as this type of plastic doesn’t take well to paint. As I said, I am reserving judgment for now but kinda disappointed by what I see so far.
Fix the scale and go for better quality even with the price increase might be the better way to go.
To0m – Ye Olde Hobby Game Store
On July 24, 2009 at 12:34 pm iumaddog Said: |Edit This
Mark’s Reply:
Hi Tom
I don’t understand why so many people have the impression these are not 25mm characters. I realize they may look small compared to what you are used to seeing, but a ruler settles the question every time. Measure them, they are all 25mm.
It is important to understand that Arcane Legions was not designed to compete with GW. Our goal is not to convert the existing miniature player or provide cheap figures for conversions, but to bring the casual hobby player into the miniatures realm by providing a product that is affordable, quick to play, has an easy rules system yet still has all the strategy and depth of play that other systems have. Arcane Legions is a great playing game, and we believe that these are the points that will resonate with our target audience.
Getting the common figures on the sprue and having to remove them does feel initially like the army men of old, but once they are all set up the feel changes significantly.
Why 25mm? It was one of the mechanisms by which we are able to reduce the cost to the consumer. If we were at 35mm there would either be fewer minis or a much higher price point.
25mm also makes a mass action game more manageable. Smaller figures means more models on a standard table – if we were at 35mm, the unit trays would have to be almost half again as big just to account for the figure size, and an army of 100 figures would be very difficult to fit on a table.
Give it a chance Tom and I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
When we demoed this game at Origins, almost without exception, everyone who played it praised it loudly – and these were pretty much all hardcore miniatures players – not actually our target audience.
Mark Chase
Wells Expeditions
Arcane Legions 2 - Store Review
OK, I got my demo kit and am getting the mini’s ready for running some games.
I can say first off no way these are 25 MM, more like 20MM. Scale is way off.
I deal alot with mini lines and I am still on the fence about this line. People who are into either GW or Privateer Press won’t even give these a second chance and that is coming from those I have already showed these to.
The game play MAY and that’s a big maybe make a difference but I am reserving judgment yet.
Going for ultra cheap may have bite you in the ass as your marketing a mass combat line to go up against GW and the like without the level of quality those lines of miniatures have to offer. These remind me of those cheap bags of army men we all bought as kids. Painting these won’t be easy either as this type of plastic doesn’t take well to paint. As I said, I am reserving judgment for now but kinda disappointed by what I see so far.
Fix the scale and go for better quality even with the price increase might be the better way to go.
To0m – Ye Olde Hobby Game Store
Arcane Legions
Wells Expeditions is releasing a new game called Arcane Legions, and there has been quite a buzz about it. Here's some inside discussions:
We look forward to seeing everyone at GenCon in a few weeks. We'll be in booth 2005 and will have the following pre-release product for sale.
Note: Quantities are limited and your badge will be punched to reflect your purchase. Prices include local sales tax.
Arcane Legions Starter - $38.00 (limit one)
Arcane Legions Infantry Pack - $16.00 (limit one)
Arcane Legions Cavalry Pack - $16.00 (limit one)
Arcane Legions Booster Pack - $13.00 (limit four, one from each faction and one customer’s choice)
As is common in the industry, we offer Arcane Legions in both Starter Games and Booster Packs; however, unlike the others we’ve added a third SKU called Army Packs. It’s essential to remember that Arcane Legions is a mass action miniatures game that will have a player fielding several hundred figures in his army. But unlike many other mass games, his first 123 figures will cost him only $35 . . . not $350.
Arcane Legions features the three greatest armies of antiquity in its storyline: the Roman Empire, the Egyptian Imperium, and the Han Dynasty. The Starter Game is a two-player set that comes with 41 figures for each army. It also comes with rules, bases, unit cards, score card, movement tool, and 36 dice—all for only $35! We believe that each player will purchase a Starter in order to play the game right away with a friend. There is no need for each player to buy half a game. A case of Starters contains six two-player Starter Games.
One of the ways we were able to keep the price down was by removing all the “common” figures from the Booster Packs and moving them to the Army Packs. There is very little unwanted duplication of figures in Arcane Legions; because the commons are in the faction-specific Army Packs, a player need purchase only the faction he wants to play, thus eliminating the duplicate figures that plague other games. Think of the Army Packs as utility packs. There are two types of Army Packs for each faction. Infantry Packs provide an additional 40 faction-specific figures, eight formation bases, four sortie bases, and the appropriate amount of unit cards to field all 40 figures for an incredible price of $15! Cavalry Packs include 14 to 15 mounted figures, four formation bases, three sortie bases, and the appropriate unit cards. Cavalry Packs are also faction specific and $15.
By removing the commons from the Booster Packs (which are also faction specific), we made the chase much easier for the player; in fact, he can collect his entire faction with a single purchase of eight Booster Packs, called a “Legion Bundle.” The collectable Booster Packs are where players will find the key chase figures for their armies and the associated unit cards, both include three levels of rarity: Uncommon, Rare, and Unique. A Booster will include up to 11 prepainted figures and five unit cards. Boosters come 24 to a case and are $12 each. All three factions are represented as Legion Bundles within the case: eight Boosters shrink-wrapped together with their own SKU (retail $96). A Legion Bundle guarantees the player the entire collection of chase figures and unit cards for his specific faction.
Keeping today’s economic environment in mind and considering what a typical player would need to be competitive in Arcane Legions, Wells Expeditions created case counts that will assist in meeting both player and retailer needs. Assuming your store can easily attract six players to the game, you’ll want to purchase one case of Starters. We believe that the typical player (not the collector or alpha player) will purchase a Starter, an Infantry Pack, a Calvary Pack, and four Boosters for his army. This unit ratio of product (1:2:4) will allow the consumer to field a competitive army for his faction and provide a fun play experience. Wells Expeditions has simplified the Arcane Legions purchase for the retailer by matching the case packs to the 1:2:4 unit ratio.
In order to keep to the 1:2:4 unit ratio, you will need 12 Army Packs and 24 Boosters to match the six Starters in the case; thus, there are 12 Army Packs to a case (2 Infantry and 2 Cavalry for each of the three factions) and 24 Booster Packs to a case (three Legion Bundles of eight Boosters each). Both the Starters and Army Packs are fixed; only the Boosters are randomized. Here is where we find the 1:1:1 case ratio.
A typical “player” is one who will play a faction-specific army but doesn’t need to own every figure within his faction. A “collector,” on the other hand, might play a specific faction, but will want to own one of every item produced for his faction. If you have a strong collector community, you’ll want to offer Legion Bundles and increase your initial purchase to 1:1:2 so that you have the ability to offer both individual Boosters and Legion Bundles on your shelf.
To summarize, Arcane Legions is a mass action collectable miniatures game in which players do battle with hundreds of figures in less than two hours. Though collectable, Arcane Legions offers the most effective purchase model for both the retailer and consumer. Depending on the retailer’s player base, the recommended ratios for an initial purchase are 1:1:1 for a “player” community and 1:1:2 for a “collector” community. A typical player can build a competitive, faction-specific army for about $113, and a collector can have one of every figure and unit card for $146! Arcane Legions is fun and affordable, easy to stock, supported through Organized Play, and offers full margins to retailers. Be sure to order yours today! (More on Organized Play later.)
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