Sleeving & Storing WM/H Stat Cards

Stat cards are a tremendous benefit to the game of warmachine and hordes, allowing quick reference to the entire suite of your models’ rules and abilities, as well as providing a place to track damage done to multi-wound models. They’re definitely an invaluable resource to the game, but as expansion books are published, each faction gets access to more and more models and units. For the player that means more and more cards in their collection to keep track of.

When I first started playing, most locals sleeved their cards individucally and kept them in a deck box. I quickly adopted this method and found a couple products that I really liked – Dragon Shield card sleeves and Ultra Pro deck boxes.  I’ve used this set up for years – it’s quick and dirty but it works.  I never had any problems at all in actual play, but as my army collections started getting bigger, keeping the cards sorted became harder – I started chucking whatever I had played back in the box after each game.  Searching for cards when building armies on the fly started taking longer and longer, so I started looking at alternatives.

Alternatively the Dragon Shield Box will double as a cheap (but less durable) deck box.

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Word of Everblight vs. Spirit of Everblight

The word of the law vs. the spirit of the law.  Whenever people get together to play a game of any type they have to decide where on that spectrum their game play experience will lie.  Most cooperative and/or casual games will lean towards the latter, but most competitive games sit bunched around the former.

Each gamer has their own opinions on the philosophy of game design, and I’m no different.  In my mind, if a game is designed to be played in a competitive format, then it should be designed to abide by the letter of the law.  By designing for the more strict guideline, those who prefer the more casual and/or want to tweak their experience – to make the rules feel more fluffy or appropriate to their own vision of the game – can do so.  Designing from the opposite standpoint results in a game that works for those on the spirit end of the spectrum but will likely negatively affect the word end of the spectrum, as the rules will either fail to accommodate certain interactions or maybe even resolve them in a manner the game designers didn’t desire.

Privateer Press seems to take the word-emphasized view of design, which I certainly appreciate.  Each incarnation of their Steamroller tournament system has had its flaws, but for the most part they design their game and format so that it can be played in a highly competitive venue and not break down to dicing-off rules interpretations.  In the past they’ve even made rulings that seem to go counter to how a rule was meant to be played when it preserved the word of the rule.  For example, the ruling on MkI Vilmon that allowed him to run and still use his Impervious Wall ability.  The rules supported the tactic, so whether or not it was intended it was supported (until the rule was reworded in MkII).

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MkII Hordes Cards’ Improved Aesthetics

The Hordes MkII cards were previewed a while back but now that I have mine in hand I’m noticing something I glossed over before.  The Warmachine MkII cards seemed to receive a negative reaction on the forums, but it looks like PP took some of the feedback and made a change that I much prefer. Spirals aside, … Read more

Wall of Fire, MkII Style

When MkII was released Privateer Press resized the “wall template” used by some spells, making the fold-up cards that came with models like Feora and Gorten obsolete.  Although I liked the fold-up wall for ease of handling, I decided to make a new flat set so models could be placed directly on them if necessary.

Buh-bye now

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Protectorate of Menoth Tokens, Take 2

I’ve never been a big fan of GF9’s tokens, and Privateer Press’ don’t work for me either.  Both companies’ designs have some shortcomings that caused me to stay away from their products.  At first I used Youngwolf7’s tokens, but by the time I picked up the Legion of Everblight I had started making my own.

Samples, Pre- and Post-assembly
Samples, Pre- and Post-assembly

Now that the Forces of Warmachine: Protectorate of Menoth book has been released I finally sat down between applying coats of primer to some miniatures to put together some tokens for my Protectorate force.  I still had my set from MkI but enough abilities were renamed for me to decide to redesign a new set instead of using Youngwolf7’s design.

I did a little editing to the graphic used on the Privateer Press gallery page to create the background for my tokens, and added some text layers to create what’s pictured above.  I used .75″ cubes or .75″ faux scrabble tiles I picked up at the local craft store to give the tokens some width and heft.  They can usually be found in the woodworking and scrapbooking departments respectively.  Mosaic tiles are another option, but those are concave and/or have an irregular surface, making these better surfaces for gluing.

Since I started this post talking about the issues I have with the PP and GF9’s offerings, I suppose I should go into a little more detail on what I think makes good tokens.

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Holy Plate Mail Ninja, Batman!

Exemplar Errant Seneschal

I was expecting to see the Exemplar Errant UA in the new No Quarter, but not a new synergy solo for the unit.  Granting Hunter to Errants, as well as having both Hunter and Pathfinder himself, really makes him feel like a Strider Deathstalker type model… but clad in white heavy armor?

Don’t get me wrong, I think this guy has some very nice rules that can be especially difficult for an opponent in scenario play.  He can sit just out-of-sight behind/in forests and take pot shots, and since he can sacrifice Errants when he dies, stay in an area far longer than a single 5-wound solo would normally be able to.

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I’m Jinxing it

Exemplar Errant Unit Attachment
Exemplar Errant UA

That’s right; I’m doing it.  Even after the last two disappointing Protectorate previews I’m going to talk about my hopes for the upcoming Exemplar Errant Officer and Standard Bearer.  Errant themselves are solid, and if the Temple Flameguard are any precedent their UA will boost them into the realm of teh win.

In Mk I, Errant were known for their outrageous point costs but now a Protectorate only pays a whopping 5 points for a minimum unit or 8 for a max.  For that point cost you can field an efficient jack-of-all-trades unit with at least one ability to help them fill any roll on the table:

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St. Louis Privateer Weekend III: June 4th – 6th, 2010

Ye be warned… For the past 2 years the best players from around the nation have descended on St. Louis to participate in one of the most intense and grueling Warmachine and Hordes competitions known to man and beast, including the first official MkII Hardcore tournament. The St. Louis Riverdogs are pleased to announce our third annual Privateer Weekend at DieCon X June 4th through the 6th. This will be the premiere event for the Midwest prior to Gen Con 2010. Privateer Weekend consists of 3 days of spine crushing, cortex smashing fun coursing over more than 7 events. The terrain is amazing. The competitors are top tier in both skill and personality. Here lies the ultimate in gaming. Featured events over the weekend include a specially designed train event by the Iron Agenda podcast, two Steamroller 2010 competitions, an ongoing Tide of War competition, Iron Kingdoms knowledge tests hosted by Capt. Saultydog, and our main event, the first official Mark II Hardcore tournament on Saturday. If this wasn’t enough, the weekend will also feature various painting competitions and a diorama competition.

Complete schedule and details are available on our site,  or keep up to date by following us on Twitter. See all the fun-filled convention activities and preregister at the DieCon home page. Registration for DieCon X is only $26.00 until April 15th. After that, registration increases to $31.00 – still an amazing bargain. Online payments will be accepted via PayPal. Those particpating in Hardcore will have an additional 5 dollar fee which goes towards a personalized 2010 Official Hardcore dogtag. Remember to select “PP Hardcore” under the list of Saturday events to reserve your spot today and enter your requested personalization at that time. Our schedule is listed below…

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