Tuesday, February 10, 2015

TempleCon - PP Panel Recap and Thoughts

There are many milestones in the yearly cycle of Warmachine and Hordes. Most of them are marked by big conventions - Lock & Load, GenCon, Warmachine Weekend are some of the most prolific and more come on the scene every year - but some are also marked by time. We're heading out of one of the most difficult periods to be a fan of WM/H: the Winter Doldrums Season.

Join me after the break for a little more musing about Winter Doldrums Season, TempleCon's annual relief of that phenomenon, and a quick recap of the panel's contents.

The Winter Doldrums Season is the period of time at the end of every calendar year leading in to the next where WM/H excitement dies down tremendously. This is due to a variety of factors:

1) This is one of the longest periods of the year where no major conventions are taking place. A lack of conventions leads to a lack of opportunities for spoilers/reveals from PP, as well as a lack of general buzz for the game since there isn't anything "big" to prepare for. It is worth noting that this factor has lessened significantly over the years as more and more conventions come onto the scene (especially considering the international community.) It is feasible that we'll hit a point in the future where there will be conventions pretty much year round, which will at least give all of us something to talk about/consider during these slow months.

2) This period is a "dead zone" for PP releases most of the time. While there are always models coming out, very rarely are any of them new or surprising. In recent years PP has used this time of the year to finish up releases from the annual Warmachine book release, which leaves those players chomping at the bit for information from the next book.

Meanwhile, the Hordes players usually have their newest book firmly in hand, but the rush of new rules is starting to wear out and the wait for the actual models to release is setting in. So both game systems end up kind of twiddling their thumbs for a few month. Admittedly, this period has been more exciting for Hordes players over the past few years; model production issues aside.

3) The final confounding factor is that this is holiday season. Many players end up putting aside their hobby for a bit for family time, travelling, and way too much food, and I'm sure the PP staffers enjoy having a bit of a break (assuming they get one!)

All those factors combine to make the end of the calendar year kind of a dull one for WM/H. It can get even more interesting as the community slowly goes crazy from a lack of outside stimulus, and almost all forums become ghost towns or madhouses.

However, there is salvation in the form of another milestone: TempleCon. TempleCon used to be the first "big" con of the year, so it was always the first con where PP would drop exciting info for the coming year. The prevalence of cons throughout the year has resulted in PP's announcements becoming more spread out, so the TempleCon panel has become more, I guess low impact is a fair way to describe it, over the years.

This year, I was looking forward to the TempleCon panel as a source of some precious new info for Warmachine. I was really hoping for some Reckoning spoilers, since we know so little from that book (and I'm getting antsy after so many months of no new releases for my primary faction.)

On one hand, the panel was a big disappointment. The actual presentation from the panel is all of 16 minutes (now available on YouTube), and it covers just a handful of models from Reckoning. For someone wanting something more substantial to chew on, this presentation didn't offer very much.  

On the other hand, the few models that were announced were...pretty significant. Everyone pretty much knows by now, but I'll reiterate for completeness: every Warmachine faction that does not already have two colossals is getting a second colossal. Mercenaries already have two colossals so they won't be getting another one (based on what they have already, thank god.) Cygnar, Khador, Protectorate, Cryx, Retribution, and Convergence will all be getting a second colossal.

These second colossals will all be similar to the existing ones (i.e. same chassis) but they will all boast some new weaponry and special rules that set them apart from their siblings. Here's a quick rundown of the presentation (props to mrmario7502 and his collection of the info on the PP boards):

Cygnar: Hurricane
*Arc Node
*2 POW 16 Cannons with some sort of Push effect
*Turbulence Generator

Khador: Victor
*2 Cannons
*1 Mortar; Innacurate, Ammo Types - Rough terrain, Fire Damage, Reduces enemy DEF

Protectorate of Menoth: Revelator
*2 Vanquisher Cannons
*2 Additional guns (nipple flamethrowers?)
*Sees through Stealth
*AOEs can get rid of Stealth

Cryx: Sepulcher
*4 arms
*Creates Mechanithralls/Brute Thralls

(Stream cut out after this)

Retribution: Helios 
*Tractor beam cannon; does not cause damage, pushes models 3" in any direction
*Force Gate abilities; protect self, enhance allies
*Created by House Shyeel for Battle Mages

Convergence: Prime Conflux
*Ionization servitors; increase nearby electrical damage
*Electrical cannons
*Electrical offense and defense

Other facts: 
*These are on the same colossal chassis as their respective faction counterparts 
*Unique box sets, not upgrade kits
*Hordes will be getting an announcement at SmogCon in 2 weeks.

I will say: that is a helluva way to get everyone's attention.

All of the new colossals sound very interesting and separated enough from the original colossals to be compelling for all the factions. Even the factions that have fantastic colossals already - Cygnar most of all, with Convergence as a close second - seem to have an interesting second option in line. We'll have to wait for the full rules to know, but the teasers are pretty compelling. I have some concerns about the new colossals, though not necessarily for any of their proposed mechanics.

My biggest concern is that having a second colossal available will give each faction a potential FA: 4 of colossals to work with (which will probably very rarely come up,) but much more practically each faction can easily run a double colossal list. A lot of that rests on other factors - cost, synergy in double colossal builds, some kind of zany FA restriction, feasibility of double colossal builds in general - but I do think that having two distinct colossals available in your faction is going to make running two of the things much more palatable (than doubling down on the same model.)

The other interesting factor is going to be that this gives every faction a second bite at the "awesome colossal" apple, if they don't already have one. And if your faction already has an awesome colossal, you're either a) still already set if the second one sucks, or b) going to be spoiled for choice when a second really good one shows up. I think this may lead to more colossals being played in general, as they're conceptually very enticing and exciting, but not all factions can make equally good use of their colossals.

The release of colossals in general changed the gaming landscape dramatically, especially initially (when everyone was using them all the time.) That tapered off as players teched against colossals, which forced the least efficient/effective/useful ones out of frequent rotation. The stronger colossals stuck around, though in fairness mostly with the stronger 'casters that can run them. If this second round of colossals gives every faction a colossal that syncs up well with different 'casters, it's very feasible that the percentage of lists that include a colossal will go up. Time will tell if the meta can correct for that (or if it will even need to.)

What may also be very interesting is if the second round of gargantuans (all but confirmed at the end of the video, with a proper announcement to come at SmogCon 2015. The original round of gargantuans landed with a resounding thud, for a variety of reasons (least of which being that their rules aren't very good.) You still see players buying and using them in some lists - some of them are amazing looking models and even the worst lemon usually has synergy with one or two 'casters/'locks in a faction - but they are definitely less popular than their Warmachine counterparts. Now that PP has had essentially a "test run" to figure out what works and what doesn't with gargantuans, I'll be absolutely stunned if this second round of gargantuans doesn't turn out at least "good".

If that ends up being the case we may finally see gargantuans in Hordes lists more often, which could be a dramatic change to what players need to expect. Right now, Hordes armies are very light on Huge based models. That's going to change with the release of the Sacral Vault - expect it to be fairly popular in Circle and Legion lists, and glued into Blindwater lists - and the new gargantuans may shift that even further. That will make anti-Huge base tactics more broadly applicable, and it will also bring more of the benefits (and drawbacks) associated with Huge based models to Hordes (immunities being the most desirable.)

As for the specific colossals themselves, here are some first impressions:

- Hurricane: Two POW 16 guns with Push effects sounds absolutely horrifying. A lot of these guns depend on the RNG and how far the Push is, but I can see it being a potent way to keep heavies off of you. A colossal with an Arc Node also sounds spooky, but a lot of that depends on implementation. If, for example, it's just a flat out Arc Node, then it can be shut down via engagement, so that won't be so bad. But if it has a rule that gets around that....hoo boy.

I'm not sure if this thing will end up being better than Stormwall (if it is, I'm flipping a table and walking out,) but it certainly seems poised to be an equal. Whereas the Stormwall keeps infantry at bay while shooting at specific targets (and lightning zapping random things,) the Hurricane seems set up to directly deal with heavies by drilling them with POW 16 shots and pushing them back. It'll be interesting to see what secondary output it has, if any. It may just rely on the potency of it's guns and it's Arc Node.

- Revelator: A colossal with two big guns (and two little guns) that natively sees through stealth seems pretty good. It looks like it has a pair of Vanquisher guns stuck to it's shoulders, and if that's the case the Revelator will be able to kick out some very respectable firepower (especially if those guns end up being at all "better" than the Vanquisher's gun.) Enabling other models to see through Stealth is neat, though a lot of that depends on implementation. It sounds like the Revelator needs to "mark" the models somehow, which may make it more appropriate against bigger, tougher targets you want to bring a lot of firepower to bear against. The Revelator may give Protectorate a very potent answer to Stealth battlegroup models.

Comparing it to the Judicator, the Revelator sounds like...a revelation. Sorry. Seriously though, the Revelator seems like the kind of colossal that the Protectorate always wanted: a legitimate gun platform that also happens to answer one of the biggest issues that their style of gunline runs into (without needing Rhoven!) Time will tell, but based on just the initial info I'd be surprised if the Revelator didn't end up being more popular than the Judicator (though Judy may never leave Feora2's side.)

- Victor: I'm saving all my thoughts on this guy for it's own post. Short version: I'm excited by what I've heard so far.

- Sepulcher: This is one of the most interesting of the new colossals, because it's the only one we've actually seen the model for (in the keynote video.) The Sepulcher appears to have dropped some of the firepower of the Kraken (it doesn't have any big guns, but some of the tentacles have guns on them) in exchange for extra arms (thus making it even less possible to store safely) and some ability to produce Mechanithralls and Brute Thralls. This design approach could either be exactly what the doctor ordered, or a stunning failure. Cryx doesn't make much use of its battlegroup. Their infantry is absolutely amazing and they have some fantastic spells to cast, so they don't really want to be dumping Focus into their helljacks. Bonejacks (especially Arc Nodes) are perfect because they're supplementary models that bring a few nice things to the table (most have guns, one has an Armor Piercing attack.)

One of the issues with the Kraken is that is a gun platform that also wants to play kind of aggressively. That dynamic is tricky to work with in general, and then on top of that the Kraken wants some Focus to do it's job best (not always a lot, but more than the "Power Booster is enough" of the bonejacks.) If the Sepulcher can hang out and not really care about Focus, while also providing something valuable to the army (guns and bodies,) then I could see it being more popular than the Kraken. If, however, the Sepulcher doesn't end up working well in that role (list support with some firepower) then it'll probably be even less popular than the Kraken (which, in fairness, is now getting more love than it with some new list builds popping up.)

- Helios: This is another weird one. Probably the weirdest of all the new colossals. A colossal with no damaging gun is a very interesting proposition. Its going to be completely reliant on it's ability to facilitate the army around it in order to be a worthwhile investment. A 3" Push-in-any-direction is a pretty good start (especially with things like Sentinels potentially waiting in the wings to pounce) and who knows what else it has available to it? The "force gate" ability could mean all kinds of interesting things, though PP was extremely vague ("hey it does useful things for it or it's army!") so its hard to get too excited.

Comparing Helios to Hyperion is likewise weird. Hyperion is already kind of a strange colossal - powerful yet limited main gun, useful yet low impact secondary guns, surprising durability, reasonable cost - but it's obviously going to be more offensively potent. Helios will have fists, possibly even with the same P+S, but the biggest factors are going to be if Helios' support is enough to offset the lack of significant personal output. Considering Helios is supposedly a House Shyeel colossal, I think it's perfectly possible, and I'm very interested in finding out. Retribution is one of the factions that I think is best poised to end up with two useful colossals that are each useful i their own ways.

- Prime Conflux: This colossal is up against some stiff competition. The Prime Axiom is a fantastically designed colossal in that it fits perfectly into the faction's gameplan, similar to the Stormwall: it can serve as the fulcrum around which the army operates, and it can do so very effectively with it's auto-Tow cables, Servitor production, and 6 guaranteed shots a turn. The Prime Conflux has a lot to live up to. It may have the stuff though.

The biggest issue the Prime Axiom has is that it doesn't output ranged damage comparable to other colossals; it relies on melee and it's Tow Cables to really get work done. The Prime Conflux could step in to offer more of a ranged colossal presence. It seems to have replaced it's Tow Cables with actual guns, so it has the potential to kick out a lot more ranged damage depending on how powerful those are. Plus, if those guns are Electrical (and I'd guess they will be) it will be able to buff itself with it's Servitors. Right now the special Servitors only buff the Modulator's damage, but new releases may also make the Prime Conflux's buffing abilities more valuable.

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That's about all there is to say about the keynote, due to the limited nature of the Warmachine releases discussed. There is precious little information to work with, but lots of speculation to be had, so keep an eye out for an upcoming post about Victor and all my thoughts about what it could mean for Khador. And I'll be doing this again in less than in two weeks to go over the (seemingly certain) parallel gargantuan announcements from SmogCon!

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