Pieces of Eight

Many of us Warmachine players don't buy full units. Indeed, certain units like Storm Blades and Knights Exemplar only came in units of 6. In MKii these units have been expanded to allow a full 10 soldiers; luckily for those people who were worried about getting enough figures to fill up their new MKii unit there are plans in the works for you. It's not very specific, but still, knowing Privateer Press plan on doing something about it is comforting much like having a warm duvet.

I was around at Adam's house this last weekend trying out more MKii games with eMagnus and friends, but at a reduced 25 points instead of what I regard as the norm of 35. Having been there with two other Andy's I think I'll just stick with my first name, it saves us all much time and hassle. Playing 25 points however afforded me the opportunity to test out and witness some new tactics and toys in MKii.

Boomhowler & Co:
They make an astounding tar pit for things like warjacks to wade through. I made the mistake of moving them into combat with Mechanithralls around Deneghra in my game against Andy Schneider (sp?) and so they all died horribly to multiple attacks. I should also remember they have guns. They still feel a little too expensive to me, but I think they might be worth their point cost once I've really sat down to figure out some tactics with them. I think they work best when not engaging things with multiple attacks or for bogging down warjacks. I used the latter in my game against Andrew Paul to tie up both his heavy warjacks while I swept around the back and jumped on Reznik with my Mangler.

Warwitch Deneghra:
NOTHING has changed. She drops your ARM or DEF, and then her army kills you. To me it feels exactly like playing against her in MKi. I made a lot of mistakes playing against Andy Schneider, the most important one was when I engaged a whole bunch of stuff with the Mangler despite having my feat up. I should have moved into position for a charge on Deneghra the following turn, oh well.

Wroughthammer Rockram:
BIG improvement on the old version. Giving certain warjacks Assault means they have the ability to dish out a LOT of damage now.

New Things to Remember:
Knocked down models still have a facing. When they stand up they do NOT change their facing now.
Gorman's rust bomb is now an AOE 3 effect.
I hate Pistol Wraiths so much.
Boomhowler & Co have guns. I should really use them to shoot things I can't charge.

There were a few more observations, but they were mainly that many models and units play exactly like they did before. Overall however, I still prefer 35 points, 25 points feels slightly too small. The core concepts of the game are still in place, though assassination feels a lot more viable now against attrition lists. More experiments to follow, I may even take Ashlynn out for a spin.