Garrison Notes
03 March '02
Well, it's about time for a "State of the Game" monologue: The DiskWars (fantasy) game is no longer being supported by FFG. For those of us that have supported the game over the long run, we realize that this means little in the manner of change. To be as deservingly kind as possible, Darrell Hardy has been good about answering rulings, if not always punctual.... Now the only resource we have is the DiskWarriors Guild (mentioned in the previous "Garrison Notes" page). Truth be told, FFG has never been great at customer service/support. Their fortes seem to be in designing (usually) innovative games and hiding behind the "we don't have enough people to provide adequate support" b.s. line.... And, yet, they won't release creative license to those of us that would see the game improved. What they get from dragging the corpse of a dead game around, while beating it unmercifully to further death, is beyond me. But that's the way it is....
The same must currently be said about Range Wars, sans the part about fan support. In spite of this being their greatest creation (trust me, you just gotta play; it also takes only one starter each to have a decent game) folks just aren't getting into the genre. I don't know... is it that the Wild West is not such a hot topic for this generation? Is the mixing of spells and the supernatural a turn-off for others? Marketing problems? I just don't get it.
Looks like the Dream Pod 9 mecha collaboration got canceled.... I had such great expectations for mecha meets diskwars....
SO WHAT'S THE GOOD NEWS?!
There's still a little.... DiskWars, et. al., are still fine games and DW is still being supported by "the faithful". Go by DiskWars.com and use the "discussion board" link to read past and present subjects and, please, get involved. The DiskWars Guild is a collaborative effort in which all opinions are noted....
Twilight Imperium: Armada is a particularly good space combat game that FFG still supports. The fighting is a bit intense and bloody, but still gives one a good use of money. Recently "Stellar Matter" and "Incursion" expansions were released. Stellar Matter is a self-contained set of, well, stellar matter.... All the "stuff" of space: planets, asteroids, space stations, death stars and civilian ships. Also, 6 more control panels that can be used in your regular shoot-'em-ups. The price of $29.95 is a bit much, but not extravagant. A pair of players could split the stuff with everyone getting a good portion of product (there's a certain amount of redundancy in the package).
Incursion has just come out, but has already done much to increase mutual lethality and to provide the balance that the original product lacked. While fighters were originally envisioned as the be all end all of combat efficiency, they proved too efficient in the game environment. Incursion introduced anti-fighter missiles and technology that makes the field much more even. I whole-heartedly recommend the game at this point.
Of course, I always want you to get your best bang-for-the-buck. At a minimum I suggest that you get a friend and each decide on two of the four races to run. Buy two each ($12.95 or less) of the starters and trade/give the opposing pieces to each other. Do the same with Stellar Matter (although, if you don't mind just making photo-copies of the status disks....). Do the same with any boosters (original/incursion). This should go far toward evening things out. Course, if you can talk four people into splitting costs....
FFG may move on to other things, but DiskWars funded them and will, IMHO, always be their defining moment. I encourage all gamers to give all Disk products a try. As always, get your best prices... and keep flippin' those disks!
MSP
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17 Jan '02- 02 Feb '02
So, the DiskWars Player's Council/Guild is a reality. "What is that?", you ask.... If you've kept up with my site (if not, check out "Garrison Notes" for November '01), you'll know that FFG has deemed DiskWars not compatible with their current business model. In essence, they have withdrawn all support. In response, I proposed a Council of DiskWarriors for the purpose of promoting the game. Discussion is being held at the official FFG site: http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/cgi-bin/discus/show_disk.cgi?7/7
We have permission to unofficially do damned near anything except create new disks (this keeps some problems in the game from being solved; primarily in the need of the elves and mahkim to have a combat viable 3pt line troop). I can only speculate at how powerful a product DiskWars would be if they had done this two years ago.... As well, I can only speculate (wildly) on why FFG insists on clinging to the moldy corpse of a game that they have declared moribund. It seems ghoulish to turn over one's mess to an entity that will clean it up for free, but to also maintain a grim claim against the hopeless expectation that the dead will rise again. Perhaps "Enron-omics" has infected the gaming industry as well....
In any event, there will be rulings from the Council/Guild. I will provide a page and link, in due time, to record them. I encourage all old-present-new DiskWarriors to participate in the discussions and molding of DW into a better game.
Viva DiskWars!
29 Nov '01
There's an interesting dichotomy in being a major fan of DiskWars: on the one hand we have the Distributors, retailers and even the parent company, FFG, telling us that the game's popularity is kaput, finished, gone to the cardboard scrapheap like so many other (say it with a despising "hiss" now): collectable games.... On the other hand we have the Fantasy Flight Games official discussion board.... The board was re-started on 14 May '01 and the DiskWars board has an overwhelming lead in posts: today it went over 1700! Armada (another disk game) was in second with 1014; Vortex (collectable board game) in third with 672; and finally FFG's Third Imperium (board game) in fourth with 547. FFG's rpg and other board games don't even come close....
So you got corporate gaming telling you one thing and the Gaming Public telling you another.... Who YOU gonna believe?!
In any event, the solid core of gamers who promote the game through the official board discussion and their individual websites have drafted a letter to FFG. The letter offers to further promote the game through independent means such as eratta, clarifications, playtesting and production of new disks for the game. DiskWars will live! DiskWars will survive!! DiskWars will grow!!!
Following is the letter to FFG, drafted 29 Nov '01, by DiskWarrior extraordinaire Robbie Westmoreland:
Dear Fantasy Flight Games,
A group of avid Diskwars players from around the world, recognizing that it has become economically unrealistic for you to offer continued direct support for the fantasy Diskwars line, would like to take up the torch to keep the game alive. We would prefer to do so with your sanction, and so offer the following proposal.
We would like to create a Diskwars Players Council (or something similarly named), and have your permission to use that name should it ever become necessary to incorporate as a non-profit entity. We would also like to have permission to set up an Internet domain name such as diskwarsplayers.org, and to use the name in communications with participants and interested parties. The organization would use its title in sanctioning “official” tournaments and providing other continued support for the Diskwars player base. Of course, all use of registered trademarks of Fantasy Flight Games would be explicitly recognized.
Our group would also appreciate your sanction in publishing, without profit, a consolidated Diskwars rules set that includes not only previously published rules, but also rules clarifications both from Fantasy Flight Games employees and from the Players organization. In addition, we would like permission to publish, also at no profit, add-ons and expansions for the Diskwars game, including rules modifications, disks (probably printable sheets for stickers) and scenarios.
All of this involves extensive use of your intellectual properties, and any proscription from changing or using certain aspects of those properties would be understandable. For example, the Menarra setting for Diskwars is used in other Fantasy Flight game lines, and it is possible that you would proscribe us from publishing additional material using that setting. It is also possible that you would prefer direct involvement in some aspects of these activities. For example, you may wish to host “official” materials on your Diskwars.com site, leaving unofficial material for the players' site.
It is our intention to create an open organization with participation from as many people as are interested to ensure the broadest support for our materials as is possible. In this activity, we use as models such community support structures as those for Advanced Squad Leader and many computer games. If, in the process of organizing and operating this organization, we increase demand for the Diskwars product, or create new avenues for your profitable support for the line, we would consider that a positive result, but our primary goal is to ensure that the game does not fade away completely. We enjoy the game immensely, and hope to continue to do so.
Thank you for your attention, and our thanks for creating an inspiring and fun game.
The Diskwars Players Council
Stay tuned to these pages!!!....
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01 Dec '01
Extreme happiness for all Third Imperium Armada Space Cadets! FFG has produced a fixed expansion dedicated to all those fixtures of space. (from the FFG website):
Stellar Matter is the ultimate terrain pack! This fixed-flat expansion contains everything you'll need to add a myriad of terrain to your Armada games, including complete terrain rules and four new scenarios.
Stellar Matter contains:
Complete new rules for using terrain 4 new scenarios
6 Control Panels
6 civillian ship disks
6 cargo transport ship disks
3 super battle station disks
150 other terrain disks, including:
Suns
Moons
Planets
Asteroids
Mines
Planetary defense systems
Gravity rifts
Wormholes
 |
This Battle Station is just one of the cool new additions in
Stellar Matter. It is its own control panel and has a frightening
10 hull, 10 shields, 6 beam, 5 crew/tech capacity, 7 squadron
capacity, and while it cannot move, it's certainly a deadly addition
to the game and the center of the new "Pirate Counterstrike"
scenario.
|
AR07
$29.95
Available mid December
It's available now!
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21 Nov '01
I had a misconception of mine cleared up. Now, pay close attention: IF THE 500 ORDERS COME FROM JUST US PLAYERS, THEN WE WILL GET THE EXPANSION!!! Is this cool or what? Now, admittedly, 500 is a lot but there are enough of us out there to support this number. Call to Arms, Boys, and make your commitment! The sooner we reach the number, the sooner we get the Legendary leaders to fill our ranks; not to mention other new disks. I've ponied up for 5!!!!!
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Well, unless you've been living under a rock with the Goblin Bootlickers, you've heard about the conditional support of the original fantasy DiskWars. For those of you that haven't, here is the information from FFG:
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Update 10/24/01
Fantasy Flight will be offering new Diskwars support in the form of the Blood & Prophecy Battlebox fixed flat expansion. This expansion will be sold using a 500 preorder system. You will be able to order through an online form and we'll keep track of the number of orders and update it on the website weekly. Once we receive 500 orders we will print the battleboxes and ship them to everyone who preordered, and through our regular distributor and retailer channels.
We will be posting more information on the contents of the battlebox and initiating the preorder system soon.
Updated 11/5/01.
Diskwars has long been a popular game, but demand from retailers and distributors has dropped dramatically over the last year. Obviously this doesn't mean that people aren't still playing the game or won't purchase an expansion. What it does mean is that the risk makes the investment a poor business decision on our part -- it is simply not a viable option for us to invest in a game that every distributor and retailer is telling us won't sell and that they won't buy. Diskwars has many loyal and devoted fans and we want to support them and the game -- but how can we do it in a way that doesn't unnecessarily jepardize our business?
The answer is to borrow a proven business model from a respected competitor to determine conclusively whether there is enough demand for the game before committing to the printing investment.
With your support, Fantasy Flight Games will be printing a fixed-flat, non-random expansion for Diskwars. This Blood & Prophecy Battlebox will only be printed with the support of you, the loyal Diskwars fan. FFG will begin taking orders now on our special Blood & Prophecy Order Form. When we reach 500 direct customer orders, we will send the game to the printer. When you preorder Blood & Prophecy we will not charge your credit card right away -- we will hold all orders until the 500 number is reached, and then announce a Charge Date (the date that we'll actually charge your card for the number of games you ordered + the shipping cost) and an approximate ship date. Once we receive the game we'll ship it to you as well as making it available to retailers and distributors per our normal trade terms, so that it will also be available on store shelves.
This page will be updated at least once a week to reflect the current order level so you'll know how close we are to reaching our goal.
The Blood & Prophecy Battlebox is a single fixed-flat Diskwars expansion pack which will include both unique and non-unique Disks and will sell for $29.95. Blood and Prophecy will introduce two to five new Disks per faction (including Mahkim and K'Ryth), for a total of more than 50 never-before-seen Disks. Several legendary heroes of Menarra will finally be portrayed in Disk form, including:
Timmorran Llovar
Great Chief Gron
High Lord Triamlavar
Zocrab
Lady Rodaire
Sarath
(More heroes may be included during playtesting.)
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In business language, Fantasy DiskWars has gone through its product cycle. And it's been a glorious ride with many ups and downs, resulting in my Love-Hate relationship with the creators. But I do have to love them for not offing DiskWars like those bloodless bastards at WotC did with BattleTech and Rage II CCGs. Instead, FFG will let the fans determine the game's fate. Already, as I write (and I know they stay behind in posting current info) there are 41 orders EVEN WITHOUT SPOILER INFORMATION! These are the true hearty souls of DiskWars and I thank them all!!
There's never been a better time for a resurgence and a rennaisance of new DiskWars players. Through "Legions" and "Blood and Prophecy" one can have a hearty collection of NON-RANDOM disks, many of which are quite strong within the power realm of the game. Random expansions can be bought sparingly, for those who don't have much money, to collect the disks one most needs. One should look for bargain basement prices as the expansion stock grows (c)older....
MSP
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10 Oct '01
Geez!, I never realized how invasive real life is after leaving college.... I mean, come on!, job hunting is keeping my updates and game playing to a bare minimum.... 'Course one does need money to keep up the gaming habit, so, I'll forgive myself....
I do have a more pertinent commentary: With all the death and mayhem being perpetrated in the world today, perhaps the reigns of all government should be turned over to Gamers. Yeah, we talk differences, we talk smack... but we don't leave behind cardboard widows and ophans; we don't burn down and crater table top maps; we don't spill cardboard blood; we don't ruin spirit and body. Just a thought....
On to DiskWars: When someone else tells you that your army is "Bad" then you put a little credence into it. Even better is when you use the tricks of an opposing faction to pull it off.
Most folks know that I play, primarily, Undead, Orc, Uthuk, Evil Dragon, and Mahkim; contrary to my usual inclinations, I play the dark side of DiskWars.... So, how do we make the traditionally "good" factions better? Easy, we add evil disks! With the proliferation of champion disks (which are, by definition, devoid of alignment) this is now possible. Before champion disks I wouldn't have been caught dead playing Accolyte, now... well, add one of the best evil disks to the best broken... errr, excuse me, "optimally costed", Accolyte disks and you've got an evil aligned powerhouse:
25 Abaley Guard
Costs A D T(W) Move Description/Text
3 4 2 2 3 First Blow.
The only problem these guys have is movement... and you'll see later how to get around that. One hundred points of first blow is soooooo damned ugly....
3 Flesh Molder
Costs A D T(W) Move Description/Text
11 1 3 4 3(F) If you kill an enemy Disk within 6" of unpinned Flesh Molder, do not remove that Disk but during Remove Counter Segment transform it into a Rampaging Homunculus under your Control.
Just one of several disks, in the game, that give you "something for nothing". Well, yeah, you must kill something to get the rampaging humunculus, but you'll see that that can be arranged....
Rampaging Homunculus
Costs A D T(W) Move Description/Text
0 5 5 2 6 First Blow. Swashbuckler
1 Brother Dalmu
Costs A D T(W) Move Description/Text
12 1 1 3(2W) 3 Level II Spellcaster. If casting a Spell with a range, that range is doubled.
This is the broken, ultimate link that brings it all together. All measurements are doubled, so you can cast a twister spell from 24" away, grab a disk and 3 of it's compatriots within 12", drop them within 24" of the original target's position from 36" high.
1 Spiderbeast of Xaarrx
Costs A D T(W) Move Description/Text
18 6 4 10(2W) 3 Swashbuckler. +1 AT vs. A disks. May A to place A counters on disks within 6" before moving, then moves normal.
This is just one of the best kick-ass disks in all of DiskWars. Whether it's a "stalking horse" or a direct combatant, it's a fist full of trouble. It will also make your opponent think twice before rushing your setup....
Spell Pool 12 Points.
The default is to take two twister spells. To a certain extent you could drop some units to increase the number and variety.
Total:
30 Activations/Cost 150
The Army in Action: Use Dalmu, the Spiderbeast, a Flesh Molder, and enough Abaley Guard to form an advancing line of death. If the enemy comes to you, so much the better. Have Dalmu grab four very primo disks and drop them where the Guard and/or Spiderbeast can fall back and happily generate Homunculi.
The first time I used the army, I grabbed two Swamp Behemoths and two fairy swarms. There was a little bit of scatter, but I activated the Spiderbeast to put two activation markers on a Behemoth and Swarm, while using the beasts movement to pin the other two. In the next activation phase I landed enough Abaley Guards on the exposed disks to take them out. The rest of the opposing army was still 24+" away.
MSP
14 August 01
A month and a half to update?! Yeah, I shamelessly took time off to finish my BBA in Decision Sciences. So, Mojo is now educated.... Not necessarily "smart", but educated.
"Reality: what a concept!" I wonder how many people heard the famous comedian, Robin Williams, utter that remark and found themselves thinking, "Gee, he doesn't know what he's talking about. Reality is... well, Reality!"
So, Mojo, what does this have to do with gaming?
Sometimes I think: everything. Usually it occurs when discussing a contrary viewpoint underlying the mechanics or rules of a game. "In real life, it wouldn't work that way." "In reality, you couldn't do that." "If this were a real _____ it would act in such and such a manner."
Where are we getting this "reality" from? Books? Newspapers? Government/Religious Rhetoric? Because someone "told you so?" I submit to you that it can only come from experience. I also submit to you that each individual's experience is different. To wit: someone on the DiskWars discussion board suggested that the solution to a particular DW/Excel project I was looking at, was to use the VLOOKUP function. To his experience, this was a real possibility. To my experience, it wasn't real; I had never used the function before. The excel user's guide and help topic were indecipherable; still the function was fiction, for me. Later I found a text with a good and readable explanation. I proceeded to use it. Now MY reality includes this function.
As gamers, we have become all too fond of fronting our "understanding" (read: opinion or concept) of reality as "fact". "The facts are...." "It's a fact that...." Folks, there are no facts.... There are accepted, popular opinions. There are popularly accepted theories. Today we have all too many experts, and we accept their experiences, without the benefit of having the experience ourselves, as FACT! This gets especially funny in gaming as people laud the accomplishments of man and machine. To listen to them, you'd think they actually fought in the battles of lore, or piloted a jet plane. Funnier still is the "reality" talks about fantasy and space games. There are NO BASIS for these talks. They are pure speculation or, at best, accepted theories.
I think (I THINK) that, as gamers, we have a certain social duty to each other to express our concepts and opinions as OUR CONCEPTS AND OPINIONS. Let's take individual responsibility for how we see our realities and not foist someone elses opinion, even our own, as FACT. Facts change as our experince changes. Let's remember that....
MSP
28 June 01
Owners of DiskWars: Red Alert!, You Have Been Assimilated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In some incredibly happy news, FFG's Origins Tournament will allow any Red Alert disks (except cloaking) to be played. The seperate races are treated as just another faction, and must use Twilight Imperium: Armada rules; but both the tournament scenario and pdf form rules can be found at http://www.diskwars.com
I've got two sets of RA that are comin' out of mothballs!!!
And now: some art from TIA (courtesy of FFG)
26 June '01
I got the initial four starters of Armada today! It's an improved version of Star Trek: Red Alert and boy am I psyched!! One of the early birds on the discussion list says he's played it against RA ships and that it works relatively well. Excellent!
There is a lot here, and the disks are beautiful, if a little graphics intensive. FFG made a concious choice to move away from fine printing materials on the disks and into symbology with an explanation chart on the side. Believe me, this was a GOOD idea.
OK, now I'm gonna say something really strange for me: DO BUY MULTIPLE STARTERS!
Why would I say that? Well, once I checked the fixed flats I noticed that each came with one ship and that ship IS NOT UNIQUE. This means that The Powers That Be were intelligent in putting the non-fixed ships in with the control panel. So, buying additional starters gets you both an additional class ship and an additional control panel. Not that bad I think. The crew disks are more intelligently chosen with two minor exceptions. Each race got two of the unlimited security troops and there are more scattered throughout the randoms I received. The Sol and Hacan get one unique commander each. So those starters will have ONE unique disk that winds up being useless. Regrettable, but a truly minor nuisance.
Uniques are scattered throughout the 56 random flats and are scattered amongst ships and crew. I'm hopefully getting some booster boxes on Friday and will update my opinion.
I'll get something in print as soon as I play a few games, but I really liked Red Alert and this promises to be an improvement.
Today Menarra; tomorrow... The Galaxy!
June 18, 2001
Cue up the triumphant march music!, fade into "Pomp and Circumstance"....
They said it couldn't be done. And many believed them.... But I have come up with a way that DiskWars may be played, Play By E-Mail style, with your PC. For years I've been dinking around in Excel with pictures and I thought, "If I can cut and paste pics in excel, then what's to keep me from drawing the proper sized disks, labeling them, and pasting them onto a "playing field" as needed?
I've got the prototype ready for anyone that wants to try it: taijiamerichinese@hotmail.com (It's only ~22kb right now). It takes a few minutes of "preparation": There is a "basic shapes" page where I have a "blank" for each size of disk. Copy this onto the "Army Shapes" page and print the disk stats on it. (There is not enough room for disk text, so keep a spoiler nearby. I have one in excel, compliments of HoOmAn, if anyone needs it....) You can even shade the background (fill) with the disk color. Artwork? I aint that sophisticated, nor do I want to run into copyrights; I just want to have a FREE utility to play DiskWars with my long-distance friends, and to share with the DiskWars community.
Anyway, I have set up the "Battlefield" for a 4' x 4' playing surface (I hope I got it right....). On the battlefield you will find an example of a round of activations for one player. By placing the copied/pasted disks tangent (just touching) to each other, you can simulate movement. I would send the file to my opponent after each activation (instead of three), and I would eliminate my opponent's redundant disks (right click and "cut" the copies) upon acceptance. Repeat until well beaten....
I sincerely hope that I have provided a service to the DiskWars community. The subject of missiles will rear it's ugly head, and I'm open to suggestions, though some form of randomization will no doubt be needed. Otherwise, I think it is pure DiskWars.
Enjoy!
MSP
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June 16, 2001
Missiles, missiles, missiles.... If they just had the common sense to stay in the missile segment, but no!, there are SAs that place missile counters in the activation segment, and even an archer who's missile mimics an Instant Blow....
In an effort to answer the frequently questioned missile counter, here is a short conversation from the official diskwars discussion list (thanks to Ray for the questions)(the answers are mine, so blame me if they're wrong):
When does missile damage occur?
The short answer: immediately. However, understand that all missile segment fire is considered to be simultaneous.
Do they die with the SA or after all missile combat is over or what?
If the disk is placed during the activation segment, then the damage is immediate, i.e. it happens before any other SA, barring disk text to the contrary. Again, all missile fire is considered simultaneous in the missile segment, therefore the damage is "immediate" also.
If a disk with a missile on it takes an instant blow does it die if the instant blow plus missile adds up to its Toughness?
If the missile was previously placed so that it is on the disk in the activation segment, AND the Instant Blow is taken during the activation segment, then yes they add. Example: a 5 Toughness, 1 Wound unit has a single missile counter on it. The unit recieves an Instant Blow 3 during the activation segment; it dies.
NOW, in it's infinite variety and wisdom, FFG has created some disks that tend to throw one off when considering how they work. The Alchemist has it's own rulings (update 7/26/00 "The Wastelands"): http://www.fortunecity.com/underworld/rpg/1235/id55.htm and it's a good idea to check for others.
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Continued, 5 June 2001
Both of these armies take advantage of Raven the Foretold's ability in moving berserk units across the board. DWiseTiger's version counts on using the Gobbowz as a cheap forward line full of activations. The Claw and Guard are kept together until the whole force is out. On the "turn of doom" the Orc-en-stien player's sequence will, in part, look something like this (your opponent should be totally activated by now): Moog uses Incite (6pts); 11 Berserk units move; Raven uses SA; 11 Berserk units move; Zharta Khun deactivates Raven; Raven uses SA; 11 Berserk units move; Priestess of Xaarxx sacrifices, removing activations from Zharta, Raven and Moog; Moog uses heal on Raven (2pts); Raven uses SA; 11 Berserk units move; Zharta Khun deactivates Raven; Raven uses SA and dies; 11 permanently Berserk units move. That's 76 activations in one turn, and 11 Berserk units pretty much anywhere on the board. The only downside seems to be the need to keep the berserkers, Moog and Khun so close together for so long. This might enable an enhanced spiderbeast, or other large nasty, to cover your critical units. This is especially problematic in most FFG published scenarios using "homeland disk" staging areas.
The "Mojo" version of this army seeks to cover the homeland bum-rush by using enough first blow units to (hopefully) discourage that tactic. By using the awesome Urotok Warrior/Urkan Horde combo, Orc-en-stien will regularly obtain 31 activations, assuming that Zharta Khun removes the activation from one Urotok Warrior. The best "doom turn" this army can generate will only move the berserkers 3 times instead of 5; although you could sacrifice one Urkan Horde and one Raven's Claw for a Priestess of Xaarxx.... The main advantage of this army is in using the Urkan Hordes threat to distract your opponent, while preparing to jump him with the Claws. This versatility does come with a price: The Hordes are very susceptible to ANY damage, especially archers and Instant Blow. Mojo's version also gives up the large Guard disks, which swashbuckle and are capable of taking on Mangra Drakes (currently this army has no recourse against an unactivated Mangra Drake). Both armies are susceptible to magic (Moog hasn't access to "Surge")(Feet of Clay can stall the rush), and the Orcs have no flyers.
While it hasn't been tried yet, an alternative to either of the above could involve using a Raven Fanatic/Lowland Twister to "off" Raven and create an army of "surprise" berserkers. This tactic would be situational, perhaps desperate, and would permanently lose Raven's multiple movement capability. On the other hand, it might devastate the opposing army.
Hopefully this has been an interesting look at one of the more radical armies in DiskWars. Keeping an open and watchful mind, while picking apart the strengths and weaknesses of the design, will hopefully make you a better DiskWarrior.
(my thanks to various members of the FFG discussion board for insights and debates on the merits of Orc-en-stien.)
MSP
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Continued, 31 May 2001
DWiseTiger originally played the army as a buildup (screening with the Gobbowz) and launching a mass, multiple movement with the incited + zipped Claw and Guard. Our standard of play starts us 36" apart, so that may have helped. We also start with a random percentage (25-50) on board and another percentage (20-50) for reinforcements per turn. We place a number of terrains using Don Lynch's method and randomly nominate a terrain on both sides as the objective. Sole control of the objective after turn 3 wins the game; else destroyed army points are counted.
I was playing an Undead army with 24/25 activations. D kept his troops close together, inciting and zipping them. At the point that I ran out of activations, D used Raven and Zharta Khun to give the Claw and Guard units two more additional moves (and, therefore, 16 additional activations. Technically the game ended on that turn as D put a berserking Claw on my homeland and gained sole control. Combat would've wiped out most of my troops anyway. Never underestimate the benefit of putting 5-6 points of berserk fury anywhere it can do the most harm. Remember that the Guard Swashbuckles and that the Claw are immune to defensive damage while berserk.
Could it get any better (worse for opponents)? I had wanted to make this army, but allowed my real life to tie up my gaming time. After discussing/debriefing the game, D and I came up with the following improvements:
DWiseTiger's Orc-en -stien Mojo's Orc-en-stien
activations points activations points
12 Gobbowz 24 01 Foretold 13
07 R.Claw 42 01 Moog 05
04 R.Guard 28 01 Z. Khun 10
01 Foretold 13 02 Urotok
01 Moog 05 Warriors 12
01 Z.Khun 10 10 Urkan
01 Priestess 09 Horde 30
of Xaarxx 10 Raven Claw 60
00 Spells 19 00 Spells 20
27+ 150 25 (29)+ 150
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27 May '01
(As you read this, think about how you would handle the army and what you would do differently. As a further exercise, consider what impact starting distance, terrain, and starting/reinforcement schemes have on army composition.)
I've preached activation advantage like a televangelist on speed. For those of you that are just starting out, it goes like this: All activations are not equal; nor are activations the same at the beginning of the activation segment as they are toward the end. To maximize the use and timing of most disks special abilities and movement, it is best to wait and see what your opponent is going to do. To achieve this, and deny it to your opponent, you must have more activations than he/she does. Take, for example, the use of a Vampire (who gives -2 toughness to disks it touches). If held back until your opponent no longer has activations left (thus not being able to do anything about your upcoming actions), then you can move that vampire onto any disk within range; possibly changing the whole outcome of one combat stack. Now, multiply that effect by three to six vampires....
Tonight I tangled with an Orc army that takes great advantage of activations. The scariest thing about this army is that it could be even better. The prototype:
Raven the Foretold/ Broken Shadows
Faction
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Align
|
Cost
|
A
|
D
|
T(W)
|
Move
|
Limit
|
Orcs
|
Champion
|
12
|
1
|
4
|
4(3)
|
4
|
Unique
|
If raven is killed, you must A four Disks each turn for the rest of the game. If Raven is killed, all Raven's Claw and Guard Disks are immediately made berserking and remain berserking for the rest of the game. SA: A to remove A Markers from all friendly berserking Orc Disks in play, then place a Wound on Raven.
Zharta Khun/Wastelands
Faction
|
Align
|
Cost
|
A
|
D
|
T(W)
|
Move
|
Limit
|
Orcs
|
Evil
|
10
|
2
|
4
|
4
|
6
|
Unique
|
SA: A to move an A marker from one friendly Disk within 12" to another UA friendly Disk within 12"
Ghash Zzurkan/Revised
Faction
|
Align
|
Cost
|
A
|
D
|
T(W)
|
Move
|
Limit
|
Orcs
|
Evil
|
14
|
3
|
4
|
5(2W)
|
3
|
Unique
|
Level II Spellcaster
Turzak the Blinding/Wastelands
Faction
|
Align
|
Cost
|
A
|
D
|
T(W)
|
Move
|
Limit
|
Orcs
|
Evil
|
12
|
2
|
2
|
5(2W)
|
3
|
Unique
|
Level I Spellcaster. SA" A to place A Markers on up to 3 enemy Archers within 12"
04 Raven's Claw/Broken Shadows
Faction
|
Align
|
Cost
|
A
|
D
|
T(W)
|
Move
|
Limit
|
Orcs
|
Evil
|
6
|
4
|
0
|
4
|
4
|
|
Berserk. If berserking, Claw is immune to defensive damage.
04 Raven's Guard/Broken Shadows
Faction
|
Align
|
Cost
|
A
|
D
|
T(W)
|
Move
|
Limit
|
Orcs
|
Evil
|
7
|
3
|
6
|
5
|
3
|
|
Berserk. Swashbuckler.
13 Goblin Crossbowz/Moon Over Thelgrim
Faction
|
Align
|
Cost
|
A
|
D
|
T(W)
|
Move
|
Limit
|
Orcs
|
Champion
|
2
|
2
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
|
Missile: Bolt (1). Friendly fire does double damage
24 Points of Spells
150 Points/ 25 Activations
-----------------------------------------------------------------
April 16
Broken Shadows seems to be living up to its name as, almost daily, players are finding situations that bring into question what we know about the beloved game. The unfortunate reality of Fantasy Flight Games only having six people on staff is that time for rulings questions is not copius. Compound that with the fact that the queries are quite involved and that the rulings will have lasting effects, and we have a lag time in which (bi-)partisan players must come up with their own answers. Some of the burning questions:
Fairy Swarms and Noz Arrack are only allowed to take one wound per turn, how does this work with friendly units that generate/transfer wound(s) as part of their effects?
How in Assan's name does the Flesh Molder actually work? What is the interaction of "killed" disks (with other disks in the battle stack) since they are not removed until the remove counters segment? How does this interact with "reanimate", "meat wagon", "sand widow", etc?
Some of the better combos:
Dan Wise came up with a seemingly easy one, that wound up having incredibly strong implications. He combined the Abaley Captain with three Abaley Flamesingers. Properly screened, these beauts can place three fireballs within 12". Due to this being a special ability, as opposed to being dropped as a missile, the Flamesingers are able to deliver death in the activation segment AND are able to pre-measure where the fireballs go! With the Jackelites ability to now generate 25+ activations with ease, the sand pounders are as strong as any faction out there.
Here's an untested one that I just thought about: A mixed Undead Army led by a Tallin Y'Kara. You're front line would consist of Crawling Limbs, backed by The Possessed and Gohma Imps. The Tallin Y'kara could wait in the back with a gohma imp, dark sucker and a few vampires. Hope you traded for enough Y'Kara Wild....
Remember that Fairy Swarms and Flaming Phoenixes can go in any all champion army....
Fa'ta Deathblade can deliver an Instant Blow 6 or 8 when paired up with the cheaply costed Blood Harvesters.
All hail the decision to print the Xotallus Magi!!! This is a 10 point, Level 3 Spellcasting, Evil Dragon. I have one in a mixed Orc army. The combination of the Magi, Zharta Khun and a Harbinger is tres excellent. You can keep the slow Magi moving/ready to cast with relative ease.
Those Dragon Ambassadors are the ultimate in ruining one's plans. I'm asking The Powers That Be for a ruling on whether or not they can be pinned by enemy disks that don't "Activate to Attack". Leaving one of those suckers on the loose allows the dragon player to choose loosing battle stacks to immunize from damage until reinforcements show up. A very powerful disk that only costs 3!
MSP
Further Notes on Broken Shadows:
24 March 2001
I've pretty much sorted my BS disks. That pseudo rarity issue has cropped up it's ugly head again. Any time that a single, non-unique disk is issued once on only one flat, the disk (unless it's a real dog) will be in great demand. Broken Shadows contained a plethora of these disks. On top of everything else, Fantasy Flight Games has further innovated the mechanic of disks relying on other disk for effects. Some of the following shortages have, thus, occurred:
Flesh Molder: If you kill an enemy Disk within 6" of unpinned Flesh Molder, do not remove that Disk but during Remove Counter Segment transform it into a Rampaging Homunculus under your Control. (I came up with 6 of these.)
Rampaging Homunculus: First Blow. Swashbuckler. (I got 4.)
The unanswered issue is, "can you 'proxy' for more rampaging homunculi, or are you stuck with what you own?" People are currently begging for trades involving these disks.
Tallin Y´kara: If pinning one or more enemy Disks with t of 4 or less during Remove Counters, you may Transform those Disks into Y´kara Wild Disks. (I was happy to get 4.)
Y´kara Wild: First Blow. (I am frellin' pissed that I only got 2!)
Same issues. Not since the Goblin Crossbowz have disks been pursued so aggressively; and probably will be for the foreseeable future. Another interesting disk-famine is the relationship between
Raven the Foretold: If raven is killed, you must A four Disks each turn for the rest of the game. If Raven is killed, all Raven´s Claw and Guard Disks are immediately made berserking and remain berserking for the rest of the game. SA: A to remove A Markers from all friendly berserking Orc Disks in play, then place a Wound on Raven.
and the mentioned Claw and Guard disks. The problem is that the claw and guard disks are on only one flat each, so Orc players will be after these with a vengeance. Add to this the Raven Fanatic that, while not gaining from a relationship with the Foretold, is such a great disk that Orc players will be fighting amongst each other to get them. Right now everyone is asking for them and no one is offering them up....
Coolest disk honors may have to go to the:
Ghost Ship: Att 2, Def 3, Toughness 6, Move 4, Flying, 2 Wounds, 11 cost. Place a counter on Ghost Ship for each Disk that dies within 12". During Remove Counters, counters are not removed, but you may Ambush Ghost Ship with one FREE non-unique Undead Disk (not from your Reinforcement Stack) with a cost equal to or less than the number of counters on Ghost Ship, then remove counters.
This is a 3.5" disk with good movement. It should be able to access any part of the field, with activation advantage. This will make an awesome return on reanimator armies that can afford to throw away troops; especially the new
Nachtkinder: Att2, Def2, T2, M5!, 4 Cost. Reanimate.
The only thing that keeps this combo from reaching critical mass is that a 150 point game rarely lasts more than 10 turns. Armies could hope to avoid the Undead, but is anyone foolish enough to think they can run away AND win?
Another super-sweet disk is the ubiquitous Undead "The Possessed". TP are a less than imposing disk at 1-1-1 M3, but these little jewels can be sacrificed to control an opposing disk within 6 inches. Combined with Vampires, or any other cool/large disk, the undead player can eliminate troublesome opposing disks and break turtle-tactic stalemates. A Priestess of Xaarxx could be a great help in getting them close enough, and unactivated, in the same turn.
The Uthuk certainly got some quality tricks to put in the ol' disk bag. The Blood Harvester, at 6 cost, is a 6-0-3 berserker with M6! The disk "suffers" from instant destruction if berserk and it activates to move, but does not attack. Even if this disk wasn't berserk, it is an awesome disk for the measly cost of 4 points. And they come four to the fixed flats!! With them not being champions, they may be a great draw for mixed evil armies.
The Ru Chieftain (Uthuk) is a quite expensive 5-2-5 M3 2W disk at 12 points. But!, you may activate the Chief and count him as your three activations!! Whether or not he is worth the three to four activations that 12 points could normally buy, is anyone's guess.
Lastly, for today, is the Yllan's Mercy. If this Uthuk were just a 3-0-4 M3 disk at 4 points, it would be meagerly good; but, it also has the ability to sacrifice dwarven slaves and enslaved disks to heal friendly disks. Sweet.
MSP
March 20
Some thoughts on the newest expansion: Broken Shadows
Tuesday, March 20, 2001 - 03:48 pm
I'm picking up my BS on the weekend. (I just love it that they called this expansion BS and that broken is in the title....). Armed with only a spoiler sheet, this is what I think/expect:
I don't play Jackelites, Good Dragons, Knights, Dwarves, or Elves. So the buying will be concentrated on just Orcs, Undead and Uthuk.
The dwarf-fixed are good and neutral, and just not exciting enough to go after for a non-dwarf player. I raise an eyebrow at the dwarfs getting the Godstone Lightning as that gives them effectively in-house cavalry. A Dwarf moving 6?! Boggles the mind.... Best random: Battle Boar! A ridiculous disk, especially with the multiple movement bonuses....
The Jackelites? What hasn't been said? I think in one fell expansion they (ffg) tried to put them on top. They've been given a cheap, powerful, activation in the Abaley Guard, and their previous Desert Stalkers aint too shabby. The AG makes me want to petition for return of the Legion of Bone to unrestricted status. The two disks are different, but of equivalent power imho. So what's the ruling on Raging Homunculous? Can people proxy as needed? Are you restricted to what you own? Doesn't this make suitcase accolytes even more powerful?
Dragons: the fixed flats are centered around good/neutral, so I won't buy any. Lord Vyssok, and Dragon Lord Ambassadors look good, although the Ambassadors will have huge archery targets painted on them.... The X'Ru Prophets look promising, and the Xotallus Mage could be trouble.
Elves: I don't do elves; don't like elves; don't need elves.... Raiders and Skirmishers could be a pain.
K'Ryth: The faction that got neutered is back! Don't mess with us, lest you get bum-rushed!! They deserved a little "bone" after losing the doppleganger.
Knights: I was hoping for some reason to field a decent evil knight army. I still have no reason and am trading off all my ek's. I think ffg is making the knights a rolling turtle army (just tall dwarfs?) with the conditional attacking restrictions. Is there any realistic defense in a doom hill scenario against King Daqan and a 6" radius of elite troops?
Mahkim: Nothing really bad or exciting. Period.
Unfactioned: Flaming Phoenix is pretty bogus, and it's not neutral.... At least it costs 9. The third level spellcasters got a huge boost and might be worth playing now.
Orcs: Raven looks pretty damned strong! But what is the interaction with the "calm" spell? Gobog Ripper is a decent alternate for Urkan Hordes, where toughness needs improvement. Currently I think the Goblin Princess is lame, but I may change that opinion.... The rest look good to excellent, but the Mesak still has the strangest restriction. It's a stupid disk; I'd rather have a mix of Raven's troops instead.
Undead: I'd play diskwars just for this faction. The Meat Wagon will find people abusing it if possible. Razor Corpse looks awesome if it can be protected. This is just the faction to play! Reanimators, Meat Wagons, and Ghost Ships: SWEET!
Uthuk: I remember when I considered getting rid of this faction; I'm glad I didn't. All the disks are relatively strong and useful, but especially the Tallin Ykara/Ykara Wild disks, and Yllan's Mercy! I've got a part Dwarven Slave army that just can't wait!
Aside from over-boosting the Jackelites and Knights (while keeping Legion of Bones on restriction), this looks (initially) to be a decent set. The Meat Wagon is problematic, and may not have been a good idea for evil/undead, but we will see.
