Rage Against the WarMachine

I avoided playing WarMachine for a long time. I knew it must be an awesome game, since I have several friends who stand by it. They seem to even like it over VTES, which speaks volumes about its quality.

The reason I resisted so long is that miniatures games tend to actually be two hobbies instead of one: the game itself and the painting of the minis. That's a big time investment, and time for
me is usually at a premium.

I lost my will to keep away from WarMachine in January. I saw that my roleplaying group wasn't playing as much, and my VTES and gaming crew is related to that group, so this would be a season of total inactivity games-wise.

That's just unacceptable to me. I needs my games. I borrowed the main book from my buddy Ray and started reading about WarMachine. I have to say that the first story in the Prime MKII rulebook is an engaging bit of fiction that describes the core of the game while building an idea of the characters in the setting. I quite like most of the characters presented in that story.

The game, at its core, is about taking the role of a powerful warrior/wizard hybrid called a warcaster. The warcaster is the center of any army in the game, and is usually one of the most powerful pieces on the table. Each warcaster has a suite of spells that blast opponents, buff friendly units, enhance the 'caster themselves, or perform utility functions like creating difficult terrain. Each warcaster also has a once-per-game benefit called a feat, which is often an incredibly powerful benefit that can change the game (or win the game) if used well.

Finally, warcasters also come with backup dancers in the form of warjacks. Warjacks are steam-powered giant robots that can also be boosted by the same arcane energy that 'casters use to cast spells. Warjacks come in light and heavy varieties, with the lighter ones being faster and more maneuverable, and the heavies being slower and stronger.

Since warjacks and spells are powered by the same energy source, the 'caster's Focus stat, the game is one of resource management. Each caster must decide which spells to cast and which 'jacks to boost with focus each turn. Some 'jacks need focus to perform well, while others do okay without the boost. When building an army list the player needs to keep in mind a typical turn's worth of focus so they have a strategy going in.

Then when the enemy 'caster's feat ruins everything, the player must scramble accordingly.

I quite liked the basic notion of the game upon reading that first story. I get to play a spellcasting badass who has several giant death machines doing his dirty work? Awesome.

It turns out that I quite like painting the minis as well. Funny thing is, as the years go by and (despite my best efforts) quotidian banality sets in, it is becoming harder and harder to get a crew together for games. VTES, to me, really needs five players (four even seems wrong to me). Roleplaying is best in a party/coterie situation. WarMachine is often a two-player game, which is a little more convenient. And painting minis is a one player activity, which is even better.

There is a VTES tourney in Ann Arbor, MI in a few weeks, and I'll be attending that. I'm not sure what to play yet. I'm considering some Trujah ridiculousness.

I'm posting from my iPhone for the first time, because of late whenever I have time in the house I'm painting tiny men. We'll see how that goes for me.

-Merlin out


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