Now that we've gone over all the different factions release for Warmachine: Reckoning, lets take a look at the total picture of what the book means for different facets of Warmachine, and the game as a whole.
Join me after the break for the rundown and thoughts.
A Strong New Cast
One of the most interesting things about this release cycle is that, without exception, the most powerful and interesting new model for each faction is the warcaster. That is not to say that the other new models don't have some amazing standouts, but the biggest potential for change in each faction is their new 'caster.
I think this speaks to two things that PP did very well this development cycle:
1) The devs were much more effective at realizing the designs they had in mind for each 'caster. Several 'casters in previous books have felt like they were held back by the devs being either constrained by rules limitations (early Mk. 2 insistence on re-using existing rules) or being scared of what the 'caster could be capable of if their rules ended up underbalanced (Reznik2 screams this to me).
2) The devs recognized that each faction's 'caster release is very important. They are important for practical reasons - new 'casters add new play styles, meta answers, etc, in a way that no other release really can - but probably most critically they are important for morale reasons. Few things are are as crushing as getting that shiny new 'caster (that you may have been all excited about based on the art/model) and the rules suck. Or, even worse than that - they're boring and mediocre.
I'm a little biased because I'm looking as some factions from the outside in, but I think every 'caster in this book is at least interesting and competitively viable, if not pretty damn amazing.
...But the Future Refused to Change
The header is a little hyperbolic, but it captures the point: for how good all of the new 'casters are, I'm not sure how much of a lasting impact they're going to have.
Part of that is how the metagame exists right now. The prominent lists right now ask a very specific set of questions (which is of course why they are so prominent) and none of the new 'casters do much specifically to do anything to really challenge those meta bender lists.
Another part is how prominent the idea of a metagame is right now. Many list discussions default to the most well known lists for each faction, which both reinforces the percieved prominence of those lists and actually increases the prominence of them by pushing players towards those lists as meta solutions. So it seems like everyone is playing the power lists, and thus does everyone need to plan for those lists (regardless of how often those lists do or do not show up in any given environment).
The final piece of the lasting impact puzzle is that all of these 'casters are very new, and only some of them are actually available for purchase. Warmachine isn't a game that really favors proxies - the focus on competition makes any model that isn't released (thus legal in events) might as well not even have rules released yet - so models that aren't actually released are rarely heavily tested.
The combination of all those factors leaves all of these 'casters in a sort-of limbo state. All of the new 'casters are varying degrees of excellent and interesting, but it is probably going to be a while bfore we really see what some of them are capable of due to a commbination of where the meta is, the slow grind of the PP release schedule, and the general slow adoption rate of new things, unless they're obviously powerful (which is why Haley3 is going to be the most popular right out of the gate).
Real Steel
One of the biggest things (har har) to come out of Reckoning for all of the factions are the new colossals.
Each of the new colossals is pretty excellent in its own right - the "worst" of the bunch is probably the Hurricane, but thats more due to its big brother being a total powerhouse than any specific failing in the Hurricane's rules - and most of them bring some interesting new army support(ish) options to the table as well.
Some of the new colossals have the real potential to shake up what each faction can present in terms of warjacks and armor:
- The Hurricane brings two very interesting things to the table: AOE 4 guns (something that is nigh impossible to get in Cygnar otherwise) and POW 16 single target guns that also push back what they hit. The Hurricane can threaten infantry that Cygnar usually has to devote high value attacks to (such as Gun Mages vs. high DEF, low ARM infantry) and it can play a powerful denial/scenario game with those push back guns. Its Arc Node is also potentially valuable since you're not really likely to spend Arc Node points in addition to a colossal; getting one as part of the package can be a nice bonus for some 'casters.
- The Revelator is a big source of potential for Protectorate, which has been struggling with several meta issues that the Revelator may help with (Stealth heavies, lack of Pathfinder, general focus woes). The Revelator is also generally more applicable than the Judicator, which only really shines with Feora2 and Severius1. The Revelator meanwhile can operate as a general gun platform in any list, and seems like a fantastic buddy for Severius2.
- The Victor is an excellent anti-infantry colossal that still operates well as a durable anchor and heavy hitter. Khador is a faction that often wants to run one warjack at most, and Conquest has shown that filtering that little bit of focus through a colossal can be effective. The new options that Victor brings to the table (at a lower cost) may make it more compelling choice in lists than Conquest would have been.
- The Sepulcher supports the Mechanithrall engine that has become a staple of competitive Cryx lists, brings a very respectable volume of firepower to the table (include an AOE 5, critical Paralysis gun!), and just by being there offsets the normal infantry skew that Cryx brings to the table (along with the vulnerabilities that can open up). The guns are particularly terrifying, considering some of the debuffs that Cryx can throw around (and with a pretty great journeyman warcaster to run it).
- The Helios doesn't have as many bells and whistles as its cohorts, but it does share their focused design. The Helios seems like it will be a pain in the ass to kill (with its ability to self buff defenses and passively push attackers back), especially for its cost (and the fact that it has the largest number of boxes of any Huge based model doesn't hurt either). And of course the Helios brings more push/pull shenanigans to Retribution, making it that much harder to keep specific models safe against them (or in scenario zones).
The Terrible Twos
The other significant thing that all of these new colossals bring to their factions is the very real possibility of running effective double colossal lists. All of the new colossals have a different price than the originals and in only one case is it higher (the Judicator being cheaper than the Revelator). A lower cost alone may make bringing two colossals more feasible/palatble in some configurations; sometimes you're only 1 or 2 points away from hitting the "perfect" combination of models in a list.
The main thing that I think will probably lead to a new wave of double colossal lists is the simple fact that more players will actually own two colossals. A small portion of zealous players purchased doubles of the "old" colossals, but for the most part I think most players bought one colossal, if that even.
However, if you already own one of the original colossals, and you buy one of the new colossals when it comes out, all of the sudden you have two of the big bastards and can now try to run lists with both of them. Even if it isn't the most optimal combination, I'll honestly be surprised if most players don't give it a shot once or thrice just to see how it plays out.
And thats to say nothing of the potential held by the new colossals for doubling up and causing trouble. Though I anticipate those to be approximately as rare to see in the wild as multiple colossal lists are currently. Colossals are expensive, case eating models, and most players are content to own one (now of each) at most; buying duplicates of either colossal is the mark of dedication. Or mental imbalance. Probably both.
Don't Forget About the Little Guys
Although the 'casters and colossals own most of the thunder from this book, it is worth remembering that each faction came out of this release cycle with at least one or two other noteworthy releases.
Every new faction picked up a couple of new warjacks in this book and, give or take Cryx, everyone has a couple of new tools to work with. The new character warjacks are (for the most part) really fun and powerful additions to the factions, and the non-character warjacks add some nice options to the factions that got them. None of those are likely to dramatically alter those factions - the non-character warjacks are all relatively low impact, and the character warjacks end up regulated to one list due to SR rules - but they'll definitely show up here and there.
The new units/solos for the various factions seem like they'll have a similar impact; fun, useful, and definitely going to show up, but not likely to revolutionize their respective factions. Though I think that's a pretty fair summation of the book as a whole (and seems like a pretty clear design goal).
Missing Robots
One of the biggest snafus of this release cycle is how PP handled the Convergence releases. More specifically: the fact that there weren't any, and weren't going to be any in this book.
That is fine, especially for anyone that remembers the original Convergence release. PP was very, very clear at the time that Convergence's faction release was going to be a one-shot deal, with any releases outside of that book coming whenever they had a nifty idea (and even those would be showing up outside of anthology books).
What ended up being much less fine is how PP revealed Convergence's new colossal, the Prime Conflux. That reveal came during the same presentation that unveiled all of the new colossals, which makes perfect sense. Unfortunatley, those colossals were also identified as coming out as part of Reckoning, which in turn led to a significant amount of confusion as to whether or not Convergence would be getting it's new colossal in that book (along with any other new goodies).
PP staffers eventually straightened things out on the forums, but unfortunately by then it was a bit too late; plenty of people had already gotten their hopes up for the Prime Conflux to be in the book. Having that excitment dispelled - with no ETA on when Prime Conflux or its rules will make an appearance - was quite a bummer for Convergence players (I know I was really looking forward to the Conflux).
It feels like an honest mistake on PP's part. I'm sure they debated back and forth on whether or not to include Prime Conflux in the presentation, and I'm equally sure they decided to show it to avoid having Convergence players feel like they were left out of the "everyone has two colossals now!" club (which I think was a very smart move).
Their biggest mistake was not being more explicit about the Prime Conflux's release timing; it was too easy to lump it in with the other colossals (which ended up being dated for release in Reckoning) and thus the playerbase ends up confused.
Looking To the Future
Overall, I think Reckoning was an extremely successful book release for PP, and great for all the factions. There are some low notes, for sure, but for the most part all of the new releases are interesting, have a purpose, and are various levels of competitively viable (so they're applicable to pretty much all players of the game).
The only downside to this release is that this release cycle, I think intentionally on part of the devs, doesn't push the power curve up too far. There is a definite improvement in general rule pedigree - all of the colossals feel thoughtfully designed, versus the grab-bag quality of the original set, and the 'casters are awesome all around - without letting something too powerful slip by (Haley3 is the closest, but I think even she is fine in the long run).
PP has been working towards that level of consistency across their last few books, and its great to see them keeping that up. It makes it much, much easier to be excited for your next set of releases without having to caveat everything with dread and doubt (which certainly felt like a solid bet with many of the early-ish Mk. 2 releases).
The absolute weirdest thing about this release cycle is that I think the majority of things in this book are pretty damn great, but I also don't really know where the hell they are going to fit in the grand scheme of things.
Part of that is the nebulous and ever shifting concept of meta and how it shapes what is "good" or "useful". And honestly the other, probably more important thing is just how damn big Warmachine is now. Every faction has so many options available now that only the most obviously powerful immediately stand out; even a cast of B+s/A-s kind of end up lost in the shuffle as the power players vye for attention.
I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing either. A release cycle like this is overall a win for the player base. As the meta shifts, things change, and players experiement, this set of quality releases can find purchase and make an impact. That's a far cry from getting a really crummy or mediocre set of releases that are unlikely to ever bubble up into relevancy.
As I said before, PP has been on a bit of a tear recently with their overall release quality. Warmachine: Reckoning stands out as one of their overall most successful and interesting books. If they're able to keep this up, Hordes players have a lot to look forward to with Devastation.
Lemme know what you think of Reckoning in the comments, and as always, thanks very much for reading!
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