Barnes on Games- Star Trek: Ascendancy in Review; Warmachine Battle Box in Review

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Linked direct to the preorder page. You sly bastard.

I've played four games of Mk. III at one of our FLGSs doing the current narrative campaign with a 25 pt. Khador rumble army. Playing Butcher1 with a jack heavy list which seems to be the current thing in Mk. III. Nice thing about rumble is they play out quick, my last one Sunday night against Circle only took about an hour and a half. I never played Mk. I and just a few games of Mk. II so I don't know what all the changes are but so far I'm liking Mk. III.

HA! I didn't mean to do that, I meant to link to the review itself. Well, the preorder is sold out anyway so I guess I won't get my Miniature Market Cadillac bonus.

You know, I played a lot of MkI but I couldn't tell you what the differences are other than apparently there are now "colossal" units and a couple of new factions that I think aren't really as fleshed out as the main four. It played pretty much the same as I remember from ten years ago and most of the units were just as I remembered as well. It's a really fun game, I like a lot of aspects of the system. I always liked it kind of better with low point battles, but for a while I was dead set on running a no jack list, the theme being "a bunch of Russians". I was trying to do this Russian folklore theme with Baba Yaga and all of that. All of my Khador stuff was painted Soviet green with red accents, gold emblems and stuff. Looked cool as hell. I was half tempted to go in on MkIII, but I just can't take on another miniatures thing right now.

And I have to be honest...after building, painting and playing the newer GW games...there really is no comparison. I just put Gorechosen together, and it was SUCH a more pleasant experience than putting together Warmachine. And then with Deadzone, part of the appeal there is that the play areas are small and the terrain is sort of built into the concept so I don't have to invest in a table, a bunch of trees, etc.

It did make me want to get back to Undercity though, I think that game was unfairly ignored.

You can use the Cataclysm board instead of the base game board with any mix of expansions; you can even steal the Denizens and use them on the core board. Just pick whatever appeals to you at the time.

Is there any viable way to play Ascendancy with two players? Is it worth just playing it straight with two players and missing out on the 3+ player dynamic?

Proper link:
www.miniaturemarket.com/reviewcorner/sta...k-ascendancy-review/

In other licensed game news, I got Harry Potter in today and being a huge fan I was pretty giddy opening it up

I really want to play this, but it's US only. I find it both extraordinary and extraordinarily annoying that regional licensing is still a thing in 2016.

If anyone would consider finding out the postage costs for mailing a copy of the UK as a prelude to me providing funds for you to buy and send me a copy that would be appreciated.

Just did a basic Luke vs. Vader thing, each with a couple of wingmen. No upgrades, limited order tokens.

I have come to the conclusion that variations on this theme are totally the best way to play X-Wing, and Armada. No farting about trying to set up gamey combos. Just pilots with the odd thematic upgrade (Poe Dameron + BB8) getting in there to win the day with dice and maneuvers and good positioning.

You had me at Pet Shop Boys.

Michael Barnes wrote:
It did make me want to get back to Undercity though, I think that game was unfairly ignored.

I think Privateer Press actually secretly shit out an expansion for that game recently. It's also apparently compatible with their kickstarted game "Widower's Woods". So it seems the system got a bunch of more content out/coming out for it.

I'm Josh Look and I approve this review of ST:A.

I was one of those rare people who ended up not letting the card combat in Rebellion bother me. The game doesn't work without it by house ruling them out (I tried several different options), and the amount of great stuff the game offered by far outweighed this one thing that really doesn't take up that much time. I love that game, and never did I think anything else coming out this year could top it.

And yet, here it is. Not only is this GOTY 2016 for me, but this is what finally becomes the game I schedule for instead of TI3. When Eclipse came along, I saw that it wasn't in the same niche as TI3 was. They're both 4Xs, sure, but Eclipse was an economic game a heart, a really good one, but that's not what I was looking for. TI3 is a bonafide space opera in a box. Space 4Xs were a dime a dozen for awhile, but no game came close to that immersive experience TI3 offered. Until now. It's cleaner, it's smoother, and ultimately more fun, but it has just as much character, theme, and dedication to its setting that TI3 has.

Yeah, it's 3 player only FOR NOW. I know there's plenty of people who will say they'd never play it with more than 3, but I would. The downtime, IMO, is being blown out of proportion. Xia, TI3, the later turns in Eclipse all have just about as much downtime or the potential for it. It also greatly decreased the more you play and become comfortable with what you're doing.

I tried Warmachine for a while and hated it. The models were shit - not only were they hard to put together, they had horrific mold lines, and were low-detail to boot. The game mechanics were sound enough; I can see why people like the game, but I'm not those people. It felt like a math problem combined with a tabletop MOBA. Also, since the importance of terrain is so minimal, there's hardly any maneuvering in the game - it's all about lining up and sequencing your actions in a certain way.

Going back to 40K was like getting back with that crazy ex-girlfriend: you know it's bad for you, but it's so familiar and some things are so good...

Josh Look wrote: I'm Josh Look and I approve this review of ST:A.

I was one of those rare people who ended up not letting the card combat in Rebellion bother me. The game doesn't work without it by house ruling them out (I tried several different options), and the amount of great stuff the game offered by far outweighed this one thing that really doesn't take up that much time. I love that game, and never did I think anything else coming out this year could top it.

And yet, here it is. Not only is this GOTY 2016 for me,.

Hmm, after ST:A is out for a while, I smell a TRASHDOME between that and Star Wars Rebellion....

Msample wrote:

Josh Look wrote: I'm Josh Look and I approve this review of ST:A.

I was one of those rare people who ended up not letting the card combat in Rebellion bother me. The game doesn't work without it by house ruling them out (I tried several different options), and the amount of great stuff the game offered by far outweighed this one thing that really doesn't take up that much time. I love that game, and never did I think anything else coming out this year could top it.

And yet, here it is. Not only is this GOTY 2016 for me,.

Hmm, after ST:A is out for a while, I smell a TRASHDOME between that and Star Wars Rebellion....

They're not at all comparable, aside from the year they came out in.

Blood Bowl Team Manager and Sudden Death are back in stock at CSI.

Josh Look wrote: Hmm, after ST:A is out for a while, I smell a TRASHDOME between that and Star Wars Rebellion....

They're not at all comparable, aside from the year they came out in.[/quote]

Showdown between two games of some of the biggest IP licenses out there . Yeah one is 2P vs multi.