I read some interesting commentary on the state of Warmachine recently. I would link the thread here, but it was a private Facebook group. So instead I screenshotted the exchange in order to add my commentary.
I do not currently play Warmachine or Hordes. I do own figures, both painted and not, as well as the current rulebooks. I am a former player and a big fan of the lore.
Warmachine Mark I was released in 2003. It was a dark time in tabletop gaming. A shadow known as Warhammer 40,000 3rd edition had fallen across the land. I don’t care what any of you say, I never seen a tabletop game cause more arguments and almost fistfights than 40k 3rd edition. The main reason for this was the rules were so vague and so many lists were broken. That combined with a desire for competitive play and a hands off approach to the gaming community by Games Workshop led to a awful experience overall. This was the perfect environment for Warmachine to be born into.
I would argue that now things have changed.
GW is a completely different company and is happy to interact and listen to their community.
If you want competitive play, its there but if you prefer casual play then they may well be the king of it.
People cant seem to find a game of Warmachine either.
A lot of people suggest a solution of bringing back the demo teams, known as “Press Gangers”.
Apparently Privateer Press ended the program due to a lawsuit filed against Wizards of the Coast by one of their Magic judges.
This is something I completely agree with. PP is CONSTANTLY putting out new books/figures, just like Magic the gathering.
If you are a competitive player, you have to constantly chase a meta, just like a CCG
A new player might be overwhelmed by the staggering amount of UPCs available
Lots of people blame competitive players. When that is all there is and they are unfriendly to new players, things are not good.
I was really excited for the release of “Company of Iron” and the models that came along with it.
I could never find an opponent or interest any of the few Warmachine players in my area.
So what can be done?
- Too many UPCs makes it hard for a retailer to carry
- Casual play is needed
- The game needs to grow
- Toxic playerbase needs managing
So, I have a first print run of Prime at home. I played all through 1st and into 2nd edition of Warmachine/Hordes, going through several armies, but finally settling on Cygnar (though I had some Blindwater as well). I stopped playing because, and this is true, most of my games would end at the top of Turn 2. If a game went into turn 3+, it was generally pretty obvious who was going to win. I was in a pretty strong Meta, with people always wanting to play tourney-level games, since they regularly went to both Adepticon and Gen Con. That’s fine, while I’m a casual player, myself. I don’t see anything inherently wrong with wanting to play at your best all the time. So, even though I was a casual player, I would try as hard as I could. And yes, I won my fair share of games.
The thing is, as I said, games would end at the top (or sometimes bottom) of Turn 2. Many times, one player wouldn’t have even picked up their dice during the game. This meant that games were taking generally longer to set up than they were to actually play. And, frankly, I didn’t enjoy that. So, I dropped out of playing and instead focused on games like Guild Ball and Bushido. This was during 2nd edition Warmachine.
Fast-forward several years. I’ve now moved and so am not part of that same meta. I head up to the LGS and happen to see some friends there. They’re getting set up for a game of 3rd edition Warmachine. I’ve not even seen a game played for several years, and none of 3rd edition, so I settle in to see how the game has evolved. I still had my Cygnar army, so it would’ve been very easy for me to get back into the game.
The game ended at the top of Turn 2, with one player having never even picked up their dice.
So, in a way, props to Privateer Press for keeping the game still as cutthroat as it always had been. However, for someone like me, I realized that the game still just isn’t for me.
Casual play is needed
but hey, instead we are getting Warmachine” 40,000