I’ve never been a fast player. I like to contemplate my turn and am careful with my order of activation. Timed turns in Warmachine were going to be a killer for me. In the last tournament I was less than speedy with the Privateers – the large numbers of solos, units and ‘jacks made for a slow turn. There’s a tournament coming up in November and I want to up my turn speed. To speed things up I’ve gone back to Khador, my favourite and best known faction.
I also decided to streamline my list a little. To that end I went for a list with fewer units and models for tonight’s game –
- Kommander Strakhov
- Beast-09
- Devastator
- Great Bears of Gallowswood
- Man-o-war Shocktroopers (Leader and 2 Grunts)
- Widowmakers (Leader and 3 Grunts)
- Man-o-war Drakhun (without dismount)
- Manhunter
We used the standard 10 minutes turn with a single 5 minutes extension. I had two things going against me, though – I’ve never played either Strakhov or Beast-09 before. We played the overrun scenario which is very difficult to win or lose, so the game was pretty much guaranteed to go down to an assassination.
I played the game without using my 5 minute extension and if anything my list was a little time conservative. However, Joe had a hard time with his Legion force. He had similar numbers of units/solos to me, but he didn’t like being forced to play faster. I can’t blame him, either. It was hard to have a chat and a laugh knowing you might be wasting the other player’s time. I can see the benefit of timed turns in a tournament setting, but when playing casually it does suck some of the fun from the game. However, timed turns are a part of the tournament scene and you have to practice somewhere.
I’m sorry to say I’ll be looking for a timed game again next week!
Owen
We got a 25 point Steamroller coming up on Oct 30th, and Dan has NEVER done a tournament. So me and him are going to practice with SR 2010 rules.
I have done 1 single tourny back in Mk1. Lets see how we do this go-round 😛
SR2010 rules are excellent and play very well. Be careful to read the scenario descriptions, specifically the winning conditions, well. I enjoy tournaments – they are a great learning experience and there is nothing like the satisfaction of winning a closely fought competitive game.
Enjoy the Halloween tournie!
Owen
Timed turns takes some getting used to. I remember when I started with it was quite the change from the long turns that I was used to. There are a few things you can do to make a smooth transition though.
The first of which is know your army backwards and forwards. Knowing what everything does will make knowing where to apply
The second of which is to plan during your opponent’s turn. By the time your turn rolls around you should already have a tentative plan in mind.
The third of which is to go with the flow. There’s not much sense in having a well thought out plan that goes to crap because you missed a critical or rolled double ones. If your caster has nothing to do but hang out and heal beasts, heal beasts! Just make sure they are safe for next round.
Sorry, didn’t quite finish that last thought…
Timed turns takes some getting used to. I remember when I started with it was quite the change from the long turns that I was used to. There are a few things you can do to make a smooth transition though.
The first of which is know your army backwards and forwards. Knowing what everything does will make knowing where to apply your counters. Hit those Nyss Hunters with a Mule shell. Save beast-09 for smacking that stormclad around.
The second of which is to plan during your opponent’s turn. By the time your turn rolls around you should already have a tentative plan in mind.
The third of which is to go with the flow. There’s not much sense in having a well thought out plan that goes to crap because you missed a critical or rolled double ones. If your caster has nothing to do but hang out and heal beasts, heal beasts! Just make sure they are safe for next round.
All good advice. I think planning my turn during my opponent’s turn is the most important part for me. I’ve found myself doing that recently. Particularly when it comes to focus allocation and order of activation between my ‘caster and his ‘jacks (and any units that may interfere with their plan!).
I think Hordes is slightly (only slightly mind you) easier in that regard. There is little less to consider. If you’re not running hot, just reave that fury and off you go.
Owen