In other strategy games I've played, a strategy that hinges on masses of a single type of unit generally don't work too well. I even experimented with with in Ages of Empires: Age of Kings (or something along those lines). I tried taking tons of cavalry units and a few archers. My enemy (the nefarious computer!) countered me with pikemen (who get several boosts against horseback units). Simply said, I was fighting a losing battle. Then, I brought up some siege units to lay waste to the pikemen. After much fighting, I eventually won.
There is one key difference between HeroScape and that game. Army crafting. In HeroScape, you usually have to pick your army somewhat blindly, as you don't know what your opponent is playing. In that game, you can turn the "Fog of War" off so that you see what your opponent is using and you can try to counter. HeroScape has a similar function, though many people (and the metagame tournaments) don't use it. It is drafting. Not only is it in the rulebook, it's also said to be the fairest way of making an army.
So then, here's a theory. Maybe drafting isn't common in metagame play because it's unwieldy and time consuming (assuming both players don't know all of the cards by heart). Plus, there are over 200 units to sift through as is, only adding to the problem. So, why not take a predetermined pool of units, say only characters from a Master Set are viable, and go with that? Even just taking a single Master Set and a single Wave and making a draft pool from that can lead to interesting armies.
The designers made HeroScape units to be fun, so I imagine they may have tested units by drafting. How else will units like Repulsors be of value? [/sarcasm]
Scape On.
There is one key difference between HeroScape and that game. Army crafting. In HeroScape, you usually have to pick your army somewhat blindly, as you don't know what your opponent is playing. In that game, you can turn the "Fog of War" off so that you see what your opponent is using and you can try to counter. HeroScape has a similar function, though many people (and the metagame tournaments) don't use it. It is drafting. Not only is it in the rulebook, it's also said to be the fairest way of making an army.
So then, here's a theory. Maybe drafting isn't common in metagame play because it's unwieldy and time consuming (assuming both players don't know all of the cards by heart). Plus, there are over 200 units to sift through as is, only adding to the problem. So, why not take a predetermined pool of units, say only characters from a Master Set are viable, and go with that? Even just taking a single Master Set and a single Wave and making a draft pool from that can lead to interesting armies.
The designers made HeroScape units to be fun, so I imagine they may have tested units by drafting. How else will units like Repulsors be of value? [/sarcasm]
Scape On.
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