To say that it's been a while would be a huge understatement. This site has sat empty for a number of years, mainly because I decided to get out of Warmachine, but also due to being busy with other things. What made me decide to dig this site back out, dust it off, and change some things around were the changes that have taken place in the past year or so.
Namely, these changes include me getting into wargaming once again with Warhammer: 40k and Warhammer: Age of Sigmar, a desire to do more analog gaming and come back to the writing desk, and a hefty announcement from Privateer Press about their new project: Warmachine MKVI.
I decided to hang up the hobby hauberk back in 2016 due to some circumstantial things that took place within the Warmachine community itself. Privateer Press was struggling to figure out their delivery system when it came to model stats and game rules, and their hiccups spilled over into the player community. I remember the company announcing that they'd be releasing faction bundles of cards that worked for every model in their respective faction, so all you needed to do was to pick up the whole deck and you'd be good to go. This was off of the tail-end of an announcement where Privateer Press decided that stats for all models would no longer be printed in any of their books. They didn't want to keep releasing "Forces Of..." books with updates of the game's ruleset, so they decided cards would be better.
Of course, after this announcement I went out to my FLGS and pre-ordered every card deck since the wife and I had several armies. I also figured I could use the cards for what I didn't have to study up on the models I may face on the battlefield. I remember going home, cracking all the cards, and before I could get a game in PP hit us with another announcement: cards were no longer necessary as everything would go to their War Room app. Well, that announcement stung a little bit, but I figured having everything digitally wouldn't be that bad, until I found out the catch: regardless if you had the physical copies of the cards or not you HAD to buy the decks digitally in the app in order to access them or build armies. This came right after I'd dropped a nice chunk of change on physical cards for all the factions. Needless to say I was a bit steamed.
At that moment I put everything down. My wife and I had a big discussion and that's where I dropped Warmachine - and wargaming - altogether. I switched back to video gaming and board games to get my itch and left a game I so desperately loved in the dust.
Fast forward several years and we end up to the present, where I've not heard anything from Privateer Press in some time, nor have I been to Gen Con since the plague known as Covid hit the world at large. Suddenly I see an announcement pop up in my feed from the once-thought-dead PP, mentioning that they've been toiling away on something they finally could tell the world about: Warmachine MKVI. At first I didn't want to lend an ear, as I felt besmirched by the company that I once admired. However, I thought it would be worth it to see where they were headed in the state of the community as it were.
Warmachine MKVI: Back in the Fold
I read the new post from front to back several times and I will admit that it made me feel something I hadn't in some time: excitement. It seemed like Privateer Press took the necessary time to look into what was not working for their flagship game and were coming up with ways to fix it. During this downtime they released a couple of new games, and I believe they served as testing grounds for this new edition of the steam-powered combat game.
I won't lay out a list of all the changes here, but I'll mention the few that I think are major. You can see the full list of changes in their original post.
First up, and perhaps the biggest change coming to MKVI is how the armies - and specifically Warjacks - will be released. The company realized they had major issues with sku bloat, meaning that shops had to dedicate more and more wall space to encompass the vast line of models the company was making available in the game. This sku bloat not only affected game shops, but it also hit players on the tabletop when it comes to fielding units and such, with managing attachments, special characters, and more. Privateer Press is embracing the future that is 3D printing and using the technology to produce all of their new models. They are reducing unit numbers and allowing Warjacks to be fully customizable. This means that they will have to ship out less numbers of models, but players will have more customization options than ever before. Basically each Warjack will ship with its chassis, and several parts within its box. These parts can be swapped out to change the 'jack's loadout, allowing players to get more use out of the models they'll already have. The parts of these 'jacks allow for magnetization, and the company will be shipping magnets in all army boxes.
Another change to the distribution is the dividing of factions. Armies will now ship in Core starter boxes with follow-up expansions coming down the line. You purchase the Core Army Starter up front, and later you get to mix it up depending on what division you choose to go with. Think of each faction as a large pie that is divided up into slices, where each slice is a different branch of that faction that fights with specific tactics/ideals. I personally love this idea. I am thrilled to think I won't need to buy seven of the same Warjack models just to have one with a hand axe and another with a cannon. I love the idea of being able to swap up loadouts depending on the caster I am using or just how I'm feeling that day.
Along with these changes the company put a lot of focus on what I consider as "trimming the fat" of the game at large. Some stats have been removed completely while others have been overhauled for a smoother concept of play. Things like model facing and free strikes have been eliminated in favor of speeding up gameplay. Templates are no longer used for AoE and special attacks, and the rules for these types of attacks have been streamlined as to not bog down the gameplay. You can read the specific changes for yourself, but overall I like the proposed changes for these elements. It speeds up gameplay and keeps the pressure on the combat at-hand.
A major addition Privateer Press is making is the integration of Command Cards to the game. As part of army creation, each player selects a hand of five Command Cards. These cards are one-use only, and each player can play up to two per turn. Each Command Card details when it can be played, and each model/unit can have up to one Command Card played on it each turn. The addition of this mechanic helps to dissuade players from feeling like they're stuck in a bad match-up or experiencing a "Gotcha" moment in their matches. This could be very interesting, and I see it being a mechanic that can work in the long run.
Another huge change is the overhaul of what was known as War Room. The companion app has been replaced by a simple WARMACHINE app that now houses all of the game's rules and model stat cards. The app is still in beta, but at the moment it functions LOADS better than its predecessor. Reviews for the app are high, and it's deserved. The ruleset is clear, easy to access, and seems complete. So far the stat cards appear streamlined and there are even updated cards for older models that can be tested and played right now.
There were other changes, such as reworking the spells that Warcasters have, integrating HORDES into Warmachine as a whole, bringing back elevation rules, and even including a new game mode called Execution, wherein your Warcaster can only be killed by another Warcaster and not any other enemy models.
All-in-all I personally believe that, if Privateer Press sticks to their plans and delivers with these changes, the new changes could help revive what some believe to be a "dead game." I am once again excited to show the awesome might of Khador on the battlefield and I look forward to seeing more about MKVI's release. The new armies, of which there are two (with Khador pulling up the rear as a third on the way), should be shipping out soon. I plan to keep my eye out on updates for MKVI and eventually get back on the field to give it a shot.
New Site and Hobby Changes
If you're reading this then you can tell some changes have already taken place here on the blog. First up is a name change. I decided to change the blog title because while I was taking a break from things I decided to read up on some other wargames to see if I'd like their content. After doing a bunch of research I decided to jump in head-first to some that have been around for a bit, though they've received updates. I looked into Warhammer: 40k, Age of Sigmar, and even the Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game. I am starting slow with these games, as getting back to the swing of things needs to be a calm endeavor. Of course I will also be playing Forbidden Psalm and even some Pulp Alley, so those games may show up on here from time to time.
Because I want this blog to encompass all things wargaming I changed its name to ARCANE COMMAND. It seems like a better title to include all the stuff I'm getting into. It also gave me a chance to design a new logo and see where things could go.
Currently I will be focusing on painting tons of terrain that I've had collecting dust for some time and then I'll move on to game specific models that I've accumulated over the holidays. So far I have Sisters of Battle, Space Wolves, and Leagues of Votann for 40k, and I grabbed the Battle for Osgiliath starter for the Middle Earth Startegy Battle Game. I am planning on picking up a huge set of Nighthaunt models for Age of Sigmar as well, so I will eventually be working on them. Age of Sigmar seems to be the popping wargame right now so I am looking forward to diving into it.
I plan to post updates, WIPs, and much more to revive this blog in due time. Who knows, maybe my wife will even start playing again? I can always get crushed under the foot of Deathjack.
Until next time, roll those saves!
