Multiple Common squads - the law of diminishing returns

[RichardD]

What is the *right* multiple of duplicate common squads to field?

One is obviously the wrong answer - in a 3-figure squad, the first casualty means that you're at 2/3rds effectiveness for each activation by an order marker for the rest of the game; a second casualty, and you're down to 1/3rds effectiveness and will probably not order the unit except out of desperation.

Two units allows you to fight at full effectiveness until *over* half of your figures have been killed - handy, that.

Three units, and you get a full squad's worth of movement and fire until over two-thirds are dead.

Four units, and the enemy has to kill three-quarters. But it's already hard for the opponent to kill enough to prevent you from getting a full activation - it's 7+ dead if you were using 3 squads of three figures each. And those points could almost always be better used on a symbiotic hero, or a different type of unit altogether.

I'm thinging that the "sweet spot" is somewhere between two squads and three - it's hard to justify taking less than two of a common squad; and while there may be times when a third squad is an effective use of the points, it will depend on the unit itself, the other units in your army, and the terrain.

Of course, I'm talking about armies in the 300-600 point range; if your playing with bigger armies than that, you might well need 4 or 5 of some of the cheaper squad types just to make the numbers up!

[Retlaw]

We usually draft 2 of the commons, but there are exceptions where 3 are taken -- the Marro Drones come to mind.

[geddy lifeson]

I usually play 2 commons since that is mostly what I have. There are a few that three are nice to have and possibly more such as ocs, romans, drones, and vipers. It all comes down to what are you looking to do with your army and how much do you want to invest. As stated, when you lose one or two, things get limited but then again if you take too many then you are leaving yourself limited in the bredth of your army.

[Oprime]

2 generally for most
3 for drones and venocs
I dont own more than 3 of any cause 2-3 just seems to work well.

[K/H_Addict]

i can justify taking 1 of a common squad: Thats all ya got!

problem solved.

the only commons i have multiples of are the Minions (3 squads) and the Obsidian Guards (2 squads). I feel that most of the squads can be done without when they die, but when you get into the orcs and romans, they suck unless you have more than 1 squad of them.

[Pilgrim]

I've drafted Drake + 4 squads of mass line. It's a pretty lethal combination. That's just 390pts.

Whether or not you go past 2-3 squads depends a lot on what your opponent drafts. Obviously if you're facing down braxas, you don't want to draft hordes of knights. But barring Braxas or Chompy, in the example above the 4 squads of minute men seem quite effective.

[RobWeaver]

I usually draft 2 squads of commons to play on a single master set sized board. However, I'll make an exception for 3 if they're 4th Mass anyday! I have fielded entire armies of grut archers, to surprisingly devastating effect. Being able to move and fire a full squad's worth of figures through virtually the whole game while you wear down your opponent is their advantage.

[Pilgrim]

The more I think about it, I really wonder if there is a law of diminishing returns when it comes to commons . . . . unless of course you have an opponent who's figure can eat commons for lunch (in some cases literally) as already mentioned.

[markwars]

Try sending Grimnak towards five units of 4th Mass and see what happens to him. I saw first hand thanks to lilwis' army at the last DFW game weekend. Chompy ate two or three of the bluecoats before going down. It wasn't pretty at all.

[CornPuff]

There is another advantage of having mucho mucho common squad figures. Assuming they were spread all over the board, you can choose which ones to activate. If you only have one squad, where they can move to and who they can shoot is pretty much decided. If you have 20 blade gruts spread around the field, you'll likely have a few that can move in to engage the figure you want to hurt most.

There is a lot to be said about deciding who to move when you reveal your order marker, as opposed to when you place it.

[reapersaurus]

The only drawback to multiple common figurees is the obvious one:
You don;t have much variety in your army, and will be a one-trick army, easier countered if someone knows what you play.

Further (and I know this isn;t saying much), you will be a bigger target for units like Dund that make you pay for placing all your Order MArkers on one card.

Of course, Dund is badly costed, so that's not a very big problem.
Which is why I love to see custom units fill the role that Dund doesn't with abiltiies that harm multiple-common-squad players.

[morgonis]

generally i go with 2 commons, on rare occasions i field 3,,,a trick i pulled with alister and 3 sets of macdirks comes to mind...sent out one set of macdirls to take some swings at my oponent while i had alister parked in the back running back and forth over extending and generally building wound markers ar out of hamrs way...then i charged with the remaining 2 sets of macdirks losing 3 units to the charge, but when a set of commons shows up swinging 7 attack dice, people start dropping fast :)

[RobWeaver]

The only drawback to multiple common figurees is the obvious one:
You don;t have much variety in your army, and will be a one-trick army, easier countered if someone knows what you play.

Further (and I know this isn;t saying much), you will be a bigger target for units like Dund that make you pay for placing all your Order MArkers on one card.

Of course, Dund is badly costed, so that's not a very big problem.
Which is why I love to see custom units fill the role that Dund doesn't with abiltiies that harm multiple-common-squad players.
True, all true. Here's where you have to do your recon: you have to know what the terrain is going to look like, and, if possible, what your opponent is going to field. Changing up your own style every now and again is a good thing too. If your opponent knows you always build the same army, he's going to counter it.

[toddrew]

There is another advantage of having mucho mucho common squad figures. Assuming they were spread all over the board, you can choose which ones to activate. If you only have one squad, where they can move to and who they can shoot is pretty much decided. If you have 20 blade gruts spread around the field, you'll likely have a few that can move in to engage the figure you want to hurt most.

There is a lot to be said about deciding who to move when you reveal your order marker, as opposed to when you place it.

I don't see this brought up very often in threads (maybe I'm not reading the right ones :) ), but I think that is a very powerful feature of the common squads. Like when people joke about the 16 Dumtef armies and such - I've not played armies having more than 3 of any squad/figure, but I can see how being able to turn one's attention to most anywhere on the board with just one order marker can be very powerful - Dund being the only official foil at the moment.

[jcb231]

I think for most squads it levels out at around 4. I think 3 is the minimum that I'd want to own of any common squad and I'd only do that if they didn't seem to gain any specific advantages from large numbers, or if they were really really point costly. 4 is my base number...I go up or down from there. I get 5 if they're particularly impressive or if I have some scheme in mind that requires lots of figs.

Exceptions, for me, are the swarmers: Venoc Vipers, Arrow Gruts, Blade Gruts, and Marro Drones. I don't think you can go wrong with fielding TONS of each of those. Swarmers are like that...one of their big benefits is their ability to overwhelm through sheer numbers. I have 5, 6, 6, and 4 respectively, but I want 3 more Venocs and 2 more Drones at least.

Another exception for me are the common heroes. I think Dumutef Guard is great in large numbers (I have 6) and I think one Swog per Arrow Grut squad is a great combo (I have 3 now, and want 6 to match my Gruts).

[Bixby]

We have six sets of all figures so we have tried various combinations that involve multiple commons. They are VERY effective en masse with the caveat that reaper mentioned. You may have an achilles heal and if anyone doe have Dund in play, it could be devasting.

I have personally played a full set of 4th Mass, Full vipers, FUll Armoc, Full Marrden, and Full drone. The only one I did not care for that much was the drone army. The other full sets were highly effective. By full sets I mean how ever many you can buy for 500 pts up to 6 sets max.

(No diminishing return)

It is worth noting that our maps are VERY large so the choice of which figs to move on multiple sets is a bigger advantage for our scenarios.

[StarSlayer]

I have had 3 commons in play at one time.

After I get finsihed at the game con at the end of the month, I may have to set up a full map again, and see what it looks like with a full legal army set up.

[RobWeaver]

When you field lots of commons, say that horde of arrow gruts, you end up with a lot of figures standing around on the starting area waiting. Some for the whole game!

[Bixby]

That's true Rob, but the option of using and combination of figs when you have 18-24 of them on the board is a big advantage. I quite often have figs that do not come into play, (even when I play a game that is not built on common squads).

[RobWeaver]

I've begun to notice that I tend to draft 2 or 3 common squads to make up the bulk of my army, then augment them with heroes who will bond or enhance them. Often during gameplay, the hero stalks up and down behind the line, adding dice where needed, stepping in to resolve tough combats - leadership kind of stuff. But the lion's share of the fighting gets done by those commons. Played with 2 squads of Aubrian Archers this afternoon. Common shooters who frenzy!! One squad formed each of my flanks, and I sent them out with the first order marker. They got in very respectable firing positions, then frenzied. For 3 solid turns. Ended up on top of very significant terrain and the opponent took heavy casualties just getting off the starting area. They frenzied again a couple turns later, but it wasn't nearly as spectacular. Most of them didn't survive the battle; I think I lost 4 of the 6, but they were critical in that opening turn.

[Neveryll]

Hiyas all,

While I really love the Heroscape game (I love minatures and strategy games but suck at painting. Bad nerves so hands shake... :( ), I am also above and foremost a father and have to support my family. I primarily am buying the packs now so in a couple years I can sit down with both my kids (4 and 7) and have a cool game to while away the evenings with.

Thinking ahead on such things and realizing that most good things don't go on forever I expect at the point where they really want to play it most of the waves we are seeing (and possibly the game itself) won't be around. Which packs do you think would be a good choice to eventually pick up two of? I doubt I'll ever have more than one or two of any given packs simply because the budget isn't there. (Who knows though I might be one of those lucky winners of the sweepstakes though heheheh)

Currently my double up list is

Grut Orcs
Roman Legion
Minions and Drones
Snipers and Vipers (Mainly for the Vipers)
Devours and Minutemen

I figure I'll eventually get two of the Main set, Volcarren Wasteland, Road to the Forgotten Forest, and Thaelenk Tundra but thats a long temr pick up. So far I've gotten on of the Forest, Wastelands, Master set and one of each pack of most of the first couple of waves. I also picked up an Orim's set as well.

Anyone else have any others you think that would be useful from a non tournament styled collector?

[feekonea]

I think those ones right up there are great and those are the main ones that you want to get doubles of.

[K/H_Addict]

any common is good to double up on, but ones like the orcs, vipers and romans are probably best since they do well in swarms.

[reapersaurus]

You got the most important ones. :thumbsup:


Maybe add in the Marrden Hounds.... and I'd actually point out that unless you get 3 or more packs of the Drones, you may want to just forego the epense of that unit, unless you REALLY like them. I don;t think they are remotely worth the $$$ investment (over $40 to be useful, since if you only have 9 & you lose even 1, they are not as strong as they started).

Vipers are similarly too pricey to make armies of, IMO.

[Neveryll]

Only reason I had included the drones was because Marro seem very popular in general and because of the way this units abilities work it wouldn't be worth playing much unless we got at least 2. 3 defense and 3 attack are nice but noone would want to play it much if you could choose from something else with more bells and whistles hehe.

[Revdyer]

reaper's right that the Vipers aren't worth the money in terms of game punch, but they are so danged cool to play with that I bought 'em in multiples anyway.

[Codeman]

If you have your Orcs you have everything:)

[fejkl]

I'd agree and say to get more Marrdens. While I've never tested these, I've heard that a) multiple Gorrila squads can be very hard to take down if played well, and b) imagine 12 or more MacDirks running around while Alastair hides in the starting zone with 5 wounds on him.

Opponents army -->:eat:<--Your McDirks

[gorillanator]

You got all the ones you really need although I wouldn't go for doubles of the minions/drones mainly because 150 points of drones isn't worth the special and the minions are good as a lone squad.

[Hex_Enduction_Hour]

Only reason I had included the drones was because Marro seem very popular in general and because of the way this units abilities work it wouldn't be worth playing much unless we got at least 2. 3 defense and 3 attack are nice but noone would want to play it much if you could choose from something else with more bells and whistles hehe.

I have 5 sets of Drones and field no less than 4 squads at a time. They have an amazing ability to be a big pain in the butt when fighting against them. They don't ever go away!!!

And definitely get more hounds - at least 5 squads. heh heh.

[jcb231]

Don't get any drones unless you want to commit to buying three sets...their power is useless otherwise unless you start using proxies or house rules.

But I agree with the folks that say any common is worth getting two sets of. If I was forced to only choose certain ones, I'd go with Orcs, Romans, Vipers/Snipers, and Minutemen/Wolves. Plus the terrain packs.

To save some cash, try to buy what you can at Wal-Mart. They offer by far the best prices on small expansions. $10 each is a big deal when you're buying a lot of stuff. Depending on your location you should be able to find all of Wave 2 and 3 there, and possibly Wave 1.

[Jason]

-2 Packs of Kilts/Commandos is Highly recommended. You need atleast 2 squads of McDirks and getting 2 squads of Microcorp is nice too.

-Unless you get 2 or so packs of Knights and Swog riders your arrow gruts are worthless"

[Neveryll]

Point taken on all those mentioned. I'll look about eventually on getting some of the other packs. Target also sells for 9.99 on all the expansion packs too so will keep my eyes peeled on such. Thanks much all to those who replied.

[Hex_Enduction_Hour]

Target also sells for 9.99 on all the expansion packs too so will keep my eyes peeled on such. Thanks much all to those who replied.

Well some Targets sell the small figure expansion packs for $9.99. I've noticed this price change recently in only 1 of the 3 Targets I frequent for HS stuff. It's a nice price compatability to WalMart's $9.92 and I prefer to go to Target over WalMart any day.

[Jormi_Boced]

Target also sells for 9.99 on all the expansion packs too so will keep my eyes peeled on such. Thanks much all to those who replied.

Well some Targets sell the small figure expansion packs for $9.99. I've noticed this price change recently in only 1 of the 3 Targets I frequent for HS stuff. It's a nice price compatability to WalMart's $9.92 and I prefer to go to Target over WalMart any day.

My Target is 10.99, however not too long ago it was 12.99.

[Grishnakh]

If you have your Orcs you have everything:)

Absolutely on the orcs. I currently own four packs and will probably buy more. Besides, once the castle set comes out how else are you going to recreate the battle of Helms Deep if you do not have enough orcs?

[toddrew]

I would chime in with: If you are determined to limit the squads to 2, then buying multiples of the squads that do best as hordes (orcs, vipers, drones, etc.) won't be the best investment. As a father of 3 with a tight budget, I can relate :) , but the 'cannon fodder' squads really need at least 3+ squads (depending on the size of armies being fielded) to perform at their best. That's the main advantage of common squads - being able to take losses and still operate at 'full strength.'

I think that the microcorps agents, 4th Mass, Sentinels, Minions, Knights of Weston (most 4 member melee commons, for that matter) work well at 2 squads an army.

[Rodriquez]

extra sets: Roman, Orcs, sacred band,

just about any common set, it's up to ye which ye like best!!

Drones..Drones Drones...I have one more set to go on them...than 10 squads!! yeah!!


cheers
Rod

[Codeman]

If you have your Orcs you have everything:)

Absolutely on the orcs. I currently own four packs and will probably buy more. Besides, once the castle set comes out how else are you going to recreate the battle of Helms Deep if you do not have enough orcs?

Ditto...I've gone a little overboard, but I'm ready if I need to assembly a large point army! As of last count I have 6 sets of Grunt Orcs, and of course I have a few swog riders to offer support.

[Snotwalker 8000]

I am wanting to put together more themed/specialized armies, and might be needing to purchase more commons.... but then again, maybe not.

Right now I have 2 sets of every common, except for the monks and sents, and also 3 sets of orcs and 4 sets of minions/drones...

What other commons are GREAT to have 3 of? And do I even need to have 3 of them? Would they get used enough to warrant having 3?

In short, is 2 of every common (except Drones, of course) all that's needed?

Considering that I mostly play army sizes of around 600pts, give or take, is it really beneficial to have 3 sets of any common? If so, which ones?

Thanks!

[Vydar]

The only ones I'd consider getting 3 sets of are the Venoc Vipers, Grut Orcs, Roman Legionnaires, and (of course) the Drones. Some other ones people might suggest are the Massachusetts Line and the Anubian Wolves. Personally, I'm of the opinion that less is actually more for game strategy in drafting. I own 3 sets of Gruts just because I wanted an orc horde and 3 sets of Drones for their ability. Other than that, I have no more than 2 of anything.

[gorillanator]

If you have your Orcs you have everything:)

Absolutely on the orcs. I currently own four packs and will probably buy more. Besides, once the castle set comes out how else are you going to recreate the battle of Helms Deep if you do not have enough orcs?'

I would say to recreate the battle of Helm's Deep you will need an overstock of Roman archers too. The Romans are the better overall unit of course

:wink:

[gorillanator]

You should get like 5+ sets of 4th Mass.

This is what happens every time I play with 3+ sets of 4th Mass.!

(4th Mass.) > (not 4th Mass.)
:johnwoo2: :johnwoo2:
:johnwoo2: :johnwoo2: :pray: :verymad: :help:

[Rodriquez]

You should get like 5+ sets of 4th Mass.

This is what happens every time I play with 3+ sets of 4th Mass.!

(4th Mass.) > (not 4th Mass.)
:johnwoo2: :johnwoo2:
:johnwoo2: :johnwoo2: :pray: :verymad: :help:

4th mass vs venoc army...
it was a massacre...poor 4th....they died over and over and over...

[gorillanator]

You should get like 5+ sets of 4th Mass.

This is what happens every time I play with 3+ sets of 4th Mass.!

(4th Mass.) > (not 4th Mass.)
:johnwoo2: :johnwoo2:
:johnwoo2: :johnwoo2: :pray: :verymad: :help:

4th mass vs venoc army...
it was a massacre...poor 4th....they died over and over and over...

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

I don't believe it...

[Snotwalker 8000]

If you have your Orcs you have everything:)

Absolutely on the orcs. I currently own four packs and will probably buy more. Besides, once the castle set comes out how else are you going to recreate the battle of Helms Deep if you do not have enough orcs?'

I would say to recreate the battle of Helm's Deep you will need an overstock of Roman archers too. The Romans are the better overall unit of course

:wink:

Actually, you'd need the Aubrien Archers, not the Roman archers. The elves in Helms Deep were the ranged killers against the orcs.

[jbbnbsmith]

If you usually 600 point armies, then it probably isn't too useful to get more than two of a squad, especially if your finances are best utilized on other things like castles, ice & snow, or even food.

I personally like to have four of every common, and there are a few I have five of (orcs, romans, knights, swogs). But that's just a personal preference I have. I liked themed armies, and I really love to put the orcs and their champions and beasts up against the romans and the greek, and the knights against the dragons, etc.

And everyone has their personal favorite squads that seem to work well for them, or they just like the way they look.

Playing multiple common squads gives you greater flexibility in deciding what figures will move/attack when the turn marker is placed on a common card. Then there are other benefits such as drones swarming, roman archers combined attack, etc. But playing five sets of a common squad probably won't give anyone a strategic advantage, though it can be fun.

So if funds are tight, stick with your two sets of commons and save the money for new expansions. If you happen to strike it rich, extra sets of commons can be fun to field.

[jcb231]

Both would be best....Roman Archers for the Humans and Aubrien Archers for the Elves.

[gorillanator]

If you have your Orcs you have everything:)

Absolutely on the orcs. I currently own four packs and will probably buy more. Besides, once the castle set comes out how else are you going to recreate the battle of Helms Deep if you do not have enough orcs?'

I would say to recreate the battle of Helm's Deep you will need an overstock of Roman archers too. The Romans are the better overall unit of course

:wink:

Actually, you'd need the Aubrien Archers, not the Roman archers. The elves in Helms Deep were the ranged killers against the orcs.

Oops you are right I need to go watch it again but I recall there being both humans and elves.

[toddrew]

Actually, you'd need the Aubrien Archers, not the Roman archers. The elves in Helms Deep were the ranged killers against the orcs.

Oops you are right I need to go watch it again but I recall there being both humans and elves.

Soldiers of Gondor and Elven Archers, so yeah, both would be good for the re-enactment :)

[gorillanator]

Actually, you'd need the Aubrien Archers, not the Roman archers. The elves in Helms Deep were the ranged killers against the orcs.

Oops you are right I need to go watch it again but I recall there being both humans and elves.

Soldiers of Gondor and Elven Archers, so yeah, both would be good for the re-enactment :)

You're right and it seems HS was just kind of made for re-enactments.

[Revdyer]

Human archers from the Riders of Rohan, though, not from Gondor, at Helm's Deep.

(Tolkein addict from the 60s)

[toddrew]

Human archers from the Riders of Rohan, though, not from Gondor, at Helm's Deep.

(Tolkein addict from the 60s)

:oops: battle dyslexia - I had lumped 'Helm's Deep' and the last stand at Gondor into one grand conflict.

[Revdyer]

Easy mistake to me, toddrew. And I guess someone could best us both by adding the Rangers from the North to the human archers on the walls of the Deep.

[MBSowards]

I like how jbbnbsmith sat food in a backseat compared to heroscape.

That's a true scaper.

[Su-Bak-Na]

You should get like 5+ sets of 4th Mass.

This is what happens every time I play with 3+ sets of 4th Mass.!

(4th Mass.) > (not 4th Mass.)
:johnwoo2: :johnwoo2:
:johnwoo2: :johnwoo2: :pray: :verymad: :help:

4th mass vs venoc army...
it was a massacre...poor 4th....they died over and over and over...

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!


I don't believe it...

I did this in a recent game the other player had 7 4th Mass left, i brang in a single squad of Venocs and it shrunk to two.

[feekonea]

im planning on getting 7 squads of the venocs lol.

[gorillanator]

You should get like 5+ sets of 4th Mass.

This is what happens every time I play with 3+ sets of 4th Mass.!

(4th Mass.) > (not 4th Mass.)
:johnwoo2: :johnwoo2:
:johnwoo2: :johnwoo2: :pray: :verymad: :help:

4th mass vs venoc army...
it was a massacre...poor 4th....they died over and over and over...

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!


I don't believe it...

I did this in a recent game the other player had 7 4th Mass left, i brang in a single squad of Venocs and it shrunk to two.

That makes no sense at all that the Venocs can do that to 7 4th Mass., but neither does the 4th Mass. being priced at 70.

[gorillanator]

All this Lord of the Rings conversation makes me want to dedicate a day to watching the movies again. :lol:

[player_of_volleyball]

All this Lord of the Rings conversation makes me want to dedicate a day to watching the movies again. :lol:

yea cause it will take you a WHOLE day to watch all THREE movies. Man that would be alot of Orcs :drool:

[Fallen Templar]

I'd say Knights but hey their a personal favorite for me

[Eclipse]

So, a couple months ago I dipped my toe into Heroscape and have since plunged about as far as my lungs can take me. I've picked up every expansion I can find (missing a couple Wave 3 packs and the online only stuff :( ) and have just started purchasing multiples of common units.

My question is, realistically, how many squads are worth deploying of a single type? Obviously this will vary based on the squad itself, but I was wondering how realistic it is to deploy 3 squads of SoulBorg Snipers for 300 points. I'd be really helpful for me, and I'm sure others, to discuss how many squads of a single type are really worth having before they start to take away from diversity. Any opinions?

[aielman]

I would personally max out at 3 if I were you, and only of the cheaper units and bonding units (knights, romans, orcs, vipers etc)

Why? Because Mass commons is way to freaking dominating. Take a look at the 4th Mass massacre thread and see that its way to easy to build overly dominating armies if you have to many commons available to pick from.

[reapersaurus]

This discussion was just had recently.

I think here : http://www.heroscapers.com/community/showthread.php?t=

I think there was another one though, exactly on this topic. Musta been in a different forum.

(edit from bunjee - ok, I merged two so far, because they didn't have overlapping dates, I'm checking the others)

[reapersaurus]

Found it: Common squads - the law of diminishing returns. (http://www.heroscapers.com/community/showthread.php?t=1015)

Also, this thread http://www.heroscapers.com/community/showthread.php?t= talked about how many of each common squad do you NEED multiples of.

Actually, IMO all 4 of these threads could be merged together. :twisted:

(edit from bunjee - I agreed and there was very little or no overlap for most of the discussion. They are all merged now.)

[K/H_Addict]

i have 3 sets of minions, and would like some more, just so i can do bigger Minion based armies. It's all in your taste and what size army you want to do.

[Rodriquez]

i have 3 sets of minions, and would like some more, just so i can do bigger Minion based armies. It's all in your taste and what size army you want to do.

only 3 sets?

9 sets here...soon to be 10...


cheers

Rod

[Su-Bak-Na]

I stopped at two ech you really don't need anymore than that.

[Hex_Enduction_Hour]

I would personally max out at 3 if I were you, and only of the cheaper units and bonding units (knights, romans, orcs, vipers etc)



2 squads of Marrdens are a nightmare in themselves. I couldn't imagine having to deal with 3 or more squads.

I've been playing the Forsaken Water scenario. Let' remember those two-space figures can tear through 1-space wide bodies of water in the middle of that board without stopping. Now imagine the dogs coming after your minutemen. It's not pretty.

dang Wulsinu.



Actually, IMO all 4 of these threads could be merged together. :twisted:

Hmmmmm

[markwars]

These are just my opinions....but here's a list of common squads (and common heroes) and my recommendations for how many squads you'll want:

Blade Gruts - 10
Arrow Gruts - 10
Roman Legionnaires - 4
Roman Archers - 4
Omnicron Snipers - 3
Venoc Vipers - 3
Anubian Wolves - 3
4th Mass - 7
Knights - 4
Swog Rider - 8
Minions - 3
Marro Drones - 8
Sentinals - 3
Monks - 5
Gorillinators - 3
Marden Hounds - 5
Microcorps Agents - 4
MacDirk Warriors - 4
Armoc Vipers - 3
Sacred Band - 4
Aubrien Archers - 6
Gladiatrons - 4
Obsidian Guards - 3
Dzu Teh - 3
Dumutef Guard - 4

[aielman]

yaaaah....


I dont think my wife would let me buy that many like... ever

[markwars]

Mine won't either. :P

I have 4 of each squad except for the Orcs. I bought 10 packs of them.

[netherspirit]

Mine won't either. :P

I have 4 of each squad except for the Orcs. I bought 10 packs of them.

I have 4 of each as well. Except Elves and Soulborgs (they only had 3 and I haven't seen them since). And 5 Orcs, 5 Vipers, and 6 Romans.

[bonafide]

Geez, I thought I was bad! :shock:

I guess I need more disposable income!

[CupidsArt]

Hey I have 7 Knights, 8 Drones and 3 of everything else except wolves (I don't have any).

[aielman]

lol yah I have 3 of the all of the first wave, 1 of the last wave and 2 of everything else

[markwars]

The extras I want most right now are:

Swog Riders
4th Mass
Monks
Marden Hounds
Aubriens

[Nwojedi]

i just get 3 of all commons. it's all you need really.

[Eclipse]

i just get 3 of all commons. it's all you need really.

This is actually what I was thinking. 3 of all commons for now.

With some units that almost seems like too many. For instance, I doubt I'll ever field 3 sets of Snipers, just because they're so expensive. Sadly, I HAVE 3 sets of Snipers, because it's so easy to field waves of Vipers :x

[Jason]

In a decently big game I'd love to take Tae + 3 x Snipers + Krav + some melee

[GaryLASQ]

i just get 3 of all commons. it's all you need really.
that's what i thought originally - until i tried 5 squads of vipers :twisted:. i'm up to 5 of every common now (except obsidians and dzu-teh, 4 on those).

5 seems about right for squads at about 50 points or less, imo. it's probably overkill for higher priced squads.

[markwars]

And then there are the times that you want to field 10 Blade Grut units in a 400 point army.

[gorillanator]

These are just my opinions....but here's a list of common squads (and common heroes) and my recommendations for how many squads you'll want:

Blade Gruts - 10
Arrow Gruts - 10
Roman Legionnaires - 4
Roman Archers - 4
Omnicron Snipers - 3
Venoc Vipers - 3
Anubian Wolves - 3
4th Mass - 7
Knights - 4
Swog Rider - 8
Minions - 3
Marro Drones - 8
Sentinals - 3
Monks - 5
Gorillinators - 3
Marden Hounds - 5
Microcorps Agents - 4
MacDirk Warriors - 4
Armoc Vipers - 3
Sacred Band - 4
Aubrien Archers - 6
Gladiatrons - 4
Obsidian Guards - 3
Dzu Teh - 3
Dumutef Guard - 4

...Only 7 4th Mass. :shock:

[Codeman]

And then there are the times that you want to field 10 Blade Grut units in a 400 point army.

I have enough Orcs to field 6 or maybe it’s 7 squads now... I can’t remember. The problem I run into when I want to play several squads of Orcs is that the starting positions on the map are limited. As much as I would like to have 30 or 40 Orcs on the map... what map out there has that many starting tiles? I always have enough little green guys I just don’t have enough starting tiles to play them all.

[RobWeaver]

10 Arrow Gruts are a scary force! You have to reach an agreement with your opponent with those large numbers. Either you need a bigger deployment area, which is OK because it lets the bloodletting start sooner, or allow your units to stack up at the entry point along the board edge. It cost 1 move to go from off to on-board.

[jcb231]

Here's what I've got, or still want to get....in order of increasing numbers.

All Uniques....we only allow one of each per draft.

As for commons, I find four to be the magic number. Three if you're cramped for space and cash, but four of just about everything is the best place to shoot for. I have more of a lot f things because we play big point value games.

FOUR SQUADS
Minions
Wolves
Gorillinators
Marrden Hounds
Monks
Sentinels
Armoc Vipers
Greeks
Gladiatrons
Obsidian Guards
Dzu-tehs
-Four of each special land pack is a good bet for large maps. I still need three more Tundra to get to where I want to be with them.

FIVE SQUADS
Omicron Snipers
Roman Legion
Roman Archers
Knights
Minutemen (only got four, looking to buy a fifth)
MacDirks
Microcorp

SIX SQUADS
Arrow Gruts
Blade Gruts
-Trust me, you will want a lot of both varieties of grut orc....this amount seems to work really well. Orcs are best in large numbers.
Swog Riders
-Best to have one Swog per Arrow Grut squad....I'm still one short of my goal of six.
Marro Drones
-I only have four right now...more to come soon. You need at least four of these guys for them to be worth drafting.
Dumutef Guards
-I like trees. And bridges. And roads. Castles are going to be pretty pretty landscaping wonders. I also like the ratio of one Dum per two wolf figures.
Aubrien Archers
-I'm at four now, and want to get two mroe sets.

EIGHT SQUADS
Venoc Vipers
-I only have five Venocs right now, but I plan on trading for or buying some loose sets to get eight. They work sooooo well in swarms that it's tempting to buy as many as ten so you can field a 400 point Venoc Viper swarm. You need at least three or four to make them worth drafting.


As for upcoming sets....I'll get only one of the uniques. Depending on how cheap the point value of the rats is, and how great they are at dodging and moving about, I forsee that I may get a lot of them on top of the Amazons. Maybe four, and then trade for 2 or 3 or 4 more rats somehow. I'll probably buy four of the Blastatron/Wolf pack, as I have four Gladiatrons.

[Codeman]

10 Arrow Gruts are a scary force! You have to reach an agreement with your opponent with those large numbers. Either you need a bigger deployment area, which is OK because it lets the bloodletting start sooner, or allow your units to stack up at the entry point along the board edge. It cost 1 move to go from off to on-board.
Larger deployment area... that is what I was asking what map has such an area? As far as reaching an agreement with your opponent... I guess I would not ask as I would want to play by the rules, and I can assure you if I would ask my opponents would not allow it either.

[jcb231]

Yes but your opponent's may want to do it too.

We are very flexible with teh starting areas. I tend to build large ones anyway, but sometimes we need a little extra room, so we just allow stuff to spill over. It doesn't cause any problems. The only rules we have to make are: If you start on a road, you don't get the bonus the first time you move....and you have to fill your start area from back to front before spilling out.

[monkeyfish]

So this is where all the Heroscape figures are going at the stores!!!!
:x

[bunjee]

Updated the title of this thread and merged together a total of 4 threads that were very similar discussions. There was very little overlap so there should be little confusion.

Thank you to reaper for pointing out the threads to merge.

I usually take at least 2 of any common (even heroes) and often 3 or more, depending on cost of squad, number of starting spaces, and overall use to the scenario.

One of the ones that definitely benefits from 3 or 4 is the Marro Drones, just so you can use the opportunity to move *9* of them when it arises.

[Roufus]

MAN, and I thought I spent too much on the game.
The most I'm going to have of a squad is 4 of 50 or less (like orcs or vipers, or.....drones).
I just can't afford all that much.
I'd LOVE to have enough disposable income for that theoretical drumutef guard army (and all those WONDERFUL TREES!)
buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut me r poor stoopid kolleje stoodent!

[jcb231]

I budget about $10 a week for this game, but usually don't spend it.

Keep in mind that nearly half my collection was free from TRU's twofers.

And some of what remains was given to me as gifts....make your HS love known, and people will jump at the chance to give you cheaper presents. HS is far cheaper than video games, nice shirts, ties, most hardcover gift type books, etc. And I'd much rather receive some HS stuff than another tie or shirt. I have enough of them, and I'd rather pick them out myself anyway.

On top of that, every once in a while I splurge. Like I just came into 560 bucks by various means. Close to 200 of it is going to HMG to buy Castles, more Tundra, and Wave Five. The rest is banked.

[Roufus]

Mind if I ask how old you are?

[jcb231]

26....and no, I don't have the expense of wife and kids, so that helps a bit, but I do have all kinds of other expenses and yet I still manage to put 10 bucks aside a week.

[Roufus]

Well, if you have a wife and kids, you won't be able to spend as much, but you can raise yourself a few lil heroscapers. :P