Do you use glyphs?

[K/H_Addict]

me and a friend were playing a game today with glyphs. We each picked 5 glyphs from a face-down mass of them. We placed them on the map, and flipped them 1-by-1. My opponent had 2 +1 attack, a +8 initiative, a +1 defense and something else. I had a +1 Attack, +1 Defense, +8 initiative +1 defense and something else. I could only get to the Attack glyph and 1 defense glyph. the rest were being guarded by my opponent who had control of all of his glyphs, and i could not cross the damned bridge!

i do not, nor have i eve liked glyphs, unless used in a MS Scenario...

[Su-Bak-Na]

I don't use glyph because the complaining from a certain frisnd is much worse when the glyphs are used although he complains no matter what.

[StarSlayer]

I always use them, but not 10 at a time. we usually have 4 to 6 at the most.

[K/H_Addict]

i dont use them because IMO they throw off the balance of the game somewhat...i prefer all-out blood bashes, with the stats given to the figures by the designers, not with some additions from some stupid little plastic hexagons....oh well...

[Su-Bak-Na]

Plus they make the field look less cool IMO.

[geddy lifeson]

It all depends on who I am playing and what kind of battle. I like to use them personally and play the face down so you don't know what you are gonna get. When a glyph is on the board it provides something extar to a game since there is somewhat of a objective...hold this hex and whats on it. We never play with a glyph as a "gimme", you should always have to work to get em and hold em. Yes they do boost stats but also make whoever is holding them more vulnerable.

[Aranas]

We use glyphs more often than not and most of the time face down. We NEVER use the glyph of Mitonsul and the revive glyph though.

[geddy lifeson]

We use glyphs more often than not and most of the time face down. We NEVER use the glyph of Mitonsul and the revive glyph though.

I like the curse and revive, they never seem to do much good, but can occassionally turn a game. The worst curse I had was in playing with teams and being close to the end and having my friend only manage to curse one figure...his last one, Krug. We lost, no contest.

[KeeperOfPeace]

My group and I don't really use glyphs that much anymore. It makes the game not as fun when it is juts a fight for them.

However, we do sometimes use 1-3. Could you set an option for sometimes in the poll? If not, it would be no.

I do personally love the curse glyph. I joke around when someone gets the 20 saying that figure has a cold or doesn't really feel like fighting today and left. :)

[Agent Minivann]

Glyphs are good in moderation. Brandar has, IMO, the most utility due to how it is whatever the scenario calls for, but that is drifting off the topic.

[shakey_snake]

Do you use glyphs?

Very Carefully.

[Revdyer]

We use glyphs about a third of the time. Most often we use them to lure people onto parts of the map that they otherwise would not visit. Other than that specific use, we tend not to put them on our maps. We always have them visible, so you know what you are going after; and have never had them randomly placed.

[cavie]

We have begun using them more sparsely. I had built maps where I put a lot of glyphs and when played we found that one player could gain a huge advantage. Now when I build I try to use only 2-3 of the +n glyphs and make it so they draw the player to a certain part of the board. For instance if they climb a mountain, they have a better view of the battlefield and gain Range +4. I also use Brandar a lot for goals in scenarios.

[peterm]

When we play 1 vs. 1 we don't usually use glyphs. If you're going to have more than one team vs. another, glyphs make more sense because, although it makes someone more powerful, it also likely concentrates the other two (more more) players against him.

Still, it's rare that we use them at all.

Worst use was when we did random glyphs, 4 players with 1,000 point armies, and got massive curse. Only 4 total figures were cursed: a Krav Maga and Drake, my Theracus, a Marro Warrior, and Su-Bak-Na. Lots of rolls of the d20.

[StarSlayer]

When we play the glyps are always random and face down.

I really would hate to see the range on top of the highest hill, it makes it more of a tactical war if you have to get the ranged units to the high spots, but have some guys trying to hold the range glyph in some other location.

[Rhydderch]

I tend to use the glyphs when I play an official map - I find the glyphs are fairly well placed so neither player has a huge advantage in grabbing the glyphs.

[gorillanator]

Usually, and when we do we take out healer and artifacts and randomly place them on the field. Lots of fun.

[Xotli]

Normally we don't use glyphs. But I was pondering an alternate way to use glyphs. What do you guys think of this (not playtested, just off the top of my head)?

Mix all the glyphs together and put them all in a dice bag or cup or whatnot. Once (and only once) per round, each player may give up any one of his regular turns to take a glyph action. A glyph action consists of either 1) drawing a random glyph from the bag, or 2) activating a glyph.

All glyphs must be activated by attaching them to a certain figure and they only work for that figure (so the range glyph isn't +4 for everyone on your team, it's only +4 for whoever you put it on). The curse glyph could be used to take out one opposing figure. The revive glyph could be used to bring back one of your dead figures. If a figure with a glyph dies, the glyph is returned to the pool (the bag or cup or whatever).

Glyphs of Brandar are also added to the glyph pool. They count as either wild card glyphs (if you want a glyph-heavy game) or as "nothing" glyphs (if you want a glyph-light game).

So does that sound workable? Maybe needs a bit of tweaking, but I think that the decision to give up 2 turns (when your enemy could be using those turns to mop your butt up) to get a random glyph (which may or may not help you that much) would be an interesting choice to make. Plus, for those that hate glyphs, just don't ever draw any. Show your opponent how useless they are by wiping the floor with him while he's mucking about with his precious glyphs. Contrariwise, for those who love glyphs, you get a whole glorious bag full at your disposal. Hoard 'em all till the end of the game then devastate your smug glyph-hating opponent by playing them in rapid succession.

Fairly simple rule, and also allows tweaks (like the Brandar decision above). Maybe you have to give up two turns to activate the glyph. Maybe everyone gets to draw one glyph for free at the beginning of the game. Maybe you never add the revive glyph to the glyph pool because you think it complicates the game too much. Etc.

Thoughts?

[shakey_snake]

Normally we don't use glyphs. But I was pondering an alternate way to use glyphs. What do you guys think of this (not playtested, just off the top of my head)?

Mix all the glyphs together and put them all in a dice bag or cup or whatnot. Once (and only once) per round, each player may give up any one of his regular turns to take a glyph action. A glyph action consists of either 1) drawing a random glyph from the bag, or 2) activating a glyph.

All glyphs must be activated by attaching them to a certain figure and they only work for that figure (so the range glyph isn't +4 for everyone on your team, it's only +4 for whoever you put it on). The curse glyph could be used to take out one opposing figure. The revive glyph could be used to bring back one of your dead figures. If a figure with a glyph dies, the glyph is returned to the pool (the bag or cup or whatever).

Glyphs of Brandar are also added to the glyph pool. They count as either wild card glyphs (if you want a glyph-heavy game) or as "nothing" glyphs (if you want a glyph-light game).

So does that sound workable? Maybe needs a bit of tweaking, but I think that the decision to give up 2 turns (when your enemy could be using those turns to mop your butt up) to get a random glyph (which may or may not help you that much) would be an interesting choice to make. Plus, for those that hate glyphs, just don't ever draw any. Show your opponent how useless they are by wiping the floor with him while he's mucking about with his precious glyphs. Contrariwise, for those who love glyphs, you get a whole glorious bag full at your disposal. Hoard 'em all till the end of the game then devastate your smug glyph-hating opponent by playing them in rapid succession.

Fairly simple rule, and also allows tweaks (like the Brandar decision above). Maybe you have to give up two turns to activate the glyph. Maybe everyone gets to draw one glyph for free at the beginning of the game. Maybe you never add the revive glyph to the glyph pool because you think it complicates the game too much. Etc.

Thoughts?Glyphs in my mind are part of the terrain.

Any other purpose for them is just increasing the luck factor of the game.

[Xotli]

Glyphs in my mind are part of the terrain.

Any other purpose for them is just increasing the luck factor of the game.

Well, I think glyphs increase the luck factor of the game just by being glyphs. When you use them as terrain, you have to place them carefully to avoid having the luck overbalance everything. I was trying to think of a way that didn't require so much forethought.

I was trying to allow something else to counterbalance the luck factor. My suggestion was the sacrifice of a minimum of two entire turns; I think a clever opponent could use that sacrifice to his advantage. But perhaps another suggestion would be better. I just think that as it is, the requirement for extra-careful placement is probably the reason that the "no's" are currently winning this poll.

:shrug: Just my $.02.

[Jandars_Hope]

I dont use glyphs purely because i like to see the outcome of a battle w/o them! And i can't use them when playing w/my dad or bro because it just confuses their tiny minds with all the height advantage/glyph effects etc!

[RobWeaver]

At first I didn't use glyphs. I just couldn't warm up to them and I didn't like the way they looked on the field. Then I realized that they change the game, give you different objectives, make some squads more competitive. I have a friend who prefers not to use them, and unless we're playing an "official" board, we don't build them in when we play. (I also don't draft units that need the benefits of glyphs when I play him, either!) At other times, I use glyphs, usually in balanced sets, 2,4 or 6 scattered usually equally across the board. I like to put one near each starting point, so you can have the excitement of running out there and grabbing something, and the others in inconvenient locations. My fav is that initiative glyph. I don't tend to roll a d20 very well, and you can do a lot more if you can simply secure initiative.

[negation]

I think glyphs are a great addition to the games gameplay, but I could go w/o them.
:D

[Celtic_Ghost]

I use them always.

They are fun and very strategic. We always place them in the center of the board or in dangerous locations. Glyphs add depth to the game that is basically very simple, and that adds fun for me.

Our basic Glyph procedure:
We allocate 1 glyph per 100 points of the army build.
We place all glyphs face down.
None can be within 6 hexes of a starting area.

It works well, and I really like the games. Fighting over glyphs can be some of the most intensive games played.

[markwars]

Here's how I handle glyph usage at the DFW get togethers...

Usually we have several official maps set up before the action starts.

Once I have an opponent and we've decided on a map to play I'll ask them if they want to use glyphs or not. If they do, great. If not, great. I could care less either way.

If they decide that they want to use glyphs I usually suggest no more than two (we are afterall playing on a one master set map with 400 point armies). I also suggest that we draw them blindly from a full set of glyphs and then each of us gets to place one of the two glyphs face down on the board.

I'd say that about 80% of the time my opponent voices a desire to not use them.

Typically I don't play with them at home, but there are some pretty decent official scenarios that use them. Most notably of late...the three team scenario from the Tundra expansion. If you aren't familiar with that particular scenario then I suggest you go read it right now...and play it tonight! It's crazy fun.

[allskulls]

Glyphs are great!

It is always best to never use more than one of the attack/defense/move bonus glyphs. Sometimes it is fun just using the initiative glyph in the center of the map.

We've played before with a stack of random bonus glyphs on the side of the board. When a unit gets a kill you place the top glyph on that unit's card. Kind of like experience markers but without limit and not only attack. We did this before Tagawa came out.

[vernz]

i use them sometimes it just depends on my mood so id say i use them about 50 percent of the time

[Logan_Xavier]

Always, in every game!

Most of our games are the type of scenario where the team with the most artifacts in their base, at the end of so many rounds, wins. We started with 7 artifacts, but dropped it to 5 to speed up the game. I usually select upto 25 glyphs, and mix them in a bag. Then I discard 10, and add the 5 artifacts. These are all mixed together, and randomly placed, face down, on the board by the players before team selection and starting area selection take place. Glyphs cannot, usually, be placed closer than 5 from the start, and no closer than 4 from each other. If there is some kind of imposing terrain (lava, water, steep drop) then the glyphs can be closer. I try to choose interesting places for the glyphs, such as on a 1 space island in the middle of lava / water, on the very edge of a cliff, in the middle of a 1 space bridge, (traffic Jam!) or in an area that is not easily defended.

We try to use all the glyphs, but have found out that the +2 Defense is just too much. I like to throw a wind glyph in the mix. It can make things interesting if it is placed in certain areas. Also, we do not stack glyphs. So if you have figures on two +1 attack glyphs, you only get the +1 bonus once. We have also modified the rules for some glyphs. Revive is a one time use, but it is not immediately activated when it is revealed. A player can move a figure on there at any time and declare they are activating the revive. Massive Curse is a temporary effect. After 6 rounds there is a chance (10+ on D20) for the cursed figure to return to their controllers starting area. Summon glyphs can only teleport friendly figures before turn 3.

Using glyphs adds a whole other dimension to the game. Players may have to decide if they want to break up a squad of figures if they wish to control many glyphs. One has to decide if they want to make a rush for the glyphs, or for the enemies base. They can completely change your original strategy if you get an unexpected bonus!

[Snotwalker 8000]

We've always used glyphs (face down) in our games, as they add a nice touch to strategy/tactics in regards to creating "high value ground" to both take and defend.

However, a friend and I just played a couple games yesterday without glyphs for the first time, and I really enjoyed that too. It was kinda nice not having to draft "glyph fodder squads". I could draft an all hero army if I wanted and not have to worry about "who do I have who can stand on glyphs for me....." A glyph-free battlefield really changes the dynamics of drafting. And yes, it did seem to create a more statistically straight-forward battle without certain units having higher attack/defense/movement/range than what they really should have.

That being said, I still love the glyphs. But I also see us playing more games here and there without... That's what's so great about this game!! The variety of gameplay, victory conditions, combos, etc... Viva HS!

[Revdyer]

We, too, have abandoned using the +2 Defense glyph. It is just too powerful.

[Jormi_Boced]

Yes, glyphs add an interesting aspect to the game, as long as they are placed in an equally accessible area that is hard to defend. I also like to have them be random and unknown until they are encountered. That way you have to think twice on whether or not you should go for them, because they might not be worth it.

[earendil504]

Yes

Holding and taking glyphs adds to the excitment. We also play that Mitonsol and the revive glyphs are exclusive to the player who lands on them. We also play a treasure hunt a scenario with 7 glyphs of brandar.