I'm starting to wonder if any new figures can have a huge impact on the way that Heroscape is played.

1. The order marker system encourages the use of commons.

2. Controlling a point on a map encourages the use of high defense figures or powerful uniques.

3. Height advantage and the engagement mechanics (and its effect on target selection) encourage the use of ranged units.

4. In response to point 1, you want multiple (>=3) attacks per order marker to deal with squads.

5. In response to point 2, you want moderately powerful attacks (>=3A) to defeat uniques and high defense figures.

I'm not sure if any one figure can really change any of these 5 things. (Note that an army need not fit all criteria, but at least 3 is a good idea). Even if something does change one of these rules or is a hard counter for your army, there is such a wide range of viable stuff out there that you can't fret too...

The Mohican River Tribe has gotten me thinking.

(EDIT: BUT OTHER STUFF GOT TY THINKING MUCH SOONER: LINK)

Even though Agent Carr hasn't seen that much play at my table once we started to buy expansion packs, I've always felt that he introduced a great concept to the game. Ghost Walk and Disengage (later combined to form Phantom Walk to save space on newer cards) allow him to move about the battlefield and pick his targets at will, which is an important trait for a hero who does not bond.

More importantly, I like his Sword of Reckoning 4 ability. It's a simple way to use the rules of the game to show that he has two weapons. He can fire off attacks of 2 dice from 6 range with his pistol, or smack an adjacent figure for 6 dice with his sword. Although Mimring's special attack has a similar effect, I think of Agent Carr as being the first melee/ranged hybrid unit.

The way target selection and height advantage function, it is...

...or: "why Nilfheim and rats work well together"

Sorry for the long wait. I'm sure plenty of people forgot I was even writing anything about Order Markers anymore. With OM VI, I meant to start a series of essays about typical army archetypes- what they look like in terms of my categories, how they play differently than other armies, and to whom they might appeal.

Today I'm going to talk about my favorite type of Heroscape army: the control army. I'm borrowing the term from M:tG. The goal of a control deck in magic is to play to deny. You're not always attacking, but you're shutting down your opponent's options and slowly breaking him down.

People often look at the dice in Heroscape which have 3 skulls and 2 shields, and surmise that it's a mostly offensive game. For the most part, and for most players, this is probably correct. But thanks to the units I call defenders (most notably the Deathreavers), this doesn't have to be...

a discussion on Bread, Butter, and Cheerleaders...

Those of you familiar with my order marker series will know that I made up silly names and colors and divided up all of the units in Heroscape into groups based on how they play and associate with order markers. I’m going to write a short piece on each unit type, only this time I’ll apply more of the economic terms that I’ve recently introduced in other essays. First up are the Bread and Butter units and Cheerleaders, which complement each other both aesthetically and in gameplay mechanics. Although one of the easiest types of armies to do well with, they are often the last thing a player is able to field from his collection. From before:

“Bread and Butter
These are the types of squads on which you never regret putting an order marker. You get a lot out of each turn, and they are usually durable enough to see their next one. In the case of bonding units, it is usually assumed that you’ll use...