This article is meant to be read as a companion to my new set of Power Rankings.
Competitive HeroScape has changed. Despite no new content being released, the meta at GenCon 2017 was very different than at GenCon 2012. In this article, I will break down the major contributing factors to the changes we’ve seen over the past half dozen years.
Note that this piece will focus mainly on the GenCon meta. The meta is different from group to group, and unfortunately I can’t play HeroScape everywhere. I cannot accurately assess the meta of Online Scape, for example, because I have only played in a single event, and its structure was much different than that of what I am used to. I would have to play in several more events to be able to grasp more of the strategies and subtleties of non-double blind, non-RtW formats (a major weakness in my skill set), as well as the differences in the map and glyph pools.
I also am referring only to Official Classic Scape; I simply do not have the time to keep up with the excellent customs being made by the VC community. It helps that the GenCon crew doesn’t use these in any of its official events.
The Fall of the Major: The Causes:
Major Q9 was a common sight to see at GenCon 2012. I saw only one Q9 at GenCon 2017. Has the Major gotten worse over time? Have people figured out how to beat him?
The single most important factor seems to be an unspoken agreement and consensus among HeroScapers that Q9 is an un-fun figure who is also incredibly easy to play. There is a stigma that he is easy to play (which he is) and that using him is easy mode (which it is).
Counters to Q9 are more common nowadays than perhaps before. Heavy Gruts are a common sight to see (I may have played them once or twice myself) as well as “can-openers” like Eltahale, Nilfheim, and Frost Giant. Heavy Gruts are particularly interesting in that they absolutely dominate the “broken units” army of Q9, Rats, and Raelin. Disengage, Chomp, and Nerak all make it a matchup that a good Gruts player loves to see.
The skill level at GenCon is at a high enough place now among a large portion of attendees that a bad or mediocre player with Q9 will lose to a good or great player with something else.
The Fall of the Major: The Effects:
There aren’t a whole lot of major, easy-to-see effects here. Really, Cyprien and 4th Mass get a bit better as the top Soulborg and Ranged unit isn’t around. People have mostly figured out how to beat each by now however, and they still struggle in other matchups (Q10/ lots of attacks per turn for Cyprien, Phantom Knights and just generally good players for 4th Mass).
Smaller Points, Smaller Starting Zones, and the Figure Limit: The Causes:
The causes of these changes are easy to understand. No one likes it when their game goes to time; I believe I have only gone to time once (I’m a notoriously fast player), but that isn’t fun. It’s better to have the game fully resolved. Smaller points and smaller starting zones both help to alleviate this problem in the strict time limit of a tournament structure.
The most interesting change was the switch from a hex limit to a figure limit. As I understand it, this was an attempt to boost the viability of double-hexed commons, who ranged from weak (Hounds) to unplayable (Groks) in a competitive environment, as well as the Hive.
The earliest year I can trace this back to is 2013. Seems like that was the big year of change.
Smaller Points, Smaller Starting Zones, and the Figure Limit: The Effects:
In 2012, 24-hex starting zones were the norm. In the past few years, it has become common to see an 18-20 figure starting zone limit in the major formats. No longer will you run into 6x 4th Mass; instead, most common squads are ran as 4-ofs, with expensive bonding squads such as Knights and Heavies often ran as 3-ofs due to the lower point limits (often closer to 400 than 500).
A once-incredible army was hurt by the smaller starting zones: Glad/Blast. Although some have found success running smaller numbers of them in more unconventional pairings (dok in 2014 Main Event with 1x Glads/2x Blasts, Deroche in 2015 Main Event with 2x Glads/2x Blasts and having to drop 3 figures, Dysole in 2017 Main Event with 4x Blasts), it is no doubt weaker than it used to be. This leads to, once again, Cyprien being stronger than he used to be, with both the Q9 and Glad/Blast matchups being far rarer.
Conversely, a once-niche and borderline-unplayable unit, the Marrden Hounds, found new life in the switch to a figure limit. Whereas before taking 4x Hounds filled up your starting zone, now you could take 5x Hounds at 450 points and 15 figures. This is decidedly stronger as you don’t have to drop any figures. Hounds also have a better chance against meta armies than most non-A units because Plague can devastate commons run in smaller amounts. 4x 4th Mass and Sgt Drake SotM vs 5x Hounds is a decidedly better matchup for the Hounds than say 6x 4th Mass vs 4x Hounds and Major Q10 (although that isn’t terrible, but that has more to do with the strength of Q10). It’s also huge for Hounds that Glads/Blasts and Major Q9 aren’t seen much anymore because these were previously two absolutely horrific matchups for Hounds.
A Few Thoughts on the Reverse the Whip Meta:
The Knights of Matthias (infectedsloth, I.S.B.3, Major Q23, and myself), along with others, have pushed forward a meta wherein splashing is a very common and effective practice. Splashing is the usage of commons run as 1-ofs or 2-ofs, often times as tech. Teching is the including of a specific unit in an army to counter a specific weakness or bad matchup of the rest of the army. These armies are Order Marker intensive and reward tight formations and high-skill play. Raelin (RotV) is often a crucial element to making these work.
I have specifically included some examples that have AT LEAST THREE essential pieces that you need to balance Oms on to make the army effective. Note that you do not need three essential pieces; I have simply included some extreme examples.
2x Mezzos, Frost Giant, MWs, 1x Rats, Heirloom, Oto- Q23, 2015
2x PKs, 2x WoA, Eltahale, Concan- Orc, 2015
2x HSBs, 1x Mezzos, Kozuke, Tarns, Raelin- IS, 2017
3x Drones, 1x Mezzos, Alastair, 1x Rats, Raelin- Q23, 2017
It’s safe to bet that we, along with others, will continue to bring this type of army-building to RtW events in the future.
Final Thoughts:
Hopefully, this article is a helpful companion to my new, updated Power Rankings that reflect the changes we’ve seen in the meta.
Feedback welcomed! Happy ‘Scaping!