Common Squad Limit or Cap for Competitive Play

[NamibianScaper]

Hi there.

I was wondering if anyone ever proposed a common squad limit to balance the number of common squads flooding competitive play?

It would be something like -- No more than 4 sets of any one common squad per army.

It would be simplest to have a set limit of anywhere from 3 to 7 copies of a common squad depending on the overall cap. It could be as low as 2 but that would rule out the Marro Drones being able to use their ability.

OR it could be based on a %, such as no more than 50% of your army's points may consist of the same common squad (or common hero).

The idea is similar to the 4-per-deck card limit imposed early on in Magic: The Gathering. Remember the all lightning bolt deck? Having an all 4th Mass army is kind of like that.

[LongHeroscaper]

That is what the limited starting zone is for.

People keep saying the limited starting zone is... limited, but they do not see we need a way to control the number of squads that can be played.

[playa1]

My wallet is also a limiting factor. I have about 3 squads of each type, but I certainly cannot afford 6 squads of 4th mass, for instance.

[Cavalier]

LongHeroscaper is correct in that the currently accepted way to limit squads is by effectively using Start Zone limitations. The most commonly accepted Starting Zone size is 24-26 spaces.

And, no, I don't remember that (or any other) M:tG deck.

[Aldin]

Yes indeedy, the two factors that are currently the most constraining are starting zones and pocketbooks. Frankly, though, I wouldn't mind seeing a cap of four of a given common squad in 500 point tournament settings. Mostly, I just don't care for fighting against such unvaried and unimaginitive armies.

~Aldin, saying "welcome aboard" NamibianScaper

[Shades fan]

One of the things that drew me to the game was hoe you could have 10 of 1 Common Squad. If you were to limit that,units like the Marro Drones,which are best with 5 squads in my opinion would become obsolete!
I like the fact you can have any number of common squads that can fit into your starting zone.

[MechaBeast]

The problem with limited squads is that you punish squads that are not as good as the squads you are trying to limit.

Limiting Stingers and 4th mass to 4 squads per 500 pt army. Awesome!
Limiting Zombies and Marro drones to 4 squads.... not so much.

I would like to see tournaments (not all of them) that really constrict the starting zones a little bit more. Maybe bring them down to 18 spaces?
That'll bring back the heroes to Heroscape.

[Jexik]

I went to a tournament where a limit of 2 was in effect for common squads. While I feel that it definitely made it a bit easier for those without massive collections to do well (theoretically), creating a common squad limit makes the game more swingy. Making a limit of 4 or 5 probably wouldn't do much, and would have some unintended consequences, like making the Gladiatrons and Blastatrons very good, and limiting the effectivenss of Zombies and Marro Drones.

Going over 4 or 5 with most commons is a recipe for failure in my opinion, because it makes your army too one dimensional and predictable. The only squad that really works with would be the 4th Mass. (Aside from Zombies and Drones of course, but even those are unlikely to win many tournaments.)

I did feel really bad once when I realized that I had 5 lightning bolts in my deck in a game after I had just won by triple-bolting someone though, so I can see where you're coming from. To use your Magic analogy, I'd much rather see a restricted list, like having Deathreavers or 4th Mass limited to 2 squads in a tournament, or something like that, rather than doing it unilaterally.

Welcome to the site!

[Revdyer]

I am definitely in the camp that says it is the Starting Zone size that sufficiently limits the number of squads used. No other solution is needed and none other is as simple to implement.

[Sherman Davies]

Originally Posted by Aldin

Frankly, though, I wouldn't mind seeing a cap of four of a given common squad in 500 point tournament settings. Mostly, I just don't care for fighting against such unvaried and unimaginitive armies.

Somewhere, Revdyer's 4th Mass/Sentinels army is crying.

[Aldin]

Originally Posted by Sherman Davies

Somewhere, Revdyer's 4th Mass/Sentinels army is crying.

*chuckle*

The TRUE army of evil along these lines is Thanos + ALL rats

~Aldin, who has had so much trouble with Sentinels he's surprised more people don't play them

[Revdyer]

Originally Posted by Sherman Davies

Somewhere, Revdyer's 4th Mass/Sentinels army is crying.

4 x 4th Mass + 2 x Sentinels = 500 points and fits the four squad cap quite nicely. It is still a good workable army. The imagination part comes, of course, not in the army build itself, in this case, but in trying to find creative ways to use the guys against the enemy on the board.

(It's not the army or even a variant of the army I'm using in our Arkansas Tournament on Saturday, though. I did consider a 5 x Stingers + 2 x Sentinels army for that, but am not going with that one, either.)