Genre and the Metagame: The Place of Sci-Fi/Historical Units

[1Mmirg]

My look at Genre in Heroscape spawned a thought (thanks, Bats) about how even though Fantasy units abound in Scape, they don't exactly own the podium, at least not according to Jexik's Tier work and Rankings.

My genre thread shows a clear preponderance of Fantasy units. Here is the short version of a long thread:

Totals
Historical 49
Fantasy 88
Sci-Fi 43

However, at our most recent tourney (just a small sample, I know, but one that includes the influence of D1), we saw our top 4 armies each with a Sci-Fi element, even though D1 and other Fantasy units were plentiful as well.

Our top army was Heavies, Grimnak, Nerak, Isamu, and Marro Warriors. Next was Phantom Knights and Marro Stingers and Marro Warriors, then third and fourth were identical Blasts/Glads/Raelin builds. (Also notable for D1 units was a Fen Hydra x2, Raelin, Rats build and a Torin/Zettians/Marro Warriors/Warden/Chainfighter build. A more classic build was a Minions/KMA/Isamu build, which includes a dabble of each.)

[Note: Isamu is technically Sci-Fi, since he is from future Earth (with Agent Carr), but for most people he looks and feels like a historical unit, thus the blended colors. For more about how I divided the units by genre, check out my original genre thread: A Study in HS Unit Genres: Or, where is the Sci-Fi love? and the discussion that ensued there.]

This got me thinking about how genre actually plays out in the metagame. So, I took a look at Jexik's Top Tiers and his (and SP's) Power Rankings, to see how top armies reflect the genre imbalance.

TIER ARMIES BY GENRE

Tier 1

Spoiler Alert!

Here is just Jexik's first tier (not each specific example, but representatives from each core army he highlights):

Vydar Ranged

Core of the army:
Major Q9 180
Raelin (RotV) 260
Laglor 370
Krav Maga Agents 470


TRON!

Core:
3x Gladiatrons 240
2x Blastatrons 360
Raelin (RotV) 440


KRS-WON TTO

Here's the original, which went 6-0 on NHSD in 2007:

Kaemon Awa 120
Raelin 200
4x Stingers 440
2x Deathreavers
Isamu 530


The Rat-Podges

Wisinger's original 400 point winner:
3x Deathreavers 120
1x Omnicron Snipers 220
Airborne Elite 330
Zettian Guards 400 (yeah, you read that correctly!)

Rÿchean's GenCon 2007 2nd place army
3x Deathreavers 120
Kaemon Awa 240
Airborne Elite 350
Krav Maga Agents 450
Marro Warriors 500

Low Variance is for Chumps (Mattser's GC 2009 winner)
3x Deathreavers 120
Braxas 330
Airborne Elite 440
Marro Warriors 490 (went 4-1 day 1)
Raelin 570 (added for day 2, went 4-0)

[A perfect example of a recent successful all-genre mixed army]


Critical Mass

Old School (TTO winner in 2006)
4x 4th Massachusetts Line 280
Charos 490 (490 was the limit)

Divinity School (top 8 GC 2007, Texas NHSD winner 2007, both by Revdyer)
2x Sentinels of Jandar 220
4x 4th Mass 500

New School (top 16 GC by Mattser in 2008 )
5x Mass 350
Sgt Drake Alexander (SotM) 520


A+ Junk "Apojee"

3x 4th Mass 210
Airborne Elite 320
Raelin 400

3x 4th Mass 210
2x Deathreavers 290
Major Q9 470
Raelin 550


The Kenights of Weston

Core of the army:
3x Knights of Weston 210
Sir Gilbert 315
(Note: Nilfheim is a popular last component to this army at 500 pts.)

Note on Tier 1:
In fact, it is notable that aside from Raelin and Dragons there are very few Fantasy units that rank well here. It will be interesting to see if this year we see an upswing in Fantasy units (Heavies, Dwarves, and D1 seem to be on a potential ladder climb, as it were).

Tier 2 [Edit]

Spoiler Alert!

I like Big Gruts

Raelin and the 17 Orcs
Raelin 80
Grimnak 200
Nerak 250
4x Heavy Gruts

BroInLaw's army

Tornak 100
Grimnak 120
Ornak 220
3x Heavy Gruts 530
Isamu 540


Redcoats en masse

Onacara's "Kiss my ass, 4th Mass"
5x Redcoats 375
Marcus 475
1x Dumutef Guard 500

Eternalthanos86:
Marcus 100
Airborne Elite 210
4x Redcoats 510

Hax Romana

THE Original Roman Army (courtesy of UranusPChicago)
2x Roman Legionnaires 100
Marcus 200
Me-Burq-Sa 250
2x 4th Massachusetts Line 390

The Louisville Buggers
3x Roman Legionnaires 150
2x Redcoats 300
Ne-Gok-Sa 390
Marcus Genuine Draft 490
Me-Burq-Sa 540

Pax Romarricana arp12
3x Romans 150
MBS 200
AE 310
Marcus 410
NGS 500


Flay, Minions!

550 points? Why not?
5x Minions

Red Wings of Death
3x Minions of Utgar 330
Zelrig 515

I see the red dragon and I want it painted black...
3x Minions 330
Braxas 540

Cowboys From Hell
3x Minions of Utgar 330
James Murphy 405
Johnny Shotgun 470
Guilty 500

GRISHNAKH LIKE RED!
4x Redcoats 300
2x Minions 520


Non-KMA Agent builds

There Better Not Be Dragons!
Nakita Agents 120
3x Gorillinators 390
Laglor 500

We get height With a little help from our friends
3x Microcorp Agents 300
Laglor 410
Brunak 520
2x Deathreavers 600

Fomox's
3x Microcorp Agents 300
Major Q10 450
2x Deathreavers 530
Isamu 540

Arrow Gruts

Core:
3x Arrow Gruts 120
Krug 240
3x Swog Riders 315


Steamroller/Dwarves

Steamroller
3x Capuan Gladiators
Crixus
Spartacus 500

Dwarfroller?
5x Axegrinders of Burning Forge 350
Migol 460
1x Fyorlag Spiders 500

TORKULNARMIES!!!

Core:
Tor-Kul-Na 220
3x Marrden Nagrubs 310

Note on Tier 2 [Edit]
What stands out to me most is how much this tier of armies relies on more monochromatic (single genre) builds. Many more of these are not exploiting the resources that seem to come from having a cross section across genres. (There are exceptions, of course, but it stands out to me.) Could this be another piece of evidence that there is a kind of value that seems to come into Scape when you have a mixed army? Perhaps.


POWER RANKINGS BY GENRE

"A" Rankings

Spoiler Alert!

Here are the Power Rankings redone by genre (I've added green for Supers):

A+
Deathreavers (40*)
Raelin the Kyrie Warrior-ROTV (80)

A
4th Mass. Line (70*)
Blastatrons (60*)
Captain America (220)
Gladiatrons (80*)
Isamu (10)
Knights of Weston(70*)
Krav Maga Agents (100)
Laglor (110)
Marro Stingers (60*)
Marro Warriors (50)
Major Q9 (180)
Sir Gilbert (105)

A-
10th Regiment of Foot (75*)
Agent Skahen (120)
Airborne Elite (110)
Alastair MacDirk (110)
Atlaga (90)
The Axegrinders of Burning Forge (70*) Braxas (210)
Concan the Kyrie Warrior (80)
Cyprien Esenwein (150)
Darrak Ambershard (60)
Eldgrim the Viking Champion (30)
Grimnak (120)
Heavy Gruts (70*)
Kaemon Awa(120)
Major Q10 (150)
Marcu Esenwein (20)
Marcus Decimus Gallus (100)
Me-Burq-Sa (50)
Minions of Utgar (110*)
Nerak the Glacian Swog Rider (50)
Nilfheim (185)
Roman Legionnaires (50*)
Sentinels of Jandar (110*)
Sgt. Drake Alexander-SOTM (170)
Silver Surfer (320)
Sonya Esenwein (45)
Venom (150)
Zelrig (185)

Quick "A" Ranking Summary (courtesy of Kroc):

Spoiler Alert!

A+

Fantasy 1
Historical 0
Marvel 0
Sci-Fi 1

A
Fantasy 0
Historical 3
Marvel 1
Sci-Fi 8

A-
Fantasy 14
Historical 9
Marvel 3
Sci-Fi 3

A+, A or A-
Fantasy 15 of 88, 17%
Historical 12 of 49, 24%
Marvel 4
Sci-Fi 12 of 43, 28%

Note on "A" Rankings:
Again, it is notable (to me, anyway), that Raelin is the only Fantasy unit A or above (and Sci-Fi dominates in terms of numbers at least at A or above). However, at the A- level Fantasy (and Historical) becomes plentiful (and Sci-Fi fades away).

"B" Rankings [Edit]

Spoiler Alert!

B+
Arrow Gruts (40*)
Aubrien Archers (70*)
Brave Arrow (50)
Capuan Gladiators (70*)
Charos (210)
Crixus (90)
Krug (120)
Marrden Nagrubs (30*)
Marro Dividers (50*)
Microcorp Agents (100*)
Migol Ironwill (110)
Mohican River Tribe (70*)
Ne-Gok-Sa (90)
Othkurik the Black Dragon (140)
Sacred Band (50*)
Sgt. Drake Alexander-ROTV (110)
Sir Hawthorne (90)
Spartacus (200)
Spider-Man (160)
Swog Rider (25*)
Theracus (40)
Tor-Kul-Na (220)
Venoc Vipers (40*)
Venoc Warlord (120)
Zetacron (60)
Zombies of Morindan (60*)

B
Abomination (320)
Arkmer (50)
Ana Karithon (100)
Blade Gruts (40*)
Brunak (110)
Finn the Viking Champion (80)
Granite Guardians (100*)
Guilty McCreech (30)
Incredible Hulk (370)
Izumi Samurai (60)
James Murphy (75)
Marrden Hounds (90*)
Marro Drones (50*)
Marro Hive (160)
Nakita Agents (120)
Omnicron Repulsors (40*)
Omnicron Snipers (100*)
Protectors of Ullar (110*)
Quasatch Hunters (100*)
Raelin the Kyrie Warrior-SOTM (120)
Sonlen (160)
Syvarris (100)
Tagawa Samurai (120)
Tandros Kreel (120)
Ulginesh (150)
Warriors of Ashra (50*)
Wolves of Badru (80*)

B-
Anubian Wolves (75*)
Armoc Vipers (65*)
Ashigaru Harquebus (60*)
Deepwyrm Drow (70*)
Emirroon (80)
Feral Troll (90+)
Johnny "Shotgun" Sullivan (65)
Jorhdawn (100)
Kato Katsuro (200)
Iron Man (240)
Kozuke Samurai (100)
Kyntela Gwyn (20)
MacDirk Warriors (80*)
Mimring (150)
Ornak (100)
Retiarius (90)
Sir Denrick (100)
Su-Bak-Na (160)
Taelord the Kyrie Warrior (180)
Tagawa Samurai Archers (65*)
Thanos (360)
Thorgrim the Viking Champion (80)
Wo-Sa-Ga (135)

Quick "B" Rankings Summary (borrowed from Kroc's approach):

Spoiler Alert!

B+

Fantasy 9
Historical 8
Marvel 1
Sci-Fi 9

B
Fantasy 14
Historical 5
Marvel 2
Sci-Fi 6

B-
Fantasy 9
Historical 9
Marvel 2
Sci-Fi 3

B+, B or B-
Fantasy 32 of 88, 36%
Historical 23 of 49, 47%
Marvel 5
Sci-Fi 18 of 43, 42%

Note on B Rankings [Edit]
Not sure this shows much that's new. About the only thing that might be noticeable is how few Sci-Fi units are in the B- category. I'll have to review the C's as well to see if this is really a pattern or just a coincidence. Otherwise, this looks to be a pretty wide mix.

[Kroc's summary approach shows that Fantasy has a lower percentage (though not by a huge margin) at both the A and B levels. Now I'm really curious what the C level will show. I'll get to that soon.]

"C" Rankings [Edit]

Spoiler Alert!

C+
Agent Carr (100)
Ashigaru Yari (40*)
Chardris (90)
Dr. Doom (245)
Deathstalkers (100*)
Erevan Sunshadow (80)
Fyorlag Spiders (40*)
Gurei-Oni (100)
Iskra Esenwein (50)
Kumiko (80)
Master Win Chiu Woo (140)
Morsbane (100)
Ninjas of the Northern Wind (110)
Otonashi (10)
Rechets of Bogdan (50)
Red Skull (190)
Sir Dupuis (150)
Sujoah (185)
Tarn Viking Warriors (50)
Tornak (100)
Tul-Bak-Ra (130)
Valguard (110)
Zettian Guards (70)

C
Dumutef Guard (25*)
Elite Onyx Vipers (100)
Gorillinators (90*)
Jotun (225)
Kee-Mo-Shi (130)
Khosumet the Darklord (75)
Parmenio (90)
Pelloth (100)
Saylind the Kyrie Warrior (80)
Shaolin Monks (80*)

C-
Acolarh (110)
Dzu-Teh (75*)
Deathwalker 8000 (130)
Deathwalker 9000 (140)
Dünd (110)
The Einar Imperium (140*)
Empress Kiova (90)
Grok Riders (130*)
Kelda the Kyrie Warrior (80)
Roman Archers (55*)
Runa (120)
Shades of Bleakewoode (100*)
Templar Cavalry (120*)
Warden 816 (90)

Quick "C" Rankings Summary

Spoiler Alert!

C+

Fantasy 9
Historical 8
Marvel 2
Sci-Fi 4

C
Fantasy 5
Historical 2
Marvel 0
Sci-Fi 3

C-
Fantasy 9
Historical 2
Marvel 0
Sci-Fi 3

C+, C or C-
Fantasy 23 of 88, 26%
Historical 12 of 49, 24%
Marvel 2
Sci-Fi 10 of 43, 23%

"C" Note:
Nothing really stands out here. Fantasy is big in C- (and Historical in C+), but overall the C's are pretty representative of all genres.

"D/F" Rankings [Edit]

Spoiler Alert!

D
Deadeye Dan (60)
Major X17(100)
Marro Drudge (50*)
Moriko (110)
Obsidian Guards (100*)
Shiori (60)
Sudema (140)

F
Deathwalker 7000 (100)
Hatamoto Taro (130)

Quick "D/F" Rankings Summary

Spoiler Alert!

D

Fantasy 2
Historical 3
Marvel 0
Sci-Fi 2

F
Fantasy 0
Historical 1
Marvel 0
Sci-Fi 1

D or F
Fantasy 2 of 88, 2%
Historical 4 of 49, 8%
Marvel 0
Sci-Fi 3 of 43, 7%

D/F Note [Edit]
Not many units here--notably, not many Fantasy units at all. Guess they all got used up at the C- level . Seriously, there are more Historical and Sci-Fi units here; they definitely have their stinkers. In fact, the idea that Fantasy units tend to group in the moderate/average category gains some credence here.

Final Thought/Note:
There may be more Fantasy units than the others, but the metagame shows a clear trend toward mixed armies and that all the genres (despite discrepancies in representation) currently have a clear/strong place in the game.