After the tournament today, several of us were discussing the problem of warjacks, and how, for the most part, warjacks are not worth taking (except in certain
circumstances, like all the pirate ones or certain ones rife with rules) over the far more efficient infantry.
After kicking around several ideas, (like making Thresher a Power attack) we realized that once problem with warjack is their ease of immobility with infantry. Anyone can swarm a jack with (in some cases less than a third) less points in infantry and shut it down permanantly, without serious resource allocation on the part of the warcaster. We discussed the evolution of the tank in warfare, where infantry would use the tank as mobile pillboxes or to breach trenches. Tanks have always required specialized troops to take down, but at no point have infantry considered closing with a tank to be an easy proposition. A 20 ton tank will just run you over if you try to surround it.
So for the love of pete (Not you, Mr Brule) why cant Jacks simply step over warrior models? Or, more precisely, smash their way through them? We discussed the shortcommings of the Trample Power attack, and came up with this notion: All Heavy Warjacks can move through small based models at their speed in inches. If you fail to hit a warrior model whose base you pass over in this way, you suffer a free strike. The Trample power attack would be such a ferocious stampede of power and beligerant steam power that no free strikes would be allowed as warrior models are diving for cover.
Naturally this notion has some interesting rammifications. What happens to a charging jack who misses a warrior and gets its movement hacked off? Won't this make Jacks nearly unstoppable?
Well hell, isn't that the point? With this idea, Jacks become absolutely deadly, and without killing them stone dead, Jacks continue to be a hellacious threat, as they should be. This notion would allow for more jacks to be fielded, and even Cryx Jacks to be the sorts of things you would fear seeing on the table.
Another notion is to increase large warjack melee range to one inch.
So these three ideas: Movement, Trample, and Range, are the three that Pete, Matt, and I are going to playtest in the coming months. I would love to hear input from the rest of you, and the results of your playtests as well. Once this is done I would like to formulate a well ordered, documented paper of our experiences and submit it to Privateer for their consideration. Even if we find out these ideas are untenable, we should pass the idea on anyway, just to give them some more information to consider.
I have faith, myself, that Privateer would love to see more Jacks on the field of play. It's what they started with, its why most of us got into the game in the first place. If they hear an option that could help, and it is couched in the proper way, instead of "OMG PP u r so dum!!1! y u not make jacks haxx0r so i don t haf 2 waist my mony on them. n00bs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11" they may implement it. Or, we might even get a response telling us why were full of it. :P
Input required, thanks for your time.
After kicking around several ideas, (like making Thresher a Power attack) we realized that once problem with warjack is their ease of immobility with infantry. Anyone can swarm a jack with (in some cases less than a third) less points in infantry and shut it down permanantly, without serious resource allocation on the part of the warcaster. We discussed the evolution of the tank in warfare, where infantry would use the tank as mobile pillboxes or to breach trenches. Tanks have always required specialized troops to take down, but at no point have infantry considered closing with a tank to be an easy proposition. A 20 ton tank will just run you over if you try to surround it.
So for the love of pete (Not you, Mr Brule) why cant Jacks simply step over warrior models? Or, more precisely, smash their way through them? We discussed the shortcommings of the Trample Power attack, and came up with this notion: All Heavy Warjacks can move through small based models at their speed in inches. If you fail to hit a warrior model whose base you pass over in this way, you suffer a free strike. The Trample power attack would be such a ferocious stampede of power and beligerant steam power that no free strikes would be allowed as warrior models are diving for cover.
Naturally this notion has some interesting rammifications. What happens to a charging jack who misses a warrior and gets its movement hacked off? Won't this make Jacks nearly unstoppable?
Well hell, isn't that the point? With this idea, Jacks become absolutely deadly, and without killing them stone dead, Jacks continue to be a hellacious threat, as they should be. This notion would allow for more jacks to be fielded, and even Cryx Jacks to be the sorts of things you would fear seeing on the table.
Another notion is to increase large warjack melee range to one inch.
So these three ideas: Movement, Trample, and Range, are the three that Pete, Matt, and I are going to playtest in the coming months. I would love to hear input from the rest of you, and the results of your playtests as well. Once this is done I would like to formulate a well ordered, documented paper of our experiences and submit it to Privateer for their consideration. Even if we find out these ideas are untenable, we should pass the idea on anyway, just to give them some more information to consider.
I have faith, myself, that Privateer would love to see more Jacks on the field of play. It's what they started with, its why most of us got into the game in the first place. If they hear an option that could help, and it is couched in the proper way, instead of "OMG PP u r so dum!!1! y u not make jacks haxx0r so i don t haf 2 waist my mony on them. n00bs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11" they may implement it. Or, we might even get a response telling us why were full of it. :P
Input required, thanks for your time.
