Romes

I wanted to add to/discuss this critique. You say at the beginning that " My father and I got into a conversation about which faction are the strongest in a tournament. " You then say " The theory is what do people tend to think will do in tournaments vs what actually is doing well in the tournaments. " I think from this that you mean your theory is "There is a discrepancy between the perception of what factions have performed well historically and what factions have actually performed well historically." You can test this theory on the data set. I think, intuitively people see something missing without player involved, but may not immediately be able to figure out their objection. I thought through it for me, as that was my initial reaction and got to this: the point of bringing in person to the discussion is that, because (arguable) players have far more of an effect on placement than faction, the theory can be tested historically but has no predictive value. i think that's the response to people saying "but what about player". Of course player matters (MORE), and to have any kind of predictive validity the model would need to include faction and player. The model is not predictive, it's testing one historical theory about the disconnect between perception of history and history and the findings support or undermine that specific theory. It doesn't say anythign about which faction is "best" or most competitive.

I think as a concept bringing in alternate faction models can be very valuable, and certainly is for Marcus with beasts. I don't see any out of faction academics as of yet that excite me. The students are good summons when you already know what you're facing, but too situational to be worth their points generally. Valedictorian is the most interesting because adding 8 inches to her threat range combined with trigger denial *could* be crippling for particular masters (Colette?), but in general for the stones I think other models add more. Sanctioned spellcasters seem kinda interesting and fine, but they're in the same point slot as oxfordian mages, and 3 oxfordians is one more than I'd *really* like to be able to take, so 4 is too much. Librarian is great in outcasts, but the actual de-buffing of her heal as a cross faction pick means in most cases I don't see a great reason to pick her over a silent one?

Hi franchute, good question. First, I think when you can predict with a high degree of probability what your opponent will be taking (not all readers/10T have any armor) it definitally changes what models make sense. But, in your case, it sounds like you took joss because of interactions within your crew, and he happened to also perform really well against armor. I think that's the key, joss, like most models, shines when you take him in crews where there is some multiplicative effects on his power (in this case mobility), and doubly when you happen to hit an opponent he has a strength against. Taking him in a crew that has not a lot of interaction with him because you know your opponent has armor is probably fine, but I'd rather assume most of the time my opponent has a few different viable options and I won't know 100% ahead of time their choice. I do think, depending on the faction, you should have at least one tool that, for wahever reason is good against armor, but there are a lot of options for that. IMO, joss is not the captain - he's a situationally very powerful model, I think the reason I think of him as a trap is because people see him shine in Ramos and think that means he'll perform close to the same level in other crews (like Colette or sandeep for example).

Thanks for the thorough answer!

I have Joss, who has armor 2 and imbued protection, and is at 1 life, take 4 damage. Scenario 1. Damage is reduced by 2, to 2, I stone and get an 8. 0 Damage taken. Scenario 2. I'm out of stones, 4 comes in again. Can I order the reduction to have armor reduce damage to 2, and the sac imbued protection to reduce to 0, or, do they happen simultaneously, in which case armor can't reduce it below one? In both cases I've been playing it as though I can't reduce to 0 anytime armor is involved. I was just corrected that I can when stones are in play, but we're not sure about imbued protection. Does anyone know the answer for sure with a text source that confirm this? I'd certainly like to be able to, but don't want to unless I'm 100% sure it works. Thanks!

Hi, I just wanted to confirm that this is still happening as ask what kind of turnout you're expecting. Thanks