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Theorycrafting changes in current models


trikk

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On 6/16/2016 at 11:30 PM, Surrealistik said:

Striving for better micro/faction internal-balance than what exists now is not an impossible fool's errand.

It's not and yet...

Focusing on intrafaction diversity is a noble goal, but it often misses the big picture.  You can cuddle every top tier, homogenizing option available in the hopes to make them more "even" with the rest, but ultimately Guild Guard aren't bad because Watchers exist; they're bad because Terror Tots do.  It's not enough to simply identify something being an auto-include or never taken as a problem; you have to fundamentally understand why players make the choices they do and adjust accordingly.

Francisco is a great example of this.  Making him 1, 2, 3 SS more might make the other henchmen more desirable comparatively, but will they actually get taken?  Maybe?  Probably not though.  Realistically, you'd probably just have more choice in what gets ripped to shreds by Howard or simply fails to bring anywhere near its value in utility or combat vs smaller models and add him to the list of models you just don't take.  Moreover, you'd realize really quickly that Guild stats are still incredibly dependant on El Mayor and the result would be Francisco not dropping out of lists, but there being less room for choice in list design elsewhere.  The issue is; as much as Francisco is a problem; he's not honestly probably in the Top 5 henchmen in the game.

In general, the things you need to focus on fixing are the things that affect interfaction balance.  Belles are a good example of something that's so unrestricted powerful that they remove the viability of large groups of models in other factions or sometimes even entire masters.  This is also the primary issue with the Rats.  The important thing is that the existence of these models is warping enough to limit the opponent.  One of the big reasons Sonnia is probably better than Perdita is just the ability to protect her crew for Lure.  One of the primary reasons Austringers become an auto include is the necessity of hunting Waifs.

Ultimately we're talking about the state of the meta and the models that don't fit within it.  You have two real controls to that end; if you can identify the factors that shape the meta, you can alter them to reshape it, though the outcome can be hard to predict.  You can also try to reshape pieces that don't fit, which has the advantage of being able to look for open spaces to fill.  Whether you choose the first largely depends on how small the existing pool is and which class of models has the best chance of producing a positive change.

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@LunarSol

I would agree that problem models which distort inter-faction balance are the priority.

I would also agree that attempts to improve faction infra-balance and list diversity also needs to consider the impacts on a faction's macro performance, which includes factoring in the meta.  

That having been said it is a mistake to state that striving for infra-balance necessitates ignoring inter/macro-balance, or otherwise being blind to the big picture, or that the only tool in the box is blanket cuddles for everything that is considered or shown to be overpowered which I have never asserted; buffing stuff like the Guild Guard or Lucius or decreasing the SS cost of Samael and his upgrades for example, is probably also advisable.

 

 

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