Jump to content

Simplifying and speeding up.


WWHSD

Recommended Posts

I want to start focusing on speeding up my games so that I can consistently get through 5 rounds in two hours.

As much as I love having options available and pulling shenanigans with model combos I think that they eat up a lot of time as I’m evaluating my options or getting setup.

Am I on the right track trying to simplify what I play until I’m satisfied with my play speed?

I’ll have all of the Arcanist masters available as soon as I finish getting paint on Kaeris and Colette. Which masters should I focus on for a quick playing crew that alleviates some of my analysis paralysis? I’m not looking for a super aggressive “one way or the other, this will be a short game” crew. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think any master can play fast, it is just a matter of knowing all their stats and suit requirements as well as which series of actions you will want to do. Mei Feng may be a bit particular in this regard since she has lots of silly trigger play and extra actions but most of the time you should know what a model will do way ahead of beginning their activation.

Learning how they work is not the same as not having analysis paralysis. I suffer from that too. To break it you need to basically decide to never take more than five seconds on a decision. You will do some stupid ass shit the first games but it gets better. I usually know I will be doing one of two/three things but then I get turned around wheighing options. Always go for the one you thought of first is one way to decide. Going for the most awesome if it works or the least risk are other options for deciding.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd say not Mei Feng and Ironsides, as their combos can sometimes double the amount of actions you're taking.  Raspy might be a good choice but you do have to think in different angles, same with Sandeep and his Beacons.  Ramos kind of seems like the best bet to be honest, there aren't any long combos and the most complicated he gets is deciding where his Arachnids and Strike Markers get placed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So multiple things here, one is as already observed Combo spam on certain masters, and to a lesser extent crews will slow you down.  Also the sheer number of activations will slow things, not to mention messing with lots of marker placement.

All this is aside from your opponent, and this is not that an opponent is inherently slow or quick but that certain masters will cause an opponent to play slower and more tentatively and others will invite a quick response back and forth play.

So (I think) (always depending to a degree on crew and upgrade choices)

Quicker (aggression at range or up close):

  • Rasputina is up there as very fast, her main schtick is pretty obvious, she freezes stuff, her ice mirror is a trick but usually pretty linear in play.  Largely no need to deal with lots of horror and minimal worries on your end about markers (corpse/scrap) unless you play into it with her upgrades.  You opponent is motivated to get in and brawl, either they do and might win or they don't and likely loose.  
  • Marcus is a quick and flexible choice, classic beast list more or less flies in and smashes face or gets smashed.  Some tricky combos but not to much, particularly once you have things down and know your crew.  Opponent is not likely to be to worried about huge got ya tricks, usually plays quick.

Mid-range (summons for the win):

  • Ramos is a summoner which always slows things down a shade as more activation's mean more time and you also needs must mess around with creating and dropping scrap.  The arachnids are not deadly but very irritating and they will slow your opponent both in-game (desired) and out of game (not so much) trying to deal with them.  Also probably the trickiest to balance control hand, his summons need cards, so you'll have card draw and cheating to consider constantly, this slows things as well. 
  • Sandeep is another summoner and he has a lot of odd angles and choices with his academic and sharing tricks.  You need to balance your summons-upgrades and make it plain who has what and such like.  His very flexibility means lots of options.  Opponents are likely to play him pretty quickly though.

A little slower (the speedy fragile dodgers):

  • Colette is all about the tricks, if you have her humming she plays pretty fast, dropping markers and running riot, if you make a big mistake you're basically dead and that is an unfortunately quick game.  This is why she is mid-range, you need to slow her down against a solid opponent as your margin for error is so tight.  Equally your opponent is likely being slowed down as they make 'best choice' decisions with markers everywhere and all her crews defensive tricks and weird movement.
  • Kaeris is a bit like Colette with less schemes and defensive tricks and more straight durability, but in this way she actually can be harder as she can't scheme as well and is not a whole lot better at raw aggression.  She slows her opponent while speeding herself up more or less, its a balance and things on both sides can go slow as people try to work out the ideal use of AP.

The slower (combo and crew buffing auras):

  • Mei Feng is the combo mistress with anti-range tech and tricky chain movement, she uses her crew to move and her crew uses her to hide.  Lots of moving pieces which need other pieces to be in certain places and when she gets going her activation's can be long chains.  A good opponent is aware that Mei can fly out of a cloud of steam sideways across the board and smash a bunch of their crew, so they are careful looking for the strange angles of attack, makes it slower still.  I'd say this is your slowest master in Arcanists.  She is fragile as well so you simply can't play her fast and loose.
  • Ironsides is another combo master and she has to manage adrenaline, some auras and a few pulls and pushes.  Your opponent is going to be careful because Irons wants to engage and they almost certainly don't want this, she does not have the weird angles Mei does but otherwise is similar.  Plays faster than Mei but I'd say slower than the other unionists.

So I'd go fastest to slowest Marcus - Rasputina - Ramos - Sandeep - Kaeris - Colette - Ironside - Mei all things being pretty equal.    

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information