The titles are a home run.

[Sweet Tooth]

1 hour ago, Starrius said:

having 2 masters in a box with their henchmen seems a good idea except this will mean i won't get them because i don't want the other master in the box. due to none of the masters being combined within the factions i do play this is a massive turn off for me.

Using 2 of 3 models in the box is a pretty good rate compared to some other single Keyword boxes. 

I’d also say this packaging is easier on consumers in terms of affordability and for shops in terms of keeping SKU count lower. There’s no good way to box all these models that will make everyone happy, but I think this small bundle approach is the best. 

[muraki]

10 minutes ago, Sweet Tooth said:

Using 2 of 3 models in the box is a pretty good rate compared to some other single Keyword boxes. 

I’d also say this packaging is easier on consumers in terms of affordability and for shops in terms of keeping SKU count lower. There’s no good way to box all these models that will make everyone happy, but I think this small bundle approach is the best. 

Yeah I always assumed conflict boxes were the way as wyrd already has a spot for dual keyword boxes.

[Mangod]

So, do we think the recently revealed Burning Man-attendees are going to be paired with each other? Might be easier to get the "corrupted by a gentrified existential cataclysm"-theme across easier if you don't have to justify why Misaki/Last Blossom are sharing a model with Mah Tucket.

[Nathan Sells]

23 minutes ago, Mangod said:

So, do we think the recently revealed Burning Man-attendees are going to be paired with each other?

That would leave Ulix, Nellie, Misaki, Euri, Maxine, and Parker? 
For something like
Ulix - Euri (Giant mutant pig?)
Nellie - Maxine (Burning Man Cultists?)
Misaki - Parker (Undead ninjas?)

Its certainly possible. I'd say some of those pairings look a little surprising but I never would have called Molly - Nekima, so...

[touchdown]

49 minutes ago, Nathan Sells said:

Misaki - Parker (Undead ninjas?)

They already share Wokou Raiders, so there's overlap already

[Math Mathonwy]

Anyone else notice that there's a lot of Summoning going on in the new titles?

Out of the ones we've seen so far, Kirai, Dreamer, Reva, Toni, Anya, Nekima, Zoraida, and Jedza all have Summons going on. Now, granted, many are quite limited in their Summons (either in what they Summon or how they do it) but it still struck me as noteworthy.

Seven non-Summoners and eight Summoners if I counted correctly.

[Azahul]

9 minutes ago, Math Mathonwy said:

Anyone else notice that there's a lot of Summoning going on in the new titles?

Out of the ones we've seen so far, Kirai, Dreamer, Reva, Toni, Anya, Nekima, Zoraida, and Jedza all have Summons going on. Now, granted, many are quite limited in their Summons (either in what they Summon or how they do it) but it still struck me as noteworthy.

Seven non-Summoners and eight Summoners if I counted correctly.

Yeah, my local group has been chatting about that. It looks like Wyrd has settled on a solution to cost 5 or less models not seeing much play, and the solution is "if they're incidental and free players will have to use them".

 

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it one way or the other. I mean, they're not wrong in a sense, and it will be nice to see those models on the table. It will be a bit weird to be in a meta where 50% of Masters are a Summoner in some capacity, but there is quite a gap in terms of what being a Summoner means between these new Masters and what we're used to.

[Rufess]

40 minutes ago, Math Mathonwy said:

Anyone else notice that there's a lot of Summoning going on in the new titles?

Out of the ones we've seen so far, Kirai, Dreamer, Reva, Toni, Anya, Nekima, Zoraida, and Jedza all have Summons going on. Now, granted, many are quite limited in their Summons (either in what they Summon or how they do it) but it still struck me as noteworthy.

Seven non-Summoners and eight Summoners if I counted correctly.

Being able to summon not automatically makes a top master. Most, if not all, of the top tier summoner masters before nerf could generate resources like hands or actions, which combine with the action efficiency of summoning multiple models from one single action together push those master to the top.

So far all revealed master title with summoning capability can mostly summon one model per action, from a very limited pool. With this and the change to summoned models and strategy marker, I think they do not bring as much resource advantage as the primal summoner pre-nerf.

Also it is a clever design to make different version of master focus on different part of his/her/its keyword. Like undying Jedza love to bring all high cost enforcers, while the beater Jedza lean toward minions like Lamplighter and Moorwraith.

[Mangod]

21 hours ago, Nathan Sells said:

Misaki - Parker (Undead ninjas?)

 

20 hours ago, touchdown said:

They already share Wokou Raiders, so there's overlap already

I could see Parker - Nellie too, some kind of informant who tells them who to rob/who's gotten robbed.

[Pallas4]

I haven't the fluff but... The linked masters seems not be allies. The only link is a common model.

Basse and Marcus are not really together in the fluff (I think) but Paul can be played with both.

 

In my opinion, the better way to imagine the pairs is to imagine a model which can match for two masters.

[Cats Laughing]

13 hours ago, Math Mathonwy said:

Anyone else notice that there's a lot of Summoning going on in the new titles?

Out of the ones we've seen so far, Kirai, Dreamer, Reva, Toni, Anya, Nekima, Zoraida, and Jedza all have Summons going on. Now, granted, many are quite limited in their Summons (either in what they Summon or how they do it) but it still struck me as noteworthy.

Seven non-Summoners and eight Summoners if I counted correctly.

Have noticed that too. As another poster mentioned, the summons are more of the incidental and 5 or less cost models, which is an interesting way to bring more of those models into the game. I do think the GG2 rules and summoned token & related rules mean that this kind of summoning is far less of an issue than the "summoning" that makes some players worry about balance.

On 8/8/2021 at 9:04 AM, Mangod said:

We actually had a similar discussion back in february, where WM/H was brought up as well. To wit Cygnar, one of the 7 non-mercenary factions in Warmachine, has 20 different Warcasters (the Warmachine equivalent of a Master) available. That's one faction, and Khador, Protectorate of Menoth and Cryx all have just as many each. Add Retribution of Scyrah, Convergence of Cyriss, Crucible Guard, Mercenaries, and all the factions from Warmachine's sistergame Hordes, and you're probably looking at close to- or even over 200 Warcasters. And Mercenaries Warcasters can be taken in main factions on top of that.

FWIW, when I was tracking my local meta's WMH game stats back in 2013, there were already 140 warcaster/warlocks available for selection. It's definitely over 200 at this point and possibly pushing 300 (too many for me to bother counting in any case)

On 8/5/2021 at 5:07 PM, Maniacal_cackle said:

Let's not forget the random pairings.

"Well, all we have left is Wong and Nellie. Guess they're going together?"

TBH those two would probably get along like peas in a pods.

[Maniacal_cackle]

Well, I've had 3 straight days of salt about the new masters, but I'm still excited about 80% of them at least I think.

Looking forward to playing with AND against the masters, which is a really good sign for most of the titles.