Age of Sigmar: Pregame Impressions

So I have my first game of Age of Sigmar scheduled for tomorrow, and I have some initial thoughts on the game. I have read the rulebook, and watched a decent amount of battle reports leading up to this game, so I think I have a pretty good idea of the rules, but in practice things always work out differently. But that is the point of these articles, an impression of the game just from reading the rules and watching other people play. Then I plan to update this after my initial game, and again after a decent number of games (probably like 10), to see how my opinion shifts based on experience within the game. So Ill start by looking at some of the things that have me excited to play the game, and then some of the things that I don’t think will work well. I currently have two armies that I would be able to feel, Beasts of Chaos and Ogor Mawtribes. I will be bringing my Beasts for the first game.

Excited:

Scoring- The biggest draw to me initially was the scoring system. I should preface this by saying that after playing some other games with what I found to be very rudimentary and lackluster scenarios, I was looking for something with a little more crunch to it. So while I think the scoring system is a little complicated, that’s what I was in the market for. If you are unfamiliar with the scoring, each scenario has a basic way of scoring points, usually holding 1 objective for 1 point, holding 2 objectives for a 2nd point, and holding more than your opponent for a 3rd. On top of that, each round you pick whats called a “Battle Tactic” which  can be unique to your army, some from the core rules etc. The battle tactic requires you to perform a specific task on the battlefield, for instance end your turn with multiple units in combat, or end your turn with units in different table quarters. Completing one will score you 2 points, and once its been chosen you cant choose it again. And then theres a Grand Strategy that you get 3 points for at the end of the game if its completed, and that’s kind of like a battle tactic that takes all game. I think this will lead to a lot of player interaction, a lot of dynamic choices that need to be made throughout the game, and while some of my games will probably have me doing the same things in the first turn or two, I expect this to ultimately lead to each game playing out differently. Despite being somewhat complicated, I expect this will get pretty once I have some experience. The dynamic back and forth of this scoring is what I look for in a game’s scoring system.

Unique Faction Rules- I am also looking forward to the unique faction rules in this game. Each faction has a unique set of rules that are just in that faction, which I think would give each faction a very distinct feel. Playing Ogors vs playing Beasts of Chaos should feel very different, and I think that will add a lot of flavor to the game, and give me a reason to play multiple armies. Typically I dislike when factions in a game have very similar rules to each other. I get that that often helps game balance, but at the end of the day if I wanted to play a game where all the factions are the same, I would go play chess. I often say that I look for a lot of variety in games, and if a game just doesn’t have that, I lose interest. Age of Sigmar looks like just the opposite of that.

Seasons- This one is a little different, as its not necessarily a game rule and more just Games Workshop releasing new scenarios and special rules every year. I like the idea of the game changing year to year, not in a hugely significant way, but in how things are played. I like this, it should keep things fresh, and interesting. But I could see how the constant change could be an issue, or if theres one that you just don’t like, and you have to wait a whole year for it to change.

Hesitant:

Double Turn- Ok my number one reason Im hesitant about this game is the double turn mechanic. At the end of each battle round both players roll off and whoever wins the roll gets to pick the turn order. This could mean that Player A goes first, then Player B goes, then Player B wins the roll off and elects to go first this time, meaning that Player B gets to play 2 turns in a row. At first glance this sounds like terrible game design, and like something that if it happens can just end a game right then and there. But maybe its something that can be mitigated so it adds another tactical layer. I don’t know, Im very worried about this aspect of the game, as it just seems like it can cause a lot of problems. And its not even like unlikely to happen, its literally just a roll off between players, with the person not set up for a double turn winning ties. My initial reaction is that Id be pretty pissed if its turn 2, my opponent just charged into my lines, and then wins the roll off and gets to go again immediately.

Static Wound roll- So in Age of Sigmar units will have a to hit stat of something like 3+, meaning they hit on 3s, 4s, 5s , 6s. The same is true of a to wound stat. This means outside of a few special rules or abilities, the opponent doesn’t factor into what you need to wound. A lowly goblin wounds another goblin on a 5, but also wounds a dragon on a 5. Hit stats being this way don’t bother me so much, I think because most games they never fluctuate a great deal anyway, and I can wrap my head around our goblin from the previous example hitting another goblin vs a dragon just as easily as each other. Probably wouldn’t be the case, but would it really be that much of a difference that we cant dumb it down for game simplicity? In my head that seems fine. Wounding being static however, just offends me to my core for some reason. Our goblin wounding another goblin vs a 15 foot dragon just seems like it would be such a statistical difference that we cant dumb that one down.

Double Turn- So this is a bit of a cop out, but I couldn’t think of a 3rd thing that makes me hesitant in my very early pregame impressions, and I am REALLY hesitant about this double turn. So I figured Id add it again. See how annoying a double can be?

And those are my pregame impressions. A couple things that Im excited for, and I think will make me interested in the game, and a couple things that make me hesitant about the game. As mentioned, I haven’t ACTUALLY played a game yet, so these are very preliminary. But these are my thoughts going into the game. We will see how it changes once I actually play one, and if it changes again once I have several games under my belt. Thanks for sticking around, and keep rolling dice!