Sorry about the lack of content! We have all been away on vacation attending the 2017 NOVA Open. Here is a quick update on how we all did at the event.
Reece, Frankie, and I were all invited to the NOVA Invitational. Frankie and I were taken out round 1 and were eliminated from the single elimination bracket. So we spent the rest of the day heckling Reece who won his hype match with Pete from GW. Then he immediately lost and we all spent the rest of the day hanging out and drinking our losses away.
At the NOVA Open Frankie decided to ditch his first love and played Age of Sigmar with GW heart throb Andy Smilie. They ended up losing on the final table. They were last seen bawling in the corner of a hotel room in each other’s arms. Reece and Myself finished 4-2 and 3-3 respectively and then dropped day 3. Reece dropped day 3 so that he could enjoy the con, and I dropped to get some work done.
Overall we have all enjoyed the NOVA Open, and with the exception of Malefic Horror chaos soup armies and the odd Forgeworld Superheavy lists are really diverse and creative. You do see a lot of the usual suspects (Conscripts, Guilliman, Celestine, Magnus, etc.) but there are not a lot of identical lists and people are bringing their own flair to their factions and doing reasonably well.
Stay tuned to Frontlinegaming.org where we will most likely run a lot mroe coverage of the event, in the form of videos, podcasts, and articles!
Why do you have a problem with Chaos but not with BS conscript/mortar team/girlyman/celestene. They are exactly as much of a problem…
Sure, you meantioned them but only in passing while focusing on Chaos
I completely agree, and have wondered this for some time.
Chaos has two units that are questionable, but IG seemingly has 3-4 that really need to be looked at if malefics are a problem.
Namely Scion/Elysians, Taurox Primes, Primaris Psykers, and COnscript/Commissars.
I Know Reece get’s exasperated when people accuse FLG of Imperium bias, but IG wins both the invititational AND the open, and we’re still worried about malefic lords??
Malefic are no fun. Even if you took away brimstone swarms (Which they did in part. You saw a lot of cultists subbing out for what would be brimstones before), Malefic lord would be an awful list to play against. Relying on character shenanigans feels worse than the conscript mass.
It’s also forgeworld, so FLG doesn’t know the inside details on how they’ll be fixed, while most of IG stuff is codex and FLG already knows most of what’s gonna change.
Like, the Forge world people don’t know how they’ll fix malefic lords yet,
Cultists are 1ppm more and have no 4++ invul save or mortal wound mechanic. They are far less threatening than brims.
I think Cultsits are the better unit, personally. With their stratagem allowing them to recylce to full strength and pop up on a board edge, they are crazy good.
Brimstones have a 16% chance to do 1 wound. One. Yes, they have a 4++. However, that’s literally all the do. Conscripts have guns (not good ones) and orders to allow them to do all sorts of other things.
You can’t base a judgement for the current balance of the game based on the results of 1 event.
Conscripts are too good, we’ve been saying that from day 1. But, the AM codex has been announced and is coming very soon, I imagine they are going to be adjusted, there.
And yes, Malefic lords are absolutely overpowered, without question, lol. There is no bias here towards Imperium, either. That is just silly. I have 3 different Chaos Armies, Frankie has 2, etc. My favorite army, as everyone that knows me knows, is Night Lords. What I do have a bias towards is units that make the game no fun, and Malefic Lords are near the top of that list. By far, the unit the most folks were talking about at NOVA was Malefic Lords, followed by Conscripts.
Mentions both things once, gets accused on focusing on one over the other. Too bad there isn’t some sort of intelligence filter on comments.
“We’ll be updating the blog as we go with results, pictures, lists, etc.” vs. “Sorry about the lack of content! We have all been away on vacation attending the 2017 NOVA Open”.
To be honest the Nova invitational seems like a very…. meh event to me. The culmination of the entire thing was Bajramovic in the finals conceding after not getting first turn without even having played a single turn of warhammer. Such a shitty attitude to have. It seems to me that that really is not what we should want tournaments to become.
did that actually happen? i mean i dont even know the armies or circumstances involved, but to not even play the final because you lose 1 dice roll pre game? pathetic if thats the case.
I wouldn’t say that’s unreasonable depending on armies and deployment
I would say that’s pretty unreasonable and very poor form. You never know what’s going to happen with dice for starters. And it’s just not very sportsmanlike to quit. Especially that early. Conceed after turn 2 or 3 if you’re basically wiped? Sure. But without even taking half a turn? Rather pathetic, honestly.
Really? You sound fun to play against….
It’s a privilege to be asked to play in the invitational, one that lots of gamers would have jumped at even against slim odds. To get to the final round and refuse to play because you think you’re going to lose is pretty petty.
It very much is when you are on stream and judges have gotten up at 5am to come and oversee the event, and to everyone else that came to compete in it or tuned in to watch the final game. I love PJ Pants, he is a good buddy, but as I said to him, I did not agree with his choice. Even if you are going to get wiped out turn 1 (which is not certainty) you still put your models on the table and take your lumps in that specific situation. In a practice game, or a game that isn’t so high profile and on stream? Do what you want, but specifically that circumstance it was not the right call, IMO.
The imperial soup armies in the top 6 are just as BS as the chaos ones.
Brims/scripts need a nerf as the characters-behind-screens lists are making tournaments pretty boring now
I agree with others here. Love you guys, but I feel like chaos gets a lot of extra salt in coverage when Imperium is just as problematic.
Yup, Gulliman and Celestine need a look too. Assuming we are endlessly witch hunting.
Remember, FLG were playtesters, they have inside info on how index stuff is gonna change in a codex. They weren’t to sauced about brimstone and herald swarms. But Forge word is an entirely different rule structure
I know. I hear and see the discussion of horrors here all the time. I also see people saying conscripts aren’t an issue when they literally do more than horrors in some instances.
We need to approach it honestly.
No one here (to my knowledge) is saying Conscripts are not an issue. They are far too good, Frankie and I have been saying that since day 1. However, the AM codex is inbound in the near future, and I would imagine Conscripts will be getting adjusted.
Certainly never implied, or intended to imply, it was all from you guys. Was more of a jab at competitive 40k fb group the last few days lol
Ah, got you, lol.
Yeah, lots of grumbling over there sometimes. But hey, that is part of the purpose of the forums/FB groups.
I just don’t think changing conscripts changes a thing. Guardsmen are only 4 points, and will be the de facto replacement.
But as we have said, codex on the way, so waiting to be happily surprised.
Guardsmen at 4pts per is cool, IMO, as then you will actually see them, lol. And as they only come in units of 10, they will play a lot differently. However, tossing in a Flamer, maybe a Mortar in their unit makes them a screen that does something. They should be good, but Conscripts are OTT right now.
Forgeworld Malefic Lords, Conscripts, and Brimstones are public enemy number 1 in the yes of GW and every competitive player and playtesters that attended the event. I understand it can be hard to shake preconceived perceptions but you do sometimes have to step back and look at the majority of armies and what is over centralizing and stagnates the meta. Not what is the most powerful. Guilliman and Celestine are common (and may be worth looking at fixing) but Malefic lords were by far the only unit everyone agreed was the most broken.
I really think mortars should be on the list and the gw guy I talked to said they definitely were so I I’m not truly freaking out. I really think the next update will involve nearly everything in both top lists.
Also ” lists are really diverse and creative”… If GW had no xenos armies at all then maybe… Every list is either conscripts+girlyman+celestine+artilery+deepstrike plasma or brims+malefics+berserkers in rhinos
Except no, that wasn’t the case. There were a lot of diverse lists and a lot of them competed against brimstone horrors and Imperial soup. Even winning. The problem is really people who don’t attend the events. Armchair spectators who only focus on the top 16 lists. No matter how many times those top 16 players win other events with other lists.
Because that’s the only thing we can focus on. If there was a big free database, where we could sort it all out – perfect. But there isn’t, so we have to look at the biggest public tournaments.
Lists that get eliminated game 1 or 2 don’t matter. At all.
I can bring a 5 bloodthirster list, that’s not relevant. The lists that persevere – for example the top 8 in the invitational were: Chaos soup(MLs, berserkers, cultists(more of a problem than brimstones), brimstones) vs Imperial Soup(conscripts, no LoS artilery, deepstrike plasma, celestene, girlyman)
The hammer must come down on these issues:
1. screening characters with hordes of garbage units
2. Soup armies cherry picking while Xenos armies confined in the small amount of units they have access to. Imperium, Chaos armies lost all their identity…
Both of these issues cannot be adressed by pts changes. The core of the game has to change – like boots on the ground. If you change points,this will happen on those issues:
1) oh, i’ll pick the next most cheapest trash unit to screen
2a) Oh, Imperium/Chaos has a garage full of tools when Xenos has a toolbox
2b) Oh, Xenos units are just straight up better than any Imperium/Chaos units
There is a big database, but the guys who worked their butts off to build and maintain it are charging a very reasonable fee to access it. Perhaps you should consider supporting them to get access to the information you clearly want =)
Well, top 16 lists is kinda where the focus _should_ be, because those are the lists that are winning the most. Obviously the results of any single event aren’t definitive, but with BCP and BoK (as well as myriad other online sites) to use as resources, it’s a lot easier to take a numerical approach to sizing up lists. If Maelific Lords, artillery, Horrors, and Rowboat are consistently ranking at the top then they are problematic, especially when other units/armies are not making it up there with anywhere near the same frequency.
Well said.
Sure, it looks like the list diversity was great. And that really is a positive thing we should all be pleased about.
But if we’re talking about the most powerful lists, the top 16 is the only resource we have to determine where the problems may lie
This.
It doesn’t matter if 30% of all the lists used Brimstone Horrors if none of them placed well. This is obviously made of number, but the point stands.
But Brims were all over the top lists. They Conscripts and Cultists were by a mile the most prevalent units. Horrors are still too good, the 4++ is just too much for such a cheap model. Conscripts too, are OTT.
good post.
Unless you watched other games yourself from start to finish, you are very much an armchair general as well, in terms of commentary on other players’ games
the salt is strong in this comment section!
Is there any place to see the lists and results of who won what? Was an app used? Little disappointing that it was posted updates coming and then the final night we get a small blurp.
Best Coast Pairings, if you get the pro version, let’s you look at all sorts of lists and other info.
Would also like to see this too.
We were extremely busy at the event, far more so than anticipated. We also didn’t go to cover the event, but to participate in it, FWIW.
For all those bandwagon players leaping on the Tempestus train, f you. For those whining about guard, go play your yannari and tau u whites out from last edition
Keep it civil please, friend. You’re free to express your opinion but do so in a respectful manner.
Did his comment even make sense?
Everyone harping about a lack of diversity in the Top 16 here is completely ignoring the nature of Pablo’s statements (I’m chiming in just because reading it has been a little annoying). Nobody anywhere said “the top lists and those played in the first bracket were really diverse and creative”; there were problems there, and those problems were mentioned quite specifically!
Pablo’s talking about the event as a whole on the diversity front, and he’s right on that point. There was a much improved variety of armies and units at this GT than there has been in awhile (at least anywhere on the east coast, speaking anecdotally). Things are overall so, so much better in this department than they were just a few months back.
And even with those problem units, and the apparent shortcomings of factions lacking “soup” flexibility or still without a Codex, the armies that are a rung below the “problems” have a fair shot. I took Orks, my first love, to an event for the first time in like six years, and had good, close games against a lot of different things, including the “problem” lists– and in fact I only lost to Chaos character spam (Magnus, Malefics, et cetera) because I failed 4/5 charges on my last turn as an Ork player with re-rolls (I only needed to make 3 to get onto some objectives). I had things pretty well in control. It’s not like it used to be, where games were *as a rule* foregone conclusions and gross blowouts. Orks can frickin’ hack it against that stuff now, which feels great.
Game’s got issues, and the top tables over an 8-round event will make said issues pretty clear. It’s also pretty clear these units and rules will see some adjustments. But it’s really a lot better than it looks when you’re just reading lists online, and don’t forget that just because a list doesn’t make a top bracket, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t close, that doesn’t mean it stood no chance. That just means it came up short in one round, one game, maybe even on a single die roll. Or a player’s mistake. These samples are still that small.
I think you need to reread some of the responses to Pablo’s comments.
Aside from being a little condescending to people with legit concerns about the game, he was accusing some of being “armchair generals” for using concrete data (the top 16 lists) to form conclusions about the state of the meta
The guys need a little rest after such an mega event. Im sure list follows soon. I’m also curios. But i dont have high expectations at the diversity of the list’s.
What happened to “zero comp?”
Was there an ork with a decent placement? If yes, could u plz post his list
Greetings from Germany 🙂
There was, Ben Mohlie made the top 16. His list is available on BCP. Bill Souza also made it to round 2 of the invitational with his Orks.
Reece did Necons get at least top 50?
Also do you know if there will be points adjustments in the Chapter Approved or will I forever see Bobby G and or the Saint across the table from me? ;p
Thanks Reece hope you had fun and your list worked ass planed at least once!
As planed*
I had a blast and my list worked as planned a lot, had a great time.
And yeah, GW said at the presentation at NOVA that CA would being lots of points adjustments including to FW, which is where it is needed most, IMO.
And Jessica got 51st place with Necrons, so pretty solid in that tough field.
Ohhh so close. Well if those ORKY boys could wait through 7th to have a competitive codex I can wait till 2018 to have a chance.
I love hearing that there will be balancing changes for x-mas. I was beinging to think Cawl cloned Bobby G and he his now in every SM and Guard army across the galaxy. (Opera voice) “You get a Bobby G! You get a Bobby G! Everyone gets an Emperor’s SONNNNN!”
lololol!