"Mighty Armies: Is the complexity too light, or just right?" Topic

I have started paying attention to MA, and along the way heard some comparisons to Song of Blades and Heroes. I own SBH and a few expansions, loved the concept, but the delivery fell a little short for me (it was a little TOO generic. I felt).

So I have a question to you, MA player:

Is the level of abstraction "just right", or could it use a few rules to spice it up just a bit? I think a 120-point game looks about the size I'd want to play regularly (30 "armies" per side, 1.5 hrs-ish long, right?). I like the quick-play aspect of it (again, like the concept) but dont want to find the actual game play just too "meh" to keep me interested.

Second question: is 15mm the "right" scale, or would this work equally well at 6mm? I know Warmaster has the dreaded bastardized 10mm scale, but that seems like a halfway measure that would work with either 6 or 15…

I am a great fan of MA but I do think it could use a few more special rules for the more exotic troop types. It is very abstracted, even more so than HotT. I play vs my daughter quite often and for her the level abstraction is fine.

If you want rules that differentiate between a dwarf and a goblin in more than just their combat abilities this may be too generic for you.

As for figure scale and basing, the nominal basing is 15mm figures on 2 inch x 1 inch bases. I playtest the ancients set with figures based for DBA, and as long as both sides are based the same it really doesn't much matter. 28mm figures should work fine. If you want more figures on a base just use larger bases and longer ranges.

The rules are just element-based, so I'm doing MA in 6mm without a problem. I think the troops can be pretty customizable, I statted up Warhammer for it as part of my project.

Basic Impetus Fantasy…. Free and worth a try.

My sons and I have started playing MA again. Since the Dark Elf book was just released more abilities and spells have been released. I think that is an ongoing trend with the rules. So, for me the flavor in the game is MUCH better than HOTT and keeps improving. I think the game play offers enough challenge without adding too much complexity.

Things that could be done to make MA even better.
Have a FAQ available for newbies. Some things simply aren't as clear in the rules as they could be. Questions involving flank attacks on groups, missile fire in terrain features and so on aren't mentioned in the rules. Army building would also benefit by being included in the FAQ as would more detail about playing large armies.

I recently sent in a list of all the published armies so players can readily refer to them to provide guidance in building their own armies.

6mm would work fine and look even better. I have some 6mm armies done and may try them out.

Bottom line is that I think the rules work nicely, play quickly and are fun. My 12 year old is not really into gaming like his older brother. However, he has been tearing into the game building armies and constantly trying them out. That's a pretty high recommendation! If a little effort is made to create a FAQ and they tweak a couple of things MA could seriously give HOTT a run for its money in popularity.

Thanks,

John

@John, I don't have any of the supplemental books and hadn't realized more abilities were in them – do you feel that makes them worth picking up for re-purposing purposes?

Admittedly I am working on dark elves, but have no real intention of doing pirates or picking up the book…unless there's some cool generic stuff in there.

Thanks,
Chris

Guys, I think the game is getting better as new abilities and speels etc are added to it. I would suggest picking up both the Pirate book and the Dark Elf book to use the new spells and abilities with other armies (they are fairly generic in most cases, especially the abilities). The new options allow for more custimization and a lot more color for your forces. I am a little biased since I wrote a few of them, but I still think they add a lot more color to the game and as more books come out the options will increase in a simialr manner to those provided by systems like Song of Blades and Heroes.

Jeff

(oh, in order to avoid sock puppet accusations, I helped with the books as a fan, so I have nothing to gain by supporting them other than hopefully seeing a lot more books to make the game better. You can also blaim me if you don't like some of my ideas for Spells and abilities. We would love to hear what you think and welcome ideas and suggestions.)

Thanks Jeff.

The books are inexpensive as a PDF although I'd like the pdf to retail for 5 bucks based on its size compared to other companies doing the same.

I think they are a definite plus for the rules and really add to the game. That coincides with my 5 dollar price point idea. One book for 7 bucks or so isn't that bad. However, since the new abilities and spells apply to all armies they are sorta required to pick up if you are actively playing the rules. Now if there are 4 supplemental books available at @ 7 bucks makes it almost a 30 dollar price tag rather than 20.00. I seriously hope they think about the pdf price!

Thanks,

John

The Might Armies Ancients set has more detailed rules on constructing your own troops profiles, although of course no magic.

I too hope that some way can be found for Mike to lower the total price of an MA collection.

It's a good game.

@ Dave,

I am pretty sure Mike has started using some of the construction rules from the Ancients game in the normal MA, especially for Elite and veteran units. I would have to look, but I am fairly certain that was done in the new DA book for some more elite units.

Jeff

Thinking even further on the pdf price point I believe an even lower price may be considered. Since the rules are still evolving players pretty much must buy any release set in the Fantasy Universe that includes new abilities and spells. Since these will quite likely be included in an updated rulebook at some point a lower price point is justified. Otherwise, army building for games or tourney play could become a nightmare. 4-5 new booklets out and I need to buy all of them to remain up to date and competitive.

I mean no detraction to Mike at Rebel Minis. He's simply a great guy who is a pleasure to deal with. I am just saying I believe the game's growth will be impeded if this isn't considered and that would be a shame.

Thanks,

John

John L beat me to it. I was going to say that it sounds like I should wait for MA3 so I can get it all at once. There is no way I'm going to spend $30 USD on all the extras without knowing if I'll like it. I did that for SBH and haven't touched it since the one playtest I did.

Well, I hope I'm not convincing you to wait. I like the rules and the only pure Fantasy book out with is it is the Dark Elf one. I'd at least get the rules and then see what happens after that. I'm not convinced a new version of the rules will be out anytime in the near future.

Thanks,

John

Considering how busy Mike is and how long it took us to pull together both Ancients and MA2, I think it is a safe bet that MA3 will be a while in coming.

Those who want a taste of the game, the basic set plays well enough to see, then add the supplements if you like it and want more chrome. If you don't like it you are out the cost of one PDF that way instead of three.

I would be surprised to see an MA3. I think the supplements are the way Mike is driving the game forward and I like that. I think with these supplements (and more to come hopefully), we will see Mighty Armies become a true contender for the top spot for this scale of fantasy warfare.

Minor revisions can sometimes happen of course without releasing a whole new edition if the need ever arose.

@Kealios- I'll answer some of the questions. We have played 100's of games and no two games have ever been teh same. There is alot of tactics and planning(Spell usage, unit strengths), or at least I think so :)
-Most of my games with my buddies are 80-120 points. Depends on what scenaries we are playing.
-I like 15mm scale but I have 3 warmaster armies I play with and 2 28mm Armies(Dwarves and Dark Elves. We play these with a few changes. I may post spme conversions later.

@John Leahy- Yes, we are going to do a FAQ and I think a You Tube Video :) I hope to have that list posted soon.
We are going to look at the PDF price.. but to address all the spells in the different books. We may put out a "Book of Spells" with current spells and some new ones.

@Jeff Racel- You did some good work on those spells :)

@Boromirandkermit- I would be surprised to see MA3 too :)

-I like 15mm scale but I have 3 warmaster armies I play with and 2 28mm Armies(Dwarves and Dark Elves. We play these with a few changes. I may post spme conversions later.

You forgot to mention all the Lego armies for play with your daughter!

Jeff

I didnt mean to imply that a revision was coming, Im sorry for that…just seems from some of the comments that maybe a collection of rules wouldnt be a bad thing.

OK, I am convinced that I should buy the basic rules and get a game on the table soon (soon being after July, once Ive settled into my new house). I learned that my friends have an abundance of Warmaster armies available for play and for sale, so will use 10mm instead of 6 or 15 at the moment.

Thanks for the feedback from everyone!

Combined with some DBA rules seems to make a good blend!

I played a game of MA and then a game of Fantasy ICE! for comparison with a friend using the same armies. The MA game was fast and quick, but felt a little generic with little difference in units. Then we played Fantasy and we enjoyed the added chrome that it had, plus it played fast too.

Now this was 2 or 3 years ago with just basic MA. If they have had more chrome added great, I am willing to try it again. But I am not about to buy every supplement that comes along. I will gladly buy a new version with everything in one package.

Doug