Visions in the Flames: Durability and Effectiveness

Bannermen, Michael Shinall back again, and today we are taking a look at some of the revamps coming to Combat Units in 2021!

Now, that sentence might have sounded a bit scarier than intended, so let’s just address that immediately: when we talk about revamps, we’re really speaking about some general quality of life adjustments to numbers. There aren’t any mechanical changes or modifications to the system or anything of the sort… No, the topic today is much duller than that: Math.

As part of our full evaluation of units, we had several key points that we knew we wanted to address. Let’s break them down into specifics and go over each in brief detail:

Combat Effectiveness: This really plays into the bigger topic of Units, Attachments, and Tactics Card interactions, so there isn’t really a “simple” explanation here, but essentially the number of raw dice/stat boosts is something we wanted to cut down on. While they were not exactly common, the number of effects and abilities that simply generated additional dice, or increased a unit’s “To Hit” modifier, was a bit higher than we wanted to see. By cutting down on these effects, it put a greater focus on other aspects, rather than just allowing players to go “this number is bigger, thus it is better.” The larger impact this has is a more controlled damage curve. Meaning that the capability to “one-shot” a unit from max Wounds to dead is almost non-existent any longer.

Rank-Effectiveness and Die Numbers: Carrying on the previous point, the term “one-shot” actually is a bit misleading. The ability to reduce a unit from full strength to absolutely dead is actually a rarityin the current format. When players refer to this, they typically mean “making it so a unit is no longer a threat to me”, and this usually ties into a unit’s drastically reduced capabilities when reduced to its last rank. Typically, if you can bring a unit to that point, you could almost ignore it for a lot of purposes because it just lost so much effectiveness. Meanwhile, units at full strength tended to have a very high ceiling of potential to reduce other units to this state-seldom was there an “in between” here-you were either a threat or you weren’t. With the rank-system in the game, the intent was a gradual decline of effectiveness, not a sudden drop-off. We’re worked a lot of the “top-end” numbers and generally increased the “bottom-end” ones, making it so if a unit is alive, it’s always going to contribute and be a threat. Of course, this varies across units, so its more of a “general concept” than “hard rule”.

Cost-to-Effectiveness Ratios: Stats are something you pay for alongside Abilities. Another area we have refined is what this means across the various Point-spreads of units. What you will see most commonly in this regard is that a 4+ to Hit is the baseline, whereas currently units tend to skew slightly more toward 3+. Bottom-line here is, “elite” stats (3+ To Hit, 3+ Defense, Morale, etc) carry more weight when factoring into a unit. As such, most units of 6 cost and below saw a general reduction in their To-Hit, moving from 3+ to 4+. Again, this is a general principle and not the rule, but overall it would be rare to see a unit of cost 6 or less with a baseline 3+ to Hit without some sort of trade-off (or unless that increased stat is one of their cost-benefits).

Let’s take a look at three units across three different point totals to show some examples:

• At five points the Lannister Guards enjoy a 3+ Defense, which with the overall reduction in damage means more than it did previously. The trade-off is still the same here as it ever-was; their lackluster Morale and Speed. Otherwise, they still don’t have the best combat stats, but you’ll notice the increase in dice from 3 to 4 on their last rank, which will at least give them 2 Hits on average should they be reduced that low (Really, the bigger change here is removing their reliance on 1 specific Attachment… But that’s a topic for another article). The other noticeable change is in Lannister Supremacy, which has now become an Order, but also received a marked improvement in both its ability to trigger as well as its damage potential. This plays strongly into Lannister’s overarching themes of “Sure, we’re not the best at Attacking, but we are the best at intimidating you and making your troops run away”.
• Six points we see the Bloody Mummer Skirmishers. A baseline Speed of 6 is their tradeoff for lackluster defensive stats and average offense, but then you need to factor in their revamped Abilities and just what it means for their overall survivability and damage output because, just like the unit themselves, they can be misleading if ignored. While they cannot take a direct Hit, Agile means your opponent will be hitting them far less than usual… and the Mummers punish that with both Counterstrike and giving out Weakened tokens. Mummers are a full harassment unit, not as aggressive as some other options, not a mainline defensive unit, but one that will tie units up and severely disrupt them and their capabilities.
• At seven we have the Lannister Pyromancers, and this is an example of a unit that trades pretty much any concept of Defense for just more raw offense. As far as potential damage output goes, the Pyromancers are sitting on the very high end of the curve. First, looking at their base-line stats, we have 7 Attack Dice that only degrade at last rank, as well as a 3+ to Hit with both a Short-Range Attack and Melee. That is quite an impressive profile already! Speed is average and Morale is slightly above the curve for Lannisters, but where these guys get hit is their incredibly lackluster 6+ Defense, meaning pretty much any solid Hit will deal a Wound. Looking at their Abilities however we see a further push to this “all-in-glass-cannon” approach with both Vicious and the effect of ignoring Defense Dice. This has a trade-off, however, in that they can deal themselves Wounds. Finally, rounding out the Panic Theme for Lannisters, you also have Horrific Visage, meaning they do damage even on the defense. As previously stated- damage all around! But this is what your seven points will buy you.
• The new Stag Knights show-case off what a high-cost unit can be capable of, being one of the most sustainable units in the game, but also one of the deadliest as time goes on. This unit has the full package in offense and defense, but it’s something you are actively paying for to accomplish. While other units can gain Attachments to bring up their effectiveness, Stag Knights are nasty in their own right- and if you want to further invest into them via Attachments, we should remind about the general reduction of lethality in the game, meaning your investment has more chance to shine. This fact cannot be overstated enough!

Bannermen, that will conclude this look into the Visions. Join us next time as we continue our design and development insights into what to expect for the game in 2021!