Maybe Im being overly paranoid, but notice the Gear Cards list "PRI" on them, almost to indicate certain Gear can only be used on the Primary slot, others (SEC) secondary (and then SPD, ATT, and DEF).....

fox

Start all over again? Come january, we'll still be able to use Laio Incursion, Counterassault, and Falcon's Prey. That's well over half of my personal collection, and I imagine it's the same for a lot of other players.

Except for one thing - they have mentioned in several places that the LE figures come with their own unique pilot and gear card - such as the crimson ultra-rare figure. So it's conceivable that the LE gear will come with an LE Mech and an LE pilot, all in one bundle, as a prize. Just a guess.

The article states that the same card has a Primary side and a Secondary side. They're the same card.

I'm not going to make any such assumption.


Hey another thing, if your mech has 2 ballistic slots, for example primary with a 12 range, and secondary with an 8 range then you could bring 2 gear for it, for example an AP and an AA, then when you see the OPFOR decide which gear to put in which slot to exploit any weakness.

Who knows perhaps you could bring 1 mech and 3 gear just to give your self the options, in exchange for automatically giving up VC points.

the options multiply further if you are using smaller mechs in multiples.


@those who dream of 5 damage, multi-target, AnP fatties

I wouldnt be surprised to see some game text like this on certain gear cards:

"Anti-Personnel (optional) - If the damage value for this slot is greater than 3, then it becomes three. This gear can only be used when targeting a single unit."

my .02

I would expect this to work the same as spells do in MK.
Spells are not unique. Spells found in boosters and ones received as a prize only have a cosmetic difference. The LE spells have the WK approved play logo on them. Other than that they are the same. The gear cards will probably work the same.

Not physically, no. I don't intend to "break" my cards (and I doubt the other players at my venue will either) which means we'll be placing them beside our mechs, so there's nothing stopping us from adding them to DA mechs in unrestricted and friendly games.

This holds true for any game's older expansions, doesn't it? As soon as the new set comes out, the older sets slow or stop selling because people want the new stuff.

I've never played Mage Knight, so I can't comment with 100% accuracy. The concept is very similar, so I'll take your word for it.

Not everyone is in it for competition. I think most competitive players trade or buy singles to make uberarmies. Aren't spells only in Sorcery because that's the first set they were available? I'm not sure what you mean with that last sentence.

One of the advantages of collectable games is the ability to add something in the next expansion. Look at MtG, how many things have been added since it started? Are you saying you'd rather not see any new features in subsequent sets of MW, just rules changes? That's kinda boring.

I don't either. I have mixed feelings about it myself. It will be interesting to see how things go over.

Retirement is taking place for a variety of reasons. Increased (hopefully) sales for WizKids and changing the competitive environment are the two major ones, IMO. AoD will hopefully revitalize the MW community and boosters will begin to sell again.

I'll take your word for it. Who says I have to start all over again? My units aren't going anywhere. As far as I'm concerned, I'll be adding to my collection, not replacing it.

I haven't been screwed once yet, why would I say they've done it again?

NOooOOoooooooooOOOOO

Why!!!

WHY WK!!!

i dont want to buy more....
i dont want....
i dont...
i....
ArghhHH!!!!! i need it!! TAKE MY MONEY WK and give me all!!

muahahhahaaaa!!

naaaa seriusly i cannt wait to 1.5!

Am I interpreting the text wrong, or does Swarm I Ammunition seem like a poor man's(or maybe just different) version of having multiple targets on a weapon?

@ Thumper
I agree with most said above and I will gladly make some unrestricted events with old mechs using new cards. Although I suppose some über-combinations will quickly arise and I will remove these from the list of what is permissible during my games.

Having thought about it for another minute or two, I believe there IS another use for Swarm I Ammo... Target a unit in base contact with a unit you'd prefer to stay out of range of, or can't quite get close enough to this turn...

And I believe Range and Line of Fire are both ignored for the purpose of any adjacent targets when you are using the Swarm I Ammo. Which is quite nice in my book.

This customizability is the only thing about the Age of Destruction that I've been impressed with so far. If this concept could have been in MW from the beginning I think the game might be in a very different situation than it is right now.

I'm normally pretty harsh about the turns that the universe has taken since the Jihad, actually since the end of the Fourth Succession War to be honest, but despite how vitriolic I can be about the Clans and the way in which technology is treated in BT and MW, I typically try to at least respect the obvious hard work that's been put into almost all the products of the universe.

Now, despite what I just said above, I'm going to have to call WK on just reusing the same uninspired wireframe schematics of autocannons and SRM's that they've been using since the release of the Compendium in the early '90's, and in a preview no less! It must seem like there's no pleasing some people, you stray too far from the classics and we cry, you just rerelease the same things we've loved for years and we moan. That's true, but I wish that we could have had less reused wireframe art and something more attractive and solid like some of the images on the Mage Knight equipment cards.

Just personal preference regarding the aesthetics on a gameplay mechanic which I think is a very good idea.

This is personal. It depends on when you started playing MW and how many figures you have. In other year or so, when no one is interested in the old figures, when they have no resale value, you will find that the only collectable value of your old figures is gathering dust. Consider the amount of money, time and afford in getting them, you will feel screwed. I guess that you have to learn your lession first before you understand what I am talking about.

Consider this:

A pre-AoD 'Mech might have a lot of equipment on it, all over its dial. Much of this equipment only exists on certain clicks. The point cost is then factored accordingly.

According to the article, "The addition of gear to the game means that new ’Mechs are designed with less inherent special equipment than older ’Mechs." So now you can add gear to a post-AoD 'Mech, but you're paying a hefty price for that gear because it counts for the whole (non-salvage) length of the dial. You may be overpaying for that gear on clicks where the 'Mech has salvage, an existing SE, or it simply can't be used, such as when a particular weapons system's damage value become zero.

Obviously, 'Mechs that don't have salvage clicks will be a little more efficient at using some gear.

Pre-AoD 'Mechs get to load multiple SEs on certain stats where one kicks in when the other ends (like Evade and Jump Jets on the BR Raider Mk. II). A good pre-AoD 'Mech will then be inherently more points-efficient than a post AoD 'Mech with gear.

This gives evidence to this assertion from the chat:

Let's try some examples...

Liao Elite Targe, 159 points

This 'Mech is totally toploaded, with AP only on its first 3 clicks (SU on 3rd), Hardened on its first, and Heavy on 2 through 4.

Making a 'Mech like that with gear cards would probably cost a LOT more, because you'd be paying for AP and armor for the whole length of the dial. I'd guess 200 points at least. Then the Liao Targe loses all ballistic damage after 6 clicks. If the 'Mech with gear did the same thing it'll have 7 clicks worth of useless AP equipment, and it'll have paid for it.

The geared-up version of the Targe would benefit from having armor over its whole dial, but would that make it worth 200+ points?

BR Raider Mk. II, 114 points

Does anyone think you could beat this 'Mech for points efficiency by taking a stripped down 'Mech and adding gear? Maybe Evade for its whole dial, but to balance it points-wide you'd have to lose all the other SEs. Since WizKids is unlikely to make any 'Mechs with NO SEs, it's going to come in costing high. Yeah, at 30 to 40 points more you'll get a much better 'Mech, but while it'll beat the original on stats, it won't beat it on points efficiency.

Others to consider:

Clyde Joyce - Hellstar, 251 points

Camo up to, but not including his salvage clicks makes him inherently cost-efficient.

Ezekiel Crow - Blade, 290 points (don't laugh! :)

The same 'Mech made with gear cards (if you can do it, with only two gear slots) would probably go for 350+ points. Yeah, two of those SEs as gear would keep them around for the whole (non-salvage) length of the dial, but would they really be all that useful down in the bottom end of the dial?

Andrzej Czupek - Yu Huang, 239 points

His only SE is four clicks of Jump Jets. You'd have to start with an assault 'Mech that only costs about 150-170 points if you're going to add two pieces of gear, or maybe 185-200 points if you're only going to add one piece of gear. Starting with a 'Mech that cheap, do you think adding gear will really enable you to match him? (One of those pieces of gear would have to be Evade or Jump Jets, and if they make those for assault 'Mechs they'd better be REALLY expensive. So much so that ONE of those would chew up the difference in points and not give you enough left over for another piece of gear. Then your 160-180 base cost 'Mech would definitely be lacking in some other stats vs. Andrzej--speed for sure, probably defense, and probably damage.)

(Note: I tried to find 'Mechs around 200 points that will not be retired after AoD and are competitive right now, but all the good 'Mechs are going to be the little points-efficent ones, or the big sturdy ones. I think Kriya Wolf at just over 200 points and Yuri Mashnovska at 185 points would both still compare favorably with similar point cost post-AoD 'Mechs with gear.)

I think the key is examining present top-loaded 'Mechs vs. post-AoD 'Mechs that might still have top-loaded stats but with gear cards will have deep dial SEs. Are the cost of those deep dial SEs worth the decrease in front end stats that you'd have to take in order to balance the cost against the pre-AoD 'Mechs?

I personally don't think pre-AoD 'Mechs will become totally junk after the release of AoD. I expect it'll be more like the difference between Liao Incursion (Elite Targe, Arnis Drummond, Catalina Trujillo, Hellstars) and Death From Above (Thos Cardella, Skariah Paragon), or Counterassault (Radier Mk IIs, Geoff Bekker, Declan Devalis, Andrzej Czupek, Bounty Hunter) and Liao Incursion. The previous set's uber-'Mechs will still be useful, even if their stars don't shine as bright anymore.

-= Lunatic