Vex:
Okay I think I found a way to help balance AoS warbands. No it’s not perfect, I’m sure it’ll be clunky and it’s still annoying that we the players have to think of something to help balance the game.
Anyway, I came up with the “wounds per scroll” limit. Basically both players agree to a set number scrolls and a set number of wounds per scroll. For example if you had 20 WPS then a chaos player could only field 10 warriors per scroll while a dark elf player could field 20.
I’ll give it a go later to see if it helps. Try it yourselves and let me know.
AGPO:
It sounds like a good starting point. Three of the games we have played were played using one of the formations from the back of each set of warscrolls. Those forces seem to blance quite reasonably and suit a particular style of play. Wounds are a good starting point, but I don’t think they’re enough alone. I doubt twenty goblins could take twenty elves, or a Bloodthirster.
I think in the end a tier system will emerge via consensus. That said, I think the best bet will be player experience of what works well and the desire to have a fun balanced game.
Vex:
My position is. If you want a fun balanced game. Play 8th or KoW. If you want to set up a narrative (ogres attacking a CD supply train) then AoS is alright (just alright, the rules are rather boring) and if you want to be a total git and be that guy with the 20 bloodthirsters against some kids new shiny sigmarines then AoS is perfect for you.
Doombeard:
tournament organisers must be scratching their heads.
Time of Madness:
My position is. If you want a fun balanced game. Play 8th or KoW. If you want to set up a narrative (ogres attacking a CD supply train) then AoS is alright (just alright, the rules are rather boring) and if you want to be a total git and be that guy with the 20 bloodthirsters against some kids new shiny sigmarines then AoS is perfect for you.
Vex
I agree with Vex,
I can't see AoS being worthwhile for tournaments. It's more of a beer and pretzel style game where you can invite your buddy over and smash some toy soldiers together.
I've read the beta rules for 2nd edition of kings of war and am looking forward to seeing the rules July 10th. In the meantime my group is sticking with 8th edition.
Time of Madness
Zuh-Khinie:
I think the balancing factor right now is this:
If you buy the new base-box, you get a prefabricated army, using its own force organisation chart and a number of models according to the minimum requirements of its warscroll.
So… every army-pdf has specific force organisation charts with specific rules for said force.
If you take such a force with sufficient models to fill the minimum requirement of its warscroll, then I think all forces balance.
How to scale up from there, I haven’t figured out yet, but I’m quite sure GW does…
Rumours state GW will still release a BrB in its due time, and I think/hope that much will be clearer afterwards.
Doombeard:
how to scale up
double : buy two age of sigmar boxes
treble : buy 3 age of sigmar boxes
can you see where I’m going with this
Time of Madness:
Rumours state GW will still release a BrB in its due time, and I think/hope that much will be clearer afterwards.
Zuh-Khinie
Just rumour at this point though, which is unfortunate because as of right now there isn't a whole lot to AoS. Seems like most of it is smash up some toy soldiers and roll a lot of 4+.
Time of Madness
cornixt:
There’s going to be a magic supplement at least, how could there not be?
Right now, there is no way to know how well any army is going to do against another unless you have played them several times. I’ve played a few games of 7th edition by randomly picking units and just attacking, ignoring the points and army composition rules, but not as a serious battle. AoS might be fun to play a few times, but it’s not going to have the same level of excitement as pitting two balanced armies against each other with skill being the biggest factor.
TheHoodedMan:
I suppose that there will be some balancing system not too far in the future, too.
Wounds counting is better than nothing, but as a former Skaven player I feel a little frightened ;-). Until now I had at least double number of models on the table…
Dînadan:
I suppose that there will be some balancing system not too far in the future, too.
Wounds counting is better than nothing, but as a former Skaven player I feel a little frightened ;-). Until now I had at least double number of models on the table...
TheHoodedMan
Yeah but this way you don't have to move three hundred minis individually* :P
*yes I now you'd probably just use a movement tray! but for the sake of the joke pretend you wouldn't ;P
AGPO:
I’ve always been a beer and pizza type of gamer, so AoS is pretty much my ideal game. I especially love the rules for Sigvald’s mirror and Helborg’s moustache!
A good point was raised on CotEC. As you take turns deciding units to deploy, army selection is now done during deployment. This means you can select a unit directly to counter whatever your opponent has put down to face you. Since the new cases mean you can move a greater number of models more easily, it’s possible to bring a variety of options. Just set a limit on models per unit and the number of scrolls and you’re good to go.
A good example of comping a game that isn’t primarily intended for it is Pokemon. It has a flourishing online community much like WFB tournament players. One site Smogon, ranks the available Pokemon into tiers and their system is the one widely accepted for competitive matches. Players/TOs select which tiers to permit/ban along with whether to disallow any over-powerful combinations.
It wouldn’t take much after playtesting for the community to organise warscrolls into tiers along with capped unit sizes, then decide how many from each tier to allow. It’s not completely balanced, but when you consider how easy it was to waste a couple of hundred points on units which were rendered ineffective by your opponent’s selections, it’s not too bad as an option.
Vex:
I've always been a beer and pizza type of gamer, so AoS is pretty much my ideal game. I especially love the rules for Sigvald's mirror and Helborg's moustache!
A good point was raised on CotEC. As you take turns deciding units to deploy, army selection is now done during deployment. This means you can select a unit directly to counter whatever your opponent has put down to face you. Since the new cases mean you can move a greater number of models more easily, it's possible to bring a variety of options. Just set a limit on models per unit and the number of scrolls and you're good to go.
A good example of comping a game that isn't primarily intended for it is Pokemon. It has a flourishing online community much like WFB tournament players. One site Smogon, ranks the available Pokemon into tiers and their system is the one widely accepted for competitive matches. Players/TOs select which tiers to permit/ban along with whether to disallow any over-powerful combinations.
It wouldn't take much after playtesting for the community to organise warscrolls into tiers along with capped unit sizes, then decide how many from each tier to allow. It's not completely balanced, but when you consider how easy it was to waste a couple of hundred points on units which were rendered ineffective by your opponent's selections, it's not too bad as an option.
AGPO
AoS isn't intended as beer and pretzel/pizza/peanut game. A GW rep said that those silly rules for the older minis were by design so people would feel a bit embarrassed to play with them in public and instead by the new armies.
AGPO:
The slightly odd rules are a hommage to 3rd ed, especially back in the realm of chaos books when Warhammer wasall about the silly features. This type of thing isn’t unique in the gaming community. For Blackpowder you have to issue orders to your troops in the style of the time, and if you’re not specific you can get charge of the light brigade style senarios. Beer and pizza gaming is simply gaming based on having a laugh, pushing some models around and worrying more about the story than winning or balance. Seems to sum up AoS perfectly to me.
Vex:
The slightly odd rules are a hommage to 3rd ed, especially back in the realm of chaos books when Warhammer wasall about the silly features. This type of thing isn't unique in the gaming community. For Blackpowder you have to issue orders to your troops in the style of the time, and if you're not specific you can get charge of the light brigade style senarios. Beer and pizza gaming is simply gaming based on having a laugh, pushing some models around and worrying more about the story than winning or balance. Seems to sum up AoS perfectly to me.
AGPO
Just telling you what the GW rep at the FW open day said. The new units won't have any of the silly/comedy rules
Vex:
Haha Am I really that good or what? 
