So what’s the deal with mysterious terrain at this point in
the game?
Now that 40K 6th has been out for a while, what
is your take on it?
I have to say initially this was one of the big selling
points for me and something I was looking forward to for a long time. Something
to add a little more depth into the game, a bit more random, without breaking
it.
Does it add another layer of complexity if you want to use
it, sure, but in a casual game (note casual) that’s no problem.
I’ve found that playing with mysterious terrain works best
when both player are interacting with it- such as a central piece or something
with an objective marker- the dynamics of both armies and units interacting
with it is fun.
Does it fail?
On two levels I’d say YES.
The first is when you play a non MEQ/power armor army and
you get an exploding objective. Really? That sucks. I can’t tell you how
frustrating it is to lose some Eldar guardians or pathfinders to this. The
second place it fails is when you are playing an army with no skyfire and your
only skyfire strategy is to count on mysterious objectives.
I think these two could have been better thought out.
But those are minor gripes for something that makes terrain
a bit more interactive other than just cover save markers.
How does it hold up in tournaments?
I’ve played in events that both use it and don’t, and that
is where I’m kind of on the fence.
I don’t think they give any real over all advantage
personally, but I could see (and have seen) guys nerd raging at a loss while blaming
it on mysterious objectives and terrain.
I’ve also seen it slow down games, and players forget to
roll or use the interactive terrain and objectives- myself included.
And then in a tournament situation where you are already
pressed for time it does tend to slow things down.
Again minor griped, but over all I like the
idea, and think it will really hit its stride in 40K 7th edition
My gaming group quickly dropped both Mysterious terrain and objectives. We tried them for several games after 6th came out, but just found they added complications without adding anything fun.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to hear from anyone who's game's fun level HAS been added to by mysterious terrain or objectives.
So would I!
ReplyDeleteThe biggest issue I have had is remembering them in play throughout the game- not a problem in casual/pickup games, but could be in a tourney.
Yep. My gaming group only plays with some mysterious terrain and then...nobody touches the mysterious terrain. They drive their models around it and avoid it at all costs. To me, mysterious terrain are symbolic of a lot of problems with 6th - they add dice rolls to a game with already too many dice rolls and have little "fun" to them.
ReplyDeleteI could see them being exceptionally fun in an apocalypse battle or something else equally absurd. In tourneys they completely bog things down and take away from being able to focus on everything else going on. There's a lot to the game already without having to add another step that, at times, feels like a chore. I already feel the same way about deployable terrain.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of ramdom terrain and objectives, but in reality it's just like Warlord Traits, most of the time they just get forgotten about, unless they are really useful of course.
ReplyDelete