A special thanks to JonnyB for putting together the pictures for this version on Vassal last night!
How To Win Part 2 – Assessing the MetaI hope you enjoyed the opening article to this series “Playing To Win,” and I assume since you are reading this, you probably did. Welcome to part two of the series. In this article, I will discuss one of the most critical parts of competitive play, and probably the one part that is ignored or dismissed by the most players, assessing the Meta.
To get us all on the same page, we need to be clear on the meaning of the terms. If you have not read this thread by S1AL on the meaning of the term Meta, then stop, and do so now.
http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=1115604By now, we should all understand that the term “Meta” does not really refer to figures or squads at all. Instead it deals with the game outside the game. In poker, it’s called “playing the player, not the cards”. In sports, its about watching film, looking for tendencies, strengths and weaknesses in an upcoming opponent, and practicing the counters that you decide to use to deal with those expectations. In games like SWMs, its about knowing what you are likely to see, who will be running it, and how you will prepare for it. There are several steps in this process that I will lay out for you. I will also discuss the differences between assessing your local Meta and what we often call the “national” or “competitive” Metas. Like most everything else that I am discussing, it takes practice and many times, especially your first couple of tries at it, will fail. But stick with it, and you will see improvement in your performance, whether at the local store, with your friends on the kitchen counter, or at the large scale, national tournaments.
Step 1 – Knowing What’s GoodIf you are a fairly regular player of this game, you are probably thinking to yourself, “Well Duh!” And there is a lot of truth to this statement. For the most part, the better minis are not extremely hard to figure out. Typically, about 3-4 weeks after a new set has released, most venues, and especially those locales that have players who participate in one of the online SWMs communities, have the good figures pretty well identified, and located into decent to great squad designs. Even the casual player, can pop online, look through a couple of tourney reports, and figure this out to a degree in a manner of minutes. But that’s not what I am talking about here exactly, as there is more to the story.
There is a second level to this part of the discussion, a more subtle part that many players either gloss over or ignore. It isn’t just about knowing what figures are “good”, but figuring out why. This is really the key piece. It’s the primary reason “net-decking” a squad doesn’t really do a player a whole lot of good. You can steal a squad from online, find the pieces, and run it at your store, and you just might do a little better than usual, but the player who takes the time to really think through it, will always be a step ahead of you. There is nothing inherently wrong with getting ideas from other players, whether online, friends, or the Local Pro. In fact, many people have an unrealistic fear that copying a squad makes them a “net-decker” or look down upon those who do it. This is another mental block that you need to get over. There just aren’t that many figures that every player will have the great “original” build, so feel free to learn from others. What makes the real difference is taking the time to think about why each piece is in the squad, what other options might be in there, and how these particular pieces are meant to work together.
Once you start to understand why a given piece is good, you are beginning to think through the mechanics of the game, more than simple stats and abilities. The easiest example from recent memory would be Yoda on Kybuck. When the stats were released last September, many players ignored him. They were not familiar with Galloping Attack, and had likely never used it before, nor were they thinking through the squad building options. It was dismissed because people got caught up in the pure stats of the figure and the name of it – being a “Yoda” came with all kinds of expectations, some realistic based on past “Yodas” and some not. (I talked about this concept in Part 1 – Mental Block #1). Some of us, started using Yoda with R2-D2 Astromech and Captain Panaka right away in test games, and realized just how deadly this piece really could be with the right support – and this was before Captain Rex’s stats had been released, who became a natural fit with Yoda in 150.
The “Why” here is the key piece. Yoda isn’t great because of his power or stats – he has decent enough stats, but nothing unusual for his cost range. He is great because of what he can do to your opponent’s squad, and in particular, the counter option he gives to the existing Meta for Republic squads. If you had been following the competitive Meta, you would have been familiar with large activation squads and activation control strategies, which often went hand-in-hand with Initiative control strategies. Here is an example of a top squad that used both together
If you will notice, this squad has Init Control, Activation Control and relatively low HP power figures. Yoda on Kybuck is capable of eliminated both of those strategic advantages in the first two rounds of the game if played correctly. This is the secondary level of thought that eluded many players looking only at Yoda’s stats (even some of the great players). As it happens, these types of strategies have been solid concepts in competitive play for several years – going back at least to Gencon 06 when Black and Blue was the dominate top squad.
Once you have a deeper understanding of what figures and squads are good and why, you can begin to move on to step two of the process.
Step 2 – Building Stronger SquadsSquad Construction skills are not rocket science. There are some premises and strategies that are general enough, that they can almost always be considered. Even in the situations where you choose to ignore one or more of these concepts, you should still consider them in how your squad will deal with these issues. (I am not intending to be completely exhaustive here, just going to break down some of the basics.) All of these concepts, to varying degrees are or have been important factors in squad construction.
1) Initiative Control – Recon, Master Tactician, Tactics Broker, Anticipation and Never Tell Me The Odds are all examples of Init Control in this game. Squads designed around cunning attackers, or those with ways to really hurt you in the early phases such as squads including some of the Unleashed force powers, or big attackers like Lord Vader often come with some form of init control. The idea is to hit hard first and eliminate you before you can effectively strike back.
2) Activation Control – San Hill, General Dodonna, Admiral Ozzel and others are examples of figures that allow you to slow down your activations. The idea here is similar to Init control, to strike hard at the end of a round instead of the beginning, or to set up those big init strikes. Here is an article that addresses this issue in the current Meta.
http://the-holocron.com/index.php?optio ... &Itemid=50
3) Range Control – I wrote a long article on this a couple of years ago that you can find here. It’s a little outdated now as far as examples are concerned, but the strategies are still relevant today.
http://the-holocron.com/index.php?optio ... &Itemid=50 The basic concept is still, I can hit you when you can’t hit me.
4) Interference – You will often see people talk about interference pieces. Some people believe the best figures in this game are shooters, and will always be shooters. That might be true to an extent, but it’s rarely been true when we extend that to squads. For example you might think that if individual shooters are the best figures, then a squad made up of those best figures should be the best. Its not. The best shooters are only good as long as they survive. You almost always should have some type of interference piece(s) to help keep your shooter doing what he/she does best. The best squads year in and year out at the top levels of competition are those that have a combination of range attackers and melee interference (note – the interference doesn’t always have to be a figure with the melee special ability).
5) Door Control – This is a must for competitive SWMs. All maps have doors, and if you skimp on the door control, a good player will make you pay eventually. Ugnaught Demolitionists, override figures, door gimmick, etc all play a critical support role in the top squads. You can beat people simply by removing their door control figures early in the game, and keeping yours to use the doors to your advantage.
All of these strategies are important starting points for any successful competitive squad design. Deciding how many points to spend in any given area is up to you however. How do you decide? The answer will be based on your assessment of your Meta and how each of these areas of design is utilized. If your Meta sees very little Init Control, perhaps a Recon figure is all you need. If your Meta includes lower activation counts, you may not need as many as you see in many squads online, just a couple more than your normal opponents can be enough to gain you the upper hand in competition. Maybe simply adding San Hill to your Droid squad is enough to give you that advantage. If your Meta tends to be dominated by small squads with a few powerful uniques, just a little Range control can be enough. The type of Interference piece you choose can depend on which figures you expect to have to intercept. For example, if you see tough to hit melee figures like General Obi Wan Kenobi, a figure with good counters to melee attacks works well, for example Anakin Skywalker Champion of Nelevaan.
And finally if you see lots of Override, Double Override and opponents’ who like to eliminate your door control and lock you in/out, then you might need more Ugnaughts than another player might need. These are just general rules of thumb, but as you start to see how a Meta has developed, you can start to see how to utilize your skills to counter it. Which brings us to number three.
Step 3 - Developing Counters There are several types of counter figures and squads out there. The first, most common, and the one I will speak the least about are often called, “Hate Squads”. These are direct counters designed to do nothing more than beat squad X. These often have glaring weaknesses against other squads, but can be almost “auto-wins” against the targeted squad. This is the primary method of convincing that local player to stop running the same squad over and over again at the LGS, just because he/she wants to win and think Squad X will do it for them.
The second level of counters I will call the Direct Counters. These are different than hate squads in that while they are generally run to deal with a given squad type, they are also decent enough builds to compete with others. An easy example of this would be the use of Force Immunity against venues that are focused around using powerful force powers, such as Force Push 4, or Lightning Squads. Grand Admiral Thrawn or Vong are the first thing that most people think of, however there are other options. For example, running a squad with a large number of cheap, low hp figures such as an Aqualish Assassin swarm, is also a good way to counter a Force Push squad. A squad that uses an inordinate amount of Ugnaughts, Ewoks, or Battle Droids, which you consistently run a couple out in front of your big targets to prevent the dangerous powers can be a great way to deal with it as well. Another easy example would be countering heavy commander effect based squads. Sure, disruptive is one way to go, but you can also employ something that might let you kill off that annoying commander group hiding in the back. IG Lancers are a very popular choice for this exact reason right now in the current Meta. There is rarely only one way to deal with the Meta you see, it’s your job to figure out the various alternatives. This is an area where the online community can be a great resource as well. Once you have identified the problem figure/ability/squad, post online about it. Odds are other people have faced it before you, and if you have taken the time to think through the possibilities, tried out some of your own ideas, and played around with the options, you will likely know exactly what you need to counter, maybe just haven’t thought of the figures to do it. So when you ask for help, you won't get a bunch of suggestions that don't make sense to you, but rather will more than likely have response of "That's a great idea!"
The final level of counters is subtler, and more deadly. Sure, they might not give you those auto-wins, but they are the types that will perform better over all, and still hopefully, counter what you need to. An example of this might be the inclusion of a Kel Dor Bounty Hunter in an otherwise normal squad, to help you deal with IG Lancers.
These are probably more aptly called “Meta Adjustments” than counters. Meta Adjustments are those slight variations in theme that allow you to play the figures you want, but also compete with the local Meta. In the above example, IG Lancers are a popular figure of choice right now, however, they have two glaring weaknesses that the Kel Dor can exploit. First, they have relatively low HPs, and second, their most dangerous ability “Strafe” requires them to attack every figure they pass over. A carefully placed Kel Dor can really ruin their day, and in many cases, can prevent the Strafe altogether for a given round. This can be huge in helping you deal with this otherwise very dangerous figure. Another fun example is using a Caamasi Noble to base a Golan Turret – effectively giving it no one to attack as long as another one of your figures is in LOS. Meta Adjustments are those small tweaks that you make to a squad to make just enough better than everything else you think you will see that day.
How then, do you determine which Meta Adjustments you should make to a given squad? This is the point where Meta Assessment really starts to show its strengths. You don’t have to know what your opponent’s are playing to do it. Sure, if you know Joe C will always bring Droids with GGDAC, then your work is easy. However, most venues will not have that luxury. Most of the time, you have to do a bit of guesswork. So how do you do it? This is where you need to start paying attention to the greater framework of the game around you. When you start paying attention to the important Squad Construction concepts I listed above, you start to see the patterns of your local players. Whether it be number of activations, amount of door control, utilization of init control, or any other strategy, when you start watching for these concepts, instead of simply what figures are commonly being played, you will start to see how your Meta is constructed. Try focusing on one piece at a time. On a given week, go around and count how many activations everyone has in their squads. Or check out the amount of Door control, or the type of interference figures they are using. All of this information will give you a better general sense of what you need to combat it.
I cannot tell you how may tournaments I have won, against players of otherwise equal skill to myself, simply based on making better Adjustments. It really is that significant of a factor in game outcomes. I have literally tons of examples, including the one I have mentioned many times before, the choice of a Human BG over General Dodonna in my Gencon Masters win in 2008 with Speedy Cannon. Since I have talked of that one often, I will highlight another example. Almost two years ago, I was set up to attend a large DCI tournament in Michigan. Hall of Fame members, Fingersandteeth, Lou and Engineer would all be in attendance, as well as other top level players, MtMagus, JamesWys, JDJersey, Uliq-Quel Droma, Sithborg and others. In total we ended up with over 20 players, over half of which, were capable of taking home the glory. Not to mention, since Matt, Deri and I were all making the trip from Chicago to Kalamazoo, the guys planned to run their best! At the time (between Bounty Hunters and Alliance and Empire) big fringe shooters were quite dominant, and I expected to play against them several times. B&B was also a threat, but less so since we were playing 200pts, and since I was coming, I expected no one else to bring it. (It also helped that Engineer had declared it “dead” and everyone else was afraid to run it for fear of things like JWM swarms with Mon Mothma.) Therefore, I decided that the best adjustment I could make was to run Captain Antilles (+4, +10 vs. fringe figures). I used my Towed Jango BH and JWM combo with the good Captain. In the first round, I knew I made the right choice as I played a squad containing Boba BH and Aurra Sing CS. I played a couple of tight games, but in each match, the good captain showed his worth. Now, I couldn’t bring out Captain Antilles every tournament or others would catch on and adapt, but considering what I was able to gather from the quality of players, to the likelihood of what I thought I would see, I was able to make the right choice for the day. That’s what I am talking about here. Again, these are generally small adjustments that you can make to a given squad type, but changes that can often mean the difference between winning, and coming up short.
Step 4 – Knowing Your OpponentsThe next level of Meta assessment deals with understanding not the opposing squad, but how your specific opponents like to play. I am sure you can all think through the regulars at your LGS, Joe C likes to run melee and run straight up in your face in round 2. John Q likes to run mobile shooters and never advance. This can also involve outside factors like the maps they have available, the figures in their collection, favorite figs, etc. But more importantly here, I am talking about how they play the game. There are certain strategies some players will use often. Just like in Poker, every player has tells, and every player has fallbacks. There are just some guys who you know are intimidated by you and if you get a lead and pressure them, they will fold. There are other players you know who will go for the first figure you put out there almost every time. Then there are players who will make every tactically sound play in the book, almost every game. There are players who you know who will play very deliberately. It is this last point that I will lay out my example.
I have played one player at Gencon in 2 of the last 3 years in the championship tournament and he is notoriously slow. One of the things I knew, before I had ever played this guy, was that I would only get 4-5 total rounds in the hour time limit. He beats many players who are just not prepared for what a 4-5 round game looks like. His squads tend to maximize his play style, and since he is ready for the slow game, and you are not, he generally wins. He will get a small point lead and sit on it. Its very tough to deal with, and very frustrating. I am 2-0 in competitive play against him, and those who have played me, will recognize that I am far from a slow player myself. So how did I do it? I outplayed the slow player. Knowing this player’s tendencies and style, I changed up my game. Instead of looking to kill one of his two big guns (Boba BH and Han GH in 2008), I went about mobile attacking his ugnaughts. That’s right; Han Scoundrel and Luke’s Snowspeeder were taking out 3 ugnaughts a round. What’s more important is that I kept everyone out of LOS of his guns, kept myself in gambit, and kept my BG alive, protecting all of my points pieces. This way, by the end of round 3, I had over a 20pt lead. Time was close to ending, and he quickly realized he had only one chance, disintegrate one of my big two. But of course, they were protected by an 11pt BG, so he would have to roll 2 20s with Boba’s twin, and hope I still couldn’t kill Boba or Han afterwards, which I probably could have. He didn’t get the 20s, and the game went to me with relative ease. Sometimes, in order to win, you simply have to adapt your game to your opponent’s style of play. In fact this is one of the ways in which top players move ahead of the pack of otherwise similarly skilled players.
5 – Try It AllThis last point technically has little to do with Meta Assessment, as much as it is a tool, by which a player can improve all of the above skills. You need to try figures out. One of the best ways to improve your play is to try out figures you don’t normally run, getting a feel for them, finding out what they can do. I like to build squads trying to make a “bad” figure work. Or take an average figure and make a top tier build with it. Sometimes, you can come up with something totally by accident, just because you were playing around with it one night on Vassal. Not ever top tier squad is obvious at first glance. For example I bring up Black and Blue. You can read the history here.
http://the-holocron.com/index.php?optio ... &Itemid=50 Needless to say, we while we came up with the concept in some ways by accident, without having the knowledge of what the Meta might be, we would have never recognized how strong the build might be in competitive play. It didn’t play like other squads and people weren’t ready for it. Now I am not saying you need to run every figure from every set, some people do that, but it’s not necessary. The point is, don’t be afraid to try something out. Don’t be afraid to lose. Just don’t stick with the same 3-4 builds every week. Try running counters. Often, the tournament winners aren’t the most powerful squad run that day, but the one that can best handle the variety present at that tournament. Assessing the Meta and then building to suit isn’t so much about figuring out the best of the best squad wise, but about what is best for a given place and time. I didn’t win the Gencon Masters in 2008 because I had the most powerful squad; I won because I assessed the Meta better than most other players.
Finally, there is one more point to be made. There are differences between assessing your local Meta, and assessing a National or Competitive Meta. The biggest difference obviously, is your knowledge of the given participants. At Gencon, while I can expect to see some common faces, I also have to be aware of a great number of unknowns, anyone of which could throw me for a loop, or out play me. At the LGS, you generally know who is coming, and who is likely to be at the top at the end of the day. This presents an additional challenge for the larger tournaments, but its still very doable. In some ways, it can be easier as well. Its often easier to predict what squads and figures will be common at top level tournament play, than at some LGS where the players always try to bring something different. At the big tournaments, people are less likely to run the oddball squad, and those that do; you are much less likely to have to play against it. Hate Squads and many direct counters don’t work well in this type of competitive play, because unless you face the thing you have designed your squad to counter, you will probably lose. At your local store, you can get away with more variety than is typical of a large national tournament. At big tournaments, it’s the subtle differences that make the difference between the top players, and those just behind them. Things like Map selection, support choices, reinforcement options, number of activations, etc. Those who have done their homework will generally have a head start on the rest of the field. In short, glean what you can from this article and use the tools I have provided as they work for you. You will see a difference before too long, both in your knowledge of the game, and in wins and losses.
Until next time,
Billiv15
