With the Gencon around the corner, and Metatalkin' everywhere, I find myself getting burnt out on the Standard 100 to 200 point skirmish. Although there are a few different game formats, I believe it that the one format of the game that never got the support it deserved was the mutiplayer, epic style battles. With 541 different miniatures to choose from, the need for bigger games, and support for bigger games can't be overlooked anymore.
I have a collection of about 2,000 miniatures, out off the 541 miniatures I may have used half of those pieces only once, and maybe a pool of about 20 or 30 I always go back to. Let’s face it; a good number of the pieces just don't make much sense in a standard skirmish.
Sure 350 points armies may have space for some of the lower mid card Republic Jedi, but honestly, has anyone had fun playing epic battles on a 22X34 map? Probably not, when the map becomes crowded it becomes a Dice Rolling competition, a war of initiative. This game was not designed for Epic Battles.
Boris, I believe a few others as well, put a lot of work into a battle of Hoth Scenario, every year for Gencon, which I think gets about 5 percent of Hype, and recognition it deserves. To me Star Wars is about these massive battles and Epic Scenery. It's about massive haze grey war machines, and the faceless troopers swarming the mountains in droves. It’s about the brave out number rebels entrenched holding of the bad guys just long enough to let there friend escape.
Star Wars isn't about black ops teams run by A Sith Lord, A mercenary, and a handful of Ughnaughts.....and Wicket. While these types of squads are vital to the Meta lifestyle, they don't fulfill my imagination, and they don't immerse me in the Star Wars Universe.
It's time for the casual game to move towards team play and epic battles. I'd rather spend my Sundays with Friends Teamed up against other Friends in a straight up Slobberknocker. I want my Rebel Troopers to Climb Mount yoda and raise the flag, Just like Doc Bradley, and Ira Hayes in the Battle of Iwo Jima. I don't want to worry about Gambit, and Worrying about rounds.
Its time to put down the Ughnaughts (well at least a few of them) and its time to finally get some use out of those huges, YEAH I'M TALKING ABOUT THE TIE CRAWLER!!! It's time to man the HOTH TURRETS!!!!
ENTER THE KILL ZONE BROTHERS!!!!
The biggest obstacle facing epic battles is the battlefield itself. Chris Preksta has made an excellent Death Star Map, perfect for many mass combat scenarios. WOTC has made a respectable, if a little dull series of Hoth maps that connect for At-At scenarios. Lingster has an excellent Naboo Map
I want to go bigger. I want people to have to come up with house rules to be able to get to the other side of the map. For 6 month now the blueprints to Rhen Var Harbor, as Well as Plans for a Giant Kashyyk Ocean Front, and Coruscant have been sitting on my desk burning a whole in my brain.
But I'm not here to talk about maps, but I want you all to know I'm willing to do my part make Epic Gaming a reality for SW Minis.
I really want to urge the rest of you to start developing the aspects of epic battles, I think SWMgamers has enough talent, brains, creativity, and imagination to develop the manual for this project.
Gencon is looming over the horizon, and the meta-gamers are polishing their dice cups for the showcase of the immortals. And that’s the way it should be. This is our big game. It's our Stanley Cup or Super bowl. But Come Monday Morning August 17th please have you thinking caps on because the game is gonna get bigger.
Thanks
Jedi Cartographer
Mapmaker, and Midnight Rambler.