darthmaim wrote:
I started my comments on a positive note in saying that our group loves the Epic Format and we had a blast playing it. I'm sorry if I gave the impression that our group thinks Czulkang is unbeatable. I meant to conveyCzulkang is a very difficult match-up. As far as our gaming group at our lgs banning him Epic, is that we have decided that Czulkang is a little bit too powerful for our tastes and will probably win a majority of the time. Hey maybe the guys in my group are wrong, but that's the beauty of house rules and it's just our humble opinions. Yes, I know, you can tailor make your team to beat him ( 7-1 is a pretty darm good record at GenCon though, I think most would agree
) At any rate, I completely respect everyone's opinion in the community, and appreciate positive and polite feedback. Thanks guys!
A lot of design and playtesting time went into the balance of the Epic set. I think you can understand that therefore, if someone after a just a couple of weeks of club play suggests banning a figure even within their own group, that wouldn't be well received. These same players will go out and, even in a tournament level environment, play a squad they know is not tier 1 just because they enjoy playing it. Those players have endured over time accusations that they only care about winning, when in fact, the opposite is true. To be honest, I believe that winning is more important to people who are quick to ban figures from play in their local environments.
Don't get me wrong... I fully support WHATEVER it takes locally to keep our game alive and growing. I can see in certain circumstances where banning figures (Maybe temporarily) might be a good idea. In my own group we've suffered through those same issues of a certain player or squad winning all of the time. What we've done in those times is change the format for awhile to keep things fresh while discussing the winning streak as a group and come up with ways to snap it. That strategy has proven successful in that our mid level players are now capable of beating our top players from time to time.
Also, I think it takes arriving at a certain mindset that, no matter the level of competition, it is ultimately more about the enjoyment of the game and the challenge to become a better player. For me that meant this year that in the 1 regional I played in, I played Mandalorians. I was 1 of 2 players to play them in a field of 30. I went in with my eyes open... I had played Weeks and Echo on Vassal beforehand and saw the weaknesses of my squad. I went 3-2 and was in both losses until the final round. I had a great time and was happy with how I played.
Playing at a known... or PERCEIVED disadvantage can be a lot of fun and at the same time rewarding. I'd suggest not banning a figure you think is too powerful but maybe among the better 2 or 3 players agree not to play him and those 2 or 3 figure out ways or figures to counter him.