And having played the game frequently now (I'm betting far more than you) I stand by that statement. The reason we are not seeing a lot of posts about AOS tactics, strategy, or even battle reports is almost every single game is the same. The mechanics lend themselves to largely random outcomes if the armies are roughly matched (skill has nothing to do with it) and predetermined results when one side has simply brought more (or bigger) things. The outcome can be calculated with the Bell Curve with remarkable accuracy if one side has chosen to roll the other. When they have not, you literally could flip a coin to see who is going to win.
I'm biased of course, but no.And you don't consider that to be a nonsense statement?
I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt that you are conflating me with someone else. I didn't give my critique of the game's mechanics until I had played over ten games. Please post some links to the comments you are speaking of? I will gladly look at the dates and statements to see if you are correct. I suspect it would be easy to lump everyone who doesn't like AOS into the same group and confuse our statements (and when they were made) together.Okay. Here's a little more flavour to the dish.
Soon as the AoS leaks/previews came out, Caitsidhe had written it off, claiming it was going to bomb, and nobody was interested in it. All before he'd even played a single game. Hence my comment about a pre-judged position seeking confirmation biased support.
Actually, I'm not the only person making this statement. There are lots of people who are coming to this conclusion. Be that as it may, please give us some insight on the tactics, strategy, and gambits that you have found which influence the game? I'm all ears. Those of us who have been playing the game extensively would love to find some way to see the game become something other than a big mosh pit every time where the dice simply grind one side or the other down. If you have found the trick, please share.The situation Caitsidhe described is not my experience of the game - nor have I heard or read anyone else claiming such a baseless position.
Ah. Ok. Let me boil it down because a long diatribe would just annoy. Movement is so simplistic and equalized that it isn't possible to utilize movement to influence the battle. Shooting is likewise just a minor precursor to melee combat and by in large (even with shooting units) marginal in damage. Movement will ensure that you are in melee long before you could do any attrition whatsoever. Once in combat, as both sides are measured by wounds, it comes down to dice almost entirely. The person throwing a significant number more dice will by virtue of the Bell Curve win a protracted battle. This means larger armies provide a more predictable outcome. The smaller the armies, the larger effect of statistical outliers. In short, the closer the armies are in wounds, the more random the outcome become. I can break this down into a chart and demonstrate how the Bell Curve relates to throws of the dice if you like. The fact that AOS has such a simple mechanic makes our input entirely irrelevant to the dice. Would you like some actual formulas to bear this out?Yes, there are those still concerned about what someone determined to abuse the open nature of force selection could do. Yes, there are ongoing (entirely laudable) efforts to come up with some kind of shared points based system. Neither of those, nor anything else offers even a shred of support to the game being either pre-determined or completely random.
Not only is it plausible, it easily to proven with simple math. My ax to grind is irrelevant. The math is so straightforward someone in the third grade can follow it and after a dozen or more games and can't help but find relentless.It's the unsubstantiated opinion of someone who has an axe to grind, and is determined to shriek at a whale about it. It's not even an anecdote. Anecdotes tend to be story based - comments such as 'I played a game, and X happened. This is worrying to me'. What Caitsidhe has offered up is a baseless statement. It's not substantiated, and it's not plausible.
This kind of post doesn't reflect well on you Mr. Mystery. You don't normally go off like this. Your skin is normally not this thin, nor are you so theatrical. Let's get down to it. Let's talk math. Let's talk tactics and strategy. Demonstrate? I've been waiting for the Battle Reports to show up. AOS has been out long enough for us to have seen some. Why are they not appearing? Where are the great tactical discussions of the past? Could it be that they are entirely moot?But by all means, continue to only drop into threads when you have something snarky to say. I'm sure you enjoy it immensely.