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Subject: The Toolkit Files - by faction

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Wrackspawn
ChristopherGroves
Warlord
Warlord
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12/02/2005 1:01 PM  
We gamers are a fickle bunch. Some of us like crunch, others fluff. You've all seen the work doubtofbuddha and myself have distilled into the faction-based skirmish toolkits ... that's the crunch. This topic though is mostly fluff.

Backstory
In mid 2005 a friend of mine and one of our local DDM players (forkedmoon) posted a question on the MaxMinis skirmish forum. What he basically wanted to know was which pieces (and quantities) from the older sets should a new player really try to get to build competitive bands. Some pieces produced in Harbinger are still quite strong and effective on the tournament scene ... but obviously not all of them. To try and chase all of the Harbinger rares could be quite expensive so a list that a skirmish player could use as a guide would be very beneficial. There was a lively discussion on the topic and I posted some of my comments at the time in that thread.

In the back of my mind I started putting together a more complete list from the first sets. I took each set one at a time and went through the items I thought were critical ... and then the ones that I have and may consider using from time to time. I broke the list down by set and into two categories (core/primary and extended). I then took this and started shipping it out to various folks I know from the online community to solicit feedback. As responses came in I updated the doc and then sent out another wave of emails with the new document.

One of the first folks I had review was doubtofbuddha. Beyond his basic feedback on individual pieces he felt as if a real guide should be structured by faction. Most new players he believed would initially concentrate on collecting for one or two factions as opposed to all of them.

Time passed and, since we each have lives, we progressed down different paths. Then in early October we started chatting again and decided it was time to combine our efforts. I sent him my research, he sent me his and we pulled together an agreeable draft-list for each faction. We've posted all of them here (and made some changes based on community feedback).


Who to Thank
We solicited input directly from several dozen of the better DDM tournament players. At this point I don't remember who I asked and who responded and I'm sure doubtofbuddha isn't keeping a list either. It was alot of people and I think their input was invaluable in helping us guage what pieces were really worth mentioning. Thank you all for your help!

In addition these things really represent the collected wisdom of the community. If you've already joined the discussion on these I want to thank you right now. If you haven't, please do so. Maybe we've missed something or we value something differently than your local group. Please, jump on the forums and discuss it. These are living documents and we intend to update them overtime.


What They Are and What They Are Not
At a basic level these toolkits are the primary skirmish pieces that a player should collect if that player wants to give themselves the best odds of winning in the current environment.

At an even more basic level, the toolkits are simply these four links:
- - Lawful Good
- - Chaotic Good
- - Lawful Evil
- - Chaotic Evil

The background for these reflects the emerging tournament environment and the most popular format(s). We assumed 200 point warbands with an eight-figure limit using maps instead of tiles. We also based this on the information we have at our disposal (the current released maps an figures). We don't have any super-secret knowledge sources at Wizards of the Coast and (last I checked) neither of us could accurately predict the future. This is important as some pieces (notably the Mongrelfolk) don't have nearly the usefulness on maps as they do on tiles. Because of this those figures are not included in the toolkit ... but if we start seeing alot of maps with a cave-setup area or the new War Drums rules allow an expanded use of Cave Setup the Mongrelfolk may get a spot on the list.

The structure of these toolkits are all the same and break down into three parts.

- Core Toolkit - The first post by each is from doubtofbuddha and the first section in those posts is the core toolkit. These are figures that really serious tournament players should have to compete with the faction in general. They form the core of competive warbands and show up in tournament play often. You'd be hard pressed to play LG without a handful of Men At Arms and without a Tiefling Captain in CE you're starting from a deficit.

- Extended Toolkit - These are figures that we don't consider a requirement but are still very efficient pieces with a proven or highly-expected impact in organized play. Some may not be played very often or only form a component of one or two bands. Still, these are power pieces that, while they aren't the required pieces listed in the first category, are still very competitive. You really want these.

- Notes - Immediately following the core and extended sections is a section of comments and notable figures that did not make the toolkit. In here I usually cover things to watch, things that didn't quite make the list (but we debated), figures that we think have potential but are unproven and in general those figures on the cusp but not quite there yet.
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