Refining Warmachine

The largest shift in warmachine's recent history is without a doubt Steamforged games acquisition of the IP in June of last year (2024). I remember meeting the news with a touch of excitement but mostly apathy. I had enjoyed warmahordes in MKii but the game grew to place I had lost interest with massive models and more and more large unit sizes hitting the table. These days I generally am dismissive of any skirmish game brought to my attention, but a decade plus ago warmachine (and hordes) held a special place for me. The hard competitive stance of the game was very appealing. How in one stroke a game could end from dive bombing and enemy lock or caster just an inch out of position. It was exciting and fresh at the time. It was as my friend puts it a "gamers game" scrappy, brutal, brainy, and demanding. I thought that new ownership would not change much and for months how little I heard I felt I was right.

But then I saw the 2 player starters, the STL cryx cadre, and my interest was piqued. I read about changing points to make things more limited, still giving access to larger forces but not massive boards worth. More objective plays, weaker feats, new jacks and beast with weapon and special rule customization options (holy crap!). Finally I played a game, and oh boy are we back. Nothing flashy just a quick 30pt force, but it is all still there. The focus on synergy and positioning, a familiar simple to learn ruleset but with plenty of depth. All that plus an app that has free rules, army building, and game state tracking that works? chefs kiss.

Not only that, but SFG has a release schedule and seems to be sticking to it. New armies are being released, new models are hitting shelves and gaming tables. Clearer designer intent and weekly communication from official channels. Lore updates that you might love or might not. Plenty of possibilities are doing new things with old favorites (Looking at you menoth and farrows). Majorly steamforged has completely redesigned the onboarding experience to warmachine. The new Cadres and Starter Armies are easy to get into, both in cost and complexity. It is an exciting time to be a new or return fan to the universe of the Iron Kingdoms.

Warmachine was maybe always a game looking for the right type of player, players who love playing wargames. Someone who didn't mind making a mistake and being punished for it. Learning and tweaking list from past games was part of the game. I would encourage old and new interested parties to give it a shot. To step up and like the old guard might say "Play like you've got a pair"