dragonbane88 wrote:
Great session!Sonlenis one of my favorite figs to use but Erevan has always been a darkhorse. Enjoyed the enlarged photos! I might lift that semi random draft army idea from you as well as I like the way it avoids overbuilds by hypercompetitive drafters.
If you are curious about the psuedo-random method I use for drafting armies, this should get you started:
http://www.heroscapers.com/community/showthread.php?t=29542
The trick is in how you restrict your options. A completely random draft is impractical because too many Heroscape units rely upon synergies with other units, but unrestricted drafts can lead to monotony and boredom (depending on the temperament of your group, of course). The method described here nails the sweet spot for me, allowing units that are normally considered sub-optimal (like Erevan) to appear as viable choices, while providing a reliable means for pairing units that complement each other (Wolves of Badru & Werewolf Lord, Syvarris & Arkmer, etc.) as well.
I've been using this method for many years now, but my 'deck of armies' is a relatively new innovation. Every once in a while, I produce a series of 12 armies from one shuffle of my random draft deck and then add them to the deck (as noted above, I am now up to 72 armies):
Now we just shuffle the deck of armies and let each player draw three cards and choose one. Our playing time is so limited these days and Heroscape takes so long to set up as it is, we really appreciate how this facilitates fast starts. The armies are generally well balanced against each other and the variety has proven to be very satisfying. Enough player agency is maintained in being able to choose an army from a random set that 'drafting' is still fun -- but a lot faster!