Card Doctor

What is this site?

This is a place for me to articulate my thoughts on Warmachine by creating alternate rules for models that I were a missed opportunity in terms of balance or flavor. I will mainly focus on factions that I play as these are the factions for which I have the greatest insight. These include Cygnar, Skorne, Khador, Convergence of Cyriss, and Trollbloods.

With the transition from Mk2 to the New Edition, like many players I spent a lot of time analyzing the changes to models in the game and the various articles published by Privateer Press discussing the changes. Overall I think that the New Edition is going to be great and there are a number of huge improvements to the game, but I also think that there were some missed opportunities. This site is my way to give feedback to the community and write a sort of rules fan fiction for my own amusement and as a point of discussion for the community.

There are a lot of armchair designers out there. How are you different? 

I have spent 15 years as a game designer in the computer games industry, most recently creating Facebook games for Disney. I have led teams of designers doing system design and balance work on games with hundreds of thousands of daily players. While this may not be a perfect match for tabletop design, it has given me an ability to step back and view things through various lenses such as mechanical balance, player expectation, and expression of fiction through rules. I have spent many years in the industry absorbing various aspects of design philosophy outside of my specific job requirements.

I truly enjoy the challenge of game design and have always been a big fan of Privateer Press' approach to design and balance. All of my designs are intended to emulate the style and spirit of Privateer's work and I hope that each card's accompanying commentary will make that intent clear.

What to expect from these articles?

Articles will be split into the following sections:
  1. Analysis of the existing card. In this section I will look at the fiction of the model represented by the card along with its role in relationship to other models in its faction. 
  2. Issues. I will identify problems with the card and set goals for the redesign.
  3. The doctored card.
  4. Discussion of the changes. I will go through the changes point by point and discuss how I think they solve the issues identified in step 1.

Disclaimer: All Warmachine and Hordes related materials are property of Privateer Press. This site and its contents are fan creations inspired by their works and created without permission.
Subpages (1): Rhinodon
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