The Game's Biggest Cheerleaders - Beggar's Canyon

Man the irony of me writing an article about burnout and then disappearing for a month isn't lost on me. It wasn't intentional though! Just a lot going on in life, all good, but I had to put this hobby on the side for a moment.

AND BOY DID I MISS EVERYTHING!!

We got our third ministravaganza, new reveals at comic-con, and battle force rules all while I was gone, and so it took me a second to find all the new info, so thanks to the guys at The Fifth Trooper for that. Here's their article on ministravaganza, and a critique of battle forces, along with battle force rules on AMG's site. Cody, Waxer, and Boil were showcased at comic-con and I'm excited for them, they look to bring some cool new ways to use clones and hopefully are showcasing what GAR could look like in the future (points changes please! Clones were once broken but now they are overcosted, especially their battle force!).

Those articles do a great job recapping things, so go read them! That isn't what I'm here to talk about today though, even if there is a lot to cover. No instead I am here to talk about something that I think every community needs to hear every once in a while:

You like this game!

No I'm not trying to gaslight you. No I'm not saying you have to like every decision that the devs or fanbase has made. What I am saying is that we like moving little plastic dudes across a table and going pew pew!

The Reason For Writing

As we've all probably seen by now AMG recently released a statement saying that swoop bikes are coming on smaller bases than what we've seen them with thus far.

This reads a bit strangely, and perhaps there is some corporate meddling in this, but for all we know they are being truthful. Perhaps there was a communication error between final playtesting and printing, or perhaps it was truly that they got mispackaged and AMG is trying to cover it up. Regardless, this is not the end of the world.

Now, I understand that this changes how something like Overrun would work with this unit. There will surely be some games where you need a few more millimeters to hit something, there is no doubt about that. But to say that there has been nothing but blunders on AMG's part is like claiming the sky is falling.

The Internet

Remember when I said that the irony of me not being able to write an article for a month after writing an article on burnout wasn't lost on me? Well the irony of me correcting people on the internet isn't lost either.

I am writing this because I know that the Legion community, the one that I've played games with in person and online, is better than this level of complaining. Voice your opinions, please. It is how change can happen in a game, especially since AMG has been good about keeping up with the fanbase and staying active on online communities. Don't bash AMG though. They were handed a game in a quick shift, lost a lead developer not long after, and have had to juggle multiple new games and a new IP for a few years now and they might just now be getting their footing.

If you've been around for a while then you know that these things happened under FFG as well. There have been misprints and delays and leaks and changes and delays and more delays and pirates that caused delays (oh so many delays under FFG) but at the end of the day they delivered, and so has AMG so far. They have promised to start up more organized play, and have been providing unique ways to do so with their new scenario and league kits. The units unveiled at Ministravaganza and SDCC are cool (even if you may disagree with some design philosophies, more on that in another article). We play this game for fun and if it really does make you so outraged then it is not an obligation to play.

I wrote this as a love letter for a community that I know is more than the sum of its parts. I know that it is inevitable to hear about the game's state in discussions amongst fans and I know that on the internet opinions are often even more polarized. I also know that if I were a new player I would be turned off when I saw a level of toxicity over something as simple as a few millimeters on a base size.

Perhaps I am wrong and this is just confirmation bias, so I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on this subject, on how AMG is doing, and the overall state of the game in the comments below. I'll be back next week to keep doing my best at being a cheerleader even if I can't do a cartwheel, so keep an eye on Dice and Cardboard.