A copy of my post from Dakka with my first impressions of the game:
I just gave this a shot. Sadly, there aren't a lot of gamers in Iraq so I had to play myself (I've been doing it with Warmahordes for four months now...don't laugh), but it's an interesting system.
The doubles mechanic (where doubles are successes rather than 6s, or 4+ or whatever else) is interesting and certainly sets it apart in my mind. It did make me wonder whether it was created that way solely for that purpose, but that's a different matter.
One nice thing about it was the speed with which the turn bounced back and forth. It feels a lot like a warmachine activation (maybe because I've been playing that quite a bit?) but you only activate one model/unit at a time. It seemed like both battles I played were being fought between one or two key units while the others danced around in a menacing fashion, much like ninjas from old kung-fu movies.
The strategy is changed from almost any other game I've played. The Brutal mechanic (you may add or decrease one to a die to make doubles) is fascinating and worthwhile, but the reroll ability is strange. I haven't quite done the math on what I should reroll. I think there has to be some strategy there but I haven't figured it out.
The other interesting part is the turn sequence. The player with more models deploys first and goes first. Instead of a Force Org or FA, you have an increased cost for every unit past the second. I can see times in this game where I might purposefully purchase double units to raise the price and lower my model count. It's...interesting. I'm not sure if I like it or not, but it is definitely different.
Anyway, This should possibly not go in News and Rumors, but I thought I'd share my initial impressions. I think they're off to a good start and I *love* the models. Haven't ordered any yet...I'm waiting to see what the other factions look like.
Hats off to Tor for a public beta test though; some companies should take note (a tip of the hat to PP for doing it already).
Hey Prophecy07.
Thanks for your kind words, and I'm glad you liked what you have so far!!
In ref to the doubles system, we did set out to find a core dice mechanic that we've not seen in other games (but I've not played all the games out there, so I won;t claim it to be unique!!) so after some trial and error we settled on the doubles for the reason already stated but also because it is 'simple' in a good way. It also turns the d6 in to a much more versatile tool.
For the turn speed, we also set out to do a game in which both players (or just the one in your case ) are engaged through the whole game. I really have a dislike of games where players do all their actions with their entire army before the other player gets a go....
I'm not sure if there is a strategy on the reroll attribute to be honest, but allows the profile a extra little edge in getting that much needed double.
Once again, many thanks for your kind words. I hope you stick around and help us grow the game to it's full. This is just the first phase of the beta. Once it's accepted to be sound, we will add the morale, command & control, magic and more profiles to it!!