WarmaChess: Stalling Out

Several days ago I decided that I was going to start playing chess to help sharpen me up for Warmachine. My buddy Zach has been kind enough to rough me up on the app Chess Time, and I must say I've really enjoyed playing the game. By diluting my strategy and gameplay down to something constraining like chess, along with some friendly tutoring, I've actually been able to get some good insight in to my Warmachine gameplay.

This image is one of the most telling things I've discovered:

I chose this game for two reasons. One, because it's one of 3 games where I've actually won and I'm planning on having it framed. Two, it shows how long it takes me to even try for a win.

Let me translate what you're seeing. In the top-right corner I put his king in checkmate using my queen and rook. I've knocked out his queen and several more of his pawns (seen below the board). Although it wasn't a landslide victory, I only won when I had a significantly reduced chance of losing. So what did this win teach me about myself?

I'm too reserved
There is a lot going on during a game of chess. There are angles and traps being set up by both sides while also trying to block what the opponent is doing. I often give up control of the center of the board because sending a piece out unprotected could have it control the board or die, and I don't like sacrificing my pieces without a way of punish them for killing it.

In Warmachine I'm always told I need to be more aggressive. I seem to hold my models back one turn too long, and that usually results in... well, in my opponent controlling the middle of the board! While I always try to position to get the first strike, I'm always reacting to what my opponent is doing rather than initiating the bloodshed.

I like killing more than winning
I really enjoy trading blows with my opponent. I mean winning feels good, but trying to outmaneuver them and come out ahead is pretty thrilling, even in chess. When the game above was winding down, I found myself fighting the urge to get all his pieces. Even though I'd run all the potential plays over in my head and was confident he couldn't do his usual funny business, I still felt the need to kill more stuff just in case. This became most evident in chess, because any time I win a game it's when both sides are practically wiped out and I put him in checkmate through brute force rather than clever piece placement.

Warmachine? You better believe I'm throwing attacks at everything in sight. In my defense Jake Van Meter, one of the best players in Warmchine, says that his strategy is to kill anything that's in front of him. Still, I know that once I do finally start attacking, I close my eyes and start swinging until one of us is dead. Despite my early games always ending with a quick assassination, a few bad games have made me almost subconciously enjoy the moral victory of "at least I smashed lots of stuff!" instead of an actual victory of playing well, choosing my battles, and focusing on the win.

I like attrition over aggression
I think this is the first thing Zach ever pointed out to me, and it's really a summary of everything I've struggled with in any game. I spend my early- and mid-game trading pieces, taking out pawns and low-value pieces to better clear out the board. I like whittling things down to more manageable numbers where nothing is going to catch me by surprise or block me when I go for the kill. Maybe I'll just spend my time trying to take out his queen and rooks, feeling like I can't win if they're still a factor.

In Warmachine it's rare that I'll win when my opponent still has a power piece on the board. [Over the past year it's rare that I win anyway, but that's sort of the point of this whole exercise!] I like to think I can withstand anything my opponent throws at me, and when he's overextended himself I'll go for the kill.


As I reflected on this, I started realizing why I've been struggling lately. It's a running joke in our group that I have faction ADD, and while I've always had that personality quirk I think there's more to it this time. In Warmachine my main faction is Khador, and the one I love most (but utterly fail at) is Circle Orboros. Despite being very similar, they share their reliance on using troops that explode in to red mist if you make contact with them. Khador has some beefy options like the Man O Wars and the lone warjack they bring, but for the most part they both want to hit hard and end the game quickly.

My problem is twofold. Either I try to build an attrition list that simply won't work, or I build an aggressive list and hold things back. This isn't a new revelation, but seeing it in full perspective definitely prompts me to action. Ahh, but what to do?

Option A is to buy an army that can play attrition. I have a Skorne force I've been slowly acquiring for our upcoming league, but I'm honestly not sure how aggressive they like to be. The only true attrition faction I know is Menoth, and that one is sadly spoken for by one of our regular players (who never actually plays). Plus if we're sticking to this whole duality thing, I can't really buy a 3rd chess color.

Option B is to be more aggressive. That's the "no duh" option, but it's also harder to accomplish. I've always liked keeping danger at arms length when I game. Even when I'd play a glass cannon like a wizard I'd make sure I took spells or stayed far enough back that I was never in any real danger. Actively trying to push through my opponent's models and threaten him while he has all his big stuff in play is unsettling. All I'm seeing is breaking through a line of Trollbloods and trying to kill a warlock while Mulg is sitting there raising his eyebrow at me. I'm sure that has nothing to do with the fact that our Trolls player always uses Mulg to smush me every time I try to play aggressively...

Option C is to peel back the fabric of reality and find the trick to playing Circle defensively. I realize that they have options in Baldur's tier list, but I want to have my warpwolves and keep them alive too! Khador mildy allows it, and I ever have a heavy armor list my buddy helped me build, but I just don't think the army is built to excel at the attrition game. If anything the strike a balance between hard-hitting infantry and warjacks that can get dug in and never budge.


I guess for now I'll buck my comfort zone and learn to play aggressively. Top level players insist that aggressive play is they key to victory, and personal experience insists that the opposite probably isn't true. I'm keeping my eye out for an attrition list that works, but it's definitely time to take out the rubber mouth piece and start going for the throat.


See you tomorrow!

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