I took a look at a Khador Warmachine army I like to run, and converted it to Mark II.  Some changes are necessary because of the new Unit Min/Max numbers, and I’m not sure what the Warcaster numbers mean.  But, here is what I got

I started by using the now 1 point Khador Wardog as my calculator.  I calculate 17 “old” points are roughly equal to 1 “new” point for units and ‘Jacks.  So an 86 point Berserker translates to 5.05.  I rounded up to 6 points.

Privateer Press said that they would balance the numbers, and maybe they did.  But I believe it is important to count up your points.  Even more so now, since there is a much smaller point differential

The Greylords seem to have been determined to be more valuable than previously pointed.  A new Greylord Unit is 4 points. By my calculations that is equivalent to 68 “old” points and not the 43 points they actually cost.  Another example of the re-balancing is Drago, again from the Khador list.   A strict 17:1 translation would put Drago at a cost of 6.2 points.  They have him at 9.  The Juggernaut seems to be about the same.  The original cost was 104 points so the new cost would be 6.1, which I think they rounded up to 7.  Clearly, they decided that some of the original models were not balanced and others were.

On the other end of the spectrum, let’s compare the Berserker and the Juggernaut.  The original point cost for the Berserker was 86 and the Juggernaut was 104. The Mark II points are 6 versus 7. So, it seems they figured the original costs were pretty close.   The question becomes, what is a point worth?  In this case, a point gets you +2 armour, +3 damage boxes, and +1 MAT.  But you lose the Run or Charge without Focus ability.

So, the difference between the Berserker and the Juggernaut was 18 points and is now 1.    Its pretty clear that the math doesn’t work exactly.  But I like to have a ballpark figure, so I can try to understand the math when constructing an army. Since Privateer Press isn’t sharing their numbers, I have derived some as best I can.

Looking back to the table above:  In the Mark II list, I have 442 points in ‘Jacks, minus the 85 point allowance for Kharchev (5 x 17) or 357 points for ‘Jacks and 374 points for infantry (20 x 17). This gives me a 731 point “old” cost army compared to the original 740 points.  Now, the new army is a little cheaper because there are 5 Man O’ War in the new army, and only 4 in the old one.

Just some numbers for you to think about.  Again, since you are compressing 730-40 points into 41, this isn’t exact or precise.  But I hope it gives you somewhere to start.

Dick

Moving forward, you will see semi-regular posts from both Andy and Dick, as well as the occasional guest blogger (we hope!). Dick and Andy have different views and ideas on the world, and each of them will bring their own perspective.

Look here for game reviews, battle reports from in store gaming, modeling tips (including a step by step account of Dick and Troll Auxiliary member Joao building a plank on frame wooden tall ship), exciting updates about our personal lives, and whatever else fancy or whimsy takes us. Okay, you probably won’t get any updates on our personal lives, but the rest of that stuff, you will definitely get.

It should be a lot of fun, so join us for the ride, won’t you?

Andy