Privateer Press: Welcome to the Journeyman League
The Journeyman League is a set of formalized escalation league rules rolled out by Privateer Press for Warmachine/Hordes. The rules are a means of turning rookies into the baddest mo-fo’s around in just 6 weeks.
Ok, maybe not…
They are a way of bringing new players into the game at a nice steady pace, without overwhelming them with a flood of model rules and interactions. You can find the full PDF below:
Let’s be honest, there are a gazillion different models available, and all of them have special rules. It’s been calculated that if someone played two games a week against a different Warcaster/Warlock every game, it would be more than a year before he faced the same caster twice. And that’s just casters. The game revolves around those special rules and interactions. Entire lists are built to take advantage of one or two combos. It often takes multiple games against the same models (especially the caster) before you really figure out your best counters. It makes for a steep learning curve, and I’ve seen more than one “veteran” gamer get so frustrated by them all that he quits.
Enter, the Journeyman League. It’s a 6 week league designed to help ease new players into the game, and give established players a nice avenue for starting a new army. Coincidentally, it coincides with the release of the 2-player Warmachine Starter box as well as the first glimpses of plastic Warbeasts. Participants start out with a battlebox and build up to a full 35 point force, earning points along the way. Points are awarded for playing games and painting their armies. Earning points gives a player patches, and earning all the possible patches eventually gives a full “collage” of the Steelhead Mercenaries from the background, looking like the picture above.
The league starts at the battlebox level. In fact, every game for the first three weeks must include the contents of the faction starter box in order to qualify. In week 4 players can swap casters, but must still include the rest of the battlebox. It’s not until the final week that all bets are off and anything is allowed. I think this is great! I know it’s caused some discontent amongst many players. We’ve got one guy here in Austin who really wants to build a full on pirate-themed Cryx list, and the starter set simply isn’t part of his vision. He doesn’t want to have to paint or play games with models he doesn’t feel he’ll use again. Heck, I know new players who want to start with non-battlebox models. You also need to note that only new armies count, you can’t simply take existing models you’ve been running for years. That doesn’t mean you have to buy an entirely new army. Maybe it’s a faction you’ve had sitting in boxes and never gotten around to.
I get the grousing – I really do. But I still like the league rules. As I said earlier, the primary purpose of the Journeyman League is to allow new players to ease their way into the game. By limiting the opposing casters to just the starter sets, and forcing players to include the battlebox models, you make it a lot easier for new players to figure out what’s going on. The Journeyman League will never be all things to all people, but I think it works well for what it is trying to do. If your group wants to make changes to allow non-battlebox forces, go for it. I’m 99% sure the wargames police won’t come around and arrest you. Ok, maybe only 80%. If you start noticing surveillance teams watching you after you change the rules, don’t blame me. My LGS is just starting the first week of play, and there’s a lot of interest from new and old players alike. It’s nice to see so many guys getting into this.
I’ll be bring you regular coverage of my own Journeyman adventure. Hmmm, now the hardest part is deciding on a faction. What should I pick?
Is your LGS running a Journeyman League? If so, is your group making any changes, or running the rules as written? Are you starting a new force to participate?
