Pimpcron: 40k Command Points Need Fixing
Oh no, Pimpcron has been over-thinking again. Let’s talk all about the problem with Command Points and a humble idea to fix them.
So I was just sitting here having a think and decided to write this article. It also just so happens to be article-writing time at the Cron household. When those things align, whoo-boy!
Do Command Points Need Fixing?
I love the idea of Command Points like I love my children, and it is one of my favorite things about 8th edition. Just like having children, it adds a level of complexity and challenge to the game. But also just like my kids, if I see Command Points too often, they start to irritate me. I mean, I love my kids and all but I built the four of them a separate house on my property to share. If I’m being honest, their place is a mess; worst renters ever. The two year old acts like a drunk.
What was I saying again? Oh, yeah. So it starts to get irritating when the end of each of your sentences are punctuated with your opponent saying, “I’ll spend a Command Point … [insert nonsense]”. Like most things in life, Command Points started out as a peachy idea and then humans happened. I think one of GW’s biggest flaws is underestimating how garbage humans are and how everyone loves to exploit rules etc. It isn’t that hard to rack up the Command Points in a game and some armies can even regenerate them! They come to the game with pockets full of Command Points and can just spray CPs all over everything like power washer full of fondue. Now I’m aware that none of this is news to you, but as always, I was wondering if it could be fixed or balanced.
Alright Pimpcron, What Did You Cook Up?
Well of course my opinion is that some of the Stratagems are way under costed while others are over costed and the different armies do not have access to the same levels of powerful stratagems. But that’s not the main point of my article. I feel like the best (or at least most interesting) way to fix Command Point abuse is to change the flow of CPs during the game.
You can change the flow, but don’t cross the streams.
Instead of giving players an all-you-can-CP buffet at the beginning and just letting them go crazy, why not have players generate them each turn? For instance, instead of the 3 CP for Battle Forged, plus your detachment bonuses, why not have detachments generate X amount of CPs per turn with no carry-over? That would bring Command Points deep into the realm of having to be used wisely versus adopting the tactic called “Willy-Nilly Usage”.
Let’s say instead of Patrol Detachment giving none other than the 3 for being Battle Forged, it generates 1 CP per turn all game. Instead of Battalion granting +3 CPs, it could generate 2 CP’s per turn, and Brigade (+9) would generate 4 per turn. The keen observer will notice that you actually get more Command Points than you would normally, but if they don’t hold over from turn to turn, it is much more even.
Ummmm.
For those of you still not getting it, I’ll use the most logical metaphor anyone can think of: Blood Sugar.
I’m sure most of you are smacking your knee and thinking to yourself “I knew he was gonna use blood sugar! It’s just so logical!” You know me too well.
Right now, the game plays like we are downing a 2-liter of Mountain Dew and snorting a pile of Sour Patch Kids dust at the beginning of the game followed by a carbohydrate-fueled fist fight. Your poor, abused pancreas is actually sweating. What would make a lot more sense would be to drink a healthier mix of Command Points through out the game to keep your sugars nice and even. I think I got turned around a bit in that example but I would guess most of you are still with me.
If I’ve learned anything from a lifetime of game design, it is that moderation and minute changes are king. That goes for the number of Command Points you get, to the cost of the various Stratagems. In a tournament setting, it might be cool to just make everyone take the same detachment or style of detachment and grant them all the same number of CPs. For instance, this is the style of turn-by-turn CP generation I am doing for our Highlander Tournament at Shorehammer but I wanted to discourage Imperial Soup and the like, so you receive extra CPs if you only use one Army Keyword per detachment. A Tournament Organizer should tweak things as they see fit to make sure everything is as even as possible, and I see CPs as territory ripe for abuse.
What say you? Mess with them or leave ’em be?
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