Warmachine 2-Player Starter Set Review - Metal and Magic

Warmachine, a tabletop wargame that initially came to life to focus on balanced and competitive gameplay, has been around since 2003 under Privateer Press, until last year when Steamforged Games announced that they had bought the IP. Warmachine had recently moved into a new edition of the rules, and SFG has continued to run with that, kicking off a roadmap of new and exciting releases. These releases started with a brand new 2-player starter set, and in this article, we'll have a detailed look at what's inside it and see what Warmachine is all about.

Metal and Magic

Games of Warmachine begin with each player's selection of a Warcaster, a powerful mage that sets the tone for the rest of your army. While each faction has a distinct feel, the Warcaster you choose, each with a unique once-per-battle ability, can change how the force functions. Backing up the Warcaster are Warjacks, powerful metal constructs that pack a punch on the battlefield. Further supporting your Warcaster and Warjacks are Solos, individual warriors, and Units, groups of warriors, who flesh out the rest of your force

All of the rules and unit stats are available for free on the Warmachine app, so I won't go into too much detail here, but there are 2 standout mechanics for me. The first is the focus mechanic, a currency that Warcasters generate each turn. Warjacks also generate a small amount of focus, but the onus is on the Warcaster to transfer over some of their focus to the Warjack, or keep it to power their own magic and special abilities, or to boost or gain additional attacks. This adds a lot of flexibility in your turn and opens up options for how you use your Warcaster and Warjacks.

The second standout mechanic for me is the Warjack damage system. Rather than a simple damage stat that you subtract from as Warjacks take damage, instead there's a damage table that is rolled against. The number rolled indicates the column that takes damage, and once that column fills up, further damage is allocated to the next column. Letters are also spread across the bottom of each damage column, and once all of one type of letter has been damaged, it affects the efficiency of the Warjack. For example, once all the M letters (for Movement) have taken damage, the Warjack is automatically hit by melee attacks and has its defense reduced. This damage system on the Warjacks works very well as they can soak a lot of initial damage, but then systems will start to shut down as you damage them further. It gives a really thematic feel to the system. 

The Warmachine rules are scenario-focused, which means that you're going to be focusing a lot of getting things done and stopping your opponent from doing them, but always looming over you is that if your Warcaster is taken out, you lose immediately. And no matter what you're doing during the game, you need to be aware of how exposed your Warcaster is, whilst slyly checking if your opponent has left theirs vulnerable. In the games I've played so far, this usually led to some insane assassination attempts that were epic if they paid off and almost always cost you the game if they didn't,  but they were always fun and cinematic.

A New Starter

Part of Steamforged Games' plan with taking over Warmachine, was the release of a new 2-player starter set. This new set sees the Cygnar Storm Legion clashing against the Khador Winter Korps, and we'll go into more detail of each force below. The main thing to note with this set is that it only contains the miniatures for the 2 forces and some terrain pieces; all the rules and unit cards are on the Warmachine app. If you want to use this set straight away, you'll also have to have some 6-sided dice, a measuring tool and some tokens. The box does make this clear, and this is similar to many other systems now, taking their rules almost entirely digital.

The lack of rules, accessories and stat cards in the box does make it feel less like a new player starter set, but an intro sheet in the pack points players towards the build instructions, a Warmachine Quick-Start guide (which is very good and takes you through everything, including the first few turns of the game) and the app itself. The app is well designed, clear, and works well, and this process does mean that new players are starting the game with the tools that they will continue to use in Warmachine, rather than having to make the jump to the app after their first few games.

The forces that are included are well-designed for a new starter set, giving both players one of each unit type (Warcaster, Warjack, Solo, and Unit). They are also both exactly 30-point forces, the smallest game of Warmachine you can play, and there's no variation in armaments in the builds, which means that new players can safely construct without having to worry about optimal builds before they learn the rules.

The included units are also Cadre units, which means that they can be used across all forces in the faction. We'll talk in detail about this when we cover the Gravediggers in an upcoming article, but all you need to know here are that the Gravediggers are a sub-faction of the Cygnar force and can also use all the Cygnar units in this box. This is great, as it means that as long as players choose one of the factions in the box to continue with, they'll always be able to use those units.

I really like the fact that the starter set is just miniatures, and isn't locking starter set components into a specific box. If players don't like the look of either of these factions, they can just pick up a different Command Starter Set and access the rules the same way. I think the inclusion of some dice, tokens, and a measuring tool would have made it a truly new player starter set, and even the other starter sets could include some thematic accessories that veteran players would love too. The digital rules mean that players are going straight into the current version, with printed rules being out of date after a rules update and the balance and player experience can be controlled by SFG, who can tweak the starter set units live.

Into The Storm

The Cygnar Storm Legion troops in the Warmachine 2-Player Starter Set are a group known as the Hellslinger Cadre. The Hellsligners are led by the Warcaster, Major Allister Caine. Caine dual-wields Spellstorm pistols, which have 3 attack types to choose from when shooting. He boosts nearby gun mages, giving them headshot, and has access to teleport to get him out of trouble once he's laid down some fire. Caine is backed up by his Warjack, Deuce, who's armed with a powerful Spellstorm Cannon and has truesight, which lets them fire through cloud effects (which is handy for targeting the opponents of this starter set).

The Hellslingers' solo is Captain Bastian Falk, a ranged expert who can deploy further ahead than the rest of the force. Falk can also immediately return fire with his Magelock Scattergun if he is missed by an enemy ranged attack. He also passes that ability on to nearby gun mages, so keeping all of your units together lets them overlap buffs. The Black 13th is a 3-model unit of just those gun mages. Each is armed with a magic ranged weapon, each with 3 unique fire options to deal with most situations. They can also forward deploy with Falk and gain the benefits of both Falk and Caine's buffs to gun mages.

As you might have guessed, the Hellslinger Cadre likes to stand and shoot and I love the Wild West feel to the miniatures. I'm definitely going to make a hat for Deuce to match the rest of the Hellslingers.

Winter Is Coming

The Khador Winter Korps troops in the Warmachine 2-Player Starter Set are known as the SKS-6 Cadre. And they are led by Kapitan Zahara Vilkul. Vilkul has a once-per-game feat that puts between 4 and 6 cloud templates on the battlefield to obscure the advance of her force (the Hellslingers Warjack, Deuce can unhelpfully still target through these clouds). More importantly, Vilkul has an incredible threat range using her Cyclone spell that lets her make a full move and attack, which can be used after a charge to let her attack an enemy up to 18 inches away. Vilkul is accompanied by her Warjack Razor, who comes armed with short-ranged weapons and excels in close combat where its ripper shield adds to Razor's durability and also gives it a powerful melee attack.

Sergeant Goran Lazarenko, the Jackal, is the SKS-6 solo, and his miniature features a rocket leaving the launcher tube in an epicly animated sculpt. He gets to pick the column the damage goes into when a Warjack takes damage, so he can target specific columns with letters that will disrupt his target the most. The Hounds are the SKS-6 unit, and each of its 3 members comes armed with different ranged weapons to meet any situation. Where they have commonality is that they each carry a blast shield, which they can use in combat. They're already pretty durable, but their Sheild Wall ability means that whenever the models from this unit are in base-to-base contact with each other, they get an additional +2 armor on top of their already substantial armor.

The SKS-6 Cadre likes to get in much closer than the Hellslingers, which means running the gauntlet of ranged attacks to close the distance. Vilkul's smoke enables this, but Deuce being able to see through it is unhelpful. If Vilkul can activate within 18 inches of Caine, the Hellslingers Warcaster, then it's usually game over, but it can be tricky getting there if the Hellslingers want to play at range.

Warmachine 2-Player Starter Set Final Thoughts?

I love both factions in this set, and while it can feel a little one-sided for the Hellslingers (who can shoot from the start and force the SKS-6 to close with them), if the SKS-6 can get close enough, they can really hammer the Hellslingers. I would have liked to have seen some themed accessories in the box, or even just the option of a Starter Set accessories pack add-on, which will still keep the cost down of the box, avoid duplication to those who have dice and tape measures, but still make it super accessible for new players. The quick-start guide (which is very good) that's linked to from the box could even be printed and thrown in with that accessory set. The digital rules work and make sure anyone picking up the box is getting the most up-to-date rules and stats, allowing SFG to tailor the starter experience if they do find that one side (the Hellsligners) has a much easier time.

The forces are well-designed and give a good experience for what those 2 factions are all about, along with being 30-point armies with one of each unit type, and available to all forces within that faction. There can be a lot of rules for new players to grasp for the 2 included forces, especially with the area of effect and overlapping buffs, but the quick-start going through the first few turns does help. Overall, I'm pleased to get back into Warmachine with this box, which I haven't played since 2019. This starter set feels fresh, and the miniatures look fantastic.

The copy of the Warmachine 2-Player Starter Set used to produce this review was provided by Steamforged Games.