Post by eljayplay on May 10, 2022 15:03:59 GMT
Strategic Spotlight: Kingdom of Flaym
For those of you who've been following Warline since the beginning, you might recall the "Strategic Showcase" videos and strategy deep-dive writeups I used to produce. Those videos and writeups are so, so fun to produce. Since so many new fans have joined the Warline community, it's only proper that I get back into the habit and again start delivering this sort of content—starting with some spotlights on individual kingdoms and their capabilities.
Today, let's dig into what makes the Flaym kingdom unique and special, and take a look at some of the strategic and tactical inventions that are possible with this kingdom. This is a kingdom that is very dear to my heart, because it was the first kingdom I designed and helped craft a lens through which I designed each of the other three launch kingdoms (and, spoiler, also for the additional kingdoms I'm working on for future expansion of Warline). There were a few key goals I had when setting out to design Warline's kingdoms; let's take a look at them in this first Strategic Spotlight to establish additional context for this and the coming writeups.
Goal 1: There must be kingdom designs that range from the top to the bottom of the opacity scale. That is, some kingdoms must be really easy to "get" with regards to how to play them effectively, while other kingdoms must require a bit more exploration before the "Ah-ha!" moments start popping up. The Flaym lies at the very bottom of the opacity scale—they are very easy for a new player to understand and play effectively.
Goal 2: Ranging the opacity of kingdom designs must not affect the richness, complexity, and effectiveness of any given kingdom. Essentially, a kingdom being less opaque doesn't mean the kingdom's efficacy starts to seem lesser as player skill advances. A pro should enjoy a less opaque kingdom just as much as a novice does!
Goal 3: Each kingdom must have a clear focus on a single warfare lens, with its capabilities expressing a clear behavioral theme. In the Flaym's case, this lens is Attrition (the lenses for the three other kingdoms are Maneuver, Exploitation, and Manipulation). At the most basic level, attrition is influencing conflict with power and suppression.
Goal 4: A kingdom's unique capabilities must not make the core actions (those that every kingdom have in common) obsolete or less important or less satisfying to perform.
Goal 5: The balance between maneuverability and power across battalions of different weight (arms value) must not only be supported by a kingdom's abilities, but in fact the abilities must bring out that balance even more dramatically.
Flaym Kingdom Battle Arts
Flaym battle arts cards in the current prototype
With the Flaym kingdom being focused on the conflict lens of Attrition, their battle arts (which is what kingdoms' unique abilities are referred to as in Warline) are designed to deal heavy damage, and to deal that damage very quickly. Let's take a look at a few Flaym battle arts and discuss some of their strategic and tactical implications. For reference, you can [[download the Flaym kingdom book]] and read the complete rules for their battle arts.
Pounce: This battle art allows a Flaym arms 6 (the heaviest) battalion to leap forward any distance and directly engage an opposing battalion. If you're the opponent, this is very, very scary. An arms 6 battalion is the slowest to march across the battlefield, so normally doesn't feel very threatening when positioned at a distance from your battalions. However, Pounce throws out any concept of safety by distance.
Strategically, this battle art allows you to impose your will on opponents and indirectly influence where the opponent deploys and positions their battalions throughout the battle. Tactically, I have created some rather wicked maneuvers using Pounce. One fun example is having two of my battalions adjacent to one another, neither being an arms 6, then issuing Lighten to one of the battalions for my first order, transferring enough arms to the adjacent battalion to increase its arms to 6—and suddenly my opponent has a Flaym arms 6 battalion staring down and must watch as it swiftly pounces to slaughter one of the opponent's heavier battalions.
Incinerate/Scald: Incinerate and Scald are a pair of battle arts Flaym arms 4, 5, and 6 (the "heavies") can call upon to "weaponize the terrain". This is quite a literal concept, as you are able to exploit certain terrain to deal heavy damage to potentially multiple opposing battalions and also to clear a path for your own dangerous battalions to more aptly march into the opponent's territory. The way these battle arts work is simple: A Flaym arms 4/5/6 can target a forest/marsh zone that is either the one the battalion is positioned within or one of the zones adjacent, then ignite with raging fire to burn down forests or boil marshes. First, any battalion without the passive "Fireproof" battle art (of the four launch kingdoms, only the Flaym have this battle art) that are situated in a burned-down forest/boiled marsh are dealt either 3 damage each (forest) or a whopping 4 damage each (marsh).
Thinking of the strategic implications of these battle arts likely doesn't take much effort: Opponent battalions clumped adjacent to one another in zone clusters of forest or marsh are in a lot of trouble, as a Flaym heavy could waltz up and likely slaughter two, three, or more opponent battalions in the blink of an eye. So, if you're opposing the Flaym, how do you deploy and position your battalions during battle? You certainly spread them way out and avoid positioning within forest or marsh at all costs! As the Flaym, you can see how clever terrain scouting can be employed to greatly influence where your opponent deploys and to also control areas of opponent positioning during battle.
One fun tactical combo design I've enjoyed calling upon, using Incinerate/Scald, is one I jokingly dub, "Well, don't mind if I do!" With this combo I use a Flaym heavy to "open a door for a light"—by clearing forest/marsh—enabling a cleverly positioned light to, gratefully, dart through the now easy-to-traverse gap and penetrate the opponent's territory (naturally becoming a thorn in the opponent's side). This combo is especially effective if you triple it up with a preceding Sacrifice order, enabling a heavy to accomplish the darting-into-opponent-territory—which can be utterly terrifying to be on the receiving end of!
Burn: This is another simple to "get" battle art this is just plain fun to have at your disposal. This battle art also has a rather dramatic implication, because it results in the Flaym kingdom having, in terms of unmitigated "firepower", not only the most threating heavies but also the most threatening light battalions (1, 2, and 3 arms value). Here's how Burn works: Any Flaym battalion can, by exhausting all remaining majik (action points), emit a burst of fire across all adjacent zones, dealing 2 damage to each unprotected battalion in those zones. The "any Flaym battalion" part of this concept is the most striking, because it implies that the most maneuverable Flaym battalions on the field can also render serious punishment to multiple opposing battalions at once.
The strategic implications are clear: If you oppose the Flaym, fear every battalion—and probably even be extra wary of light battalions, especially arms 1 and 2 battalions. No longer can an opponent think, "Sure, that light can march over here, but so what, I can afford to take a little damage to this or that battalion." Take advantage of this when you command the Flaym! Often times, thinking of battalion roles can be reversed: Typically, with other kingdoms, the very general role played by lights is to enable heavies to be more effective—with Flaym, instead heavies can be used to make lights more effective.
What more can I say? The Flaym kingdom is very easy to understand and operate, while at the same time they're incredibly fun and inspire many moments of cathartic rush by way of their dominant power! I hope y'all have as much fun inventing Flaym strategies and tactics as I do.
Until next time, keep having fun,
Justin D Leingang