I'm trying to figure out if I should invest in third party templates and/or tokens. By far the best looking ones I've seen so far are the Team Covenant ones but they seem a tad pricey to me.
I'm looking for feedback from people who own acrylic sets, are they worth it? Also as a side note I am wondering why the prices are as high as they are for 3rd party bits of plastic, Is acrylic that expensive? Is it expensive to cut and laser? Basically give me a reason to buy these pretties.
they are a good investment if you plan on playing the game on a regular basis. I found that the cardboard ones that come in my box got bent, the corners round off making them a lot less accurate and generally at the end of each game had to make sure I hadn't taken my opponents 1 straight or visa versa.
these are the ones I bought and they are great:
http://www.cogotwo.com/gaming/gaming-ruler-set-imperial-red-detail
Well worth the investment I believe.
Personally, I've never regretted buying mine (and am looking at picking up a second set).
A set of movement templates + range ruler should cost $20-25, with tokens relatively inexpensive but adding $5-10 to the total. If you're paying more than that, keep looking.
Right now, if you're in the US, the best deal on maneuver templates is Applied Perspective.
If you intend to use huge ships, I recommend their range 3-5 ruler (the one with magnets) and a set of 1-2 rulers. Fluorescent acrylic colors are a good idea for these, since you probably want to be able to see through range rulers.
For maneuver templates, almost any opaque or fluorescent color looks great. Get the maneuver template set without the additional notches. It'll cost a couple more bucks but it's worth it.
For tokens, there are a lot of great choices. Applied Perspective's premier tokens are very nice. I also like stuff from Cog O'Two, Team Covenant and Greenman Acrylics. I haven't found much from Litko that I like, but they do a wide range of X-Wing acrylics too.
Part of it is going to depend on your location. I've seen Cog O'Two's work, and it's very good, but I believe they're in the UK, so if you're in Australia or something shipping would make it really expensive. If you are in the UK, they might very well be the best one to go for.
I own some team covenant templates and am happy with them. I think that getting the separate range 1 and range 2 rulers can be really, really useful for checking close calls. Some of the other vendors offer more personalization options, so that's something to consider. I went with TC because I like that they do interviews and strategy articles, and liked the color options and clean visual design.
But at the end of the day you're talking about ~4x small ships' worth of dollars for a luxury accessory to a luxury game; the relative utility is going to be highly subjective.
If you are in the US, Greenman Designs has a kickstarter going right now with templates and tokens.
If you're located in the US, Applied Perspective all the way. They're fantastic products, and pretty darn cheap compared to some places. Excellent customer service, and personally, some of my favorite token designs
I am very happy with my set of movement templates and range rulers from Litko. I personally like their design and the customization they offer. No matter what company you purchase from the quality seems to be very good. It will mainly come down to which you like the look of the most.
I ordered a bunch of acrylic tokens before meticulously collecting up all the FFG promo ones. The ones I ordered were MUCH cheaper and just as good! The old ones got donated to my nephew when I got the FFG ones. I play a couple nights a week and can't wait to fill out my acrylic with some Acrylic asteroids. The cardboard just doesn't hold up anywhere near as good as acrylic... especially if you're playing a lot! WELL worth the investment.
My maneuver templates are from Litko and I can't agree enough, worth the $$$ to customize 'em. I never have a doubt if I mix up one of mine with someone else!
Edited by jonnydFollowing discussions in another thread I picked up a set of Cog O'Two Black Sun templates, which I am very pleased with. The only downside was having to paint them myself, which was a bit of a pain due to the complexity of the design. They do look fantastic now I've got then sorted out though.
Following discussions in another thread I picked up a set of Cog O'Two Black Sun templates, which I am very pleased with. The only downside was having to paint them myself, which was a bit of a pain due to the complexity of the design. They do look fantastic now I've got then sorted out though.
Did you paint them after removing the covers??
Just slap some paint on them before removing...so easy. Let them dry then remove.
Acrylic templates and tokens are totally worth the cost imo
Did you paint them after removing the covers??
Just slap some paint on them before removing...so easy. Let them dry then remove.
Overall I am very pleased and would recommend them to anyone.
It's really the difference between buying cheap sporting good equipment and expensive stuff. It all depends on how serious you take it.
If you play a given sport a couple times a year, then cheap stuff will likely be good enough, but if you play every weekend, then you want to invest because it will pay off in the long run.
I am very happy with my set of movement templates and range rulers from Litko. I personally like their design and the customization they offer. No matter what company you purchase from the quality seems to be very good. It will mainly come down to which you like the look of the most.
I'd be interested to compare the Litko templates with the Cog-o-Two templates - Litko are nearly twice the price, it would be interesting to see if they are twice as good
Part of it is going to depend on your location. I've seen Cog O'Two's work, and it's very good, but I believe they're in the UK, so if you're in Australia or something shipping would make it really expensive. If you are in the UK, they might very well be the best one to go for.
I just looked at them i may well be spending some cash, so **** you!
If you are in the U.S. check out Applied Perspective and Greenman designs. Both are excellent choices.
Greenman has an amazing kickstarter going on right now that cannot be ignored.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/586885235/dynamic-colored-x-wing-attack-wing-template-sets
if you are in the UK or Europe I have heard good things about Cog'o'two.
I just looked at them i may well be spending some cash, so **** you!Part of it is going to depend on your location. I've seen Cog O'Two's work, and it's very good, but I believe they're in the UK, so if you're in Australia or something shipping would make it really expensive. If you are in the UK, they might very well be the best one to go for.
I can definitely recommend them - their deluxe token set is good value too, the only downside are the teeny weeny target lock tokens - but for a couple of quid more you can buy large ones.
I own the Team Covenant ones and they're fantastic! The range 1 and 2 divided rulers are very useful too.
If you are worried about cost, I would say start with just the templates and maybe a range ruler. They make the largest difference. The clean hard corners of the acrylic templates are much easier to nest in the bases over the cardboard. Much nicer to deal with on the table vs the cardboard. The tokens are just easier to see on the table, but make a much smaller difference overall.
Here's an opposing viewpoint:
How often do you play?
I play roughly 2-3 games a week, every week, my GF just started playing as well, my starter set movement templates are going strong after a year so far, the backup set from the second starter hasnt even been punched out yet.
How well do you take care of your stuff? How much would it bother you if you lost one of your new shiny tokens?
All my card board is stored neatly in a plano box, and losing a cardboard focus token here and there wouldn't bother me at all. And i have more than enough tokens to easily cover 4+ ppl (dont we all?)
Honestly if i ever won any of the ffg acrylic I'd probably ebay them almost instantly.
Now if some third party wanted to sell me new ship cutouts that had accurate firing arcs i would be all over it, put thats also massive copyright infringement
Full disclosure: I own about $80 worth of tokens and precision measuring tools for warmachine but that's a different beast all together
Here's an opposing viewpoint:
How often do you play?
I play roughly 2-3 games a week, every week, my GF just started playing as well, my starter set movement templates are going strong after a year so far, the backup set from the second starter hasnt even been punched out yet.
How well do you take care of your stuff? How much would it bother you if you lost one of your new shiny tokens?
All my card board is stored neatly in a plano box, and losing a cardboard focus token here and there wouldn't bother me at all. And i have more than enough tokens to easily cover 4+ ppl (dont we all?)
Honestly if i ever won any of the ffg acrylic I'd probably ebay them almost instantly.
Now if some third party wanted to sell me new ship cutouts that had accurate firing arcs i would be all over it, put thats also massive copyright infringement
Full disclosure: I own about $80 worth of tokens and precision measuring tools for warmachine but that's a different beast all together
Actually, the Greenman KS has the ship cutouts.
The ship tiles or ship bases? because the arcs on this are unacceptable
coma...why don't you just check out the KS...all your answers are there.