Hi everyone! Initiative One is a new biweekly Runewars podcast, and we just released our first episode. We hope you'll give us a listen and subscribe! Our hope is that in each episode we can respond to listener questions and talk about the things you are interested in, so we really want to hear from and engage with the Runewars community. You can find us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/InitiativeOnePodcast/ or email us at: [email protected].

Let us know what you think, throw ideas and questions at us for future episodes, or just chat about Runewars!

Here's a link to the first episode: http://initiativeone.libsyn.com/episode-1-the-power-glove , and the cast will be up on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts soon (if you can't find it on your usual podcast service, let us know). Thanks for tuning in, and we look forward to hearing from you!

Let us fill the Runewars content void in your lives!

But seriously, we thank you for listening to our podcast. We review Deathknights and Heavy crossbowmen AND talk world's results in this first episode. Check it out and let us know what you think!

We'd also love to take some listener questions on our next episode! Anything Runewars you want to hear us gab about? Let us know on here or Facebook!

Woah, woah, woah! BOTH podcasts have a Josh?! This won't be confusing at all...

I'm only 2 minutes in, but I'm liking it so far.

We have proper Josh, that will be other Josh.

(See Doctor Who episode "The Library")

Also if you guys want to do any cross cast stuff let us know!

Thanks for getting out there and helping build the community!

Or one of you can be Good Josh

I'm still trying to connect your names with your voices, but the Waiqar dude mentioned specifically not taking an initiative bid, and outlined some reasons why, including the fact that archers get in range on Round 1, so you get to fire first on Round 2. I play Waiqar, and have noticed the exact same thing, so your conclusion really resonated with me. I think I will continue to build with the full 200 points of Waiqar, and start trying to look for ways that it hurts me. I suspect there will always be trade-offs, so why not use all your points?

But man, you guys have a lot of Reanimate hate disdain . It puts me in a tough position because Reanimates and Necromancers are the reasons I chose Waiqar in the first place. I'm gonna stick with them and see what kind of magic I can pull off, but it sounds like an uphill battle.

@Parakitor that sounds more to me like people's opponent failing to play TO initiative. Whenever possible you want to engage favourably in position and initiative, so going second solely so someone walks into you, is a mistake on the walker.

I don't see first/second as terribly important unless you must have that tournament deployment zone.

That is a really valid point, @Darthain , and I meant to include it, but hit 'submit' too soon. Controlling engagement is a two-person game, and you've got to think critically about what's in your opponent's best interest, and also what they fear most about your army.

I love this game.

3 hours ago, flightmaster101 said:

We have proper Josh, that will be other Josh.

(See Doctor Who episode "The Library")

Also if you guys want to do any cross cast stuff let us know!

Thanks for getting out there and helping build the community!

Thanks--we should definitely look into some cross casting! We hope to follow your lead and add to the community. All of our hosts are super passionate about Runewars and want to help grow this game the best we can.

1 hour ago, Parakitor said:

I'm still trying to connect your names with your voices, but the Waiqar dude mentioned specifically not taking an initiative bid, and outlined some reasons why, including the fact that archers get in range on Round 1, so you get to fire first on Round 2. I play Waiqar, and have noticed the exact same thing, so your conclusion really resonated with me. I think I will continue to build with the full 200 points of Waiqar, and start trying to look for ways that it hurts me. I suspect there will always be trade-offs, so why not use all your points?

But man, you guys have a lot of Reanimate hate disdain . It puts me in a tough position because Reanimates and Necromancers are the reasons I chose Waiqar in the first place. I'm gonna stick with them and see what kind of magic I can pull off, but it sounds like an uphill battle.

Initiative is a tricky aspect of Runewars. I mentioned liking the initiative on round two based on the games I've played so far for that second turn charge/ranged benefit. The other aspect I like of getting initiative round two is that the opponent has to pick either mission or deployment, so that the second player gets a chance to react to that choice. Sometimes you can turn the tables on their selection that way!

Sorry for being so harsh on Reanimates--for what it's worth, I have seen some mean regenerative lists with Maro around here. They are simply not my playstyle, but they do look super cool!

1 hour ago, Darthain said:

@Parakitor that sounds more to me like people's opponent failing to play TO initiative. Whenever possible you want to engage favourably in position and initiative, so going second solely so someone walks into you, is a mistake on the walker.

I don't see first/second as terribly important unless you must have that tournament deployment zone.

1 hour ago, Parakitor said:

That is a really valid point, @Darthain , and I meant to include it, but hit 'submit' too soon. Controlling engagement is a two-person game, and you've got to think critically about what's in your opponent's best interest, and also what they fear most about your army.

I love this game.

These are great points as well--it takes two to tango in this game. Patience and timing is key, which makes that initiative bid something I'm sure we will see develop more over time.

Glad that other people are so passionate about this great game! Thanks for the listens, all!

2 hours ago, Vineheart01 said:

[Regarding Rune Golems] But unless they use their 3init action they will never armor up before something hits them, since they attack at init5 and EVERYTHING is either faster or simo (who uses the slow attack on daqan spears/oaths?)

We've been discussing this in the thread about Rune Golems, but it reminded me of something I thought about during your review of Visored Helms. Couldn't you put it on a large unit of Spearmen, then dial in your Initiative 7 attack + hit modifier? That way, you get the benefit of Shield Wall, but also the benefit of your offensive modifier for more damage. Of course, Oathsworn Cavalry would rather use the +1 defense modifier, but I think the Visored Helms could really help Spearmen. What do you all think?

1 hour ago, Parakitor said:

We've been discussing this in the thread about Rune Golems, but it reminded me of something I thought about during your review of Visored Helms. Couldn't you put it on a large unit of Spearmen, then dial in your Initiative 7 attack + hit modifier? That way, you get the benefit of Shield Wall, but also the benefit of your offensive modifier for more damage. Of course, Oathsworn Cavalry would rather use the +1 defense modifier, but I think the Visored Helms could really help Spearmen. What do you all think?

That seems to be exactly the use case for Visored Helms, yeah. Though speaking of Golems, it's actually not bad on them at all. 5 is later than MOST melee attacks, and going from 4 to 5 Defense is actually pretty huge - 2 hits from threat 2 units bounce right off, 3 hits from threat 3 units no longer deal 2 wounds, and it pretty much ignores the first hit from threat 4 units. Plus, with a white Rally, Golems can often bank a couple Inspiration tokens!

I'll have to try it!

4 hours ago, Parakitor said:

We've been discussing this in the thread about Rune Golems, but it reminded me of something I thought about during your review of Visored Helms. Couldn't you put it on a large unit of Spearmen, then dial in your Initiative 7 attack + hit modifier? That way, you get the benefit of Shield Wall, but also the benefit of your offensive modifier for more damage. Of course, Oathsworn Cavalry would rather use the +1 defense modifier, but I think the Visored Helms could really help Spearmen. What do you all think?

Totally, I can definitely see the case for Visored Helms on the Spearstar! I'll have to keep a look out for that around here, as we do have a couple of players who typically run Shield Wall, but might switch it up. I am the only one of us (Josh) who plays Daqan regularly, but I don't play the Spearstar because it's not really my style, so I didn't even think about the equipment switch. Great points!

2 hours ago, Bhelliom said:

That seems to be exactly the use case for Visored Helms, yeah. Though speaking of Golems, it's actually not bad on them at all. 5 is later than MOST melee attacks, and going from 4 to 5 Defense is actually pretty huge - 2 hits from threat 2 units bounce right off, 3 hits from threat 3 units no longer deal 2 wounds, and it pretty much ignores the first hit from threat 4 units. Plus, with a white Rally, Golems can often bank a couple Inspiration tokens!

I'll have to try it!

I have only tried the Golems as a separate unit once or twice, and mostly as a speed bump - but this certainly makes them a steeper speed bump. I like the idea, might have to give the ol' Golems a shot again sometime soon.

Thanks both for the thoughts, and definitely throw some ideas at us if there is anything you want to hear on the cast!

We are now on Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=158428&refid=stpr .

Google Play and iTunes coming soon!

9 hours ago, flightmaster101 said:

We have proper Josh, that will be other Josh.

(See Doctor Who episode "The Library")

Also if you guys want to do any cross cast stuff let us know!

Thanks for getting out there and helping build the community!

Thanks for the support - enjoy listening to you guys! As Justin said, we can definitely plan something together. Duel of the Joshes?

Hey guys!

First of all, awesome podcast, that was a really entertaining listen, so thank you for providing this content to the community! As a new player myself (by that I mean I have played a demo and do not own anything yet), this is really helpful and encouraging.

I am really looking forward to getting into this game, however, my local community is quite small, and as you've briefly mentioned in the podcast, Legion is coming out in a few months. Both the other players at my store have preordered the game and they pointed out quite acutely that it's going to be a hit, if only for the reason that it is Star Wars. This is scary for me, as I'm new to miniatures gaming and on a fairly limited budget.

This game is amazing, and I would start playing in a heartbeat, but my biggest concern is that there aren't going to be enough players in the long run. I'm also concerned that FFG is going to slowly pull away support from the game as they've done for so many of their other games when they see that it wasn't a huge hit. I don't know, I'm a noob and I don't really know what I'm talking about, but I would love to hear you guys talk about ways to grow the community on the podcast, support from FFG, etc...

Anyways, thanks for the content, I really liked this first installment!

44 minutes ago, FranquesEnbiens said:

Thanks for the support - enjoy listening to you guys! As Justin said, we can definitely plan something together. Duel of the Joshes?

Once Vassal gets going we'll have a Josh-off!

12 hours ago, Alicitorte said:

Hey guys!

First of all, awesome podcast, that was a really entertaining listen, so thank you for providing this content to the community! As a new player myself (by that I mean I have played a demo and do not own anything yet), this is really helpful and encouraging.

I am really looking forward to getting into this game, however, my local community is quite small, and as you've briefly mentioned in the podcast, Legion is coming out in a few months. Both the other players at my store have preordered the game and they pointed out quite acutely that it's going to be a hit, if only for the reason that it is Star Wars. This is scary for me, as I'm new to miniatures gaming and on a fairly limited budget.

This game is amazing, and I would start playing in a heartbeat, but my biggest concern is that there aren't going to be enough players in the long run. I'm also concerned that FFG is going to slowly pull away support from the game as they've done for so many of their other games when they see that it wasn't a huge hit. I don't know, I'm a noob and I don't really know what I'm talking about, but I would love to hear you guys talk about ways to grow the community on the podcast, support from FFG, etc...

Anyways, thanks for the content, I really liked this first installment!

Thanks for listening, and for the feedback! We are putting community building as a big topic on our list for episode three (already have some stuff in store for episode two, but we'll do some quick tips if we can). That is something that we have been having some success with here at Atomic Empire, so we'll share some of the things we have done and other ideas about ways you might be able to help build up the player base where you are. Glad you are liking the podcast so far!

On 11/16/2017 at 4:48 PM, JGrand said:

The other aspect I like of getting initiative round two is that the opponent has to pick either mission or deployment, so that the second player gets a chance to react to that choice. Sometimes you can turn the tables on their selection that way!

As the "rules guy" of the podcast, I feel obligated to point out that at tournaments, the first player is given much more of an advantage for deployment/objectives; the second player gets to decide whether to be in the red or blue deployment zone, but then the first player gets to place the first piece of terrain (and therefore, if there are an odd number of terrain features, more pieces of terrain). Then the first player also is considered the player who chose the objective card, which always grants some advantage (often a big one).

It's also worth noting that if you actually want to be the second player, regardless of whether you're using the tournament rules or not, having a slightly smaller army still helps; the player with the lower point total chooses which player starts as the first player. Meaning if you have the lower point total, you can choose to be second. If both players want to be second, the player with the lower total will get that advantage.

-Shane

Totally digging the new podcast, first episode was a good mix of unit analysis, list building, and event discussion. I listen to a lot of X-Wing podcasts and this has immediately jumped toward the top.

I liked the introductions, but think it would be also beneficial to get a bit of a deeper dive into each host’s faction(s) of choice and preferred play styles, just to add a bit more context for each person’s background and experience. Maybe a few of your favorite lists and how you like to play them, that way people better understand where you’re coming from when you express dislike for something like reanimates, it paints the picture of how you’ve employed them so far/seen them played. Also I personally really appreciate you guys knowing the rules and limitations and quickly catching any slip ups you make.

all in all, I think it was a great first episode, and I’m super excited to see another podcast for this game and hope it continues to grow!

15 hours ago, jcshep19 said:

Totally digging the new podcast, first episode was a good mix of unit analysis, list building, and event discussion. I listen to a lot of X-Wing podcasts and this has immediately jumped toward the top.

I liked the introductions, but think it would be also beneficial to get a bit of a deeper dive into each host’s faction(s) of choice and preferred play styles, just to add a bit more context for each person’s background and experience. Maybe a few of your favorite lists and how you like to play them, that way people better understand where you’re coming from when you express dislike for something like reanimates, it paints the picture of how you’ve employed them so far/seen them played. Also I personally really appreciate you guys knowing the rules and limitations and quickly catching any slip ups you make.

all in all, I think it was a great first episode, and I’m super excited to see another podcast for this game and hope it continues to grow!

Thanks so much for the comments and the listen, much appreciated! We are also hoping to see this fantastic game continue to get more notice.

Definitely making a note of your ideas for a future episode, so we'll figure out where we can get in a conversation about our own approaches to the game.

Glad you enjoyed the podcast!

Great first episode! I enjoyed listening to the discussion of the new units, I must confess to being ignorant of the inability of allied units to take upgrades from the faction to which they're allied, accursed skim reading of the FAQ!

One point I'd like to raise, relating to your discussion about the growth of the game. It's been confirmed that there won't be an official European Championship for Runewars at the 2018 UK Games Expo, only the possibility of side events, or perhaps a regional. It was commented by an FFG employee that this is partly due to small turnouts at previous events. What's your take on this, and what picture does it paint for the continued support of Runewars by the OP department?

Thanks for the show! I enjoyed it quite a bit.

You know when you mentioned Carolina and Atomic Empire I was half expecting a rant about Blight tokens taking away our agency.

This is good, I like the cast.