I do solo Scape all the time. To keep it engaging for me, I've designed a whole 'League' of 400 pt armies (about 30 teams at this point). I play them against each other, run tournaments, and keep track of their win/loss records with the goal of making them all as balanced as possible. The other advantage is when i do get the chance to play with friends, they don't have to worry about drafting their own army, they can just pick one of mine and have a reasonable shot at a competitive game.

me and my bro used to play this game back when we were 11 and 12 years old. He got the age of annihilation set and we are playing it again. Honestly, really good game. I hope they bring back the old sets. Pricy but really fun and strategic mechanics. I really enjoy it since I like Chess and strategy games like FF tactics.

damm , your videos are so high quality NIIICE

You put a finger on it... I knew something was off with new scape! Its missing historic figures or at least mystical figures from historic tales...

the dark times hahaha

Is HeroScape often played as a miniatures-agnostic game? Various people I've known in my life have told me that the game itself is amazing, but... I just can't get past the junky, soft-plastic pre-painted minis! And yeah, I've eyed the terrain-hexes many times over the years, thinking they were really cool but I wouldn't have a use for them. Just... We're living in an age of many incredible multipart polystyrene miniatures sets, that could depict all sorts of historical eras and fantasy and sci fi concepts... What I'm saying is, the only way I could be convinced to try HeroScape is if I knew the community of players were accepting of alternative models! Ones where the modeler has made an effort to clearly represent the thing-in-question. (Well, this is where you say that true line-of-sight gets in the way of alternate models, but I never liked true-line-of-sight anyway!)

The D&D RPGs are fine role playing systems, but the Forgotten Realms setting is just incredibly bland. Whenever Hasbro forces into another game system, that game is worse off for it

Yeah I was pretty bummed out when Renegade they don't really have any plans to make historical units anymore due to copyright or licensing issues. I guess they decided since they can't claim to have created actual historical units that already existed in real life they don't want to make sculpts for things they can't claim copyright over

Invasion of the green circles.

I've already decided to grab any history stuff that comes up. I hope they do give it some attention

A problem with the historic side of heroscape is that there are only so many periods of history with legendary warriors famous enough for an american child to know about. There are others I think would work well (Give me Jannisarries! Give me Macabees! Give me WW1 TANKS!!!), but if you really want to get a lot of appeal you might start getting a lot of overlap. Yes there are significant differences in the armies of Napoleon and the British, but how much of that would be noticed in a game as relatively simple as Heroscape? This isn't Bolt Action; there isn't room for this granular of design when it comes to Guy With Black Powder Musket. If we introduce another samurai clan, how can we make them visually distinct other than just a different colored outfit? And getting any more recent than WWII is going to invite a lot of criticism, and even then, I don't think Renegade wants to be selling Nazi or even Confederate figures for their kids game. And I just think you're average kid isn't going to be that interested in the historical figures. With the fantasy side, there's more room for the designers to make interesting and weird creatures. My favorite faction in Heroscape was always the marrow, and not just cuz of how much I loved the Core Set 2 designs, but just cuz they were freaky flesh monsters. Meanwhile my Airborne Elite would almost never see play, just because I thought they were generic soldier guys. My brother loved the Samurai but not because he thought they were the coolest part of the box, those were the Agents, but because they had that cool counter ability. And the very few other sets we picked up as kids had us gravitate towards the weirder sci fi and fantasy concepts. I do think that historical figures are a big part of the game's identity, and I don't want them to go away. Not to mention, Heroscape nowadays feels like it's appealing more to an adult audience rather than a kid at Toys R Us. And of course, I want my macabees. But I totally understand from a creative position why they moved away from historic figures.

How about a squad of Neanderthals as a historical unit? No one around to be offended.

Heroescape’s overemphasis on fantasy isn’t just disappointing to fans of sci-fi and history, it’s actively dangerous to the brand identity of the game. If you focus too much on one thing that’ll eventually become the only thing people know you for.

I had no idea that they had historical figures in heroscape. I want to play as American soldiers fighting fantasy creatures!

Something I really love about Age of Annhiliation, the new pirate faction is a really cool faction to me since they feel like historical, fantasy, and sci-fi units all at the same time. Aliens and orcs flying a black flag is just so Heroscape to me, even if it's odd its all happening at once.

i think that alot of the trouble comes down to limiting themselves to historical fighters, a group of people which encompass so many of the elements that big companies would rather just shy away from nowadays instead of risking backlash. if they could widen their scope to people who weren't necessarily known for combat then i think that could open up some interesting possibilities. for example, Amelia Earhart didn't see any combat but it could be justified as her having potential for battle and wanting to do what's right to help valhalla once she gets there, maybe befriending a griffon or something to fly since i doubt she would have a plane. that's a historical figure which i don't think anyone would object to, i'm sure more creative people could run with that idea and make alot of interesting stuff.

I've never been a huge fan of the history side of heroscape, but I absolutely agree it is an essential pillar of the game, and I'm glad it exists for those who really enjoy it!

I think other comments have gotten at what I worry about - that history is too "political" or sensitive to depict in a game, and I think your response about Civ is on point. Do you have any ideas or suggestions on how we as consumers can let Renegade know that there is a healthy appetite for more historical figures? I have friends who are interested in Heroscape and really like the idea of historical figs from Classicscape - I'm hoping there will be new figs I can point to that fit their interests!

watching this video I can't help but think about LEGO and their own 3 pillars. History (pirates, wild west, ninja), Sci-Fi (space, aquazone, rock raiders) and Fantasy (90s castle) were staples of the brand. Then Star Wars kicked out space (till 2024), castle was replaced with licensed themes like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, and History has just ceased to be.

These thumbnails are getting more and more dynamic! Really like the unique style for this channel!!

I think the cautious environment these days; would make any history choices problematic. Every suggestion I've offered anyone in the many MARS events I've attended has been met with the blood running out of their faces. Please throw out a few suggestions if you think you can do it without offending anyone. I'd be interested in you're met with the uncomfortable. "I think I heard my mother calling me." Quick excuses to cross the room away from me. I'd really be interested in what anyone thinks would be an acceptable historical squad in the current state of the world now days.

As much as I would like to see historical units show up more in Renegade releases, I doubt they'll ever be a third of the roster in the future. I think VC is the best hope of getting cool new historical units, but they're also constrained by what minis are available on the market.

What about marvel scape? Was that not the dark times?

This was an interesting concept for a video

I like the mixability of the series, but I wonder what could have been if there was Star Wars HeroScape. I am digging out the Star Wars d20 game and thought the D&D-Scape system and figures could lend themselves well to such a system.

okay, NOW you've completely sold me on heroscape for possibly the nerdiest reason ever. back in the '70s the doctor who magazine comic strip ran a single-issue story, about 7 pages long, where the doctor stumbles into a "millennium war" in which thousands of years of history are going to war with one another. it's somewhat reminiscent of the earlier tv story "the war games" but taken to extremes. and it only ever returned as a backstory element in one other comic story! I always wished the time war storyline from the revived tv series had been more like that as opposed to Star Wars With Daleks and the "history, fantasy and sci-fi" doing battle premise you've laid out here looks like it might scratch that itch haha

Great Video as always Slugger! I think Histories best chance for survival is "historical fiction." Meaning making fake organizations and divisions based off of real historical armies. That way they could still be licensed as property of Renegade and Hasbro, but still have their historical roots. For example, maybe the Aztecs could have "Serpent knights" which aren't a real thing, but would be clearly represented as Eagle and Jaguar knights just with Quetzalcōātl (or something meant to look like him) painted on their shields. Kind of like the Knights of Weston I guess (i don't think they were real correct me if I'm wrong.)

Unrelated to the content of the video, but you have a very pleasant speaking voice. very good for presenting

The unity of the 3 pillars always made Heroscape so memorable and definitely cemented the designs in my mind forever. I'm not very tuned in to the new era of 'scape but I hope the sci-fi and historical elements come back in full force soon! Love the new channel and videos. Heroscape was such an awesome game to grow up with.

Hey folks, I've been pretty down on D&Dscape in these last few videos, so I just thought I'd clarify a few things about my opinion on that particular leg of Heroscape's history. A lot of people consider D&Dscape to contain some of the best designs the game ever saw, and I can certainly see where they're coming from. Figures like Eltahale or the Death Chasers of Thesk are a ton of fun to play with, for example. For me though, D&Dscape is full of peaks and valleys: for every figure like Eltahale there's a figure like Brandis Skyhunter, for every element of positive synergy there's an element of negative synergy, ("Half-Elf" instead of "Elf", "Death Knights" instead of "Knights", etc). There are a lot of creative and fun designs to be had, but it's really hit and miss... just like the aesthetics of D&Dscape. Do I wish D&Dscape had never happened? No. Without it, Heroscape would have just been cancelled and we wouldn't have received these cool army card designs. Do I wish that D&Dscape had been kept separate and not utilized the Valkyrie Generals of Valhalla? Yes, absolutely. That decision has led to a ton of confusion surrounding the term "Classicscape" and has muddled the waters when trying to determine what is and is not considered canon today. D&Dscape should have been kept canonically independent, just like Marvel was. It's a branch of the tree, not part of the trunk that is the core of Classicscape. Like I say in the video, Classicscape is an original theme and D&Dscape is a licensed IP - they are categorically not the same thing. That's my take on it, at least!

Really enjoy your HeroScape content!

Never played Heroscape, but the weird psychological battle of playing board games with myself is something I’m very familiar with. As a kid I’d gather all my stuffed animals and play Trouble, Chess, or Sorry instead of sleeping… I’d do it to where I’d try to win, but I’d throw the lesser team a bone every now and then. Maybe just for the illusion of a fair fight…

Pretty sad they broke the fitting six generals matching the six sides of the hex.

Whats the best 3d printer for heroscape😊

Is it worth buying old heroscape characters like the flag bearer

Loved this. I really enjoy Soloscape for all the reasons you shared and more, and am heartened you and others also enjoy it. I find it a great way to grill an army I plan to run at an event against "worst-case scenario" matchups, so the idea of hard-counter-drafting an army against one you're committed to for an event is a great way to test yourself. More than that, I find it oddly therapeutic at the end of a day to just whip up unusual armies with units that don't get much play, throw them at each other, and see what happens, maybe with a podcast in the background. While I agree that subconsciously "rooting" for one side over the other is common, I mainly just want close games. So whichever side is the underdog in any one moment is the one I root for, but maybe that's just me. I like to think of Soloscape like a lab experiment. You're throwing a bunch of different chemicals (units) together and seeing how they react (synergize) with or against each other. Sometimes building weird armies with zero regard for their competitive strength produces some really bizarre and interesting decision-making moments you'd never see with meta armies. Great point too on using 1st Edition dice. Never thought of that. One thing I'll add in my own Soloscaping: when it comes to Order Markers, it really can be challenging/impossible to replicate how the uncertainty of your opponent's placement affects your own. To add a bit of that back into my Soloscape, at the start of each round, I roll the D20. Whichever side rolls highest, places markers first. You can try your best to "forget" where you placed, but it's impossible. This adds a bit more unpredictability back into my Soloscaping, if you ever wanted to try it. Great content (and thumbnail!) as always. PS- 5:52 Did homie just drop a LEGO Loco reference?

I really liked the introduction of both Aquilla and Revna. Utgar will always be my favorite(go Marro!), but Revna and Aquilla definitely fill some unique roles that the og 5 didn't. I include Aquilla in this as if she's new because I played a lot as a kid, before Aquilla even existed, and didn't get back into the game until about 4 years ago. So Aquilla was quite new to me at that point.

3:38 Unless I have a character that uses the x, I just use it as a 4th turn

10:01 I got 5 squads of venocs this week because I've always wanted to play them. In the back of the marvel master set instruction book, they had a large display of all the current figures. Seeing the vipers front and center in that art always interested me as a kid. I've been wanting to play them for years, but still haven't gotten to yet. They're supposed to show up tomorrow!

Swarm of the marro is always one of the first things I'd recommend. It was the first time we got common squads, and bonding iirc. It also has some really good powers, without being super complex. Sonlen, Q10, Tor-Kul-Na, and the marro stingers all have at least one good ability, but are fairly simple to use(Tor-Kul-Na's trample stomp can be a little complex, but he's so fun I think it's worth figuring him out).

I love the video. I'm an old player that sold my stuff 12 years ago when my first son was born. Your advice is spot on. That old terrain is brittle. I just brought Heroscape for my boys as a Christmas present. I got the new AOA set and I ended up getting an incomplete set of ROTV for cheap off ebay. I used the terrain once and it was already starting to break. One thing I would highly recommend to new players is printing the cards off heroscapers and using proxies. Runewars miniatures game is easy enough to find and sells for cheap on ebay. It has a lot of minis I have been using as proxies. The elf army box gives you 5 squads of Aubrian Archers + extras. I have purchased some of the older units but some of them are quite expensive. A video where you dive into either 3d printing or proxying minis would be a great help for newer players.

For me, it’s gotta be Utgar. The Marro alone are enough to swing me to his cause.

Heroscape was my first wargame! I've been getting into Warhammer Age of Sigmar too, but Heroscape will always be with me!

Cool video! I have been playing more board games alone lately, its kind of fun actually. I kind of have stopped playing video games, to be honest they take up all of my time and i just obsess over them too much. But board games have always been ok, i have always been able to "put them down" Thanks for the tips! ill have to look into these.

can you make a video on board layouts and the tiles available, and if theres any different types of tile?

5:54 Certified "I like trains" moment. *_FOOOOOOM_* 🚂

This is something I do all the time. I basically just play like a normal heroscape day with the same rules. I kinda see it as people who often play chess and other strategy games solo. I tend to change the rules base on how I want to play at that time. Lol. One this I do do sometimes that me and my cousin did. We just out right ignored most rules when we were younger. Instead of moving one figure a turn, since we used basic side for the most part, we moved our entire army. It makes it feel more like a war going on and can speed up the game tremendously. You can also use Valkyrie dice if you have them.

8 generals feels a bit high. Unfortunately there isn’t really a good way to cull the population without upsetting fans of the more fringe generals.

I can tell you had a lot of fun with this video! I'm very grateful for it, as well! It answered all my questions and thoughts. Thanks, Slugger!

This is cool! I play MTG in the same way, basically just try to play both decks to their best ability against each other.