Call It Shadespire!

Special: SOS Adepticon 2019 DISCLAIMER:  This article is an examination of how the finals of Adepticon would have looked if they had cut to top 2 using a Strength of Schedule ("SOS" from now on) instead of GW's idiotic tiebreaker system ("GWITS").  It is not meant as a condemnation of any player.  It is not meant to imply that any player did not deserve their spot in the tournament.  It is only meant to point out the failures of GW's system. The best solution to this would be to change the final cut to include all players with perfect match records.  There were five of these at Adepticon, so three players who never lost a match didn't even get a chance to play for 1st.  The two who did get to play were chosen by GWITS - a system that is deeply flawed in that it rewards players for playing against opponents who are much less successful than they are.  SOS, on the other hand, rewards players for playing against stronger opponents, and is widely us

Decision: Should You Play No Time TL;DR: Hell, I don't know, man.  Maybe?  But if you're going to, you should probably be aware of some of its best uses, which you can find in the article below. Factor: Player Skill This section is going to get into some potentially awkward territory, so let us start out with a disclaimer.  Player skill has no connection to personal worth; being good at the game doesn't make you better than anyone else as a human .  Please do not take anything said in this article as a judgement on you - we think you're great. That said, some players are better at Shadespire than others.  Those players - those with more player skill - are more likely to benefit from playing No Time.  To further dive down into this concept, it's necessary to describe a concept that we're all probably aware of, but may not use the same words to describe: skill ceiling . Things with a high skill ceiling are significantly more effective in th

Decision: Should You Play Grievous Riposte? Author's Note: Today's article is inspired by Daniel Greve who asked me to do an analysis of this card on the Warhammer Underworlds Community page on Facebook.  Thanks Daniel! TL; DR: Probably not. While it could be useful in decks that stack defensive bonuses, it's likely that even those decks will find better uses for their ploy slots. Factor: Basic Requirements There are three essential things that have to happen in order for you to be able to use Grievous Riposte (beyond drawing the card itself, which I rarely consider, as it is a requirement for using any card):  The attack targeting you must be Range 1  The attack must fail  The defense roll must include at least one critical  We will examine each of these separately, then look at the odds of actually being able to score it.   Factor: Attack Range Let's start by looking at the number of Range 1 attacks.  As mentioned in the FAQ , to be con

Decision: Should You Play Peerless Fighter? Author's Note: This article was partially inspired by a single stray thought in an upcoming episode of the "What the Hex?" Podcast on which I was graciously allowed to appear.  Check it out here! TL;DR: No.  But if you're going to, you potato , at least try to throw in some other cards to make it work. Factor: Exclusions The first, and quite unbreakable, requirement of scoring Peerless Fighter is that you have to be rolling at least two dice.  Therefore, there are a few base attacks in the game that cannot trigger Peerless on their own: Scavenged Flail (Uninspired Hungering Skaven) Gorefist (Uninspired Zharkus and Ghartok) Nighthaunt Blade (Uninspired Chainrasp - Anne Boleyn Version) Nighthaunt Axe (Uninspired Chainrasp - Spartacus/Phillipe Bourbon Versions) Ball and Chain (Uninspired Snirk) Rock Maw (Uninspired Stalagsquig) If your army is heavy on these attacks - I'm looking at you, Queen of t