AoS Summoning

So I like AoS. I like the simpler rules and prefer a more laid-back atmosphere to the game. One thing I dont really like is summoning. Now dont get me wrong, I like the idea of summoning. I dont want to take that option away from my opponent. But the fun of summoning just feels so one-sided. Sure you have those fiddly minor victory rules going in your favor, but I just don't feel victorious when I see the hordes of undead surrounding my lone ogre who managed to survive the onslaught until the end of the game.

Now that is just my experience with the undead. I also noticed that my beastman friend's shaman has a spell that summons a monster into the game. A monster! That just seems harsh.

I've seen bits and pieces of houserules lying around. Anyone have anything good worked out? I'd love to hear it. Preferably something constructive. I dont necessarily need to hear about how AoS (or GW) sucks 30 more times.

Regards,
PPan

I have not played yet (soon!) but I liked the summoning comp where what you summon is already included in your available wounds. So you still spend the warscroll, but you don't have to deploy the unit right away, instead waiting to summon it onto the field. This would keep that unit free from shooting and being magic'd off the board, but also run the risk of never getting it into the game.

I read someone suggesting that on warseer. If you get a chance to try it out please share, it might be my solution.

By my metric there are a fair few options:

-Play it as written; if you follow the deployment rules of AoS there isn't a lot of point in summoning stuff on versus just starting it on the board, then summoning only becomes useful for replacing lost units; so you can aim to kill the summoners before that becomes a big problem. (Note: This option works best if you play Sudden Death as something which changes and shifts during the game; providing an impetus not to just summon endlessly, I talked about this in the AoS Q&A thread).
-Ban summoning, the lamest option, and especially debilitating to undead lists which have something of a reliance on summoning back their relatively weak units.
-Prevent summoning until the army is at less than their starting battlescrolls and add the caveat that you cannot summon scrolls more than you started with, this limits summoning into being a replenishing factor.
-Put a cap on summoned units size/strength, a little tricky when we are considering both zombies and demon princes in the equation.
-Modify the casting values of the summoning spells based on what is being summoned. They might do this already I guess? I have not read most of the summoning spells yet.
-A fun possibility would be to make up a 'summoning deck' of pre-written battlescrolls, each time the spell is cast draw the top card and that's what you get. Stack the deck in favour of decent units, with a scattering of duds and power units, and it might prove an entertaining random factor. If you draw a card you don't have models for it would probably be best to keep drawing til you find one you do, rather than negate the spell entirely.

Oh, you should probably not be able to do anything with a summoned unit the turn it arrives either, as a general rule, no hero phase abilities, moving, shooting etc.
The Gorger is a good example of how it should work I think, the opponent is practically guaranteed to get a turn to react to it before it can do anything. (Barring un/fortuitous timing with the Initiative roll).

Edit: Ooh, I thought of another fun option; just keep a track of which unit summoned what, then, if the 'parent' unit is slain then all units it summoned are also immediately removed from play. It's thematic, kinda fluffy and gives non-summoning players a chance to turn the tides with a decisive strike.

Ha! That summon deck would be fun premise for a special scenario. Summoning gone mad!

My group is playing it as:
To summon something, you must have the Battlescroll already purchased in your army. So a Wizard can only Summon Skeletons if he has Skeletons on the field (or if they were ever on the field). Additionally, the unit is considered a soell until your next Hero phase, so your opponent can choose to forgo casting themselves to dispelling the summoned guys back to the warp.

Additionally, the unit is considered a spell until your next Hero phase, so your opponent can choose to forgo casting themselves to dispelling the summoned guys back to the warp.

That's a good idea. The key balance issue with summoning is that not every army can do it, and many cannot do it to the same degree as others.
By providing a mechanism by which all armies can counter summoned units you reduce their dominance in the game.

You could even just make it a new spell which all Wizards know; 'Destabilise, cast on 7+, R18", May only be cast on units which were Summoned into play during the previous Enemy Hero Phase, if successfully cast that unit is removed from play (they do not count as casualties for the purposes of determining the victor).'

Another way I have been reading is to make it cost additional points onto your Wizard. So if say a Necromancer wanted to summon Zombies let say, well he has to add X points to HIS cost for that spell. I believe the price was 85 extra points on what I was reading to be able to summon units of 10 zombies. The highest I saw was 295? For the Summon Bloodthirster.

Another way I have been reading is to make it cost additional points onto your Wizard. So if say a Necromancer wanted to summon Zombies let say, well he has to add X points to HIS cost for that spell. I believe the price was 85 extra points on what I was reading to be able to summon units of 10 zombies. The highest I saw was 295? For the Summon Bloodthirster.

Yes, but there are no more points in AoS. I mean can units even borrow the old points anymore, when Elves have lost ASF, Ogres lost their Stomps and IH etc.
So how would you gauge points for a Wizard, who loses access to old spells? And how would you cost a unit below minimum?

Or how you summon plague bearers with an elf army, as they are now order!

Or how you summon plague bearers with an elf army, as they are now order!

GW's hilarious proofreading fails miserably. Again...

JJ

Copy paste errors.