WoW minis or Monsterpocalypse?

[keglo]

I am considering trying a new minis game. So far HS is my only real experience with a minis game. Money is a big issue so I can only try one. Right now the two that looks most interesting to me is Wow minis and Monsterpocalypse. Which one is better/funner? Which one is more expensive. I'm guessing the Monsterocalypse would end up costing the most. Anyway, which of these two should I go with, or is there a different minis game that you all think is the best? I'm looking for something that is fun with good minis but not too complicated, or my wife won't play. Thanks for any suggestions.

[paradox22]

I would go with monsterpocalypse. Amazingly painted miniatures, very innovative rules, strategic yet hillarious... It's a GREAT game. Just my opinion though... I don't have any expirence with WoW.

Heres a good MonPoC fan site you can check out: http://www.hudsonweb.net/monpoc/phpBB3/

Also, we have a pretty good tournament scene here in the kansas City area... so you could make the pilgrimage up here to play!:D

[Thorgrim]

Damn Mosterpocalypes and it's nessessity to buy two starter sets to even play :(

Other than that, MP is a great game. READ ALL OF THE RULES. It has a bunch of them, and it's a big step from HS. All the things you can do with power attacks and crap is hard to learn and hard to teach. Fun though.

[Gabbi]

Monsterpocalyps is for sure the more expensive.
anyway, two starters are suggested but not necessary for 2 players (you can mark damage in other ways (dice, beads, paper...), and use regular dice).
I play both games, and can say that both have a great and distinctive mechanic (the dice pools for MonPoc, ticks for WoW) that sets apart the game from the others, and request some thinking during game.
since they're both great games, I would go on the one that has the setting that appeals you the most.

[saintBYgrace]

In the end it will come down to which you like more, HUGE monsters or elves, dwarfs, and the like. While I enjoy some things in the WoW world, the HUGE monsters have me all the way.

In MonPoc you not only have HUGE monsters but you also have a grab bag of the best monsters out there. Want to save the world? Pick the giant robot faction G.U.A.R.D. or the space ninjas Shadow Sun. `Zilla more your style? Then you will find them here as well. Not only that but have you checked out their supporting units? PLEASE, that alone make this game worth checking out. G.U.A.R.D. has tanks, helicopters, a mobile unit which gives it longer range for shooting units, and a mobile healing unit for your two HUGE G.U.A.R.D. monsters. Shadow Sun has stealth jets, smaller space ninjas, and little transporters that let the space ninjas move from transporter to transporter just be entering them. And this goes for all 6 factions, not just one or two. PLEASE, for the sake of all that is good, check the game out.

Also make note that there are new monsters and units on their way as of March. So you will not have to wait long to see the new stuff as it will be upon us here in a few short months. But in the end, it really depends on what you like more. As well please make note that while MonPoc can look like it is a bit more than one can handle, IF I can understand and play it, ANYONE can. I am SO use to simple games like Clue and those board games and after a few games I fully understand what is going on and what is what (and this game gets deeper and deeper as you learn more and more about how to use the units and the such).

For me, it is all about the theme of said game, if I can grow with said game, and is it fun? The answer for me with MonPoc is YES! Yes! Yes! Ok, rant over now go out and purchase you a game you will enjoy and have some fun : )

[Lord Pyre]

I play Monsterpocalypse, and love it. Haven't played WoW, though.

As fr money, what I'm doing is buying a bunch of the boosters, and trading the figures I won't use on the site Paradox posted.

[zanter]

The single cheapest idea out of both is simply going WoW and buying singles off of....

www.trollandtoad.com (http://www.trollandtoad.com)

www.miniaturesmarket.com (http://www.miniaturesmarket.com)

You can get the EXACT squad of figures you want for 6 bucks if they are all common. Though a a starter is still needed.

I can't say much to help you choose, but from what I can tell monsterpoc looks like it will be more of a money sink getting started.

I personally love WoW for it's very small scale, and the fact you can convince a buddy to buy a single booster pack and instantly play aganst him.

But Monsterpoc looks like it has some great rules to, but the "GIANT FRIGGIN MONSTA" theme isn't really up my alley.

~Z~

[Vydar]

I was asking myself a similar question a few months back. Mutant Chronicles, MonsterPocalypse, and WoW minis all came out around the same time. Honestly, my favorite based on theme and gameplay is MC, but FFG did a very poor job of launching that game. There are very few people who play it around here. Interestingly, my wife who generally shies away from the complexity of my miniatures games and she found MC to be very accessible. Recently, the FFG sale on AT-43 got me looking for another pre-painted minis game to play. One of my major criteria for choosing a game is that I want it to be something that a lot of other people in the area are actively playing at the game store. Both WoW and MonPoc satisfy that criteria.

WoW minis is by far the cheaper of the two games. It is a small scale battle where you only need 3 figures each IIRC. Personally, I stay away from WoW related games in general, but I've heard it is a fun game. Based on the information I got from my FLGS, there are a lot of WoW minis players and they aren't necessarily the normal tabletop gamers. (A lot of computer geeks bought into it and started playing.) My impression is that it would be an easier game for my wife to pick up.

I just started on MonPoc, and it is a bit expensive right off the bat. Since you really want to play faction pure due to the bonuses, getting the figures you really need to have an effective army can be a bit of a chore. If you go with MonPoc, do not go overboard with the monsters. You need at least 15 units per every 1-2 monsters in a faction to have a playable army. That means 2-4 unit boosters for every monster booster. Privateer Press has a very good history with WarMachine and Hordes and everything I've seen with MonPoc indicates that they are doing things the right way. Honestly, the special abilities in MonPoc are quite daunting when you start out. There are too many for you to get them all right in the first (or even fifth) gameplay. I have yet to try playing with my wife, but I think the amount of special abilities and interactions will be a turn off for her. For me, however, I find that it adds depth. You will be discovering and learning new interactions for quite some time.

Hope that helps. Feel free to PM me if you would like more info. I am very price conscious myself, so if decide to go with MonPoc, let me know and I might be able to point you in the direction to get in for as cheap as possible.

[gorthan313]

I should be getting some MonPoc for Christmas, so I will let you know how it goes. My opinion on WoW is this: I LOVE the online game, but the minis game doesn't look like it will translate Azeroth to the mini gamer's world very well.

[Sherman Davies]

I haven't played either (I'm a one-miniatures-game-at-a-time kinda guy), but my advice would be to go for Warcraft. Why? If you don't like the game, the minis you'll have can be used as Heroscape customs, natch!

[webhead817]

Here's my take...WoW Minis is cheaper to get into, but probably more expensive to collect the full set if you are inclined to go that way.

WoW minis gameplay is more similar to HeroScape than MonPoc. Between hex based movement and the way attack and defense dice work, there are some solid similarities. Is that good or bad? I don't know...if you are looking for an easier game to learn...WoW is probably it. If you like the mechanics of HeroScape a lot and are looking for something similar, you may find it in WoW. On the other hand, if you are looking for something new in gameplay, MonPoc will give you a different flavor of game play.

On the other hand...WoW has a very monochromatic theme...sort of the Fantasy Steam Punk genre of the video game. MonPoc, despite being about giant monsters, has a varied theme more similar to HeroScape. You have your giant robots. You have your dinosaurs. You have your aliens. Etc.

[keglo]

Thanks for all the advise guys. I think that I will wait until after Christmas to make my final decision. Right now I am leaning heavily toward WoW because of it's cheaper price, simplicity of rules, and faster games. I think these things would appeal more to my wife. In truth MonPoc sounds more interesting to me but after reading through the rules and game play info I don't think I would ever get anyone in the family to play. I have played a couple of games of WoW using the downloadable demo and I am a little worried about it staying fun in the long run. There does not seem to be much to it. Everyone runs to the VP point and fight over it until someone dies. It seems too simple. But maybe I'm missing something. Anyway, thanks again guys. :D

[Nwojedi]

Thou, I've never played MC. WoW Mini's is the best mini's game i've ever played. I've heard MC's rulebook is way to thick. WoW mini's you can setup and have your army drafted in about 4 min, ready to roll to see who goes first. Takes 3 min to put away when done, and once you get the hang of it, games can be done in about 15 min.

There are so many stategic elements to WoW mini's, that it's more like chess than anything else. Every move is critical.

[Lord Pyre]

MonPoc's rulebook is intimidating at first, but once you figure it out, it becomes a lot easier, especially if you only use one force, and you can memorize their abilities easier.

I haven't played WoW, but MonPoc is also very strategic. Once you get all the buildings and units (Yeah, that'll cost you a bit. But like I said, you can trade for the stuff you want), you'll find that certain buildings and unit combinations work better for you.

The only thing I don't really like about MonPoc is that there's not much you can customize. Perhaps HeroScape spoiled me, but you can't really make scenarios, or play different kinds of games, other than one or two monsters.

[boom]

And WoW hardly has to be a "race" for the objectives. The action-card bar really adds much more to it. You're going to love pouring over all your cards and figuring what combos of cards and figures gives you the best army, much like you do for your HS stuff :D. Monpoc is great, and I play both, but I'd go with WoW as a starter, especially if you like fantasy as opposed to sci-fi. My two centavos.

[Nwojedi]

Yea, the action bar card customizing is really awesome too. The thing with WoW is, that no army can defeat all other armies. It doesn't matter who you take. You would have just as good of luck, pulling randomly as you would trying to plan. Especially in a tournament setting. Some action cards become useless against some opponents, but super powerful against others. But you don't know who your going to play, so it's a crap shoot.

[keglo]

Ok, I'm still leaning towards WoW BUT what about AT-43? The figures look really sweet to me and the rules that I have read sound very interesting too. But I have never played a game of this sort that uses a tape measure for movement like At-43, Warmachines, etc. So any of you know anything about this one before I make a final decison? Cost, is it fun, how long a game last, how complicated it is, etc? Thanks for any help.

[boom]

AT-43 is a pretty cool game, but a tad costly. 8 Figures will set you back about $30 retail, or closer to 20 or 24 online. I have a few figs, and the paint jobs are decent enough. My biggest fear is that Rackham (the manufacturer) has recently severed ties w/ the US distributer, Fantasy Flight. Waves were slow to be released then. I wonder what will happen now? Do some more research on what the future of that game will bring before diving in. I'm in a holding pattern with it, at the 'mo.

[Eclipse]

I'll throw on some praise for the WoW game and for what its worth, I'm not a Warcraft fan at all. Nothing against it at all, but I'm not a RTS fan and the MMO was just dull for me. Just not the game for me.

The mini game on the other hand, is really good. In some ways its similar to Heroscape, but it really occupies a different style entirely. While Heroscape is about small skirmishes of bands of troops, WoW zooms in even closer and focuses on single characters, giving each on a lot of options to make it far more interesting then stand and smash.

There's lots of things I really enjoy about it. The 70% success rate for both offense and defense mitigates a lot of the wild, luck based rolls, while the general attack/defense numbers are balanced to keep the game from turning into a stalemate. The Honor system is really smart, balancing out figures well. The VPs on maps give a good option to fight over and a unique way to play for high defense, low Honor units. They also keep the Honor system from turning into a clear multiple of 4 team building issue.

Really, the main downside is that the Ubases don't make the game as easy to track as they should. It's too bad, because when they work the game flows fantastically and without there's a lot to track. You'll hear complaints about paint jobs, but really they're quite good; not as good as the promo pictures, but extremely detailed and colorful. They could definitely be better of course, but as good as most machine paint jobs I've seen.

Really, its just a fun game. It sits nicely with my Heroscape collection as a more hero focuses experience compared to the more squad based gameplay of scape.

[webhead817]

Ok, I'm still leaning towards WoW BUT what about AT-43?

Unfortunately you just missed a HUGE sale on that game which would have been a good chance to get into it.

The rules for AT-43 are very dense...if you were looking for something where you could setup a campaign and play marathon sessions using strict military style tactics, it might be for you.

As mentioned elsewhere, the future of the game is a bit in flux, as the parent company has just pulled back US distribution from Fantasty Flight.

[keglo]

if you were looking for something where you could setup a campaign and play marathon sessions using strict military style tactics, it might be for you.

Umm..no. Big marathon sessions are not what I'm looking for. I unfortunately do not have the time and my wife would never make it through one session. So I will be going wit WoW. Thanks to everyone for all of your feedback.

[mnguy12000]

I have to say I love WOW as well. but one thing I hate is the collection aspect of this game. There are about 5-8 figures that are the main driving force in Tourney play and without them you are toast.

But if you dont care about tourney play and just want a fun fast game to play this is it. I am pleased I own it and I have fun playing either PvP or PvE. YES I said PvE. they have a pretty good rule set to get you started plus the WOW forums have some pretty good ideas as well.

[spacemonkeymafia]

Thanks for all the advise guys. I think that I will wait until after Christmas to make my final decision.

ED: just realized that this thread was resurrected and likely no longer relevant...oh well :)

I saw that you already posted that you are all but going for WoW and that sounds great but I thought I'd throw in some more info/advice into the mix :)

MonPoc is great if you like that theme, though as people have pointed out, can be expensive.

AT-43 or Confrontation (the high fantasy alternate universe) has awesome sculpts, pre-painted, and the most "true wargame" of the current list of suggestions. Rackham (the publisher) is making it pretty easy to get into the game with the start of the "Army" box- 2000 pts (which I believe is rough 75% of what you would field in a tournament) of figures dedicated to one faction for $70. This price point is amazing for these figures and is about the same as the crazy FFG 1/2 sale, but more focused on a balanced army build. The AT-43 boxes come out this summer with the Confrontation ones following in September I believe.

Now just to throw one more option into the ring (and pimp my current most anticipated new game)...Arcane Legions:
http://arcanelegions.com/
Read through their site as they have pics in the News section, gameplay in the Games section, and pricing info in the Retailer part. Info on this game is scarce but the pricing seems amazing and the gameplay seems pretty cool/unique. It seems simpler to play than most war games but still meaty enough to be fun. It should be out by September so if you are still waiting for Christmas, then you should have plenty of info on the game to see if its any good. There is a thread already kicking in this forum if you are interested in catchy what little info is already available.

Otherwise, good luck and have fun!

[boom]

Thanks for all the advise guys. I think that I will wait until after Christmas to make my final decision.

ED: just realized that this thread was resurrected and likely no longer relevant...oh well :)

Now just to throw one more option into the ring (and pimp my current most anticipated new game)...Arcane Legions:
http://arcanelegions.com/
Read through their site as they have pics in the News section, gameplay in the Games section, and pricing info in the Retailer part. Info on this game is scarce but the pricing seems amazing and the gameplay seems pretty cool/unique. It seems simpler to play than most war games but still meaty enough to be fun. It should be out by September so if you are still waiting for Christmas, then you should have plenty of info on the game to see if its any good. There is a thread already kicking in this forum if you are interested in catchy what little info is already available.

Otherwise, good luck and have fun!

Why are you doing this to me, spacemonkey, why?:lol:

[ragingphoenix]

go with WoW although not many people on 'Scapers play it. Ive been having lots of fun with it. the Mini's are painted very well,but there alot of things to remember. WoW was my first mini's game after 'Scape as well. And its MUCH EASIER TO LEARN and don't forget cheaper:)

[gamjuven]

I'm sure you made you decision months ago but I thought I'd chime in. I'd go with WOW minis. I like it a lot better than Monsterapocalypse. It is easy to play, but there's a ton of strategy, like Heroscape. Awesome miniatures. Not huge armies, but elite warp party, awesome look to everything thanks to it being WoW. Great fun. I just wish more people in my area played or if it was more popular in a tournament scene.

I didn't particularly like Monsterapoccalypse when I played it. It was alright, but for me personally i never was interested in the world at all, and although the maps and monsters are very well made and pretty cool looking, I just didn't care for hte minis that much.

[Mombo101]

Actually, I think just the opposite, Monsterpocalpyse is a much better game than WoW minis.

I played WoW minis, and tried Monsterpocalypse. I really felt that the Monsterpocalypse rules were much more intuitive than WoW's. They were a bit complicated to learn, yes, but they felt much more balanced than WoW's. WoW suffers from too much of a luck based game, whoever has the most dice usually comes out on top. On the other hand, Monsterpocalypse forces you to take your die rolling seriously, and think about it from a strategic standpoint. This alone is awesome in my opinion.

WoW minis may be cheaper, but it suffers from two distinct things. 1) UDE lost their license with Blizzard, so the game may not be in print anymore (though this might also be a good thing, meaning boosters/pieces will/may be very cheap soon). Without being printed anymore, that means the player based will reduce very quickly. No player base means it'll be harder to find someone to play with, or tournaments. 2) The game favors the rares/epic pieces. Pieces aren't very balanced also. Even amongst the commons/uncommons some are very very powerful, and others very very crappy. You'll find yourself playing the same few pieces game after game.

The fact that Monsterpocalypse is still being produced and has a number of expansions (4-5 rather than WoW's 2) it allows for a better foundation for people to start out playing. That, and since there are a number of expansions out, you know that there's a player base. In my area, there really wasn't one for WoW minis, but a player base for Monsterpocalypse has slowly been accruing. Plus, Privateer Press is known primarily for their minis games (that and their two boardgames Scrappers and Infernal Contraption are AMAZING), so you know they have that going for them as well.

So yeah, you'll probably be better off going with Monsterpocalypse than WoW minis.

[Land-based AE]

I know this is hardcore necro at this point but anyone who thinks Monpoc is too hard, there is a guy on boardgame geek who has set up every character sheet like a Heroscape card, complete with the text for every piece.

It has helped me a ton.

[gamjuven]

Actually, I think just the opposite, Monsterpocalpyse is a much better game than WoW minis.

I played WoW minis, and tried Monsterpocalypse. I really felt that the Monsterpocalypse rules were much more intuitive than WoW's. They were a bit complicated to learn, yes, but they felt much more balanced than WoW's. WoW suffers from too much of a luck based game, whoever has the most dice usually comes out on top. On the other hand, Monsterpocalypse forces you to take your die rolling seriously, and think about it from a strategic standpoint. This alone is awesome in my opinion.

WoW minis may be cheaper, but it suffers from two distinct things. 1) UDE lost their license with Blizzard, so the game may not be in print anymore (though this might also be a good thing, meaning boosters/pieces will/may be very cheap soon). Without being printed anymore, that means the player based will reduce very quickly. No player base means it'll be harder to find someone to play with, or tournaments. 2) The game favors the rares/epic pieces. Pieces aren't very balanced also. Even amongst the commons/uncommons some are very very powerful, and others very very crappy. You'll find yourself playing the same few pieces game after game.

The fact that Monsterpocalypse is still being produced and has a number of expansions (4-5 rather than WoW's 2) it allows for a better foundation for people to start out playing. That, and since there are a number of expansions out, you know that there's a player base. In my area, there really wasn't one for WoW minis, but a player base for Monsterpocalypse has slowly been accruing. Plus, Privateer Press is known primarily for their minis games (that and their two boardgames Scrappers and Infernal Contraption are AMAZING), so you know they have that going for them as well.

So yeah, you'll probably be better off going with Monsterpocalypse than WoW minis.

Those are valid points. WoW minis is really hurting with the possibility that there might not be any more expansions. In regards to the random thing, I actually never bought a single booster. I bought each figure individually online. There are a number of websites that offer some great prices for figs at a low price. Some of the ultra rare ones are a bit pricey, but honestly most of them you don't need, and the ones you do need you would be paying less than the amount of random boosters you would have to buy to get it normally anyway. Now I'm not sure about Monsterapoc, it could very well be easier to get the figs, but I've gotten a great collection of WoW minis for very cheap compared to most mini games, and I don't have boxes of duplicates this way either.

As I said my personal opinion is that I also don't care much for the monsters that were released or are available. But that's a personal opinion that I like the "fluff" of WoW more than Monsterapoc. And for the record I don't play WoW online, never have.

But yeah it's a very valid point that Monsterapoc is still releasing expansions, while WoW minis may not. And the rules thing is probably also a personal choice.

WoW minis is a lot of luck, although I think there is still a ton of strategy in terms of how you pick your army and how it works together (like heroscape)

[tylerdrake]

I know it's an older thread but I had to chime in. . .

I bought lots of WOW minis. Pretty good game but not my cup-of-tea. I played this with my kid. really nice looking Minis and cards, I thought. We tried WOWMinis, but my kid was off set by the cards.

I finally tried MONPOC since I found a good deal on Ebay. The look of this game - with Aliens buzzing between buildings, etc - is really cool. I play it with my 7-year old. We can never seem to have enough buildings or Monsters. Posing them on the Map is fun by itself. We played without most of the Special Abilities to start, but have worked up to using everything.

Price Wise - I spent close to $200 on WowMinis and double that on MONPOC. (no ebay this month AT ALL). Both are good depending your genre pick.

As for WOW Minis being a "dead game" - that may not matter at all. (We also bought some Dreamblade a few months ago and it was fun too)

Conclusion - MONPOC is more up our Rampage alley, but it may not work for everyone. AND a VOLTRON set comes out this month (which is what originally piqued my interest)

[DarkJawa]

I hope no one smashes me for posting in a thread this old, but couldn't resist when I saw the title. I have played both games on and off. Both are solid games, and can appeal to a wide variety of people.
WoW Minis
I actually played this game without ever having played the computer game. This game is that good. The maps from the delux starters are awesome and the minis look great. I actually think the cards in the game help capture that RPG feel. Its one drawback is the "U-bases". Though I never had any major issue with them, there were players that had fits over fitting figures on them and getting them to turn properly. In the end, I can't help but wonder if they are the reason the game died off.

Monsterpocalypse
Also a great game, with solid mechanics and lots of dice rolling. If you are a fan of some Magna, or the old Godzilla or other similar Monster Movies from the 70's then this is your game. Using monsters to smash buildings, smaller "units", and of course your opponent's monster is just a lot of fun. Especially if you combine any of those, like throwing your opponent into a building or smashing a building so it falls and crushes the enemy on the other side. I think there are a lot of different types of Monsters (agenda/faction) to appeal to any fan of this genre.
My biggest MonPoc complaint is distribution. It is very hard to get buildings, which you need to generate power dice that can be used during your attacks.

All that being said, a friend and I are actually starting both games again very soon. We already have some MonPoc to play with at any time, but we will be picking up some WoW minis. We sold our last sets to fund our adventure into Warmachine/Hordes.

[Eclipse]

I've been playing both games for a bit now. Since WoW minis died off (which is actually the fault of the TCG, but whatever) I've actually probably enjoyed it more. I pruned my collection down to a good variety of figures and gave them standard ABC setups to speed up setup and make it more of a pickup and play sort of game; which is where it really excels.

I wrote up some rather extensive thoughts in the actual MonPoc thread, but I really like that game as well. It's wonderful extensive, strategic and full of interesting decisions mixed with the fun of smashing big toys together. I'd probably get a lot more time with the game, but it's just so obscenely obtuse in the way it handles its rules, I really struggle to teach the game to my friends. I've put a lot of work into making it more accessible, but its really disappointing that I have to do so.

Still, the game is crazy fun. I just got my shipment of the newest release (Big in Japan) the other day and they really ramped up the chaos in the set. There's a giant ferris wheel you can send rolling through the city for pretty massive destruction, lots of monsters that really benefit from razing the city to the ground. I wish the game was easier to understand and I really wish it had a better purchase setup, but darn it, I'm willing to overlook all that for the ability to throw a giant gorilla into the flaming wreckage of the Empire State Building.