'Scaper-of-the-Month #76 - Deroche

This month’s ‘Scaper oozes with charisma and is an integral part of the Louisville gaming scene. Please welcome… Deroche!


PROFILE:

Who are you, really?

I'm nobody! I don't deserve to be on this list!! (In fact, I'm going to smack MegaSilver for doing this to me.)

My name is Gordon Berg. I'm married -- 15 years this past December -- and live in Louisville, KY.

How old are you?

45

What is your occupation?

IT Manager for a local not-for-profit social services agency.

What other interests do you have?

When I'm not gaming with other people (board game or computer), I'm either reading or enjoying my home theater. I also used to always do a lot of sports activities in some form or fashion, but have regrettably gotten away from that this past year. I'm hoping to get that going again...perhaps take up competitive swimming once more.

You seem to be quite the board game connoisseur. How many different titles do you own?

According to Boardgamegeek, I have 280. Wow. No wonder my wife said, "Enough."

What are some of the other board games you enjoy and why?

My favorite game apart from Heroscape has to be Milton Bradley's original Shogun, which was then renamed to Samurai Swords, and has now been re-released and renamed once more as Ikusa. It came out in the 80's as part of the same gaming series as Axis and Allies. It's Ameritrash at its finest and the design still holds up.

Apart from that, I enjoy anything that gets people's mind's to expand beyond the common titles that seem to bring the hobby down (like Monopoly) and hopefully expose them to a whole other world of entertainment. So I'm always on the lookout for a good "gateway" type of game. I like to think of myself as a board game evangelist; my wife calls me a zealot. Eh, semantics. And to be fair, my wife really has been very sweet and supportive with regards to my little boardgame obsessions these past few years. I'm just trying to paint her in an unfair light because she's not here to defend herself.

(I've been trying to comment on each game I own after I've played it enough, so here's the collection and comments so far: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/collection/user/Deroche)

Who, or what, is you avatar and how did you come up with your username?

The avatar is the charisma attribute icon from the videogame Fallout 3. I wanted something cheesy and that seemed to fit.

As for the username, it's actually part of my "real" name. Sort of. Ever since I can remember, I've always known I was adopted. Never been an issue for me, and I've never really had any desire to find my birth-parents, etc (I did have a little fact sheet about them when I was growing up though, so that was cool). When I was either 19 or 20, my mother said she had a document that had my real birthname on it and I could see it when I turned 21 if I wished, so I had about a year to mull it over and decided I wanted to know. Deroche would have been my legal last name. So in this case, it really is an actual alter-ego instead of a virtual one and it's made for a dependable username in this Internet age.


HEROSCAPE:

When and how did you first get into HeroScape?

Spring 2010.

After rediscovering boardgames in Fall of 2009, I wanted to expand my collection to where I had something to play with my youngest nephew because he was going to stay with us for the summer and I knew he wouldn't be interested Carcassonne or Ticket to Ride. It was at that time that Tom Vasel released his HeroScape video series. So I bought a RotV master set for the sole purpose of playing it occasionally with my nephew...until I realized just what it was that I had in my hands.

It was an expensive to time get into the game to be sure (and even more so now), but it's been worth every penny.

What is your favorite aspect of HeroScape and why?

Army design and the metagame that goes along with it. If a game can incorporate a build-a-better-mousetrap aspect/mechanic, I'm all over it. In fact, I might be having more fun thinking about the game than actually playing it. To me, there's nothing better than reading about an upcoming tourney that I'll be attending and then fire up Battleplan and contemplate the rules and possible army builds for that event. There's so many ways to play HeroScape and as such, there's usually a good, valid reason to play something different each time.

To whom is your allegiance and why?

I don't really have one. I'm not sure if it's because I haven't played enough or if it's because I just don't care that much about the story behind the game. If I was forced to pick one, then for now I'll choose Jandar because of some success I've had with the 4th Mass.

Who are your favorite heroes and why?

Unique: Zetacron -- so effective for only 60 points.
Uncommon: Fen Hydra -- how can anyone not pick FH?
Common: Fire Elemental -- those who've seen the Firestorm in action know what I mean.

What are your favorite squads and why?

Unique: Krav Maga -- a boring choice, sure, but I've actually trained in Krav Maga (up to a blue belt!)
Common: Minions of Utgar -- best sculpts in the game!

What is your favorite Special Ability and why?

Tactical Switch -- At GenCon, I was in a battle in the main event and we essentially had mirror armies. Having to swap each other's Warforged back and forth all game long was a lot of fun.

What is your favorite map and why?


Common Ground by GameBear. Such a great of example of what can be done with just the first master set.


COMMUNITY:

What do you enjoy most about HeroScapers.com?

The resources that can be found here! I've learned so much from the generosity of knowledge shared by great players and strategists like spider_poison, Jexik, killercactus, and dok.

The map threads are probably my favorite section. That alone would be worth the site supporter subscription. And let's not forget you, AliasQTip: You taught me how to brick my terrain!

Describe your favorite HeroScape moment.

Winning the General Wars event this past GenCon was a pretty memorable moment for me, and I was very fortunate and lucky to have that honor. But that was topped this past holiday season when I gave a massive Heroscape collection to my oldest nephew as an early Christmas present during Thanksgiving. They live in Michigan and we had just finished playing a three player match because I had brought with me a map and some armies, and he was lamenting how much he enjoyed the game (his second game ever), but he'd never own any because it's discontinued now and he's a poor college student. I told him, "Don't worry buddy, you'll get to play once a year when I come visit." It was at that moment I brought in his gift from the car. You should have seen the look on his face. In fact, we're attending our first tournament together this March, so maybe I'll get to have a new, favorite memorable moment.

Is there any member of HeroScapers.com you’d really like to play against?

Certainly not anyone good, otherwise I wouldn't have a chance. Actually, I would like to have a tutorial match with Matthias, where I've got some kind of ranged army or component, and he's playing his typical all-melee build. It'd be neat if he then shared his thoughts with each move and the reasons behind his choices. (I have a goal of trying to play more melee builds this year and improve as a player, so maybe that's on my mind a bit)

What's the Louisville gaming scene like?

Very active and diverse, but small. I'd say on average we have anywhere from 12 to 16 players attend our monthly tournaments. We have some pretty good players who are consistent in their success, and we are starting to see some emerging players who are improving their game as they play more and increase their collections. What I like best is that we're always trying something new each month, obviously. None of this would be possible without the tireless efforts from our local tourney leader: El Diabolo. He's the biggest HeroScape enthusiast I know and our local scene owes him a huge debt of gratitude.


UNIT DEBATE:

Which unit would you say is better: Mogrimm Forgehammer or Migol Ironwill?

Although Migol probably has better survivability, when you're looking for a hero in a classic Axegrinder build, it's definitely Mogrimm for the synergy benefits. And I might be a little biased: Mogrimm once took out ten of my 4th Mass in a GenCon match.

What two units would you like to see in the next Unit Debate?

Hmm, we're starting to run out of interesting debate choices. Furthermore, I've always thought the whole Unit Debate concept was a bit weird if only because it seems a little misleading. It's as if we're trying to compare units in a vacuum and that's not realistic. Comparisons can only be made in the context of what army they appear in AND the format for which that army was intended. Yes, the debates factor that in, but for me it's more apt to say, "What do I do with my last 120 points I have left over?" For me personally, a question I often ask is what do I do with my last 50 points? As always, it depends...do I need some range? If so, then either Marro Warriors or Me-Burq-Sa are a good choice. So there you go, that's my next debate: Marro Warriors vs Me-Burq-Sa.

LIE DETECTOR:

Tell us two true things about yourself and one lie.

1. I've had conversations in person with Gary Coleman, Donny Osmund, Capt Dale Dye, and Rita Hayworth.
2. I've never flown a real plane in a real dogfight.
3. I'm a "Pastor's Wife."


THREE FUN FAVORITES:
(Choose and answer three of the following.)

Favorite band: Oingo Boingo (composer Danny Elfman was the front-man for this Southern California band)

Favorite sport: Water Polo

Favorite TV show: Although I'm really enjoying Justified on FX, I have to say AMC's Breaking Bad is the best show on TV.


CLOSING:

What message do you have for the ‘Scaper community?

Keep going forth and convert, and STOP selling off your collections!!!! Are you people insane???

Whom do you pick for the next ‘Scaper of the Week?

Part of the greatness of HeroScape are the people you meet and I'd love to give mention to Lord Trask, a real great guy I met at GenCon. He's my choice, but he seems to have been offline since November, so he might not be an option unless he's lurking. Soooo....if we can't get LT, then in an effort to repair the damage done by MegaSilver for nominating me instead of someone more deserving, it seems to me that GameBear's name is criminally absent from the list and that should be rectified. Immediately. Anyone who can make a BoV map must have something going on.