Battlefields of Valhalla Discussion Thread

[Killometer]

Originally Posted by killercactus

Just in general here, I think water blocking the start zones is awesome.

Well, yeah, you would.

Originally Posted by dok

GenCon 2010 Championship day 1
13. killercactus 4-1 - Major Q9, Raelin the Kyrie Warrior RotV, Venoc Vipers x6

[tom]

I would like to nominate Northern Passage for review by the BoV team. It has been at 3 tournaments that I am aware of and has been well received. The map requires 1 BftU, 1 TT, and 1 FotA. Thanks!

[Riggler]

I vote No to review Post Maneuvers.

Updated 1/17/11
Logged 1Mmirg's Yes to induct Jack of Spades and No to induct Jungle of Ancients
Logged Lonewolf's Ytr Fire Swamp
Moved Fire Swamp to being reviewed
Logged Matthias Maccabeus No to induct Jungle of Ancients and No to induct Shrine of Mo-Ne-Ka
Removed Jungle of Ancients from Review
Added Post Maneuvers to pending review
Logged No votes by 1Mmirg and Dignan and Riggler to review Post Maneuvers.
Removed Post Maneuvers from review.
Added Northern Passage to under review
Removed Dragon's Gultch from under review at request of mapmaker BIllabullfrog.

Maps pending acceptance for review:
Northern Passage by tom
YES = 0 ; NO = 0 ; Pending = 6 (1Mmirg, Dignan, Riggler, Lonewolf, Matthias Maccabeus, nyys)

Maps currently being reviewed:
Black Gold by Panopticon
YES = 1 (nyys) ; NO = 0 ; Pending = 5 (1Mmirg, Dignan, Riggler, Lonewolf, Matthias Maccabeus)

Shrine of Mo-Ne-Ca by tannergx
YES = 0 ; NO = 1 (Matthias Maccabeus) ; Pending = 5 (1Mmirg, Dignan, Riggler, Lonewolf, nyys)

Jack of Spades by Gamebear
YES = 2 (Matthias Maccabeus, 1Mmirg) ; NO = 0 ; Pending = 4 (Dignan, Riggler, Lonewolf, nyys)

Eggbeater by dok
YES = 0 ; NO = 0 ; Pending = 6 (1Mmirg, Dignan, Riggler, Lonewolf, Matthias Maccabeus, nyys)

Yea Though I Walk by Typhon222
YES = 0 ; NO = 0 ; Pending = 6 (1Mmirg, Dignan, Riggler, Lonewolf, Matthias Maccabeus, nyys)

Fire Swamp by Killercactus
YES = 0 ; NO = 0 ; Pending = 6 (1Mmirg, Dignan, Riggler, Lonewolf, Matthias Maccabeus, nyys)

[Typhon2222]

I'm super-duper honored that "Yea Though I Walk" has been accepted for review.

I feel a bit funny mentioning it, but I see that the first word of the map's name has gained an "h" in the list above and on the first page. The source of the name is the famous line from the King James Bible, Psalm 23:4, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death....", which sprang to mind as I was constructing the map's central defining feature. "Yeah" doesn't convey quite the same tone.

[1Mmirg]

Originally Posted by tom

I would like to nominate Northern Passage for review by the BoV team. It has been at 3 tournaments that I am aware of and has been well received. The map requires 1 BftU, 1 TT, and 1 FotA. Thanks!

Well, this may reveal my own issues, but I'm nervous about a map that has opposing high points, without glyphs or other good reasons to leave a turtled position.

The map looks fun, but I fear that competitive play could bring out the worst. (I'd have liked to at least have seen the Shadow used to help make attacks to high points more promising.)

I see a lot of good things going on here and would enjoy trying this one out, but I vote NO to review for the BoV.

[marroking1]

I don't know if I am allowed to nominate my own maps but I have been trying my hand at making a BoV stlye map and this one is the only one that has past my test as a mapmaker.

The Download for it is here

[Mooseman]

You'll have to re-upload it in PDF format. Also, make sure you include the start zones.

[Dignan]

Maps pending acceptance for review:

Northern Passage by tom

This one looks interesting enough to give it a go. Count me in. YES to review.

[Dignan]

Maps currently being reviewed:

Black Gold by Panopticon

Black Gold is one of the more visually striking maps on the site. The combination of shadow tiles, sand, and dungeon tiles is great. It's a very unique looking map and shows a ton of polish in its appearance.

The map is defined by ridges running down the length of the map. These effectively form three lanes to approach the enemy. On the outer lanes set power glyphs entice players, while the center path features plenty of shadow and jungle coverage with two treasure glyphs.

The map also features slightly split start zones. Two hexes forward from the main deployment zone are part of each player's starting zone. I can't say that this adds a great deal to the map, but it does create a few interesting choices depending on your army.

In my games on this map, the gameplay tended to focus on the main ridge by the wound glyph. My play group tends to value the wound glyph more than the initiative glyph and it therefore received a greater amount of attention. Battles focused on that side and the control of the hill directly overlooking it.

This hill ended up being the dominant feature in our games. It overlooked the more powerful glyph and the center of the map. Additionally, the three hex rock formation blocked it effectively from the opponent's neighboring high ground. This resulted in players dropping down to low ground and assaulting a stationary opponent. A large cluster typically formed in this area and maneuverability was greatly impaired.

The topography of the map is also an inhibitor to movement. The three lanes formed by the two ridges make lateral movement very time consuming. While range units could usually hop up on height for a shot across a lane, melee had a long march to engage figures on different lanes. This resulted in much less exciting and more predicable moves.

Black Gold is an outstanding map to set out on your table. It's fantastically unique and fun to play. However, the gameplay suffers a bit and isn't quite up to BoV standards. NO to induct.

[UtahScott]

Time to resubmit Dragon's Gulch, and give the BoV discussion thread a gentle nudge.

I nominate BiggaBullfrog's Moltenclaw's Gulch 2.1 for BoV consideration (he was unable to incorporate all changes before his departure).
Note: download url has changed.



Modifications are discussed in posts 44 and 51 of the thread, among others.

[nyys]

I was enjoying what I had tested before the original was pulled, I vote YES to review Moltenclaw's Gulch 2.1.

[1Mmirg]

I'm still interested in trying this one out. YES to review Moltenclaw's Gulch 2.1.