National Heroscape Day - Map Discussion

[UranusPChicago]

Yes, I realize this is the Events thread and not the Map/Scenario thread, but I am trying to catch the eyes of the people who were involved in tournaments on NHSD.

I am wanting to gather feedback for how different maps played at the tournaments. What maps were used? Were any outstanding? Were any awful? What were the likes and dislikes? Were any BOV worthy?

I need anyone and everyone that participated to add their insights to the thread. Just because you are not a regular poster does not mean that you do not have any valuable insight to offer.

[Jormi_Boced]

We used:
Annihilation Alley - A solid map with lots of height uneven ground.
Thawing Tundra - This one is interesting with the starting zones being split by snow, ice and glaciers. It forces players to devote forces to one of the two sides.
Hot Heights - This is mine, so I am biased, but I think it does a good job of mitigating the range melee divide, by allowing cover of the ruins mid map and forcing range to come to the middle before gaining height.
Wellspring of Life- Not the best map in the world, but makes for a great slugfest, and allows melee to get right in there.

[Clarissimus]

My opinion on the maps used at TTO3:

Annihilation Alley: A quality map. I don't think anything else needs to be said here.
Thawing Tundra: I like this map a lot better than Arctic Divide. Why? A player isn't forced to slog across the snow. Rather, taking the high ground is slow, but rewarding if you can make it.
Hot Height: The best map at the tourney, IMO. The two peaks have a mix of lava and rock which means doing the "height advantage" dance can be perilous.
Wellspring of Life: Good for melee, yes, but putting both glyphs in range of one starting zone means that losing the first initiative roll can decide the game. I recommend either moving the glyphs or maybe just removing them. Does every tourney map needs glyphs?

[bunjee]

Seattle used:

The maps we used were:
Arctic Divide by UranusPChicago - BoV map
2x Broken Skyline by LongHeroscaper - BoV map
2x Embattled Fen by GameBear
Forsaken Waters by Hasbro from Rise of the Valkyrie Master set maps
Highways and Dieways by UranusPChicago - BoV map
2x HopScorch by Elstree
Mole Hills by Jonathan - BoV map
Nerak's Passage by CornPuff
Spineback Ridge by GameBear

We went with maps from the BoV but wanted to have the variety of terrain represented. We used every type currently available and it was great to play on. During play we had an issue surrounding Spineback Ridge and large double base figs fitting through the spine, but we resolve that by ruling that they could go through as a special rule.

Feedback at the end of the event was very positive for the map selections and variable play styles that were brought out by the different terrain types, I'd have to double check, but I think only 1 or 2 people played on the same map twice.

[Troy Spiral]

Seems like the majority of the maps were generally smaller than the BoV maps. I'm finding from at least local opinion, people tend to prefer smaller maps.

I personally am used to playing on larger maps that take a bit longer to play out, just from general minis gaming. But, the HS community, at least around here seems to like small-ish maps.

[Agent Minivann]

I played on The Broken Skyline, Ember Canyon Road, and The Frozen Stair.

I liked The Broken Skyline pretty well. The battle didn't range over the whole map, but there are parts where just about every unit can find some advantage. It has a nice balance to it.

I liked Ember Canyon Road as well. Lava at height and roads in the canyon avenue. It funnels all the action to one passage, and it might not be the most tactical map, but I thought it played well.

The Frozen Stair is more of a map that needs players to draft armies. The dragons (possibly all of them) have a hard/impossible time getting across the map to the opposing starting zone. It also had the negation glyph randomly placed on it, and I think that glyph is too much for a tournament. I'm fine with it in a casual/for fun game, but a competitive game can be drastically altered just by landing on that glyph.

[InfinityMax]

That snakey map with the icebergs was hell. I didn't like it. It was physically difficult to move figures between the icebergs - I just couldn't get my ham-fisted hands to slide a figure without knocking something over. And tactically it left almost no options - stay at the bottom and wait, or walk through single file and be mowed down. Neither is an attractive option. This should not be in tourneys again.

I loved that one with the three little towers. Speed kills on that one - get the turrets, control the map. Though I kept knocking over the little towers as I perched my blastatrons on the ladders.

That one with all the trails was fantastic. I loved the strategic and tactical maneuvering on that one, and the way the battle moved around the roads. Lots of cover and movement decisions. Own the roads and you own the map.

[Hendal]

hotheads is s great one -we used it in Ohio

winter wonderland was terrible - to hard to build , just a pain tot dela with.

The Canton Battle Bridge rocked, great way to use a castle set in a tourney, got good reviews from everyone I talked to that day. It was the one board people asked to be on that day, since I designed it, that made me feel rreall good.

[UranusPChicago]

Good feedback, guys. Keep it coming.

Don't be afraid of dissing maps, that is how we as a community get better maps from our map makers.

Also, another way to think about the maps used at your tournament...
Were any of them good enough that you would want to use them again next year or future tournaments or at least recommend them to other Tournament Directors to use?

[Wytefang]

At TTO we had the four maps that Jormi and Clarissimus have already listed:

Hot Heights - A very solid and enjoyable map though it could have used a bit more cover from range, imho, but still a very good map

Tundra Thaw - A little too big but I loved that they used Deep Snow and Slippery Ice rules, it made the map more challenging. Also, it's great how it forced people who play SquadScape to split up their troops. Anytime a map creates a huge tactical dilemma, that's a good thing in my book. Again, though, the map could have benefited from having more cover.

Annihilation Alley - My favorite of all the TTO maps - a great mix of height and uneven terrain with a helpful road for melee. Again, it could still have used a bit more cover but a very good map all around.

Springs of Life - The infamous swamp map. Too small with unbalanced placement for starting sides and unbalanced glyph placement. Yeah it can help melee, in theory, but it hurts them just as much when the game starts because you don't have to even move your ranged troops to start shooting. Just not a very good map. This one was clearly made for the campaign in the back of the SotM rulebook and not balanced for tourney play. I actually won the game I played on this map and it was a very balanced battle between Tchop and I but that's solely because we both played with mixed armies that weren't chock full of only range or melee but instead had a mixture of both.

[Hendal]

I would recommend Canton's Battle Bridge

http://www.heroscapers.com/download/index.php?dlid=899

but then I made it.

I think it is great board from 1 MS and 1 castle set that really works well in a tourney.

[Jexik]

I loved Jormi's Hot Heights. I think it's definitely worthy of a BOV submission. Both of my games on it were intense and fun.

There isn't all that much cover, but the ruins and hills themselves are tall enough to hide many figures behind.

Although the map seems to funnel everyone toward the middle or the heights, there are some good hiding places, and in one game the raised areas near my starting zone proved to be very important for attempting to kill an angry Krug who had made it that far.

As much as the funnel effect and height in the middle seem to hinder double-spacers, there are plenty of stopping points along the way.

The glyphs, although easy to reach, are difficult to hold, because they are so vulnerable. I had a Jalgard glyph on my side in one game, but I was constantly killed trying to keep it.

Finally, the 'hot heights' themselves are great. Do I risk lava damage to get that comparative height advantage? Do I jump off this ledge to try to engage Kaemon Awa? Every turn is laden with interesting decisions to make.

Pretty awesome for a 1 MS, 1 Terrain expansion map!

I like Annihilation Alley too, obviously, but it didn't meet the BoV submission criteria. I also haven't gotten a chance to play H&D, since I don't have a second RttFF yet- that might be a similar, but better version of AA.

The Snow map was good, but I already know the tricks to playing on it and would like to see some new ones .