Battlefields of Valhalla Discussion Thread

[Revdyer]

It is good Gomolka; different people are going to have different experiences on all of the maps from time to time.

[Soul Shackle]

Originally Posted by Revdyer

Joining Braxas for the squishing.

Wouldn't it be more like crunching, crackling, or clanging?

[Rÿchean]

It will probably be a few weeks before I am able to dig into the maps below. Curently my scape time is devoted to map selection and rules clarifications for Gencon 08. We still have some things to iron out. So fret not BoV fans, I (we) will get to these maps soon.

Originally Posted by Rÿchean

Updated 6/9/2008

Maps pending acceptance for review:

NONE

Maps currently being reviewed:

Badru Valley by Gamebear
YES = 0; NO = 0; Pending = 6 (Rÿchean, Jexik, Kahrma, Revdyer, Velenne, Bunjee)

Sunken Temple by Mooseman
YES = 0; NO = 0; Pending = 6 (Revdyer, Velenne, Jexik, Rÿchean, Kahrma, Bunjee)

Flanking of the North Army by Soul Shackle
YES = 0; NO = 0; Pending = 6 (Revdyer, Velenne, Jexik, Rÿchean, Kahrma, Bunjee)

Marro Marsh by Gomolka
YES = 0; NO = 0; Pending = 6 (Revdyer, Velenne, Jexik, Rÿchean, Kahrma, Bunjee)

[Revdyer]

I am currently working on Badru Valley (have had a few games on) and Sunken Temple (is set up and ready to go).

[Jonathan]

Originally Posted by Revdyer

I am currently working on Badru Valley

I love that you get to say this - the joys of Heroscape

[Velenne]

Originally Posted by Revdyer

I am currently working on Badru Valley (have had a few games on) and Sunken Temple (is set up and ready to go).

sez: "We all knowz who reely duz work around heer."

[Revdyer]

Well, amidst all the excitement of the new releases and the great party crash, we did manage to play quite a number of games on some of the maps currently under review.

Badru Valley by Gamebear

This is a visually pleasing, even stunning map. The build was easy and very solid. The transverse road catches the eye and is an unusual feature. The two "side hills" look great and the little pond in the middle with the A Glyph is very inviting and attractive.

The starting zones are somewhat less than intuitive, but not in any significantly negative way. (The one start hex on the extreme side that "sticks up" is sort of odd.) The decision to have a fixed glyph, and it's central position is essential to the map; although we often found playing that the smart thing was not to go for the glyph, because that made whoever was standing there just about the guaranteed target for the next attack.

The trees, especially the doubles on the sides, are there for sight blocking and they look great.

I really liked this map when I first saw it, and that has not changed. However, all is not peaches and cream. The far sides of the map, especially the ends of the hills, just don't get much, if any play. Also, we did need to keep the printout handy to remember exactly where the starting zones were. Sometimes I wished that the glyph was random and more varied, but I think the A Glyph is really the best.

This map is large in the footprint and uses two RttFF expansions. That's a bit of a down side for it.

Badru Valley isn't the greatest map I've judged. It is, for me, right on that line between "very good" and "great." But, after a lot of consideration, I think it falls on the up side of that line. YES to Badru Valley.


Sunken Temple by Mooseman

Now, this is a horse of a different color. This map is, without any doubt, visually impressive. While I prefer the way it looks without the lava (and just a rule, I suppose, that you can't land on the pillars), it looks great with the wall walk hexes on top. Not so good without them.

The starting zones are nicely delineated. The asymmetry is still balanced and fair. The pillars offer a lot of line of sight disruptions. The lay out is fine.

What is not fine is the difficulty of build and more so the difficulty of actually playing on the map. Maybe we are all simply too ham-fisted, but moving figures around the pillars and the repeated congestions on the one real high spot on the map made the play less enjoyable that it should have been. Sometimes it was just a pain, knocking a pillar, having the lava fly off of it, having to stop play and put it back together.

I love the concept of this map. If all the pillars could be sunken in a bit it might solve the dissatisfaction for me. As it stands, however, I don't think I'd want this build on a tournament table, either as a TD or as a player; because it is distracting in ways that a great map shouldn't be. It was fun to play on, except for the mechanics of movement.

So, I am going to have to give Sunken Temple a NO. I wish I didn't.

[syvarris0]

How many and what sets does Marro Marsh use?

[Mooseman]

Originally Posted by syvarris0

How many and what sets does Marro Marsh use?

1 SotM
1 RttFF
Ruins from RotV

[Kahrma]

Maps currently being reviewed:

Marro Marsh by Gomolka

Ruin placement on the latest version of Marro marsh is an improvement over previous versions. Both ruin placements are stable, and offer good protection from ranged units on the oft-used bridge. The ruins do nothing to shield figures from attacks from the hill, but this is probably a good thing (more on that later). The interplay between ruins and water tiles makes for interesting differences between starting zones, but didn’t seem to create unfair imbalances in the games I played.

Battles are won and lost on the newly widened bridge. With plenty of space for a couple squads-worth of figures, the bridge is now clearly the dominant feature of the map. With the wider bridge, the swamp water saw very little play. Take it, and you’ve probably sealed the game.

Lowering the hill only eases access here by a single hex of movement. The 15-high tree still creates a one-hex bottleneck, making this route especially uninviting given the newly-poured two-hex wide bridge across the pond. Clear shots into the opposing start zone were not enticement enough to lure troops to the hill in the games I played.

Instability is again a problem on Marro Marsh. An unsupported 2-hex road tile is too easily dislodged from its position. I tried several wall sections, and none fit tightly enough to the 2-hex road tile to prevent it from easily falling through. Switching road tiles was likewise of no avail. I witnessed problems with this section of the bridge several times during game play.

This is still a good map, but I actually believe play was more interesting with the single-hex bridge. This, coupled with new stability issues, compels me to vote no to the latest version of “Marro Marsh”.


Badru Valley by GameBear

This one sports a large, yet easily manageable footprint. It’s at first hard to believe that a battleground this size came from one master set! Level one of the instructions, with it's ample "negative space", reveals how this was accomplished. Swarm armies are invited to spread out comfortably, while small bands of heroes can practically get lost during a traverse.

I like the starting zones. In the tournaments I’ve been to, they’re usually marked on each map – so I’m not worried by their unconventional layout. With the release of Zelrig, the narrow start zones are all the more attractive, forcing a change in tactics for players using this powerful figure.

The glyph location is perfect, and Astrid is a great choice here. A reasonably powerful glyph is about the only reason to hang out in the center, though most armies must pass through the central valley en route to engagement. Parking a figure here will definitely get your opponent’s attention, but certainly won’t win you the game.

I witnessed action on all portions of the map. Once swords have clashed, combatants head for the hills. Figure height matters more around the hills here than on many maps, which I view as a good thing. Instead of providing a shortcut to the enemy starting zone, road tiles allow expedited lateral movement between the elevated areas of the map.

Badru Valley looks great, is well balanced, and offers tournament directors and players alike a unique battlefield with enough nuances to differentiate it from existing BoV maps.
My vote is yes.

[ricksta2232]

I came to see if any TJ maps were up for review... but apparently there aren't any...

Or am I missing something?

[Rÿchean]

None have been nominated as of yet.