ASPHALT COCKTAIL by superfrog
Start zones in the middle on high ground? That's crazy! He's breaking all the unwritten rules!
I generally like unwritten-rule breaking
*. "
You should eat less salt" ... pour a little more on. "
Microcorp suck".... I'm bringing 'em! "
You have to wear pants in public" ... goodbye pan...
Well, some unwritten rules are there for a reason.
** In any case, I applaud
superfrog's efforts toward originality. This map does play differently than most maps. Choosing what to place on those three center start zones generally involved a nice weighing of risk and reward. The two side perches are interesting spots in some matchups, and I like the use of the underutilized marvel set.
On the other hand, both Raelin and Rats have some very nice advantages here. I'm generally against giving Raelin a perch in the center within 6 spaces of the start zone, because at the cost of one order marker she covers the middle and has 4 defense. It's just too strong a start. In this case, she doesn't even have to spend an order marker. (I usually put her on the 2-hex side on the rear hex.) This is mitigated slightly by the fact that the opponent can have a shot at her from the first turn. But she won't be up there alone, she'll have a friend. And, depending on positioning, she can see through the trees and offer her bonus to the other side, and she's covering one of the glyphs, too.
Rats can drop onto both glyphs in one order marker, and/or clog up the opponent's start zone. It's a great rat start.
In other matches, it seemed that whoever won the first exchange at the top had a nice head start. And after that first exchange, it was just a straightforward king of the hill battle. Against rats, it was pretty difficult. (On the bright side, microcorp+rats have a great time.) Initiative helps with the first skirmish, meaning an initiative switch could help re-balance things, but overall I didn't like the feeling of having to come from behind right from the start.
I'll also note that the large tree doesn't fit well between the surrounding hexes, so those hexes aren't actually in place. If there were extra hexes to put underneath that tree to increase stability, I'd do that. It would restrict line of sight through the trees, but that wouldn't be a terrible thing for the most part
***.
Overall, I feel like this map front-loads most of the suspense at the expense of the rest of the game, and favors some already strong units.
I vote
No to induct Asphalt Cocktail.
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*Unwritten rule-breaking, on the other hand, is just silly. If you're going to break a rule, why not write about it?
**Is the pants one written? Seriously officer, I had no idea.
***Especially if the people on the other side of the trees aren't wearing pants.