Wilds of Valhalla: MAP REVIEWS

[Tiranx]

Originally Posted by Sir Heroscape

HAHA! Very true...poor Tiranx never had a chance against my 6 squads of Drudge on height!

So true. And if Sir Heroscape beats me on one of the maps, that means the map is automatically not balanced .

[Sir Heroscape]

Hello folks. Here are some map reviews...

Primaerskog by @legoboy
I've already given legoboy a personal review on this map...but that was before playing on it...so here we go. Collectively, we judges loved the aesthetics and thought this map was just the neatest thing. We liked how unique and rugged it looked, but we did see some potential issues with it even before playing. Yet, we were willing to give it a shot. After playing on it, our fears were confirmed. This map is simply not balanced and not competitively sound. It's good for fun games, but does not have a place in tournament play. The main issues with this map are:
1) A 5 move figure with 7 range (or more), or a 6 move figure with 6 range (or more) can reach the start zone of the opponent on turn 1 AND be on height. This is VERY unbalanced per Krav, Q9 etc on this map would rip into any army
2) Extreme height just outside the startzone is VERY much a no-no for this map. Fliers will dominate from that position...especially podding armies with range, and especially Raelin based armies that can perch her on the top without fear of any melee engagements. The height is positioned so that virtually no frontal assault can engage those positions on height and requires an army to work their way around a tight and elevationy terrain to reach behind the hill. On this map I was able to beat down an army of Skull Brutes and Rats with Drudge. Drudge took height and never backed down.
3) The far outsides of the map (around the large outcrop and large tree) are not usable. It's too elevationy, and takes too much time for armies to develop through that area of the map. Even though narrow in the middle and up the banks on each side of the middle...those positions are much more advantageous to develop an army.
4) Glyph placement was a good distance from the startzone but created terrible choke points. It was too easy to hold the glyphs and lock down enemy development through that area of the map b/c the power glyph was on the narrow neck of land that connected each edge of the map.
Overall great name, backstory and aesthetics...but this one is for the casual fun game.
Tournament worthy?

Savage Corridor by @Nomad
This map is beautiful. All of us judges love it and feel it is a top tier map for tournaments. I've played many, many games on this map and every time the entirety of the map is used. The Jungle provides good cover for units making their way to height and the glyph. The Road does not have cover but provides fast development of units and quick reinforcements. The Glyphs are well placed, being able to be attacked from height, but no protection from jungle. This map allows armies an enormous amount of freedom and plays very well for both the ranged as well as the melee based armies. The map looks great and plays well.
Tournament worthy?

Mountain Pass by @Yodaking
I really like this map. I really does feel like a mountain pass and looks great. After playing it, I felt it was very well balanced and provides enough cover for melee, but maybe not enough height for ranged. There are really only 2 levels for this map, and that's a little concerning...because it inevitably gives melee the advantage as soon as they make their way to the middle ground. I would have liked to see a couple 2-hexers or 1-hexers in the middle to give a little more variation and add more to the rocky feeling...but even so, the map still played well. The glyphs on the edge were only a concern b/c there is no direct way to attack from height with melee, and even ranged figures will have a hard time getting LOS from a heighted position (depending on the figure holding the glyph). Some armies will be able to hold the glyphs much more effectively because of this, so that is a bit of a concern...but not immense. I do like how the glyphs are placed a solid 2 turns away from figures and that allows either side ample opportunity to counter and glyphs blitzes. All-in-all it's a fair map. I would not be opposed to seeing this in a tournament...but a couple small adjustments by adding a few pieces of elevation in the middle (assuming all the terrain wasn't used in the build), and potentially repositioning the glyphs, I feel would add to this maps competitiveness. With that said...
Tournament worthy?

There are the first few...I'll have more on the way soon enough.

[Nomad]

Wow. Thanks for the thumbs-up review on Savage Corridor. I may just have to copy your words and post it in my map thread.

[Yodaking]

Anyone who feels like tweaking my map some can do so with no concerns from me. I tend to use up as many of the available tiles as possible so it may require moving things around rather than just adding new tiles.

[TREX]

Ok, here's the start of my review of Volcarren Paradise by @Robber

I was getting it built to do some HOSS unit testing on it and when it was built my 5 year old daughter asked me if we could play some heroscape on it together. So far I got to play two basic games on it that were not competitive but my daughter had a great time, and no testing got done last night.
First glance at the map. WOW. I love how the map looks Sometimes virtualscape is not too flattering for some maps, but when I built this one it looks great. Thoughts on what I did get to see when just playing basic with my daughter. The start zones are spaced well to get your first figures up into the middle fairly easily. I really like how the move range of 5 is easily attainable. There are no wasted move points there. It seems balanced as far as there is plenty of cover for melee figures to move on so they cant be shot down from the other SZ. The map is quite small but it would still be a little difficult to do a start zone bomb with the exception of maybe zelrig. All the terrain in the sets is not used. Which is great for me, because if you can pull off a great map and have leftover terrain that's even better. The map was easy to build with only 3 levels of height. The map also holds together well and is pretty solid. I still have some games to play on this map but it looks great and the gameplay looks promising. I'm a little sad it did not get play time in the tournament. Overall, great job on this one, and thank you Robber for the map. The lava and jungle are incorporated together very well.
I'll add to this after finishing up some more games tonight. As of now, it looks like it would be a good tournament map.

[Robber]

Originally Posted by TREX

Ok, here's the start of my review of Volcarren Paradise by @Robber

I was getting it built to do some HOSS unit testing on it and when it was built my 5 year old daughter asked me if we could play some heroscape on it together. So far I got to play two basic games on it that were not competitive but my daughter had a great time, and no testing got done last night.
First glance at the map. WOW. I love how the map looks Sometimes virtualscape is not too flattering for some maps, but when I built this one it looks great. Thoughts on what I did get to see when just playing basic with my daughter. The start zones are spaced well to get your first figures up into the middle fairly easily. I really like how the move range of 5 is easily attainable. There are no wasted move points there. It seems balanced as far as there is plenty of cover for melee figures to move on so they cant be shot down from the other SZ. The map is quite small but it would still be a little difficult to do a start zone bomb with the exception of maybe zelrig. All the terrain in the sets is not used. Which is great for me, because if you can pull off a great map and have leftover terrain that's even better. The map was easy to build with only 3 levels of height. The map also holds together well and is pretty solid. I still have some games to play on this map but it looks great and the gameplay looks promising. I'm a little sad it did not get play time in the tournament. Overall, great job on this one, and thank you Robber for the map. The lava and jungle are incorporated together very well.
I'll add to this after finishing up some more games tonight. As of now, it looks like it would be a good tournament map.

Thank you! I had a blast making Volcarren Paradise for the contest.

I did actually use just about all of the terrain that was available to me. I left out a jungle tree, the hive, a swamp water tile, and a few molten lava tiles, but no actual hexes. The biggest limitation I had while making the map was definitely the restrictive terrain requirements. I made the map as large as I could while still having enough height variation.

I think the aesthetics are also my favorite part of the map. The wilds theme I was envisioning came out exactly how I wanted it.

[TREX]

I played a few more matches on volcarren paradise. Its a smaller map but a solid one. I really like it.

[Sir Heroscape]

I'm currently playtesting Volcarren Paradise as well, along with April. Those 2 and Jungle Fire will be my next reviews.

[TREX]

April will be my next one as well.

[BiggaBullfrog]

Originally Posted by Sir Heroscape

I'm currently playtesting Volcarren Paradise as well, along with April. Those 2 and Jungle Fire will be my next reviews.

Originally Posted by TREX

April will be my next one as well.

[TREX]

Alright here it is: Review for the map APRIL, by @BiggaBullfrog .

First thoughts of the map as I built it, very clever use of terrain to boost the elevations under the 24 hexes. This does not make it as mobile(if you needed to take in to a tourney in one piece), but still keeps its shape just fine on the table and is sturdy enough. The map looks great. The glaciers, snow and ice look very nice with the offset of the jungle trees. It hits theme with the kind of weather we have in these parts to a T. As far as usability on the map: There are 3 routes to take on enemies. Up either side or straight through the middle. In the couple of games played on the map, all of it was used. There is a very quick shot through the middle accompanied by jungle brush and trees to use for cover against ranged attacks. On the sides you can take height and battle for the control glyphs off to the side. Flying figures and ranged figures love this map to hit the elevations, but slower melee figures still have a chance with all the cover. Overall, I enjoyed this map. I played both times on this map with both permanent and treasure glyphs on them. I kept it to not as powerful glyphs such as move, initiative, and defense. Thanks again for the submission to our contest.

[Sir Heroscape]

I would have to agree with TREX's review.

April By Biggabullfrog
I have played on this map as well, and I'm very impressed. It looked good initially, but I wanted to see how it played, and I was very pleased. I really liked the central movement. It does not get clogged, and units can even get on height 1/2 on the edges as they make their way through the center. I really like the edges as well. You have to decide to go out of your way to control the glyph or to quickly try and engage the enemy in the middle. It can sometimes be a mistake to neglect glyphs for fast development, and I felt that the map kept itself in check with different builds. No one build is too OP on this map, and even if an army wanted to stay in the startzone, the glyph control would force them out into a conflict. Well done Bigga.
Tournament worthy?