AoA Map Contest Poll Round 1A

[MegaSilver]

AoA Map Contest Poll Round 1A

Here is the link to the original contest thread: AoA Map Contest

It's time to vote for what you believe are the best AoA maps from the pool!

Rounds 1 and 2 you will be able to vote for multiple maps, but only 2 from each poll move on to the next round! For the 3rd and Final Round, you will only get to vote for 1 map to determine the winner!

Please leave some feedback and your thoughts on each map for the polls. So even if the map doesn't make it to the next round, perhaps it'll see some improvements before the official release of Age of Annihilation!

Thank you to @SkyWhale for providing photos for all the maps except 2, so we have a more accurate look for every map! The ice tiles represent the upcoming wellspring water tiles.

The maps are randomly split into the different polls.

Ceremony
Set requirements: AoA

Spoiler Alert!

The Sluice Gate at Laur's Edge
(For PDF click here)
Uses: 1x AoA, 1x BftWS, 1x LJ

Spoiler Alert!

Flavor Description:

At Laur's Edge lies a minor wellspring on a hill, yet even these are of great value to the Valkyrie of Valhalla. In days long past, this wellspring was fortified with a sluice to control the flow of the magical waters. During storms, some of this water, diluted with rainwater, flows downhill in a stream, nourishing astonishingly large flora for Laur, before reaching the beginnings of an ancient canal at its foot, directing the flow toward the ancient ruins of a Kyrie stronghold.
Two squads approach the wellspring to stake their claim. They hear, but do not yet see, rumblings on the other side of the old canal walls, and prepare their weapons for inevitable combat.

Technical Description:

A symmetric map made using the three AoA launch sets. I have built rotationally symmetric maps before, but with these parts, I have an odd number of water (generally), Wellspring water, AND jungle trees. This necessitates mirror symmetry in order to use every part. Then, I had the idea of having both armies start at the foot of a hill, and make it on the same side of said hill. The new modular walls were a fast and easy way to prevent Syvarris, Deadeye Dan, or other ranged units from shooting over the gap between starting zones, and these can be easily contextualized as the start of a canal.
The jungle terrain allows for nice cover throughout, inhibiting range units somewhat, but the river and increasing height are the defining features. The FotA gate proxies for two new pillars, with the damaged wall segments intended to hang over the water representing the sluice, at which point they are removed (opening up the space for a unit to stand there), and dramatically altering how most units can navigate the hilly terrain.

Special rules:

At the beginning of the game, the Sluice Gate is closed, and all water hexes initially on the board (except the 2 Wellspring Water hexes and 4 ordinary water hexes on the top layer) are treated as Swamp Water instead of their usual type.

Any unit can, when ending its move on a Glyph of Brandar, choose to open the sluice gate. When opened, remove both Glyphs of Brandar from the battlefield.

Upon opening the gate all small or medium units on a water space lose their footing and are moved one space downstream if possible. Movement happens simultaneously, and if a directional choice is available, the player who opened the gate chooses the spaces. I'm sure you can figure it out. No unit moved in this way will take any leaving engagement attacks. (Yes, if a small or medium unit opens the gate, that unit WILL land in the wellspring tile below and be forced to drink). Units cannot move onto or off of an Ice tile created by Greater Ice Elemental as a result of opening the gate.

Following this, all water tiles behave according to how they actually are (water or Wellspring water as appropriate).

Immediately after opening the gate in this way, each unit (irrespective of current health, or even being a Hero) on a Wellspring tile makes a Wellspring water tile roll (roll a d20, on a 12+, heal 1, on a 1 or 2, suffer two wounds) as if accidentally swallowing some water (even Large/Huge units that were not moved).

Any water tiles placed by Ewashia are always considered ordinary water, and NEVER considered part of the stream.

Optional bonus rule?: Any unit may, after the sluice gate has been opened, move downstream through water as with ordinary terrain. Any lateral or upstream movement will end a unit's move as normal. Any figure choosing to move with the flow in this manner must end its movement on a water hex.


Final note: Why don't we have mirrored 24-hex pieces? Renegade plz.


IRL pictures, since Ticalla foliage in VirtualScape doesn't look very impressive.




Edit: There's a minor mistake in the instructions with a 2-hex sand piece instead of two single-hex sand pieces. These are just used to support the hill.

Invested:
Requires 1x AoA, 1x BftW (BB1), 1x TJ (TGaLE)

Spoiler Alert!

Fallen
1x AoA Master Set and 1x BftWs (Battle for the Wellspring)

Spoiler Alert!

Embroiled
Requires: 1 AoA and 1 JaLE

Spoiler Alert!

Board (2 Tiers). It uses 1 AoA and 1 JaLE

Spoiler Alert!

[Shurrig]

deleted

[Nukatha]

Hot dang, the new terrain pieces look much better in the context of real maps than I expected.
I'm not at all surprised (Given that the intention of the contest was for serious, traditional competitive maps) that my Sluice Gate isn't getting votes here, but @SkyWhale , I would still love to see photos of it with the new parts, if you have the time.

My personal favorite of this batch is Embroiled, I'm a sucker for mirror symmetry, and the small wall in the middle, plus plenty of jungle cover should prevent total ranged domination here.