Battlefields of Valhalla Discussion Thread

[lonewolf]

Maps pending acceptance for review:

Aquilla's Spring by Kaemon Awasome
This one is going to be a no for me. I think rats can make this impossible for melee by blocking the very few choke points. The middle section of the map is already blocked, so range could just fire right over....from height in some cases.

Glacial Overflow by FishTako
This one is going to be a yes for me. I like the use of the snow terrain and the glaciers....I would like to give it some time on the table to evaluate it more.

Maps currently being reviewed:

Jotun's Gap by Dignan
I have played a lot of games on this map, both in play testing for Gencon and at Gencon. I like it. I think that it is balanced to range and melee. I actually like that the glyphs are not accessible by double spaced figures. Those pesky dragons already have enough going for them! The Shadow spaces are well placed to allow for an assault up the middle. The placement of the ruins is good as well because it allows for melee units to get some cover while climibing to the top of the two hills. The map also has a nice asthetic feel to it. Yes to Jotun's Gap.

Fulcrum by Dignan
Same as JG, I played an excessive amount of games on this map. While some people argued that once the ranged units got to the high ground, it was very unbalanced, however, I feel like there is plenty of opportunity for any melee units to prevent this from happening. Even if it does, you have the option of hitting the water and crossing over to the high ground. The jungle terrain near the middle also helps melee with extra defense. The different sized ruins give advantages/disadvantages to different sides of the map. Any ability requiring LOS would prefer to have the small ruin. This is true for most maps with ruins though and I don't know any way around this. It isn't a deal breaker for me. Overall, I enjoyed playing on this map and I feel like it is balanced and of good quality. I vote to accept Fulcrum! (Yes)

[nyys]

Blackroot by mad_wookie

There's nothing fancy about Blackroot. It doesn't really jump out at you when nestled amongst several maps. It doesn't scream, "Hey! Come play one me!" nor induce prayers that you'll get matched-up on it at a tourney. But it does play wonderfully, a hidden gem IMO.

First, it accomplishes a not so easy issue, getting the most out of a SotM set. Add RttFF x2 and now you really have something.

The trees and road allow for melee troops to quickly move across the board all while keeping as much cover as possible on the way (and grabbing height in some instances). Ranged troops are hindered a bit by the distance they have to travel to take the highest points on the map as well as a couple of perfectly placed water tiles to restrict easy movement towards said hills.

The use of treasure glyphs is what I think really makes this map shine. The T-glyphs give you a boost, but not your whole army which, IMO, would spell certain doom if you're up against a bunch of 4th, 10th, or Blasts (they're going to be tough enough without the help). No, if you want to boost your army, you're going to have to send Q9 out there to get that defense glyph (or at the very least another hero out there to get it and bring it back, wasting precious OMs), and it's only for the holder, so .

I think the only thing that would make the map better would be a giant glacier in place of the hive for more cover, but that's not possible as constructed and would also wreck the aesthetics (maybe we need a BftU type rock formation the size of the large glacier from TT, whad'ya say WOTC?).

If you want to hide, you can't take the hill, if you want the hill, you can't hide. Plenty of decisions to be made in such a simple looking map.

Blackroot may not scream and yell and get your attention, but it does the job, very very well.

I vote YES to induct into the BoV.

[UranusPChicago]

Originally Posted by tcglkn

Any idea how permanent this is?

I hope to at least become semi regular again. Honestly, it will not be too tough to break my stellar posting record over the past couple years.

Sorry for the disruption in the thread.

[MegaSilver]

Originally Posted by UranusPChicago

I hope to at least become semi regular again. Honestly, it will not be too tough to break my stellar posting record over the past couple years.

Sorry for the disruption in the thread.

No problem at all, UPC! You're back, and that's big enough news to disrupt us!

MegaSilver, welcoming UPC back!

[1Mmirg]

Originally Posted by UranusPChicago

I hope to at least become semi regular again. Honestly, it will not be too tough to break my stellar posting record over the past couple years.

Sorry for the disruption in the thread.

There is no way you are disrupting this thread. It is great to have you back and even just somewhat active, UPC. Heck, this is still your thread, you know .

Good to have you here again!

[Vydar]

Originally Posted by RobertDD

1. How come that the kind of snow and ice is not mentioned anywhere on here? Is it supposed to be deep snow? Slippery ice? Or doesn't it matter? I think with tournament maps it should be stated.

From what I can tell, this has not been updated. Trawling this thread, I believe Ice Blossom is meant to be heavy snow and slippery ice. However, I'd appreciate it if someone would update the PDF or at least the post about it on the BOV display thread with an official ruling.

I glanced at the other snow/ice maps and I believe that Arctic Divide also needs this updated.

Thank you to everyone for your work on these maps! This is an awesome resource for those of us who need help figuring out which maps to use in our tournaments.

[xraine69]

Originally Posted by Vydar

From what I can tell, this has not been updated. Trawling this thread, I believe Ice Blossom is meant to be heavy snow and slippery ice. However, I'd appreciate it if someone would update the PDF or at least the post about it on the BOV display thread with an official ruling.

I glanced at the other snow/ice maps and I believe that Arctic Divide also needs this updated.

Thank you to everyone for your work on these maps! This is an awesome resource for those of us who need help figuring out which maps to use in our tournaments.

Here's my theory, it's normal snow and ice unless specifically designated by the map builder to be otherwise.

[MegaSilver]

Is Fyorlad Swamp still being reviewed? The front page is not updated; I know it has 1 yes and 1 no, but beyond that I don't know...

MegaSilver

[Vydar]

Originally Posted by xraine69

Here's my theory, it's normal snow and ice unless specifically designated by the map builder to be otherwise.

But this is not what was defined by the creator of the map:

http://heroscapers.com/community/sho...now#post463446

Additionally, two of the reviewers who voted it in felt that it was important to use the Heavy Snow/Normal Ice combination:

http://www.heroscapers.com/community...avy#post514255
http://www.heroscapers.com/community...avy#post529650

It's not readily apparent unless you do a bit of digging...so I thought it should be updated.

[Dignan]

Originally Posted by MegaSilver

Is Fyorlad Swamp still being reviewed? The front page is not updated; I know it has 1 yes and 1 no, but beyond that I don't know...

MegaSilver

Yeah, it's still being reviewed. I believe the last update post has the correct info on it.

EDIT:

Maps pending acceptance for review:

Pond Passage by 'Scaper94

This is a nice looking map using only the terrain from an RotV master set. As is the case with many maps with this set, LOS blockers are few and far between. This map would be range dominated with some very nasty dragon perches. This type of map doesn't fit in with the current tournament scene. NO to review.

[MegaSilver]

Originally Posted by Dignan

Yeah, it's still being reviewed. I believe the last update post has the correct info on it.

Thanks Dignan.

MegaSilver

[xraine69]

Originally Posted by Vydar

But this is not what was defined by the creator of the map:

http://heroscapers.com/community/sho...now#post463446

Additionally, two of the reviewers who voted it in felt that it was important to use the Heavy Snow/Normal Ice combination:

http://www.heroscapers.com/community...avy#post514255
http://www.heroscapers.com/community...avy#post529650

It's not readily apparent unless you do a bit of digging...so I thought it should be updated.

Then, they should be updated, but it is the map designers' responsibility to include such as this in the build instructions.