Wargrounds of Scape (WoS) - discussion thread

[vegietarian18]

I would like to nominate Parallel by Cleon.



Tournament Use:
Missouri NHSD 2021 RtW
OHS Season 41 Delta

TT has been a notoriously difficult expansion set to use effectively, especially RotV + TT. There are plenty of okay but disorganized TT maps like Ice Blossom. Sidewinder was the classic map with this combination, and has very unique gameplay, forcing you to spin your forces around the massive glacier in the middle. I think that one was a worthy BoV classic, but it was rejected from WoS.

Parallel takes a completely different angle on RotV + TT. It's more similar to Song of the Walrus than Sidewinder, but I think it's better than Song (which is a great map). Song uses the big glacier and the hive to divide the map into three sections, while Parallel uses only glaciers, spending all of them at the top of the map as large physical blockers. The ruins are the more meaningful protective line of sight blocker, shielding figures before they work their way up the middle hilly section. The middle hilly section of the board obviously pulls a lot of action. But the sides offer glyphs and a shorter path but dangerous path across the board, and usually serves as a second front. Putting the glyphs on the last row of the board away from direct height is an interesting but successful choice that makes this map feel different from other modern maps.

Really my only hesitation on this board is I'm not sure it's mature enough, as it doesn't have a ton of tournament play. But every game I've played on it has been great so I wanted to give it a little more attention.

[OEAO]

Parallel: This is one of the maps I played the most last year. I think it's really close, but ultimately there are a few tweaks that could really make it shine.

This is a prime candidate for a map that doesn't use the 6-hex glacier. I already let Cleon know this, but I think you fix all of the issues by dropping the 6-hex glacier and going from a 7/7 split up top to a 4/4 or 5/5 split. As-is, I've had games that almost entirely take place on one small side. My thoughts on two-hill maps have changed over the years (the entirety of a map doesn't need to be used each game), but those were games where maybe 1/10th of the map was used. And again, opening up the pathways would solve it.

Overall, the map is good but too tight. I don't love the lone 1-hex glacier placement (which is why I'd lean towards 5/5, essentially trimming off the back two hexes of the 6-hex glacier). NO to induct (but I hope to see it back).

[1Mmirg]

Originally Posted by superfrog

Highways and Dieways, Swarm Edition
This is a good map, and I'm glad it exists. In some important ways the gameplay is preferable to its predecessor (no spider denial in the SZ, ability to go to the right out of the SZ). It has a few minor drawbacks as well (most notably the outside sand isn't level 3).

But overall the build just looks ugly, in my opinion. The sand 3-hex creates a weird empty space that is surrounded by 5 spaces, which is a weird look. There are random rock and grass hexes outside the SZ on the left which look like they're just leftovers (because they are).

To me, this is a fine map that ought to be used if you want H&D but can't spare enough RotVs for it. We have H&D inducted (rightfully so), but despite its merits I don't think H&D Swarm deserves a separate induction.

I agree with this approach. In the BOV, we did not approve rebuilds as separate entities, but left it up to TOs to decide to use the version of a map they prefer. There is no need to have two versions of (roughly) the same map in the WOS.

I also vote against including H&D Swarm.


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I have played many games on Common Ground and I value it for what it does. GameBear has created a remarkable and strong use of a single RotV set that inspires unique play experiences. That said, I agree with dok in that I've also seen some really sad plays on Common Ground. It is a map with just enough risk inherent in its design that while I'd include it as an alternate map in an event I run, I would not consider it the best of the best or a map that I'd unequivocally recommend to someone.

I also vote against Common Ground.

[superfrog]

First two posts updated: Dry Season is now on the clock.

[Sheep]

Originally Posted by superfrog

First two posts updated: Dry Season is now on the clock.

That's cool. When is Battlefield 23 getting posted in the Display Thread?

[superfrog]

Good question

[superfrog]

Venom by Flash_19

Venom is one of my absolute favorite maps. Recently I've been looking at perches/relative height and how it's distributed on maps. Venom has quite a lot of it, with 4 3-hex perches, a 2-hex perch, and 2 single-hex perches. Of special interest to me are the 3-hex triangles right outside the SZ and the 2 single-hex perches just past those.

The 3-hexes are somewhat reminiscent of Fulcrum, which is somewhat concerning because that's the worst part of Fulcrum. But Venom's perch is less problematic for three reasons: it's a space farther from the SZ, it doesn't have jungle protection, and it's more in the action, with road running up to all sides of it. Like Fulcrum's perch, it does give up height to a stronger central spot.

The single-hexes are also not that great as Raelin spots despite being a little more yours/mine than some other maps' single-hex perches. Again, this is due to the somewhat forward placement of these perches and their easy access from road.

The worst things I can say about this map is that the sand half of the map doesn't always see as much play and that the rock half can get a little tight. Fortunately, those kinda cancel each other out as you can utilize the non-road paths on the sand side if the road is clogged up.

Also bonus points for a nice treasure glyph spot: near the action, just off the beaten path, gives up height, but always close enough to be tempting.

Overall, Venom is a winner. Definitely one of my favorite mirror symmetry builds, and a very helpful entry into a TD's arsenal with RotV/RttFF/TJ. easy to induct.

[OEAO]

Forgot to vote on Venom and Honor, so time for some car reviews. I don’t have a ton to say about either map, so I’ll just bang these out now.

Venom: Venom is consistently solid. I wish there was maybe 1-2 more road hexes leading down to the sand section, but it’s not enough for me to downvote. The perches are easily contested, and there’s just enough height variation to keep things interesting. It uses pretty common sets without feeling too basic.

Honor: Honor features one of the widest splits I’ve seen in a competitive map. The road gives enough lateral movement between the two hills, the snow throughout is well placed to create interesting height changes, and the LoS blockers do their job.

Yes to induct both.

[dok]

Aeon by Flash_19

There is currently no 1xMaster set, 1xRttFF map in the WoS, which feels like a pretty big gap that we ought to fill. And Aeon certainly appears like the best candidate to fill that gap. This map has a number of great qualities. The ruin is used well, as is the big tree (a surprisingly difficult piece to use well IMO). The road allows for contesting the high ground, and the map has elements throughout the center that encourage you to use the whole map. I see lots of flanking maneuvers and new areas of conflict opening up through the middle game on this map quite often.

I do have my reservations. The puddle in the middle of the road ring has always felt a bit odd to me and makes it hard to make some otherwise interesting moves. The layout of the road itself feels a bit inefficient at times - I have seen a number of games where it's used to ferry troops up in the early game but most of the interesting moves later on don't involve the road. And I think at least a couple of the smaller trees aren't accomplishing much here.

Still overall, this is an excellent map, and I think it's the right map to fill this terrain slot. YES to induct.

[superfrog]

I’ll also throw in an for Aeon.

Dok hit on two of my critiques: the under-utilization of road and the weird water. I also think the map is larger than it needs to be: there’s a big swath of level 1 to cross to get into the map that could probably be removed, and it sometimes feels difficult to pivot from one half of the map to the other mid-game.

But at the end of the day it’s not really about what nitpicks you could make but the gameplay delivered, and Aeon does a great job. On a road-usage spectrum where H&D is on one end and Turmoil or BMR is in the middle, Aeon is firmly on the other end. But that’s fine, the map plays dynamically enough without the road being a focus of development.

The largeness of the map also means that the gimme Raelin spot is somewhat nerfed as there’s so much territory outside of her aura that it’s not a huge deal.

Aeon would not be my favorite map in WoS but it definitely wouldn’t be last either. Perhaps it’ll get some tweaks in the future, but it’s deserving of a spot regardless.

[superfrog]

I will also say that I heard nothing but positive experiences on this map from ScapeCon, which is a big point in its favor. Note to submitters: having tournament attendees able to vouch for your map is huge.

[OEAO]

Congrats to Flash_19 and Aeon, the newest WoS map!