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Architects of the Realms of Valhalla Discussion and presentation of the maps approved by the ARV.


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Old October 19th, 2017, 08:36 PM
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The Scroll of Everglades and Evergreens

COMPETITIVE MAP
By Rednax



Download, Online Game
Required sets:SotM, RttFF



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Map Bio -
Nestled deep in the Forgotten Forest, there lies a small, murky clearing, often stumbled upon by travelers. With only a few sparse trees and a dormant Marro Hive, the clearing appears rather unremarkable on first glance. Many pass through the area rather quickly on their way to their destination, failing to realize the powerful wellsprings that lie beneath their feet.


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Reviews-
Tiranx
Both of rednax's maps have the octagonal shape to them that I just love. For me personally, this makes the map incredibly pleasing visually; now getting a map to be competitive and tournament ready with this shape is the real challenge.

Maps with smaller footprints, like this one, have some pros' and cons' that have to be taken into consideration immediately: are the start zones too close, does it favor melee too strongly (if that is possible), and most importantly is there enough variance in such a small map to make it playable?

With this map there is clear height on one side of the map that could potentially support range. However, the smallness of the map coupled with the short stretch of road tiles make it incredibly easy for melee to close the gap and contest what range has set up. I also really like the glyph choices and placement of those glyphs. Height attacks are possible on both glyphs making it risky to hold them. Double-spaced figures have easy access to both glyphs and attacking positions on the glyph holders themselves. There is minor LoS blockers for glyph holders, but it is just enough that it makes ranged units have to move to capitalize on the height.

The glyph choices are also really solid for this map. Now, first impressions of the glyph choices made me cuss a little (Just ask Sir Heroscape). I am so sick of the Wannock glyph. However, Wannock and Dagmar together make a fun scenario where glyph grabbing is not useful until turn three. If you grab them too soon, your opponent will have an easier time getting you off them and not being able to use them. My play tests had Dagmar and Wannock being equally used. This forces the players to use the whole map.

Overall, I really enjoyed this map. I love the small footprint, the use of glyphs (even if Wannock was one of them), and the quick play that is still balanced for all types of armies. I would give this map a vote for tournament play.

Sir Heroscape
I started out really skeptical about this map, because of how quickly units can get to height and some units even can attack their opponent's start zone turn one, BUT it turns out I really enjoyed this map! Even though it's a bloodbath on the hill going through round one, there is plenty of space for maneuverability and both armies can contest strategic positions. I felt this map was really balanced, giving each army an opportunity to grab and contest the height. The glyphs also work well here because neither activates until the end of round one which really pulls the armies to develop and fight over positioning on the map instead of just glyph grabbing. The whole map gets used, and things are really fun on this map.

Biggabullfrog
I really like maps that keep things simple, and requiring only 1 SotM and 1 RttFF, Everglades and Evergreens does just that. It's a decent size, quick to begin the action, and looks neat on the table (or ground, as is the case for me currently). But does it have what it takes to stand among other maps on a competitive level? Let's find out.

The first thing I notice about the map is the pathing. It's open, with two separate roads leading from Start Zone to Start Zone. The main hill is also fairly open and easy to climb. Probably the slowest route you can take is the outer edge on the Dagmar side, but even that's not a terrible deal. There was a concern that the bathing was too fluid and that an army would be on top of it's enemies too quickly, but I found in my testing that there is plenty of time for counter maneuvers and response to threats. Overall, the pathing is probably my favorite part of the map, which is a big win for me.

My biggest concern with the map was the main hill. I was concerned that if an army took the hill, it would be too easy to just steamroll the rest of the game with little to no resistance from the opponent's army. I found, however, that because the hill is so powerful, most armies send plenty of troops that way and are able to contest it well. Not that it's the only point of action, as taking the Wannok glyph on the other end of the map and sending troops around the Hive and 4-hex tree to flank are very relevant tactics. The hill definitely is the focal point of the map and is where the most blood will be shed, but in such a way that it makes the rest of the map stand out as well as you consider how to use the whole map to gain advantage over the hill. It makes for great strategic choices and swings in the game as you go from skirmishing on the hill to the flanks to making a feint at the opponent to try to get back on the hill. Even armies that usually dominate the board control game (namely Rats with Range and 'Tron armies) had to think about where to send troops to keep the opponent from sneaking past the front line to get to the squishies in the back.

In the end, the map doesn't support steamrolling as much as I feared it would, and there are many tactical choices to be made throughout the game. The glyphs are placed well, and I really like the choices in accordance to their positions on the map. It's admittedly small, but there's enough to it to keep armies moving. My only nitpick with the map is that ranged armies can usually pick off figures sitting on glyphs without leaving their start zone, but that factor simply changed the other army's strategy and it didn't feel like a total detriment.

The first time I played on this map, I kept pausing the game just to tell True that, "Man, I really like this map." And the changes have only made it better. I vote to inducting Everglades and Evergreens into the ARV map... pool... thingy... Hall of Fame?... Did we ever make an official name for this? I consider it tournament-worthy and competitive, so whatever that means.

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Last edited by Sir Heroscape; October 30th, 2019 at 09:31 PM.
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