The New York City Gang Of Four

[kolakoski]

Well met!

Originally Posted by kolakoski

AK?

Originally Posted by Tornado

140 DW9000
130 Deathcommander
120 Grimnak
110 Brunak
100 Tornak
100 Ornak
50 Nerak

Ahhhh! Thanks. Looking forward to this one.


The Map. A mountain lake in Winter, with Evergreens, Bushes, Ice and Snow. Half submerged is the Marr ship, with a layered 7-hexer covered with Alien Artifacts (7 (Power side down) Treasure Glyphs), and some Lava Field in its wake. One combined 24 hex Start Zone for each Team.

This will be a free built Map, mostly flat Snow, with some height at one end. I envision the Marr ship as 3 Dungeon 7-hexers long, with a few smaller pieces added for aesthetic reasons. The ship's debris path, Rock and Lava Field, will be displayed as starting on a slope, and continuing to the lake. chas doesn't have a lot of Ice, as I recall, but what there is will be on or adjacent to the ship. There will be Water around it too, but with a path (not crossing Water) to the ship at one or both ends. chas does have plenty of Evergreens, which will be the primary LoS blockers, and there will be a lot of them. I promised some Bushes, but there will be no more than 3. There will also be some Shadow. Double spaced figures will be able to stand/move about freely. [Duh! My AK army has 4 of them.]


The Marr. A Neutral Force consisting of 8 squads of Dividers. Each Player may place one Order Marker (OM) per Round on the Dividers. Dividers may never attack other Dividers.

* * * * *

Victory Conditions. At the end of 10 Rounds, the Player with the most Victory Points (VPs) wins. VPs are awarded as follows:

1. 1 VP to the Player that killed the most Dividers.

2. 1 VP to the Player possessing the most Alien Artifacts.

3. 1 VP to the Player that killed the most enemy Unique Heroes (either with any of his own Unique Heroes, or while controlling Dividers).

4. 1 VP to the Player with the highest number of remaining Unique Heroes.The blended Start Zones are to prevent Teammate Separation Syndrome, and the Neutral Force/VP scheme is reminiscent of The Lost City of Ashra!, better, in that the Neutral Force has more staying power, the Victory Conditions are more disparate, and possession of (rather than running off with) Treasure Glyphs eliminates the football problem that marred The Lost City.

[kolakoski]

Well met!

Originally Posted by Tornado

Nice 'ak' army.

What would you field?

[Tornado]

Braxas, Nilfheim, some Lizard Men for bonding, Railen, another Dragon for filler.

[chas]

Tornado,

No squaddies allowed!

[kolakoski]

Well met!

I had the opportunity to play test a small map with similar features at my place yesterday, and to build the Map earlier today (in advance of Wednesday's game).

Final revisions and Map added to scenario (Post #497) above.

[chas]

So far in the pregames I lost with both my teams, and with another I made up (the second game used only two armies instead of four). But I was leading at different times.

Kolokoski's teams are dangerous. Or well made, as I noted above.
Maybe two of us should combine against him?

MWA HA HA!

[Taeblewalker]

My first army:
Ulginesh 150
Morsbane 100
Jorhdawn 100
Chardris 90
Kyntela Gwyn 20
Emiroon 80
Arkmer 50
Zetacron 60


My second army:
Grimnak 120
Braxas 210
Jotun 225
Deathwalker 8000 130
Deadeye Dan 60

[kolakoski]

Well met!

Very interesting! Some pertinent scenario info:

The Marr. A Neutral Force consisting of 8 squads of Dividers. Each Player may place one Order Marker (OM) per Round on the single Dividers' Card (represented by multiple cards for convenience). Dividers may never attack other Dividers, and will always attack heroes leaving engagement, if possible.

Alien Elite. Cell Divide occurs on a 20-sider roll of 15 or better (as opposed to the normal 17).

* * * * *

The Alien Artifacts. Treasure Glyphs (under Dividers to start), with no Traps or Powers (remain Power side down). A Unique Hero may carry only one Alien Artifact at a time.

* * * * *

Victory Conditions. At the end of 10 Rounds, the Player with the most Victory Points (VPs) wins. VPs are awarded as follows:

1. 1 VP to the Player that killed the most Dividers.

2. 1 VP to the Player possessing the most Alien Artifacts.

3. 1 VP to the Player that killed the most enemy Unique Heroes (either with any of his own Unique Heroes, or while controlling Dividers).

4. 1 VP to the Player with the highest number of remaining Unique Heroes.


Although I told the Gang that they could rebuild and not bother sending me their armies, Taeblewalker posted his anyways . . .

Originally Posted by Taeblewalker

[My First Army]
Ulginesh 150
Morsbane 100
Jorhdawn 100
Chardris 90
Kyntela Gwyn 20
Emiroon 80
Arkmer 50
Zetacron 60

[My Second Army]
Grimnak 120
Braxas 210
Jotun 225
Deathwalker 8000 130
Deadeye Dan 60

while Sherman sent me:

[The Sherman Davies Five]
Braxas - 210
Cyprien - 150
Major Q9 - 180
Krug - 120
Rygarn - 90

saying he'd probably just play it twice,

and chas played the following during our play test:

Army A: Alien Exterminators

Shurrak 160
Mimring 150
Cyprien E. 150
Master. Woo 140
Kumiko 80
Shotgun Sully 65


TOTAL: 745 8 spaces


Army B: Lizardlike Liquidators

Moltenclaw 170
Othkurik TBD 140
Venoc WL 120
Quorik WWitch110
Saylind KW 80
James Murphy 75
Iskra E. 50


TOTAL: 745 8 spaces.

Based on the performance of our armies during our little play test on Friday, chas indicated to me that he may rebuild, but retain several, if not most, of the units he fielded. I, as heretofore said, will stick with

The Tainted Fellowship
160 Varja
140 Racheim
110 Migol
110 Alastair
100 Syvarris
90 Heirloom
40 Siiv

and

Ornak's Eye
140 DW9000
130 Deathcommander
120 Grimnak
110 Brunak
100 Tornak
100 Ornak
50 Nerak

Two each of Braxas, Cyprien, and Grimnak (if nothing changes).

I'll post a Who Will Win Poll [tentatively named Sherman's and Taeblewalker's armies for the Poll] a week before posting a Battle Report, but pre-Poll speculation is, of course, welcome.

[chas]

And here's the army I made up from Kolakoski's collection while staying over at his Secret Island Base. It came the closest to performing its mission:

Kolakoski Krushers

Zelrig 185
Theracus 40
Kelda 80
Kaemon Awa 120
Mogrim 120
Siege 120
Atlaga 90
Crixus 90

TOTAL: 845 10 spaces

Whoa--looks like I went way over the point total and still couldn't win! Somebody check my math.

[kolakoski]

Well met!

The multifaceted Victory Conditions present a unique challenge in army building/play.

1. 1 VP to the Player that killed the most Dividers.

The Dividers can have a run of luck and be difficult to take out, and are designed to be a force throughout the game. Thus the (at least) double appearance in armies of Braxas and Grimnak, units that kill without triggering Cell Divide. Although initially spread out, the Dividers will undoubtedly clump up, either around targets or by design, so explosion attackers are still desirable.

2. 1 VP to the Player possessing the most Alien Artifacts.

Cyprien is an obvious choice (in (at least) 2 armies), as he can easily get in and out with a Glyph, and has lots of targets for Life Drain. Krug (Sherman) should be good for a Glyph, shrugging off Divider leaving engagement attacks.

3. 1 VP to the Player that killed the most enemy Unique Heroes (either with any of his own Unique Heroes, or while controlling Dividers).

The usual suspects: Multi-attackers and thugs. Sherman brings the gourmet cheese: Braxas & Q9.

4. 1 VP to the Player with the highest number of remaining Unique Heroes.

It's not just about offense. The existence of this VP mitigates the value of high priced units, and favors units with good survivability.

I chose units with Phantom Walk and Disengage to avoid being tied down by Dividers (and to pick up Glyphs). I'm not a big Heirloom fan, but he fits the theme of my first army, and is ideal for this scenario.

My forecast:

kolakoski: I have a good chance to win both games, as both my armies have good shots at each of the four Victory Conditions.

chas: I don't know what he will field, but he has quite a few good units among the three armies he played on Friday. Unfortunately, he also has a tendency to play a lot of "interesting" (i.e., useless) units as well. His rebuilds may be great, but I see him as a Dark Horse.

Sherman: Powerful cheese has a good chance to succeed in spite of pretty much conceding the fourth Victory Point. [But not if he gets tied up/blocked out by Dividers.]

Taeblewalker: His second army has the same problems as Sherman's, but his first army could win with VPs 1 and 4 without leaving his Start Zone.

[kolakoski]

Well met!

Taeblewalker won't be able to make it in Wednesday, so VPs will be awarded on a team basis, with one among chas, Sherman, and I running two armies in each game.

[chas]

And the two Chas teams for tomorow are:

Team AB: Sherman Smashers
Moltenclaw 170
Cyprien E. 140
Master Woo 140
Venoc Warlord 120
Kumiko 80
Iskra E. 50
Sonia E. 40
TOTAL: 740 7 Spaces

Team C: Kolakoski Krushers
Zelrig 185
Siege 120
Kaemon Awa 120
Atlaga 90
Crixus 90
Kelda 80
Theracus 40
Isamu 10
TOTAL: 735 10 Spaces