Wargrounds of Scape (WoS) - discussion thread

[BiggaBullfrog]

Now that I've put a rough month behind me, let's review maps from Utah's two best map-makers!

(Yes, I'm claiming tannergx even though he doesn't live in Utah anymore because he was here during the height of his map-making days.)

Origin by @Flash_19


This map is very good, and the games I have either played or watched on it have generally gone smoothly. There are a lot of options for how to approach the battle on this map, and all of them have seemed viable.

My biggest concern on the map has been the islands of height on the edges, especially the 7-hex by the glyph. I have had games of melee attacking ranged groups on those spots, which has the potential to turn into a real grinder. However, the map does also support melee in that situation by giving units easy access to staging ground matching or higher than those islands, which means that, while they're attacking up when committing forces, they aren't losing as many figures while they're reinforcing.

Ultimately the map rewards a lot of different playstyles and game types, which is a big bonus for me. There are a lot of features to take advantage of (islands, center power spots, hidey holes behind ruins), and those features combine to make a top tier map. I vote YES to induct.

Trouble Once Lurked Beneath... by @tannergx


I am a big big fan of this map. It does a lot of things well: strong movement/development options despite its large size, dynamic height, and two very different but almost even sides of the board when looking at right vs left.

That said, the map is not without its flaws. For starters, the right- and left-side development options are indeed almost even, but I've always noticed a tendency towards the left since it is definitely safer. Going right gives you one of the strongest points on the board faster, but it always feels like more of a gamble since you'll be exposed while you're climbing, and it's harder to move a mass of figures that way in my experience. It's been the norm in most games for both players to favor the left side for safety.

The road is well-used on the map, but I feel that it is just barely short of being excellent, especially with lateral movement. As a two-hills map, you need any help you can get when moving side to side, and the speed dumps between those sides has made that journey feel just barely too long and too difficult. It is not by much, but enough to be noticeable when planning moves.

Also, I think gimme treasure glyphs are bad. While they're generally not as influential as power glyphs (if you have a good treasure glyph pool), having a freebie to grab with no contesting is, at best, just very uninteresting and, at worst, a roulette that feels unfair with certain hero/glyph combinations. (Side note that treasure glyphs are in a weird spot since they're less used and easy for tournament organizers to ignore (I ignore them on this map), but since they're in the build instructions I'm keeping this concern in. If it was the only concern it might not change my vote, but it does stack with the other flaws.)

Again, I do think this map is very good. (I'll almost definitely use it at more local events in the future.) That said, I do think it suffers from a few too many flaws that are just big enough to take it out from the best of the best. It's super close, and I'd love to see it tinkered with, but ultimately I vote NO to induct.