Astroking112's Maps [Update 6-23-18]

[Astroking112]

After admiring so many of the wonderful maps on display here, I've decided that it was about time that I started my own thread so that I can share what I've been working on. Since HeroScape's system is so versatile, I've messed with a lot of formats (but mostly, I've just messed them up ).

Nonconventional Maps

Spoiler Alert!

New Detroit
2 Players, 400-600pts
1 TCB, 1 TT, 1 VW
Heavy Snow, Normal Ice
Treasure Glyph Trap: Arctic switch! For the remainder of the game, use Normal Snow and Slippery Ice.
If you were already using Normal Snow and Slippery Ice, instead switch back to Heavy Snow and Normal Ice.



Pictures

Spoiler Alert!

Sorry, but that's the only picture angle that I took of the map this time. Hopefully I'll be able to upload the PDF to this site's Gallery soon.

Analysis

Spoiler Alert!

Still wanting to make nonconventional maps that I hadn't seen anything like before, I turned my eye towards mixing the Volcarren Wasteland and Thaelenk Tundra sets and using them as the sole sources of terrain. Given that tournament-style maps generally only use two expansions and terrain was quite limited, I made the questionable choice of using the Marvel Master Set to complement the expansions.

I'm actually pretty happy with the end result, as I think that the map is stylistically good and not so asymmetrical as to present a problem. There are some definite builds that benefit most from this, of course, predominantly being ranged (although in my games, melee armies generally have had a decent chance, and one Arctic Switch could completely turn the tables).

Turns out that the problems with snow maps are exacerbated when basically only using that terrain. Who would've thought?

On the lava side, I think that things could be made a little more interesting (I originally had all height on Lava Field, but I ended up having to exchange some tiles around in order to free up the central chokepoint a little bit after testing), but the terrain restrictions that I imposed on myself put a pretty good lock on things. There are definitely some things that I think I could improve, but I've had this map built for a long time now, and I'm itching for a change. When I rebuild it, I may make some changes, but for now, this is what I've settled on.

Note: The Glyphs of Brandar represent Treasure Glyphs. Also, remove the top level of the warehouse-ruin (the one with two hexes on it) before playing.

Lore

Spoiler Alert!

Valhalla is home to many oddities, but few are more mysterious than the otherworldly ruins far to the north.

Buried in snow and hidden from the world for a long time, the Archkyries were shocked to find traces of human civilization after a sudden shift in tectonic activity melted the ice. Jandar was especially perplexed, wondering if some of his troops had fled to the north and attempted to establish their own camp back at the start of the war. Surely, that would be the only explanation?

Whatever the case, orders have come to survey these ruins before the opening crust of the earth hides them once again. Your army is nearly upon the ruins when they notice a sign proclaiming "New Detroit," but none of the city's inhabitants are anywhere to be seen. Who knows what your troops might find or meet in the burning cold of this city?

Watchtower Maps

Spoiler Alert!

I doubt that these maps will ever be accepted to a normal tournament on account of how different they typically are, but I've found them to be a welcome change of pace from the normal format in my groups.

These maps all require two sets of Fortress of the Archkyrie, and make the questionable choice of beginning both players with the option of splitting their armies between the high ground and the low ground. If a player prioritizes one side of the battle too heavily, they'll succumb to the opponent's advances on the other half of the field.

Vulxinla
2 Players, 400-600pts
1 BftU, 2 FotA
Treasure Glyph Trap: Rannveig! For the remainder of the round, all figures with the Flying special power lose this power and cannot fly.
(This is automatically in effect for the first round).



Pictures

Spoiler Alert!

Analysis

Spoiler Alert!

This map in particular came about as my efforts to just go against most tournament rules. I wanted to make a map using two castles to their full extent--a full fortress instead of scattered ruins--but of course, this would be horribly unbalanced, so I replicated the height advantage on both sides.

This resulted in a map split between two levels, which I ended up really enjoying. Only nine of the twenty-four starting zone spaces are dedicated to the top level, so players will have to split their forces between the top and bottom. This idea of two distinct battlefields became integral to the theme of this map, and in order to further exacerbate this, I decided to put the Glyph of Thorian in the center, on the bottom floor. This provides a major incentive to go for the center, but if you can't hold it, you'll be eaten alive by ranged units on the top.

My tests on this map have all been frantic scrambles to devote the proper amount of resources to securing that vital glyph in the center, all while leaving enough support on the top level to take advantage of the moment it's yours. Ranged Special Attacks are often vital to success here.

In order to provide a bit more of a benefit to the lower level, I also put two random Treasure Glyphs, which will help Unique Heroes (especially helpful because of how deadly the squads can be on the top level). I decided to use the Treasure Glyph trap as a nerf to flying, since otherwise the power would be far too powerful (especially on the first turn, where initiative could decide the match).

Special thanks to @Leo Ultra for helping me balance and playtest this map.

Lore

Spoiler Alert!

Far to the south in Braunglayde, there was once a mighty civilization. Few ever knew of these people, for the faintest touch of light would instantly sear away their skin. In the darkness, they dwelled; in the darkness, they thrived.

To the Kyrie, the idea of living solely in the caverns beneath the surface surely would have seemed mad, but to these people, it was their only way of life. They built massive structures in the dark, towering far above the reach of a torch, but the reason for these buildings has long been lost to the passage of time... Along with all of them.

When the Kyrie first discovered the Underdark, they found several traces of this strange civilization, but nothing more. It was not until they found these massive watchtowers beneath Braunglayde that they realized the full extent and reach that these underdwellers once had. Several cities seemed to have been formed in the Underdark, completely sealed away from their view for countless years.

It was this city in particular, named Vulxinla, that interested Jandar. In the war against Valkrill, he had been desperately searching for a stronghold closer to the Archkyrie's lair... and his troops had finally found it. As they marched ever closer to the watchtower outpost, though, they began to wonder if that constant rhythm was the sound of feet marching far off in the distance...

Could it be the sounds of their own feet reverberating back to them, or could another army already be headed their way?

[Astroking112]

@Nomad @Robber @Sir Heroscape @BiggaBullfrog , I was wanting to submit my map above, Vulxinla, to the Map Building contest. If you guys have any feedback to give on this map, I'd welcome the thoughts (I'm aware that this one's kind of a stretch for most tournaments, but I still find it to be balanced when both players can expect it).

I'm waiting to take up @superfrog 's offer of building the map for me in VirtualScape until I get some general thoughts. The starting zones are the sand/stone lines on either end of the board (along with the two road spaces on the bottom, the random piece of concrete was just filler) and the castle spaces on the top level.

[BiggaBullfrog]

Stylistically, I'm intrigued with the map. Competitively, not so much -- it will be kind of a no-brainer to go for the top ground, especially for a competitive Rats/Raelin/Q9 build. Special Attacks get to ignore Thorian, so sitting up there will be no problem, and the high ground has perfect choke points for Rats to clog up with Raelin sitting behind them and boosting their defense. All in all I don't see this being a competitive map, though it's an interesting and unique try and I applaud the effort! And I'd like to see more from you, too. This map looks great for casual play and that's something in and of itself.

[Leaf_It]

I have wanted to make a tournament worthy castle map for a long time. I think it's possible, but not with the limitations that the ARV has in place. You simply will not have enough terrain to make it balanced for non-flying, and double spaced figures. Remember that both double spaced, and large/huge figures, can't climb ladders. The biggest issues are making sure that every figure can get an attack on the highest point, and you need to be able to hunt down flying figures without them being able to fly away from you too easily, just by going over the edge of the castle, or up to the top of it.

[Astroking112]

Originally Posted by BiggaBullfrog

Stylistically, I'm intrigued with the map. Competitively, not so much -- it will be kind of a no-brainer to go for the top ground, especially for a competitive Rats/Raelin/Q9 build. Special Attacks get to ignore Thorian, so sitting up there will be no problem, and the high ground has perfect choke points for Rats to clog up with Raelin sitting behind them and boosting their defense. All in all I don't see this being a competitive map, though it's an interesting and unique try and I applaud the effort! And I'd like to see more from you, too. This map looks great for casual play and that's something in and of itself.

Astonishingly, the whole rats/Q9/Raelin combo completely slipped my mind. Perhaps my gaming group has avoided them too much, because I never even remembered how much they could break this whole design when testing it.

I agree that this map wouldn't work in a normal tournament format, even ignoring the major oversight about Q9 and rats. Special Attacks are even more of a necessity here than usual (and I was hesitant to switch to the Glyph of Jalguard, since that would inhibit melee as well). Many common tournament armies are completely broken here, albeit that's an inevitable byproduct of trying to defy so many guidelines.

I have another design that I'm tinkering with that's a little more traditional (although it has its own plethora of problems that make it pretty uncompetitive in general), so I'll try to upload that when I get the chance in order to get some feedback. Thanks for the honest thoughts!

Originally Posted by Leaf_It

I have wanted to make a tournament worthy castle map for a long time. I think it's possible, but not with the limitations that the ARV has in place. You simply will not have enough terrain to make it balanced for non-flying, and double spaced figures. Remember that both double spaced, and large/huge figures, can't climb ladders. The biggest issues are making sure that every figure can get an attack on the highest point, and you need to be able to hunt down flying figures without them being able to fly away from you too easily, just by going over the edge of the castle, or up to the top of it.

Just because it's not possible with those limitations won't stop me from trying.

This was an effective way of balancing out melee and ranged armies in a true castle map, albeit it obviously has some very exploitable flaws, and widening the bridges to avoid chokepoints isn't really an option thanks to the lack of terrain. I'll still probably design this style of map for Rise of the Valkyrie and Swarm of the Marro since it's been a hit at my gaming nights (although I don't even want to think about making it work with the paltry Marvel terrain), but I don't expect to see these things at any other tournaments soon.

That's a good point about the non-flying double-spaced figures not being able to access the top level if not placed there, though. I'll take a look at stuff like Migol's Tomb with the sloping hillsides to see how the original designers handled this problem.

As for flying, I spent a good deal of time trying to think of ways to stop it from dominating the game from Order Marker 1, but the solution that I settled on was to have Rannveig active during the beginning of the game (or when a Treasure Glyph Trap activated). I'm not overly fond of this solution, as I feel like there should be a more elegant way of handling things.

I'll tinker around with some other castle configurations to see if I can get anything that's a little more acceptable for a tournament.

[flameslayer93]

Vulxinia looks pretty good. It could work well in a tourney if the format was something like RtW or something else where nobody would want their opponent to steal their Q9. If you wanted to, you could even use a couple of the Teleport glyphs from the C3V to help the big’ns get up there.

[Astroking112]

Originally Posted by flameslayer93

Vulxinia looks pretty good. It could work well in a tourney if the format was something like RtW or something else where nobody would want their opponent to steal their Q9. If you wanted to, you could even use a couple of the Teleport glyphs from the C3V to help the big’ns get up there.

Thanks for the feedback. Reverse the Whip is definitely an interesting point that could help prevent the Rats/Q9 combo here, especially since it's so much more powerful.

I really like that idea about the teleport glyphs; I had completely forgotten about them, but they sound like an amazing addition. I've noticed in my tests that the Treasure Glyphs often go unused, since players rarely want to risk a Unique hero on the lower level unless it's a heavy hitter like Drake or Alastair.

I'm going to have to make myself two copies of the glyph and test it out with them replacing the Treasure Glyphs to see how it turns out. I could even see it replacing the Glyph of Thorian in the center, with two powerful permanent glyphs replacing the Treasure Glyphs at the edges... This definitely opens up a lot of possibilities and solves some of the maps flaws. Thanks again!

[Leo Ultra]

Awesome, it's finally uploaded! Not sure where the inspiration for that name came from, but the bio is fascinating. Good work, man!

[Astroking112]

Originally Posted by Leo Ultra

Awesome, it's finally uploaded! Not sure where the inspiration for that name came from, but the bio is fascinating. Good work, man!

Thanks! The name came from a mythical place known as keyboard spontaneity, cleaned up a little bit to become somewhat readable.

Unfortunately, I have yet to be able to upload the VirtualScape build instructions (along with the files for my second map), but I'm hoping to be able to post them somewhat soon. I'm sure that you understand how ready I am to finally take apart this map.

[Astroking112]

After a long process that I won't delineate here, I have finally been able to physically build my second map idea that I was originally hoping to submit to the contest before life happened. True to my nature, it's something that doesn't really fit tournament norms (although not nearly as game-breaking as Vulxinla).

I'm still waiting on the chance to upload the PDFs for this map and Vulxinla to the gallery, but I wanted to take the chance to lay the groundwork before I can get those up. So, without further adieu, I present New Detroit:

2 Players, 400-600pts
1 TCB, 1 TT, 1 VW
Heavy Snow, Normal Ice
Treasure Glyph Trap: Arctic switch! For the remainder of the game, use Normal Snow and Slippery Ice.
If you were already using Normal Snow and Slippery Ice, instead switch back to Heavy Snow and Normal Ice.



Pictures

Spoiler Alert!

Sorry, but that's the only picture angle that I took of the map this time. Hopefully I'll be able to upload the PDF to this site's Gallery soon.

Analysis

Spoiler Alert!

Still wanting to make nonconventional maps that I hadn't seen anything like before, I turned my eye towards mixing the Volcarren Wasteland and Thaelenk Tundra sets and using them as the sole sources of terrain. Given that tournament-style maps generally only use two expansions and terrain was quite limited, I made the questionable choice of using the Marvel Master Set to complement the expansions.

I'm actually pretty happy with the end result, as I think that the map is stylistically good and not so asymmetrical as to present a problem. There are some definite builds that benefit most from this, of course, predominantly being ranged (although in my games, melee armies generally have had a decent chance, and one Arctic Switch could completely turn the tables).

Turns out that the problems with snow maps are exacerbated when basically only using that terrain. Who would've thought?

On the lava side, I think that things could be made a little more interesting (I originally had all height on Lava Field, but I ended up having to exchange some tiles around in order to free up the central chokepoint a little bit after testing), but the terrain restrictions that I imposed on myself put a pretty good lock on things. There are definitely some things that I think I could improve, but I've had this map built for a long time now, and I'm itching for a change. When I rebuild it, I may make some changes, but for now, this is what I've settled on.

Note: The Glyphs of Brandar represent Treasure Glyphs. Also, remove the top level of the warehouse-ruin (the one with two hexes on it) before playing.

Lore

Spoiler Alert!

Valhalla is home to many oddities, but few are more mysterious than the otherworldly ruins far to the north.

Buried in snow and hidden from the world for a long time, the Archkyries were shocked to find traces of human civilization after a sudden shift in tectonic activity melted the ice. Jandar was especially perplexed, wondering if some of his troops had fled to the north and attempted to establish their own camp back at the start of the war. Surely, that would be the only explanation?

Whatever the case, orders have come to survey these ruins before the opening crust of the earth hides them once again. Your army is nearly upon the ruins when they notice a sign proclaiming "New Detroit," but none of the city's inhabitants are anywhere to be seen. Who knows what your troops might find or meet in the burning cold of this city?