Mega Lo-Tron Coming to Comic Con

We interrupt the regularly scheduled blog to bring you a sneak peak at Mega Lo-Tron. This mega form was just recently announced as a special Comic Con release, and I don’t want to waste any time getting to the good stuff. Mega Lo-Tron, ladies and gentlemen:

When I found out that I no longer had to keep Mega Lo-Tron a secret, I considered telling about a playtest game with Mega Lo-Tron and considered contrasting him with Ultra Lo-Tron, but I eventually decided on sharing a Monsterpocalypse army featuring this monster form instead. GenCon Monsterpocalypse Masters is just around the corner, and I would be shocked if we didn’t see Voltron and Lo-Tron armies stepping up to challenge monsters like Defender X, Zor Maxim, Mantacon, and Anglax.

For my Mega Lo-Tron city list, I chose:

5 Music Producer

2 Insurance Company HQ

2 Radio Telescope

1 Office Building

1 Statue of Liberty

1 Privateer Press Building

For the unit list, I chose:

3 grunt Snatcher

3 elite Snatcher

3 grunt Cthulabite

1 elite Task Master (or Shadow Task Master)

2 grunt Grinder Tank

1 elite Grinder Tank

1 grunt Repair Vehicle

1 grunt UCI MRV

Position the Statue of Liberty, Privateer Press Building, and at least one Radio Telescope and Insurance Company HQ in locations near the spawn points that are easy to secure. Position the Office Building in a location that’s within arms reach of the Robeasts. Remaining buildings can be placed closer to the center of the map or even on an opponent’s side of the map if necessary.

Secure the near buildings to provide strength and flexibility to the rest of the force, and try to keep the Privateer Press Building secured at all times for the powerful R&D action. This discount for UCI MRVs or Cthulabites is an exceptional boost to the force’s powerful unit complement. The units’ main job is to spread corruption throughout the city via the Manufacture Advantage, but Grinder Tanks also increase the accuracy of Snatchers and Cthulabites via their Marker ability, and the off-faction Repair Vehicles can keep Robeasts and Lo-Tron fighting fit.

The Robeasts should have no problem building up an early pool of P-Dice by brawling the Office building and blasting enemy units (or monsters under the right circumstances). Keep an eye out for good angles on Rhino Robeast’s Toss trigger even if they require a number of A-Dice to step the attackers into position. One good Toss can deal substantial damage to an enemy monster. Against enemy morphers, Armadillo Robeast is a great asset, dishing out multiple damage via the Radial Attack trigger.

Look to deal substantial damage to the city itself before Lo-Tron even enters the scene. Unlike other monsters, he does not rely heavily on collisions for his damage output. Between Juggernaut and Weapon Master, Lo-Tron can reliably deal super damage to an enemy monster on a battlefield of nothing but rubble.

Mega Lo-Tron’s Juggernaut skill will really keep an enemy on his toes since it ignores the most common form of monster defense – screening. Rampage right through units and buildings to crash into an enemy monster for super damage. When a Rampage is not an option due to positioning, Lo-Tron’s Weapon Master blast attack or Power Strike brawl attack (with Reach) are also great alternatives. Brawling is especially effective when dealing that last point of damage to finish off an opposing monster form. With an 8*3 brawl, Lo-Tron is remarkably accurate with that flail, and a good roll can really hamper an opponent’s actions thanks to Power Strike.

While Mega Lo-Tron is on the field, unit turns should shift from corrupting the city to supporting this powerful monster. Healing and screening Lo-Tron will guarantee that this monster’s 7 Defense and 6 Health outlast your foe and allow you to stand victorious.

I hope to see many of you at Comic Con!

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Cosmic Influx

In my last blog, I touched a bit on the development of the Voltron battle maps. Playing Monsterpocalypse in space has some different elements from playing in a crowded cityscape, but playing on the Cosmic Influx map also varies greatly from Solar Conflict.

The dominant feature of the Cosmic Influx map is the large comet and, just as importantly, the comet’s tail that snakes across the battle map. While Solar Conflict focuses heavily on the Super Nova map feature, the comet takes center stage in Cosmic Influx both visually and from a game play standpoint.

As you can see, the comet’s tail is littered with dangerous asteroids, lucrative power crystals, relay stations, and a navigational probe. Given the limited quantity of dice and figures players have available to fight over these resources, Cosmic Influx can be a very contested battle map. Throughout the firefight for these resources, however, players must remember that the true goal is defeating the opposing monster.

Players really need to choose which direction to channel their battle plan. The navigational probe greatly enhances a player’s maneuverability, relay stations greatly enhance monsters’ potential damage output, power crystals enhance P-Die production, and outright combat can earn P-Dice while simultaneously knocking an opponent down a peg or two.

Due to the breadth of resources on the Cosmic Influx map, players are forced to make some tough choices based on play style and may even need to shift their strategy throughout the game based on how things play out. Gathering P-Dice may become more important than enhancing damage output, or maneuvering through the asteroids may become more important than gaining additional P-Dice. Players will need to be able to read the battle map as well as their opponent in order to be successful when battling on the Cosmic Influx map.

With early copies of Voltron now in house, the next blog will feature a battle summary between some Privateer Press employees taking the Voltron battle miniatures game out for a spin.

Until next time!

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Voltron’s Transformation

After Brent’s quest to bring Voltron over to Monsterpocalypse, the responsibility fell to Erik, Michael, and I to bring the characters of Voltron to life within the context of the Monsterpocalypse game.

As noted last week, we really wanted the Voltron game to be accessible to new players, so we decided to trim down which sorts of abilities the morphers, metamorphs, and units of Voltron would have. Out of Actions, Advantages, Triggers, Reactions, and Skills, we chose to hone in on the Triggers and Skills, the two most plentiful ability types. We also chose to forego granted abilities (those that appear red or blue on Monsterpocalypse figures). These choices made it easier to craft an easy-to-learn rulebook while leaving us with plenty of ability options to give the Lions and Robeasts.

Since the Voltron game would move away from city-smashing and take the fight into space, the next decision was an easy one. All Voltron figures gained the Flight Skill. This was a logical thematic choice, but it also allowed certain additional simplifications in the rulebook.

From there, we fleshed out the Voltron figures with all sorts of juicy Skills and Triggers – Explosion, Motivator, Power Gorge, Quick, Radial Attack, and more. We gave each of the morphers a slightly different niche within the overall game play elements of the monster and made the monster ultra forms capable of really dishing out damage. The lack of some of the trickier ability types left plenty of room for raw beat down potential. Even the relatively simple Galactic Garrison Cruisers and Skull Ships demonstrate this efficiency flavored with the organized fleet tactics of the Galactic Garrison versus the raider strike force feel of the nefarious Skull Ships.

Once the basics of the figures, rules, and maps were in place, playtesting could begin in earnest. Early on in the playtest process, Voltron included asteroids that functioned somewhat akin to buildings in Monsterpocalypse. Playtesting, development discussions, and production input led us to consider a new spin for Voltron – map-based terrain rather than building-based terrain. After much discussion, we ultimately decided to go with two unique maps each offering a very different game play experience. The shift to Power Crystals for powering up and stellar bodies for collision damage worked out perfectly to capture the feel of Voltron and the feel of Monsterpocalypse simultaneously.

Michael previewed the Solar Conflict map a few months ago. This map centers quite literally around the supernova terrain feature. This brutal map element can cause two collision damage to an enemy monster smashed into it and can cause even more damage if they don’t move quickly away from the star’s burning plasma.

The other Voltron map has a very different theme from Solar Conflict, a theme that we are certain to more fully explore in a future MonsterInsider blog entry.

Until next time!

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How Voltron Came to Monsterpocalypse

As promised, today we’ll be looking at Voltron’s trail from cartoon hero to Monsterpocalypse figure. From its inception, part of the plan for Monsterpocalypse was an open-ended format. From alien invaders and giant robots to Lovecraftian horrors, anything was possible in the world of Monsterpocalypse, and monsters from a broad range of media could find a place within that world.

Matt Wilson’s original vision for the setting allowed for the possibility of “guest stars” from movies, cartoons, novels, or comic books. These guest stars would appear in their own stand-alone games but could also smash their way onto Monsterpocalypse game maps around the world to fight our own monstrous creations.

Voltron is the first of those guest stars.

When it comes to licensing and Privateer Press products, we turn to Brent the Legal Guy, and setting up our very first Monsterpocalypse guest star license was no exception. Brent had several criteria for choosing any licenses we would pursue for Monsterpocalypse.

First off, the characters had to fit the game mechanics. The timing worked out perfectly here, as Brent began looking into licensing about the time the morpher game mechanics entered playtesting. Frequent playtest sessions with Legionnaire and Galaxius-4 were a constant reminder of the Voltron lions and their own combining mechanics from the cartoon.

Secondly, Brent was looking for characters that would really resonate with the existing Monsterpocalypse player base. Many Monsterpocalypse players (such as those found throughout the Privateer Press offices) grew up with the Voltron cartoons and toys, so the nostalgia factor was very high with our target audience.

Finally, the monsters chosen would need to be something easy to present within the Monsterpocalypse world but also as a stand-alone product. By zeroing in on Lion Voltron and his nemesis from the Fleet of Doom movie, we had a nice self-contained game that also stayed true to the story. This allowed us to make a product that appeals to new players but also fits seamlessly into the broader Monsterpocalypse game.

So Brent the Legal Guy excitedly contacted World Events Production, owners of the Voltron license, and the rest is a story for another day. Join me in my next blog as I explore how the Voltron lions converted from cartoon heroes into Monsterpocalypse game figures.

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Monsters in Chicago

In my last blog, I mentioned I would be taking a look back at AdeptiCon and at the great Monsterpocalypse players I had the opportunity to spend time with at the convention. One thing that has repeatedly impressed me about our Monsterpocalypse players is their great sportsmanship and helpful attitude, and AdeptiCon was no exception.

During the Leveling Lombard event, we had an odd number of players, so I had the opportunity to jump in and play in the “bye” round. I enjoyed a lot of great, hard-fought battles with my Invaders force of aliens and fishfolk led by the mighty Ultra Anglax. The players were quick to loan me plenty of figures, dice, and a map so that I could take part in the action. I think my favorite moment of the event was watching Anglax perform a 16 P-Die Rampage (thanks to Super Rampage) all through my opponent’s power base. Now granted, I only got to keep 10 of those P-Dice, but it was quite a payoff for clearing a path during my unit activation and stepping to get to just the right Rampage starting point.

The Leveling Lombard winner was Dragon (FireSoCold) with his Mega Mantacon army. One might assume that our takes-no-prisoners conqueror was immune to that great sportsmanship I mentioned earlier, but you’ll have a hard time finding a nicer opponent than Dragon. I lost track of the number of times he helped an opponent remember an extra P-Die from an ability or how to get the most out of a particular Skill or Trigger.

Saturday’s Annihilating AdeptiCon event was a two-monster event that really shook things up. It quickly became clear the two-monster tournament requires slightly different skills than the more common one-monster variety. The Destroyers made a big showing in the event, and the final matchup pitted Ultra Rogzor and Mega Mantacon against Ultra Rogzor and Mega Mucustos. Did someone say High Impact? Bilal (B_mad) walked away with the Annihilating AdeptiCon plaque, and we were all set for the championship event.

Sunday’s championship event threw a number of curveballs at the players. This event allowed the top 4 players from the previous events to compete for the overall title and a Full Metal Mega Cyber Khan. It also required players to play a different monster in each tournament round, guaranteeing that the champion was not only a master of one particular monster but had a broad range of city-smashing abilities.

This event threw me a curveball as well. Due to a late drop, I had the opportunity to play in the championship event against more of the great Monsterpocalypse players in Chicago. This time, I turned to the Fiends led by Ultra Cthugrosh, Mega Yasheth, and Mega Osheroth. Saturday’s champion, Bilal, was kind enough to loan me his considerable Fiends collection. My favorite moment of this event had to be when I was able to use Summon, Transmutation, and Manufacture extensively in a single unit activation. My team of Towers of Corruption and Snatchers raised a blighted little tide into a raging tidal wave of darkness.

Terrence (ChiVenger) took home the title and the Full Metal Mega by demonstrating his mastery of Mega Sky Sentinel, Mega Legionnaire, and Ultra Defender X. It’s worth repeating that these Chicago guys are not only great sports but also great Monsterpocalypse players. They’re sure to prove their mettle at MonCon and Gen Con, and it will be really interesting to see who steps up to challenge these Monsterpocalypse gurus.

Join me again next time when I take a look at how Voltron came to be part of the Monsterpocalypse universe.

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