Story Time

In honor of the Rise monsters featured in the new Monsterpocalypse two-player starter sets, our most recent Monster Insider blog unveiled a previously-unseen MonsterWatch story showcasing the monsters from All Your Base, the third set in the Rise block.

The feedback on the forums was strong that Monsterpocalypse players would like to see more MonsterWatch action, even if it is from a previous series. A number of players also requested additional concept art from the Monsterpocalypse files, complete with the artist and sculpting notes.

As is only fitting with today’s story, here is the concept art for Tyrranix:

Reach Out and Crush Someone,

-DC

Monster Watch Tyrranix Story

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Back Story

The Monsterpocalypse two-player starter boxes have introduced numerous new players to the world of Monsterpocalypse. Some players are drawn to the models, the game mechanics, or the Monsterpocalypse community in their region, but others take a real interest in the story behind these city-stomping characters.

Some of our veterans may remember the old monsterwatchblog.com site. While the site was eventually closed due to technical issues, it provided a unique look at the Monsterpocalypse setting through the eyes of a trio of characters who chased after monster sightings around the country. The site tied into the organized play prize kits for various monster mega forms available in worldwide events.

While monsterwatchblog.com is now but a memory, a number of MonsterWatch stories never made it online. The attached story allows players to once again join Warren, Amanda, and Jake in their adventures to fearlessly track down aliens, robots, ninjas, and dinosaurs.

Let us know on the forums if you enjoyed the story, and we may continue to post more MonsterWatch adventures in the future.

Reach Out and Crush Someone,

-DC

Monster Watch Episode 2.01 (DOC)

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It’s the Little Things

Some of the Monsterpocalypse scenarios and alternate formats out there have a number of alternate rules or added complexities that shake up game play. In other cases, it’s just a minor tweak that really makes a difference.

One of the most commonly played mini-change scenarios (especially early in the release of Monsterpocalypse) is “Units do not cost one additional action die if their agenda does not match the monster.” In one feel swoop, this little change makes the game more accessible to players with limited collections and also opens up whole new worlds of unit “splashing” tactics for veterans. Today’s blog is going to look at a few other scenarios with a minimal amount of change but with whole new possibilities.

1. CITY PLANNING – Players do not need to fill the green foundations before placing buildings on yellow foundations.

2. CLOUD CITY – All figures gain the Flight skill.

3. FACTORIA – Reduce the Cost of all units by 1.

4. STOMPY STOMP – When a monster advances, it can move through enemy units, crushing them.

5. RISKY BUSINESS – Move the “Hyper Phase” to the end of the phase order for monster turns.

6. VOLCANO – Buildings lose all Reactions and then gain Blazing Inferno.

7. EGO TRIP – Units cannot combine attacks.

8. SPREAD THE LOVE – The unit reserve includes all units you own, but units that are crushed or destroyed are removed from the game.

These changes are not long or complex, but each one shakes up Monsterpocalypse game play considerably. Feel free to share your own new scenarios with small changes but big results in the Monsterpocalypse forums!

Reach Out and Crush Someone,

-DC

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United States of Annihilation League

I’ve written before about how impressed I’ve been with the Monsterpocalypse players’ sportsmanship and enthusiasm, about their willingness to help new players and to create a real camaraderie in the community.

Today, I’ve chosen to write about a different aspect of our community, the passion for adding to the resources available to fellow Monsterpocalypse players.

Since the early days of the forums, Monsterpocalypse players have been quick to help one another out with tactical tips, to show off their custom paint jobs and conversions, or even to create reference materials for broader community use.

We’ve also got tools such as the Monsterpocalypse Wiki and the new Following Fire community webzine for Monsterpocalypse. A game’s long-term success depends not only on what the company itself does but also on the infectious enthusiasm of its players. After all, beyond its initial big launch, a game can only grow and thrive if it has a strong community behind it.

This particular league may not be a perfect fit for your gaming group, but it makes a great starting point for your own Monsterpocalypse league play. Feel free to change up the setting of the league, the required maps, or the cities’ agenda assignments to fit your own gaming group’s needs. Or change up the league format to a “slow grow” sort of league that starts out with smaller collections and builds up to bigger battles over time.

And once you get your league going, don’t forget to head over to the Monsterpocalypse forums to share your own league experiences.

Reach Out and Crush Someone,

-DC

Click here for the United States of Annihilation League.

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Compiled Ability Sheet

In the past, Monsterpocalypse abilities have been spread out over the relevant products. The Rise rulebook has the abilities from that series, the All Your Base strategy guide has all the abilities from that release block, the Now rulebook has the abilities from that release block, etc.

Just recently, however, all of the Monsterpocalypse abilities were released in a single place – the compiled ability sheet. Just two pages (or one page if you print on both sides), the compiled ability sheet collects every Action, Advantage, Trigger, Reaction, and Skill into a single place with abilities in alphabetical order by ability type. The ability sheet also incorporates the latest Monsterpocalypse errata, granting players a one-stop shop for the information they need for every figure’s abilities.

Naturally, this is a helpful tool for any Monsterpocalypse tournament or event organizer, but it’s also extremely helpful for new or returning players who may not be familiar with the broader ability list. Rather than flipping through various documents to see what each monster does in a game between Sky Sentinel and Leviathron, players can look to a single source for their answers.

It’s no coincidence that this new reference document was released shortly before the upcoming Monsterpocalypse 2-player starters. The 2-player starters are a perfect way to introduce new players to the game, jump starting new Monsterpocalypse recruits with two ready-to-play armies in each box. Couple a 2-player starter with the ability sheet to keep them apprised of other figures’ abilities, and Monsterpocalypse local scenes are well poised to grow in leaps and bounds over the coming months.

If you haven’t done so already, I highly recommend downloading the new compiled ability sheet right away:

http://www.monsterpocalypse.com/downloads/the-ultimate-abilities-reference

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