All Your Base Collector Information

Monsterpocalypse Series 3: All Your Base is a smaller set than the two previous sets. While All Your Base features both metamorph monsters and installations, and thus more individual figures than the previous set, there are actually fewer monster booster variants in this set. So, we want to catch you up on the full scoop so you’re armed and ready when the set drops next month.

Let’s talk monster boosters first. While there were 12 different monsters in the previous sets, All Your Base presents only six metamorph monsters, which should make them a little easier to collect. Each booster contains one metamorph monster, its four corresponding morphers, and a sheet of the rules you need for playing with metamorphs and installation. Monster booster cases still contain 12 boosters, so buying a case should yield you two sets of metamorph monsters and their morphers.

Installations and units are sold in cases of 12, and six boosters should yield a set. There are six installations (one for each faction), which come one to a booster, and 18 units (three for each faction), which come four to booster (one ★★★, one ★★, and two ★). The set offers a total of six ★★★ units, five ★★ units, and seven ★ units. Thus, buying a case of unit boosters should produce two full sets of installations and units. The rules for playing with installations are included on the rules sheet that’s in the monster booster.

One final note: Due to some mistakes I made between printing and collation, the rarities printed on the figures are not correct. The correct rarity for the figures is as follows. While Monsterpocalypse Series 3: All Your Base will prove to be one of the all-time great expansions in CMG history, every diamond has a flaw.
7/54 Despoiler – Grunt ★
8/54 Despoiler – Elite ★★ (was printed ★★★)
9/54 Nullifier Pod – Grunt ★★★ (was printed ★★)
16/54 Sun Drone – Grunt ★★★ (was printed ★★)
17/54 Shadow Raider – Grunt ★
18/54 Shadow Raider – Elite ★ (was printed ★★★ )
25/54 Anti-Aircraft Tank – Grunt ★
26/54 Anti-Aircraft Tank – Elite ★★ (was printed ★★★)
27/54 Fuel Truck – Grunt ★★★ (was printed ★★)
35/54 Tanglix – Grunt ★
36/54 Tanglix – Elite ★★ (was printed ★★★)
34/54 Cthulubite – Grunt ★★★ (was printed ★★)
43/54 Constrictor – Grunt ★
44/54 Constrictor – Elite ★★ (was printed ★★★)
45/54 Explodomite – Grunt ★★★ (was printed ★★)
52/54 Green Fury Van – Grunt ★
53/54 Green Fury Van – Elite ★★ (was printed ★★★)
54/54 Spikasaur – Grunt ★★★ (was printed ★★)

My sincerest apologies go out to the Monsterpocalypse community. This is my bad, and I have made sure these mistakes will not happen again on future sets of Monsterpocalypse—you can send your complaints directly to me via Facebook. You can also get a copy of the collector’s postcard, which lists the correct rarities, here.

Monsterpocalypse Series 3: All Your Base has a lot to offer the play environment. Playing with the metamorphs and their morphers is a unique experience, and the addition of installations means you can bring some interesting boons for your force to the table —especially if you are playing with one of the installations that can attack! But I will tell you more about that next week.

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Morphers!!!

Monsterpocalypse Series 3: All Your Base features an all-new type of monster, the metamorph! These new guys are going to be hot. Dang hot. This will be the most dramatic change to the Monsterpocalypse play environment since the release of the game.

Metamorphs are monsters that use four morphers as their alpha form. Morphers are small-based monsters that interact with terrain like a unit but use abilities like a monster. Further, they can be targeted with abilities and power attacks like a monster. During the game those four morphers come together to form their metamorph monster for some real destruction!

Playing with morphers has its advantages and its challenges. One advantage is that morphers are each allowed to move and attack independently, and they can make combined attacks together. This allows you to send a pair of morphers against the enemy monster to deliver some damage while the other two morphers focus their attention on pesky units or generate power dice by brawling a building or two. The challenge is the obvious dice burden that comes with moving and attacking with four different monsters in the same turn. When you add up all the boost dice among all the morphers, however, they usually outpace a normal alpha form’s total boost dice—but then again, a normal alpha form does not have to spend 4 action dice to use all his boost dice, either.

Since morphers do not have a power stat (and thus cannot make power attacks, though they can be power attacked by other monsters), each set of morphers was designed with at least one premium ability (Beat Back, Toss, Weapon Master, Crunch, and so on) as well as one mass–unit-killing ability (Radial Attack, Explosion, and so on). This allows them to put the hurt on the enemy monster while focusing some pain on the enemy units as well. But when it comes time for your morphers defend against an attack, they have some susceptibilities. Morphers are all little dudes, and while some have greater a defense than others, they all come in around the 4–5 range. Further, since morphers share the alpha damage track on the health tracker and they can all be hit with an ability like Explosion on the same attack, their damage can add up quickly unless you position them carefully on the map!

Playing with morphers allows you some other options as well. Because they interact with terrain like units, they can hold objectives and secure buildings. And rather than having to start the game in the monster starting locations, they also have the option of beginning adjacent to a spawn point. This allows you to place the morphers adjacent to a building you wish to secure; then on your first monster activation you can make a power up roll that will yield more power dice than a normal monster can usually provide. This head start in the power dice department can allow for quick damage or allow you to move into your metamorph form sooner.

The metamorph is the full-sized monster who uses the morphers as his alpha form. Once in play, a metamorph acts exactly the same as a normal monster hyper form.

When a metamorph enters play you place him on the map so that at least one of his spaces overlaps one of the spaces occupied by any one of your morphers. This allows you to keep your opponent guessing about where you might place your metamorph, am uncertainty you can use to your advantage. Some monsters prefer to keep some distance between them and the other monster, and others want to be aligned and ready for a power attack. Morphers give you the advantage to place that incoming metamorph right up on the opposing monster, or across the map. To cover every possible instance of putting those metamorphs into play, the Series 3 rules allow your monster to clear away units and buildings that may be in the way of his placement. If even that won’t give you a space for him, you can bring him into play along a map edge.

The metamorphs and their morphers posed some interesting design challenges, but with the help of a great crew and some awesome playtesters we were able to come up with a new way of playing Monsterpocalypse that is engaging and remains balanced. For every advantage to playing a morpher, there is also a disadvantage. When squaring off against morphers, you will find yourself changing gears in your plan of action. When fielding a force using morphers, you will find yourself approaching your strategies against the standard monsters in a whole new way—much like when you play a multi-monster game. The morphers were designed with both the player and his opponent in mind. Jason once mentioned that when playing against morphers he would first think, “Yes! I’m playing against morphers!” This would be followed by a second thought of “Darn. I’m playing against morphers.”

Monsterpocalypse: All Your Base introduces six metamorph monsters. Additionally, the set includes installations (a special type of building I will tell you about in the next post) and of course, awesome new units.

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