Elemental Champions

Deep within the Akaishi Mountains of Japan is a collective of monasteries where the monks of the Tenshi Seugikan order reside. When the Monsterpocalypse began, they attempted to sit out the conflict, but as the situation grew more and more dim, the order decided they had no choice but to stand up and protect the innocents of Earth. The monks cast aside their meditation robes and summoned forth elemental kami and avatars to help them in their duty. Then the greatest of these monks took up the most revered of their artifacts. In the most critical of times, these humble monks focus all their power through these artifacts and are able to grow 30 times their size to become elemental warrior-gods that can stand against any opposing force.

In developing the monsters and units of the Elemental Champions, we drew inspiration from the attributes of the elements the figure would represent. For instance, water is about fluidity—it’d hard to pin water down. Therefore we set out to make Aquosia and the water units very adaptive and mobile. In Aquosia’s case, the new Quick skill allows her to move without spending an action die. We also gave her ultra version Annihilate, as she is a master of all forms of attack. Her stats are balanced to represent this as well; she can come at you in many different ways. On the unit side of things, the Water Avatar is very fast for a unit (Speed 7) and has the Transport ability, which allows it to bring a Water Kami into the battle. Water Kami, of course, are little beat sticks designed to put a hurt on the non-enlightened.

If you consider that fire is very aggressive and destructive as it spreads, you will understand where we came from in developing Incinerus, who is all about his blast attack and making hazards. Incinerus features a new action called Ignite that allows you to flip over rubble tiles to their hazard sides. He also has Hazardous in red, so any units in his agenda adjacent to him catch fire to deliver extra damage when monsters are body slammed on top of them. Incinerus can make it very difficult for your opponent to find a safe place to hide. For fire-themed units, the Fire Kami are awesome little blast attack figures with the Ignite action as well.

Earth and air are the other two elements. While the Earth Avatar does appear in this set—it sports Nesting, Amplify, and a rock-solid Defense 4—the rest of the air and earth figures will come in future sets.

Visually, the Elemental Champions are unique and inspired. To be honest, making up monsters is the easy part of creating new factions; the challenge is always in generating good ideas for the units. When we first began talking about making these guys, we talked about doing some monstrous samurai to complement the visuals of the ninjas in the first three series. As we batted around concepts for these units, Matt had an idea for little elemental beings wearing armor. At that time I just could not picture it; I was too caught up in the idea of armor being helmets and shoulder pads and could not make any sense of what he talking about. When I saw the concept art, though, the whole faction came together for me in an instant.

I really like that while these guys are Protectors like the G.U.A.R.D., they have a spiritual essence about them. I think it solidifies the idea of the agendas a bit more and gets to the core of what motivates the factions. What’s more, these guys perform great with the G.U.A.R.D. My own current plans include running a couple of Rocket Choppers and Strike Fighters alongside Incinerus when I play him and running some of those Fire and Earth Avatars with G.U.A.R.D. robots.

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UberCorp International

Born from the fortune and twisted mind of Wallace Wier and protected by some of the finest Second Amendment lawyers money can buy, UberCorp International and their mechanized monsters are too big to ignore. This privately held company once developed some of the finest consumer electronics on the planet, but with the rise of the monsters they turned their attention towards protecting mankind against that which seeks to end humanity—for a price, of course. With their initial launch of Robotic Protection Vehicles, patterned after small invading creatures that they were able to capture and study, they moved into a whole new market. Following the development of these support vehicles, they outdid themselves and developed full-sized mechanized version of the monsters threatening the planet. The emergence of Cyber Khan and Gorghadratron has given the people of Earth a bit more hope in these trying times . . .those who can afford it, at least.

After Monsterpocalypse released, we received pleas for all kinds of stuff. A giant ape faction topped the list, followed immediately by a cyber version of Terra Khan. Well, Privateer aims to please our customers and exceed their expectations. This faction proves that! UberCorp features an entire robotic line of your favorite monsters and units from last year. After all, the only thing cooler than a giant lizard smashing a city is a giant mechanized lizard smashing a city.

UberCorp’s first release of units features Mecha Task Masters, Robo Squixes, Carnitrons (base on Carnidons), and the UCI MRV (UberCorp International Mobil Repair Vehicle). The first UCI monsters include Cyber Khan and Gorghadratron.

With UberCorp, I like to say that everything is the same—except for the stuff that is different. While the monsters were designed to be similar to their flesh-and-blood counterparts, their abilities are all different. This means that although Terra Khan players, for example, will see something totally different in Cyber Khan, in a game they will notice similarities in play style and strategy for the two figures.

The units are a totally different story, though. Basically in designing these guys we asked ourselves, “Why just build a robotic Carnidon when you can build a robotic Carnidon with a gun on it?” So although the units resemble their counterparts from the first block of releases to a small degree, some (like the Carnitron) now have blast stats. Some now fill an attack role instead of the support role their earlier versions filled. For instance, Robo Squix are awesome jet fighters armed with Anti-Air and Explosion instead of being harassment units like the original Squix. Other units are a little weaker than their original versions but are also a little cheaper. Whereas Task Master costs 2 , Mecha Task Master costs 1. The mecha isn’t as brawl savvy, but it still helps move teammates around the map. The bottom line: you may think you know these guys . . . but you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

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New Promo Units and Organized Play Events!

With the launch of Monsterpocalypse Now, Privateer Press is bringing you all-new promo figures! While the “shadow” figures of yesterday served us well, this year we are changing things up a bit and introducing “glass” figures.

Glass figures feature beefed up stat lines, different abilities from their grunt versions, and the Fragile skill… which is actually not so much an ability as it is a drawback:

• FRAGILE—If this unit is crushed or destroyed, remove it from play instead of putting it in your unit reserves.

Fragile allows glass figures to operate more efficiently than their normal versions without having a higher cost, as usually the glass versions have an extra skill or ability or a small stat increase. While these little guys have a slightly larger impact on your game than their normal counterparts while in play, the drawback of not being able to respawn them means you will need to be careful with them. Having figures removed from play can really decrease your options!

Glass units can be a powerful weapon, but you can’t just flood the map with them early on and expect the game to be handed to you. During one of our numerous playtest sessions, for instance, I fielded a force that included ten of them. By the end of the game, I was down to just my five normal elite dudes that I was able to respawn, and this put me in a pickle. In another game, I played with fewer glass figures and spawned them at key points in the game, when I needed a little extra punch added to a combined attack. That made all of the difference in the world.

Now, you may be asking, “How can I get some glass figures?” Between the launch of Monsterpocalypse Now and the following expansion, there will be six Organized Play events where you can acquire these new figures.

This season of Organized Play has a few new twists to keep things interesting. It all starts with the Monsterpocalypse Now launch event following the release of Series 4. In the second and sixth events we will be holding Sealed Booster events, where players bring a monster and city from home and then have to play with two sealed boosters of units. The third event is a multi-monster event such as seen in the back of your Monsterpocalypse rulebook. The fourth and fifth events will be something new for Monsterpocalypse, where players will be required to bring two lists worth of forces and cities. Specific info will come soon, but I will tell you that we’ll be asking you to make those lists challenge the play environment and bring a whole new experience to our Organized Play events!

Additionally, we have plans for two other events, along with a launch event for the Voltron battle miniatures game that’s joining the Monsterpocalypse line next year. In the coming weeks and months, we will bring you the information you need to know regarding these additional events. If you want to play in more Monsterpocalypse events or get some started at your store, ask your local Monsterpocalypse retailer to contact Privateer Press to get themselves set up!

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Empire of the Apes

Following World War II, highly intelligent apes from the unexplored depths of the Congo emerged onto the former battlefields of the African campaigns and began scavenging abandoned technology for their own uses. On top of their technological gains, they also began to grow larger, some more than others. Science has yet to explain their rapid mental and physical development, but the fact is that they are here and they are obviously looking to knock mankind out of his position at the top of earth’s hierarchy. From a distance it may look like these are your run-of-the-mill giant apes playing soldier, but battlefield commanders of the G.U.A.R.D. will tell that there is a learned mastery of wartime tactics that must be respected or else.

King Kondo is the leader of the Empire of the Apes. In Monsterpocalypse Now, he is escorted by Gakura, the elder, former leader of the empire who wields a freakin’ train like a giant club. Both these gigantic apes grant their followers Berserk, as watching their leaders in action really fires up the troops and preps them for some fist pounding. Because the Apes are the same agenda as Terrasaurs, dinos like Ratix and Carnidons will be able to benefit from those blue Berserks to really lay down some pain—they’ll be as happy fighting alongside their new Ape masters as they were rampaging alongside Terra Khan.

Gakura in his alpha form is all about destruction. He features Demolish (a trigger that acts like Ram) and Blitz. This means that if the map positioning falls right he can brawl a building and collect its energy in power dice, do a point of damage to a monster on the other side of the building, then move with Blitz and attack another building, collecting its power dice and damaging the same monster again. It would be an understatement to say that watching this in action is a lot of fun—it’s awesome! In his ultra form Gakura becomes a suppression machine, hitting other monsters with Energy Drain and Power Drain and then doing it again with Lightning Attack. Getting smacked with those trains really hurts.

King Kondo, on the other hand, has mastered the art of the swat. For this to happen, we had to develop a couple of new abilities. The first is Super Swat, which allows you 2 extra spaces of range with a swat attack. The next is Adaptable, which allows ram and swat attacks to do super damage against monsters. Further, the King features a trigger called Riot that allows you to perform a rampage, ram, or stomp after you successfully attack with him. In his ultra form, it is possible for King Kondo to swat a unit into a monster for super damage, then use his Riot trigger to perform a ram that does another 2 points of super damage. So when playing against King Kondo, place your monster carefully.

King Kondo has only Defense 5 in both forms, meaning he is susceptible to attacks by units, especially those from the air. When he is damaged and forced into ultra form he loses Jump and gains Climb, because at that point he usually likes to find a nice lady and sit on top of a tall building until the sun rises while swatting away those pesky airplanes.

Because they share an agenda, the Empire of the Apes plays rather well with the Green Fury and their Terrasaur buddies. Terrasaur players using Spikasaurs and Bellowers will want to get their hands on the Stealth Ape. This little guy comes equipped with Spotter, meaning that those combined blast attacks just got a little better with its ability to reduce the target’s defense. While the Command ability (which moves a Faction unit up to its speed, regardless of whether it has advanced) on the Command Ape is printed in red, meaning the Ape can grant it to adjacent Terrasaurs, which can then issue orders to move other Terrasaurs around the map. Command Apes also come equipped with the Countermeasures skill, which prevents the use of enemy actions while within 2 spaces of the Command Ape. This skill really makes those Lords of Cthul players pay attention to your units and their positioning. Other new units include the Howitzer Ape, which is a nasty piece of blast attack support, and the Airborne Ape, which flies into battle with a Jet Pack on his back and a Bomb in his feet.

Don’t get too set on looking just at the Apes by themselves. You need to keep the Terrasaur figures in mind too. Armodax and Rakadon, with their multiple granted abilities, are worth taking a second look at, since you now have six more units that can combine with them. Units with Flank, like the Raptix, will be able to assist the Apes with their brawl attacks as well. Every faction in the first block will find something to benefit from in their agenda brethren in the second block. There are awesome complementary combinations out there—including some that cross agenda, not just factions!

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Welcome to Year 2 of the Monsterpocalypse!

October 2009 sees the beginning of the second year of publication for Monsterpocalypse, and in that year a whole new wave of monsters will take to the city streets for some Monsterpocalicious destruction. For the second block of series we developed six new factions, which I will be spotlighting over the next few weeks.

In the coming series we have giant apes, monstrous fish-men, malicious mole people, element-infused samurai warriors, big honkin’ bugs, and even some mechanical titans of some of your favorite monsters from previous series. All these monsters come from the same agenda wheel that was introduced in Series 1: Rise—we have been planning these guys for a while now. Thus each faction from the first three series will be able to make nice and play with some new friends from the new block. This mean your G-Tanks and Rocket Choppers will be able to move into battle alongside the monsters and units of the Elemental Champions without penalty and will be able to benefit from the granted abilities while also sharing agenda-specific effects like Flank or Spotter. Further, Sky Sentinel will have a host of new units that he can grant abilities to! (More on that in a later post.) Sure, these new factions can certainly stand on their own, but I’m guessing the new figures will make you want to go back and take a new look at the older figures.

Oh, and we can’t forget about the buildings! We also have nine new ones in the set. Some of them fill roles that previous buildings filled, so new players will have access to those abilities and effects, while others act in a completely new way. For Series 4, we introduce green abilities that only appear on buildings. In a nutshell, if a building has a green ability and you secure it, all your monsters and units are considered to have that ability. For example, if the ability Radar appears in green on a building you secure, all your monsters and units get Radar. This means that with Series 4 and future sets we will be able to do a lot more with buildings without having to add abilities like Radar Network just so we can grant Radar to other figures.

For collectability, Series 4: Monsterpocalypse Now is structured a lot like Series 1: Rise. It has the same number of units, monsters, and buildings, broken into the same rarity distribution as in Series 1. If you are a veteran player, you should know exactly what to expect from your boosters. If you are not a veteran, let me clue you in.

There are three rarities of Monsterpocalypse figures, each listed with one or more stars (H). The more stars something has, the rarer it is. For instance, in a unit booster you will find: 1 of 9 buildings labeled HH, 2 of 14 units labeled H, 1 of 10 units labeled HH, and 1 of 12 units labeled HHH. In a monster booster you will find 1 of 12 monsters and its corresponding ultra form labeled HHH. Promo figures can be rarer than regular figures, of course; depending on how many are produced, they are labeled HHH, HHHH, or HHHHH.

The Series 4 starter sets are also very similar to those for Series 1 as well—so similar, in fact, that if you already have a Series 1 starter you should probably forgo the purchase of a Series 4 starter and concentrate on monster boosters and unit boosters instead. Monsterpocalypse Now starters contains the same map, the same dice, and the same health tracker as Rise starters. The only difference is in the rulebook and the reference sheet. Because we thought it would be rude to ask you to buy a new starter just to get a new rulebook and reference sheet, we will be making those available for download via our web site upon the release of Series 4: Monsterpocalypse Now. You can obtain all the other new items in the starter, namely the figures, in the monster and unit boosters.

If you are new to Monsterpocalypse, you will want to start off with a Series 4 starter set. This has all the rules, along with all the tools you will need to play, like dice and health trackers. The new rulebook features the new figures in the examples and the learn-to-play game intro, so everything should be really easy for a beginner to follow. The starter set is still the best purchase choice for a newcomer, and with Christmas right around the block it also makes a great gift.

This all kicks off in mid-October with a launch event to celebrate the arrival of these six new factions to the battlefields of Monsterpocalypse. Participating retailers that pre-order launch kits will receive two Quantum King Kondos that they can use as prizes for the launch event, so make sure you get your own preorders in to your retailers soon so you’ve got a chance to win a Quantum King Kondo. Further, in this new year of Monsterpocalypse Organized Play we are introducing the all-new glass units. We will bring you more information on quantum figures, glass units, and new OP events in a couple of days

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