Going Cross-Faction

Here at Privateer Press we have noticed a tendency among our Monsterpocalypse players to build forces out of the same faction game after game and set after set. While players may find that experience more immersive, I would contend that they are missing out on a world of opportunities for some great play experiences. Experimenting with factions outside your agenda is not just something to try once—it provides opportunities to fill in weak spots in your strategy as well as giving you a few tricks your opponent might not see coming. Below are some of my favorite cross-faction options.

Not all factions have the ability to crank out tons of power dice like the Martian Menace does. More than once, when playing a monster light on power dice, I would take a Saucer along with a few Power Pods to drop on power zones around the map, to take advantage of their power die–doubling Amplify ability. The Cargo/Transport option between the Power Pods and the Saucer mitigates the cross-faction penalty and more than pays for itself when it is time to power up. Just having two extra Power Pods on the table can pay off big time, with 4 power dice. You can do a lot with 4 extra power dice! While you are running with a Saucer, you might also want to consider a Nullifier Pod; placing some Mire on the board can throw a wrench into your opponent’s unit strategy, as they have to calculate alternate routes around the little guy.

Sometimes eliminating buildings and hazards from the map can play directly into your monster’s strengths. Monsters with lower health and the ability to do super damage in both their forms can really benefit from a lack of collision-based damage on the map. For this reason, units like the Bellower, the Spitter and the new Spadefin Skimmer from Series 4 are worthy of your cross-faction consideration, since they all have the hazard-removing ability Extinguish. A well-timed use of Extinguish before your monster gets body slammed into a hazard can be just as valuable as regaining health.

Series 3’s Spikasaur and Series 4’s Razor Beetle are units worth taking no matter what faction you are playing. The ability to place a wandering hazard on the map for extra damage wherever you want it cannot be ignored. Couple this with the fact that Hazardous can add damage to a collision on top of the damage delivered from a hazard and even a building, and the damage starts to add up quickly.

As games of Monsterpocalypse wind down, sometimes finding a hazard to throw your opponent into can be tricky. Some forces using more delicate monsters prefer to run lean on the hazards. And with hazard-removing effects like stomp and Extinguish, after all the buildings are destroyed, all the hazards can be vanquished as well. This plays out well for some monsters, but not all. In Monsterpocalypse Now we are introducing the Fire Kami. This unit features the Ignite ability, which allows you to turn rubble tiles over to their hazard side. This allows you to put some extra damage on the map in the late game so you can keep the pressure on your opponent.

As players become more savvy, they are beginning to take more and more back-to-back monster activations. One of the ways to counter this is to perform more combined attacks headed up by a unit with a trigger that denies action or power dice like Energy Sap or Power Drain. Going with the Bellower, Chomper, or the new Mollok Mortar will help reduce your opponent’s dice resources.

As other players in your local environment fall into predictable patters, sometimes you need to throw out something that moves them out of those patterns. For instance, a player who has become too dependent on granting abilities from one figure to another might be a reason to include a Corrupter in your force. Having the ability Jam shadow a monster like Zorog or Sky Sentinel can really put a crimp in his unit strategies. Further, if you find that your opponents are becoming dependent on combined units attacks, by piling up +1 boost die bonuses from Banks or from abilities like High Impact, you might want to consider running a Squix in your force. Just one Squix with its Distract ability can rob every figure within 2 spaces of 1 boost die each, which usually means you are robbing your opponent of a total of 3–4 boost dice.

Then there are those units that just kick so much butt you cannot pass them up. Consider the Ctulabite, the Spikasaur, or the new Airborne Ape from Series 4. Running just one of these units to head up your combined attacks gives you access to a unit-clearing ability like Multi-Shot, Explosion, or Radial Attack.

When you sit down to build an army, a deck, or a force for a collectible game, the more options you have at your disposal, the better your army, deck, or force can perform—assuming, of course, you choose elements that perform well together and work with your play style. Don’t limit yourself by staying with just one faction; get out there and explore different play options. Surely there are even more nasty combinations you guys can come up with.

That being said, here is a little offer for you guys; let’s have a contest. Email me your most awesome cross-faction force list that you can come up with. Do a little write up as to why the list is more awesome than anything else I will be receiving, and make sure you point out those combos! If I choose your list as the most awesome cross-faction list, I will send you something special from the prize vault – I think we have some Megas back there that have not been released yet. Make sure you include your Name, Address, and Phone Number along with your write up. Email those submission to yaple@privateerpress.com before Monday November 16th, 2009 for a chance to win. I will post the winner’s name and force list on this blog that following week.

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