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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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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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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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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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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I always enjoy seeing new Monsterpocalypse formats and scenarios that players devise. This year’s MonCon in Tulsa, Oklahoma featured both the Tennessee format as well as the unpredictable Fresh Ground Monster format. At PAX a few weeks ago, a group of us threw down with a fast-paced scenario that squishes eight monsters onto a standard map at once.

The following format, Monsterball, was created by Terrence Miltner (ChiVenger), a Press Ganger in the Chicago area, and the Chicago Monsterpocalypse crew tested and tweaked the scenario over the following few months. This format was inspired by the Grind board game (http://privateerpress.com/grind) by Privateer Press.

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Monsterball

Summary: Monsterball captures some of the action of the Tag Team format mixed with a wacky city-smashing sport in the spirit of super-sized Rugby.

Setup: Monsterball takes place on the Grapple in the Garden map. Follow the standard rules for building placement and first turn. After buildings are placed, place the Barreller (or another available morpher) on the center power zone.

Special Rules: Each player’s force includes two monsters from the same agenda, 0 units, and 2-12 buildings. One monster always uses the action dice from the unit pool, one monster always uses the action dice from the Monster Pool. Power dice may be shared freely between a player’s monsters, but a player may never have more than 10 power dice at a time as usual.

Monsters may attack each other normally and the target monster is moved, but monsters do not take damage in Monsterball.

The Barreller does not suffer damage in Monsterball. When a monster smashes the Barreller, he may choose to smash the Barreller in a straight line diagonally away from his monster instead of straight back from that monster. (Count the first diagonal space once and additional spaces twice as usual.)

Victory Conditions: A player wins the game by moving, body slamming, throwing, or smashing the Barreller into one of the opposing player’s monster starting zones.

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I hope to see some of you at PAX this weekend for our Monsterpocalypse events. For those who do not follow the Privateer Press web site event announcements, I’ve provided the details here, below.

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Monsterpocalypse PAX Premier Event

EVENT TIME: Saturday with 10:00 AM registration (and a start time approximately 10:30 AM).

LISTS: Single-monster constructed event, players can bring up to 2 lists, lists do not need to be from the same agenda.

MAP: Each player provides one double-sided map. When a player chooses the map, they can choose either side from either player’s map.

TIME LIMITS: Rounds will be 60 minutes plus a hidden round modifier. Turns will be 5 minutes each.

VICTORY: Players will only score a win for defeating their opponent’s monster (both forms). Form kills and damage dealt will be tracked for tiebreaker purposes.

PRIZES: Full Metal Cyber Khan for the winner of the event and mega forms for the other players in the finals.

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Monsterpocalypse Iron Arena Format

EVENT TIME: Friday from 11:00 AM until 11:00 PM, Saturday from 9:00 AM until 6:00 PM, and Sunday from 9:00 AM until 6:00 PM.

FORMAT: Open play to earn “skulls,” tickets that can be exchanged for Monsterpocalypse and general Privateer Press prizes.

SCENARIOS: Players can play standard single-monster games but can also play formats out of the scenario packet to earn bonus skulls.

PRIZES: Prizes include Monsterpocalypse promotional figures as well as Privateer Press dice, bandanas, water bottles, artwork, and more.

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Now that the Voltron battle miniatures game is officially released, we’re hearing a lot of great things. Rather than spout more of my own opinions, here’s what the people have to say . . .

We’ll start off with a quote from Chris Miller, an avid gamer and blogger, who says, “Each piece is characterful and has an impact. I love how even the lowliest of units plays a critical role by securing a fueling station or other map feature. Meanwhile I’m constantly juggling the location of my Morphers in my head, trying to decide which abilities I want on which part of the map. The depth level of the game is deceptive.”

Josh Gremillion, winner of GenCon Masters 2009, says, “I really like the slight differences between the Good Guys and the Bad Guys in the set too. Giving all the Skull ships and Lotron morphers Hit and Run promotes a selfish, all-for-me kind of ‘glory hog’ or ’save myself’ approach to play, while Synchronized Move on the Garrison Cruisers and Lions promotes selfless acts of heroics and teamwork.”

After a day of running Voltron demos for his locals in Hawaii, “Falsekrak” said, “One of the best comments was they liked the fact that all that fun was packed in a nice compact box. Easy to take along. Easy to set up. Easy to teach. All in all a great way to introduce new people to the game we love. There is just enough in the box to get a great gameplay experience, and just enough to get new players a taste of what Monsterpocalypse has to offer.”

“Babalbin” from California focuses on the element of expanding into Monsterpocalpyse games when he calls Voltron “a fun addition to Monsterpocalypse and worthwhile to add to a standard Monsterpocalypse game. There are some really neat things that can be done with both Lo-Tron and Voltron in conjunction with established Monsterpocalypse forces.”

Last but not least, Marc Gramatges had quite a bit to say about Voltron, and the following is merely a snippet of his story of his first Voltron Battle Miniatures Game experience.

“In no time at all we were throwing down. Ben had never played Monsterpocalypse so this was a good test to see how easy Voltron was to play. Both of us loved the sculpts and he was particularly fond of the skull ships. Being a Cthul player I picked up Lo-Tron, quite surprised and happy to see that they are Fiends and that Voltron are Protectors. I explained to Ben how this means we could mix them with Monsterpocalypse easily, as he would see later. We played the SuperNova map, mostly because it was the side we opened up to. What I loved about the map was that all the rules were right there. Not once did I have to break down what different items on the board were.

We started playing without even going over the rulebook, and Ben was able to pick it up from me making my turn and seeing what I was doing. On his lion’s turn I showed him the power attacks and before I knew it I was being body slammed into the supernova (not a good place to be). The game was fast and quickly we were in Ultra form, with Lo-Tron and Voltron slugging it out. Another body slam or two into the Nova later, I was defeated and Voltron saved the universe.

In summary, Voltron is a beautiful game that is easy to pick up and quick to play. One of the greatest benefits of the game is how it lets you learn the rules quickly and jump right into Monsterpocalypse with the very same models you were just using. I fully intend to use Voltron as a lead in to running Monsterpocalypse Demos because of this fact.

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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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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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