Taeblewalker Hosts Two Six Player Games
We just played two wild and exciting games with our new player, who will probably become our sixth regular group member. He hadn't Scaped for many years, but still had his old collection, and has now purchased all the AOA stuff that is out. He took lots of photos, which should appear here soon. I've also asked those who haven't posted their armies up to put them here as well.
Game One: Team Game
Since this was a rare session where we had six live players, it took a while to get everyone seated, settled, and to choose our teams. Both players on each team shared one of the three double sized Start Zones on this substitute map by Sherman, which we'd switched to in order to accomodate all six, as GM TW had previously selected one with only five start zones (it looks like a fun map, and we'll probably use it in the future).
The teams became Chas (me) and the new guest and new site member (and now new group member by unanimous agreement) Emperor with Thrasher Darkrai and Taeblewalker on our left, and Sherman Davies and Kolakoski on our right. There were a lot of new AOA figures showing up for the first time. Being on our left, I was particularly concerned about and wanting to fight Thrasher's Queen Maladrix and her bugs. So both of our team sidled over to our left to engage them, while leaving our right flank luckily unengaged at first. We were planning a "Longstreet" (Confederate historical general) defense--a normal tactic for me where I first set up a defense, receive the enemy's attack, and then counterattack.
Indeed, she and her bugs came right at us, and soon my entire army was engaged with them. Eventually I moved Scavorith (using a proxy figure; he's not released yet) against the Queen, buffing him twice with my wounded Viscerot's vile injection tokens during the succession of two turns taken back to back. Since his power's extra turn had been ruled eligible for a second vile injection on the site (probably in his Book)--the second turn occurred concurrently but was considered a separate turn, so I was able to make two attacks with seven dice against her! The first one wounded her badly, the second just added one more wound. I didn't mind too much then whe Viscerot went down, since the Queen was soon to follow, and then we finished off her Honor Guard as well. However, two of us had been infected by them, sadly including my Scavorith.
By now Emperor, (who is a big Captain America fan, and was even wearing a Cap tee shirt on his first visit to The Game Palace), who GM TW had cleared to use that figure in his army, moved up to the huge center hill. He himself suggested pulling back after our epic tussle with the enemy which had finally eliminated them. But his blood was up! Since Scavorith was now "living on borrowed time"as the old DC comic heroes The Challengers of the Unknown used to say, (and I hate those parasitical bugs) I charged Scavorith up the hill and into battle to support Cap. Scavorith lasted several turns before the bug on his back (actually on his card) took him down, and I was able to take out a squaddie or two up on the hill. Cap, who although very powerful, was now engaged by multiple squaddie opponents. Mindful of Cap's conterstrike power, the enemy squaddies didn't actually attack him for a few turns, merely held him in place. But as he lay about him taking out many of them over several turns, they finally ganged up on him once again and took him down. It had been an epic battle on the center hill in its tangle of jungle bushes on the top, which had also been the scene of much mayhem the last time we used this big map by SD.
SD himself had sacrificed most of his army for his team earlier, and now his partner K. had the most points left on the board. So their team was declared the winner, rather than playing out the last few turns with decimated forces on the part of the rest of us. My peak exciting moment had been taking out Queen Maladrix, and I'd been glad to be able to do it using two vile injections on Scavorith (my first time playing him) just before Viscerot was taken out.
We'd all enjoyed this game, especially Emperor, who hadn't Scaped since he was a kid. He'd dropped by the uptown game store which had been holding Store Events by a pal of ours who sometimes plays here too, and discovered by their advertising that Heroscape was back. So he got excited and now owns all the released AOA stuff. I think Thrasher Darkrai has all of it too; I own some of it, with SD having some also from the two initial boxes (K. and TW have none, but are free to borrow ours).
It was great to finally have a full table of six players, the maximum we can fit here comfortably (barely). We battled our brains out! Emperor now had to leave, and we went downstairs to the local deli for some food and drink as a break between games.
Game Two: Free For All
I had a bit of fun early with Motley Max advancing to chain grab some of my neighbor Sherman Davies' figures in our anticipated five player game!
But then we reset the game and made new equidistant Start Zones, rejiggering them a second time when our sixth player, who had left after Game One, suddenly and unexpectedly returned after we'd only played a couple of turns. This time my Agent army held back a bit, but took some high ground on a small hill in front of me, since I was the only one in an entirely flat start zone except for Kolakoski. The other guys moved out and attacked each other more quickly, and we mostly did some diplomacy to get an ally; I had one with Thrasher Darkrai on my left. SD remained on my right. But where we'd started to fight early in the first aborted game, this time around SD and K. went at each other early, and so I got a reprieve on my right flank, and just set up a balanced defense on both sides behind the two nearby ruins.
Thrasher was playing the brand new Major Q11, which is some beautiful mini (I'll be getting one soon myself), but luckily for me he was busy engaged with Emperor on his other side for the whole game.
Later on I started taking shots at some of SD's figures, some of many who had moved up to the big central hill. With them having both height and jungle, I only made one shot of three, but honor was satisfied. It was then pointed out eventually by another that I had one of the largest armies on the board. I hadn't been turtling on purpose, but just hadn't been attacked or wanted to advance further.
By the I was finally attacked, as SD's (custom) Aragorn clove through my ranks near and then in my Start Zone, hurting my army badly, although I fought back. Finally we made a treaty and I moved Motley Max and others into SDs area, where he was fighting K.'s martial artists (who ironically SD hand lent him the figures for--being a former member of the Inner Circle of C3V, he owns most of the VC Custom recommended figures, and has been great in distributing some of them to the rest of us).
Finally, our time was running out, as TW had to leave soon for his long return drive back upstate. Two of us were now eliminated from the game. We hadn't determined how points would be scored. I would win if we did full card scoring; Thrasher would win if we did the partial card scoring favored by the new AOA rules. So it was declared a tie between the two of us, since that scoring decision had not been made before the game started.
Like our last recent games on this map, these were wide ranging plays, with dozens of figures on the battlefield. One person could not take in all of its different actions on so many sectors. So others are welcome to add their own perspectives on these games.
Its always great to meet new players, which usually happens here through the site, or from a local Store Event or etc. People still move to NYC and become locals, or find out about our group one way or another! Although I'm not on social media, others of our group are, and can meet people that way too.