Friday, October 22, 2004

Tile Selections: Form and Function

Greetings to all. As some of you may know, Danno Ferrin has started a three part series of articles (over at Hordelings.com) that will discuss tile placement strategy and interactions in the Assault/Plunder formats. In an effort to compliment those articles and cover all the bases in regards to tiles, I will take a detailed look at all tiles currently legal in tourney play and judge the merits of each one. I will rank each tile's power on a 1-5 scale.


Assembly Tiles

Statue Assembly Tile (Rank: 3)

This tile offers a lot of protection with only 3 squares not being covered by a wall. This isn't a tremendous effect in 2 player (due to each player starting in opposite corners) but with 3 or more players, the extra walls can be a real life saver. If you have a large warband you probably shouldn't go with this one as your opponent can hinder your progress across the board by cluttering your only exit.


Rubble Assembly Tile (Rank: 4)

This is a good tile to use when you have a larger warband and/or you want to ensure your opponent cant slow your progress as effectively (all other assembly tiles only offer one exit). It also has a decent wall to help block LoS if you aren't focused on ranged attacks. If you are focused on ranged attacks, this is a good tile to use as you can set up on the outer fringe giving your figures a wide view of the board. This is a very versatile assembly tile.


Assembly Tile 4 (Rank: 3)

This is actually a better Statue Assembly Tile for two player games in my opinion. It doesn't sport as many walls but allows you to fit more figures in the exit as a trade off. One of the missing walls is from the side of the tile that will always be on the map edge anyway so that doesn't matter. In a game with three or more players, this might be worse then the Statue Assembly Tile though as you may have an opponent directly across from you giving him full view of your band.


Assembly Tile 3 (Rank: 1)

I think this would have been A LOT better as a terrain tile. I cant think of any situation where I would want my only exit to have difficult terrain 2-3 squares deep. As an assembly tile, there is no opportunity to use the difficult terrain in an offensive or defensive manner. The only time I could see this having any effect other then slowing yourself down is if somehow the fight came back to your assembly tile which does happen from time to time.


Terrain Tiles



Treasure Room (Rank: 5)

This has my vote as the best terrain tile currently available. The walls on this tile allow you to use it defensively and offensively which is a huge bonus. I usually drop this tile in the center of the board as my first placement. This blocks line of sight and also forces my opponent to move to one side or the other allowing me to control the flow of battle. This tile can also offer great options for units that can start away from the assembly tile. Place it on your opponents half of the board right along the center line and right against the edge of the map (putting the three square opening against the map edge) with the two square opening facing you then drop your "scouting" figure there. It will be safe for many turns, maybe even the entire game.


Corridor (Rank: 4)

This is another strong option for blocking line of sight. I usually use this as my "second tier" of cover behind the Treasure Room. It offers three different avenues of entering and exiting. The single strip of ordinary squares on the edge gives you more options of placement as you can slide this up one square closer to other walled tiles then you would normally be able to if it were a wall. The two square "alcove" section of this tile is a nice spot to place a figure that you want to grab tile points with (place the tile right on the center line on your opponent's side with the alcove facing you). This tile also offers many options for units with hide. All in all, a very versatile option.


Statue Room (Rank: 3)

This is yet another tile that's good for blocking line of sight. I place this tile last to try and plug up any holes that may have been opened up by my opponents placements. With it's large sections of walls this can be an effective tile for forcing your opponent to detour. It is also a nice option for grabbing tile points as it offers good options for placing on the edge of the map. Unfortunately, the way its openings are placed keeps this from being a dominator like the Treasure Room.


Torture Chamber (Rank: 5)

This is the new Treasure Room. It offers nearly all of the same options of that tile. It can be placed much like the Treasure Room with its largest opening against the edge of the map (openings facing you) to allow scouting units to grab some early points while being in a position that is not readily available to your opponent.


Spike Stones Cave (Rank: 2)

One of two options for figures with Cave Setup to start on. This tile has some walls but not enough to pose serious threats to line of sight. There is not really much use for this other then sticking near your opponent's assembly tile to harass his large units if he has any.


Blood Rock Cave (Rank: 2)

Option two for figures with cave setup. This tile isn't much better then the Spike Stones Cave. I like it slightly more due to its wall design but other then that it doesn't offer too much. I wouldn't use this tile unless I was trying to make good use of cave setup.


Aftermath (Rank: 3)

I like the options the difficult terrain presents to ranged bands. Its really nice at stopping charges and has some small sections of wall to help create corridors. Due to the low number of walls, this tile can be placed next to other tiles. This is a nice alternative to the "I place my mushroom tangle in front of your assembly tile" maneuver. If you use this instead of the Mushroom Tangle you can slow your opponent while putting walls between you and him to help disrupt line of sight. The difficult terrain is even two spaces wide in a key spot to pester those large units even more.


Ancient Temple (Rank: 3)

This is a nice option for ranged bands. It can create openings to shoot across or the wall can be used to stop a restrictive placement. Two sacred circles is just gravy.


Burial Chamber (Rank: 3)

This is one of those tiles that tries to serve more then one purpose but doesn't excel at any one purpose. Its a nice place for ranged units to hide on and it offers a decent wall to block LoS. There are other tiles I want more then this but others out there might really like it.


Audience Chamber (Rank: 2)

The end of this tile with the difficult terrain offers the same blocking options as the Statue Room. This tile doesn't really do anything that another tile couldn't do better though and I don't see it getting much use.


Shrine of Slaughter (Rank: 2)

This tile serves ranged bands better then other types of bands. It offers some difficult terrain to hide behind and also some small wall segments to help disrupt your opponents placements while keeping LoS open.


Shrine of Justice (Rank: 2)

Similar to the Shrine of Slaughter but with a magic circle and no difficult terrain. The small wall segments allow you to break up opposing placements while offering an unobstructed path to your opponent.


Broken Wall (Rank: 3)

This is an interesting and unique tile. It relies on other tiles to make it great at blocking LoS though. Its a nice place for units with hide to sit tight on and it's long side can be placed right next to other tiles.


Mushroom Tangle (Rank: 4)

Mushroom Tangle is a great tile for ranged based bands as it can be placed in a manner to open up a large area to LoS. It can also be used to hinder your opponent, especially their large units. This is another tile that can be used offensively and defensively which ranks it high in my book.


Medusa's Chamber (Rank: 3)

This is another interesting tile for ranged bands as it provides difficult terrain, walls to use hide with, and the walls help to break up your opponent's placements while providing you with alleys to shoot down.


Intersection (Rank: 5)

This is the best tile for opening up alley ways, especially when huge figures are involved. Placing this thing in the center of the board the direct opposite of placing the Treasure Room there. This is my first placement when I am playing a ranged band as it opens up the center and stops my opponent from setting up solid cover. They now have to use the edges of the map to dodge your shots and you will have strategic advantage as you can rotate opposite your opponent and still get shots off at him.


Shrine (Rank: 2)

There are better tiles for blocking LoS and for providing a magic circle. But It's a good choice though if your looking to both with one tile.


Rubble Room (Rank: 2)

This can compliment the Mushroom Tangle if your really trying to hinder your opponent. It doesn't provide much for cover. I don't think I've ever used this tile after Dragoneye was released.


Abattoir (Rank: 3)

It doesn't do much for blocking LoS but can give your units a boost if they are immune to crits (constructs, oozes, undead). This tiles effectiveness is really based on what band you are playing.


Conclusion

I hope this helped some of you decipher the pros and cons of each tile. I didn't cover the Creeping Tangle tile because I haven't got to see one yet as WotC has yet to send October's tourney pack to our stores.