Fighting on the Streets!
By Colin Smith– February 4, 2012
As soon as I started Monsterpocalypse, I almost immediately noticed a MASSIVE parallel: Monsterpocalypse is essentially a fighting game. One that happens to have a smaller scale strategy game running around in the arena but still…
A lot like this but bigger and more monster-y.
Other than the the way P-Die are used and the Unit Turn in its entirety, MonPoc is very much a tabletop fighting game in spirit. There are sets of universal actions that every monster can do (Power attacks, movement, even brawling and blasting) and the game is asymmetrical in how the monster HANDLE said action. Some monsters go for the rushdown, others play the zoning game or something in between. Much like selecting a character in a fighting game, the moment you pick which monster you’re bringing to the table, you determine just how you’re going to be playing that game and reacting to your opponent.
Due to the asymmetrical nature of the game, certain monsters are going to end up being generally better than others, but barring one or two exceptions, nearly all of them can play and potentially win, except maybe Hammerklak. Everyone pretty much already knows all about matchups so I’ll spare you that talk.
But seriously… What the hell, Hammerklak?
Choose Your Destiny
Essentially, when you choose your monster, you lock yourself into a few different criteria. The most obvious is Agenda. Your Agenda determines exactly which units you have access to. Even the oft-maligned Destroyers have access to some really awesome tools (EXPLODOHAWKS. ALL DAY ERRDAY!). Faction is significantly more important to some monsters (Cyber Khan, Rogzor) than others (Mechathugrosh, Armodax, any monster without Blue abilities.) but Faction Units should typically be making up the bulk of your list.
The biggest thing that choosing a monster locks you into is… Wait for it…
THE MONSTER YOU’RE PLAYING. You may be saying, “Shut up.” or “Get out of my house.” right now to your computer screen but this is seriously the most monumental choice you can make in the game. Half (or more if you back to back) of your turns revolve entirely around your monster and many monsters directly effect what units can do. It should be no surprise that Monsterpocalypse is all about the monsters. Whatever kaiju you’re playing will determine exactly how you will be playing the game. Even though they are in the same Faction, playing Rogzor is so completely different than playing Gorghadra that you completely change the way you approach most situations. Then Xaxor, Zorog, and Vorgax come in and change it up even more. And that’s in the most straightforward faction in the game!
So simply by picking up a single figure, you select exactly how you’re going to be playing the game. So how do you know which monster is right for you?
The Wheel of Fate is Turning
Fighting game players tend to choose their mains based on how characters fall into various archetypes. These archetypes have been around for over 20 years now and have been honed, toyed with, and even completely subverted at times. MonPoc has not quite been around for that long but it still has its fair share of archetypes.
There are other ways we classify monsters, too. Unit Generals like Sky Sentinel or any High Impact monster typically have effective unit turns. Brawlers brawl, Blasters blast and Power Attackers typically Swat.
Just like in fighting games, monsters fall into various types. For example, I love Grapplers in fighting games like Hugo in Third Strike or Kusaregedo in SamSho. Landing a huge command throw and halving the opponent’s life is a great feeling. But I’m also partial to zoning characters like Anonym in Blitzkampf and Arthur in MvC3. Only one of these is really applicable in MonPoc since every monster can throw. Even Drillcon. How he does it with his big ol’ Drill hands is a mystery to me but I will never complain about it.
Also I’ve heard talks about certain monsters being Rocks, Papers, or Scissors. Rocks being pretty tough to kill but offensively middle of the road like Laser Knight, Scissors being heavy hitters with perhaps lower defense like Nova ESR and Papers being straight up tough to kill like Yasheth or Mechathugrosh. Even then, some monsters really blur the lines or their talents lie elsewhere… Or they’re Hammerklak.
If someone can prove me wrong, please do.
So a lot of things go into choosing your main in MonPoc.
Do you do it for the aesthetics? Does a certain monster’s playstyle speak to you? Or do you just ride the top tier train all the way to boring meta-ville?
As much as I’d love to criticize people for this… The Monsterpocalypse community is surprisingly good about this. They keep the meta healthy through variance and experimentation. There are huge movers and shakers that are coming in with strange, previously ignored monsters and they’re suddenly changing everything. It’s a beautiful thing. Plus Ultra Laser Knight is such an anti-meta beast that he is almost like a balancing mechanism in itself.
Heaven or Hell? Let’s Rock!
As usual, I’m going to be blogging about our tiny little meta.
Right now we’re at about three players. One has pretty well decided that Ultra Pteradax is his shit. We’re super budget players so getting the Mega is a little bit out of the question. Plus… Where can you even FIND one? And another is really impressed with Ultra Zorog and is going to be learning the game with him.
Me? I am a little bit all over the place… I’m still sort of finding my voice when it comes to MonPoc.
In double monster, I already know… I’m running Ultra Nova ESR and Ultra Laser Knight. They both have such invaluable skills when it comes to the format. The only issue I really have is just how great Nova’s Alpha is. It’s much preferable to leave her there instead of powering up nearly all the time.
But in Single? My options are everywhere…
Ultra Rogzor. Destiny has chosen this monster for me twice. Once in an old school starter and once more in my two-player starter. He has so many things that I love going for him. Blue Explosion, Blue Anti-Air, High Impact in both forms. Explodohawks. But something just feels off when I play him. I have no idea.
Ultra/Mega Mechathugrosh. I love mecha and I love Lovecraft. The options when I field this guy are a bit overwhelming but I feel equipped for every situation. The Ubercorp unit suite is pretty damn sweet too. I need to get ahold of more Underground Network buildings and the SSS units that allow them to rake in the Power Dice.
Ultra Cyber Khan. It speaks to me. The figure stares at me while I sleep and is just begging me to figure it out. I don’t get it. Part of me wants to. But it just seems like there’s lower risk and higher reward when I play other Monsters.
Ultra Grindix-Birvikaan. This may be the most fun monster I’ve ever played. Accumulating the P-Dice for a huge 4 damage Grind is like a mini-game in and of itself. Along with an awesome Alpha form… Who could complain? Plus Super Stomp is lovely.
Ultra Drillcon-Vorionnik. I will always love Multishot. Drillcon is all kinds of awesome. I really enjoy tunneling across the map, wrecking the opponent’s powerbase and just tearing apart their options before they can be exercised. He grants the kind of board control mole units don’t.
And then we have some unexplored options. Mecha Kondo needs to happen for me. Also Blastik-Rukivall may just be the monster for me. I get my Mole units, I get a more defensive monster with ranged capabilities and he seems criminally underrepresented. The Mega also has some huge appeal to me. Behind all my derision of Hammerklak… Part of me wants to make him work. The other part tells me it’s impossible.
It’s really going to come down to just straight up playing the game more. Thoughts?
I really want to know what most players consider their main monster. Is your main your favorite? Why?
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If you took out Hypering, it’s even more like the traditional 3 round fighters that continue the fight after one KO with the standing fighter keeping their current damage level.
Enjoyed reading this. You mentioned something feels off when you play Rogzor. Experiment with a unit army that includes no explodohawks. That might change the favor of your Rogzor games.
As much as I love using Explodohawks to RTSD, I may ease up on them next time I play Rogzor. Scorchers are so good with Explosion and Anti-Air tacked on it’s a little bit obscene. Even though Explosion and Chain Reaction don’t really interact well…
On the “no explodohawk” suggestion – I’m not suggesting to never use them. But when I teach a new player the game and I make a destroyers unit list for them, it never includes a ‘hawk. The reason being I’ve seen too many players fall into a pattern of every unit turn being dedicated to this cruise missile, with only 2 or 3 action dice to do other stuff with their units. These players never figure out how to take an effective and efficient unit turn. The ‘hawk has it’s uses, but it doesn’t teach fundamentals very well.
I enjoyed this as well. I had a game just the other day with Ultra Rogzor, against my GF’s usually very difficult to beat Ultra Osheroth. My range of threat and ability to reposition won me that fight in spades. (Mega Hammerklak did not fair as well that day… but Ultra has defeated her once.) I always feel like Ultra Rogzor is shy health because all the other Planet Eaters have more than the minimum — he feels kneecapped coming out of the gate, as a lot of the 10 health non-healers tend to feel unless they also have some kind of insane damage mechanism (no monster in that group comes to mind, actually). I think he’d be extremely deadly at the 12 health his fellow PE monsters have. As is, he’s 3-0 for me in my last three outings now. Still, felt weak each time. Maybe it’s just the Rogzor state of mind.
A Destroyer army (unless you are running Xaxor/Zorog) really should not be running more than 1 Explodohawk. I can somewhat make the case for 2 if your home map is a teleporter map and your monster is good at acquiring P-dice as it fights (aka Ultra Xixorax’s BLITZ). The math just doesn’t support what they do for you, even against less than DEF 5 targets. Arguably most Destroyers should be running 1, and I’ve seriously thought about splashing one into certain builds lately.
Ultra Hammerklak can win — SPRINT gives him some good plays because he can hit for more than he takes and sometimes get where the opponent thought he couldn’t. Running Mega, I have no idea how to begin. He’s the worst of the brawlers, which is already the weakest group offensively. Some of them make it work but he really does have NOTHING that he can use to make it function. SUPER-STOMP (when it DOES help) requires that you let them hit first, then reply. You just cannot ever get ahead that way, and then he has the bare minimum health. Losing game as designed. Stick to Ultra.
I don’t even put one Explodohawk on my Xaxor lists… really I only find them useful for destroying the Stock Exchange when I play Gorghadra.
I’ve run 3 with good success. There are things you can do with 2-3 Explodohawks under Xaxor/Zorog that don’t work well for other monsters. Honestly I cannot see giving up a weapon of that caliber with either of them. Would I do it? Yes. Would I -EVER- advise it? No.
I’ll say that using Explodohawk well isn’t easy to do. If there is a reason to avoid the unit, it’s because you are prone to misplays when you give yourself the option. There is definitely a bit of odds to memorize so that you know when it’s worth considering… and what to roll when you do use it.
Glad to see you behind the Explodohawk Train!
They may be my favorite unit in general.
Your backing makes me willing to give Hammerklak a try! Plus it may just be nice to have him for completion sake. Moles are pretty much my favorite so far. There’s a bit of a primal joy in how they operate. Even though Blastik’s sort of calling to me. I may just need to get ahold of one.
Thank you for helping me out! And please keep up the good work.
sf3 never “felt” like sf to me. Buncha random dudes fighter guest staring ken n ryu ( n chun li)
yaya its more skill based yada.
its no sf !!!
I think a little new never hurt anyone.
As a Dhalsim player in 2, it pains me that Necro is so bad but Hugo’s way too much fun to play to complain. Third Strike and Super Turbo are both great games and deserve lots of love.
we fear change.
Go Ultra Drillcon Squad!
WHEEEEEEEEER! PEW PEW!
Moles for life.
This is tuna with bacon.
Are you okay? BUST WOLF!
ICE CAR ICE CAR ICE CAR
Good article.My favorite is ultra macros and ultra maxim, the reason why
is because of the power attacking thing.Maybe you should think about what type of play style you like best(unit general,brawler,blaster,power
attacker).
Almost every monster I consider a “close favorite” (and not just one I like) is good both at fighting toe-to-toe and beating the dedicated turtle game. Mega Armodax has BEATBACK(blast). Ultra Krakenoctus and Mega Crustaceor de-screen and heal well enough to ignore unit-only attack. Ultra Xixorax, Mega Gorghadra, Mega Vorgax, and Quantum Zorog (noticing a theme there…hmm) are all good at ruthless aggression and just out-gunning a hiding foe. I like some of the blasters that also play a power attack game well, like Ultra Nova. (I should like Mucustos; I really should.) I can’t stand monsters that wither if they cross to fight, like Sky Sentinel.
Good read. Like you, I think I have yet to find my monster. I try different ones from time to time, but can’t get around their play style. Some people say play a monster that looks like the coolest. I know a lot of people do this even if the monster is sub-par competitively. Hence my current Mastering MonPoc monster. You may have more fun that way. Then again, I think Israel makes a real good point too. If you know how you want to play, style wise, hunt that monster down that plays like that. That would guarantee fun times too.