Errata Team, Unite! (Invaders too)
By Lester Tisdale– June 14, 2012
Thank you, Nate, for posting your proposed errata. I cannot express how excited it makes me to see that people are thinking about these things, let alone sharing them with such rapid success! Perhaps, the post-Moncon fever has everyone reeling, foaming at the mouth for their beloved kaiju game, and asking questions like “WHY, PP, WHY DOES LEVIATHRON HAVE TO SUCK SO BAD?”
I’ve long wondered what could have prompted PP to make such awful figures and useless abilities. I could understand if the game had some sort of limited format where rarities meant something, so you wouldn’t want everything to be broken, but this game is not one of those types. It is becoming a board game, where the pieces don’t change and new ones don’t come around to supplement them. And this concept does not at all bother me… if the figures were all created equal.
And that’s where we come in. I posted a while back about how Monpoc was in urgent need of errata, to “save the game.” My opinions have changed. Monpoc doesn’t truly NEED a massive errata; it could use some small things, sure, but honestly, I still love playing the game. That being said, it would be COOL to see how far this game could be taken, even within the limited number of figures and abilities already represented in the game.
What I’m proposing today is a more light-hearted and friendly version of what I considered “of utmost importance” before, that is, that we create an Errata Team, multiple people who are all willing to see this game blossom out of the seedling ideas that PP set before us, and who will work together to experiment, theorize, and most importantly, play-test their changes for a single outcome: a new Vassal mod that makes every figure worthwhile.
I cannot wait to see how you guys respond.
For the past several months, I’ve been posting my proposed errata agenda-by-agenda. To kick this thing off, I’d like to post WHAT I HAVE (which is by no means perfect) for Invaders. Everything is up for debate, as always, in fact, I welcome it! Please, please, please post a comment below on ANYTHING you see in this blog!
Thanks guys (and gals), for being such an amazing community, and keeping this game VERY MUCH ALIVE!
Lester.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
No fancy editing this time: I gots work to go to!
Invader Units
Hunter
Speed: 6
Defense: 2
Blast (long): 3A
[Quick]
Sniper (errata: addition clause: If this figure did not advance this turn, add 1 boost to its attack)
Flight
Elite Hunter
Speed: 6
Defense: 2
Blast (long): 3A * 1B
[Quick]
Sniper (errata: addition clause: If this figure did not advance this turn, add 1 boost to its attack)
Flight
Leadership
Reaper
Speed: 5
Defense: 3
Brawl: 2A * [1B] (from 0B)
Blast (short): 1A
Energy Cycle (red)
Penetrator
Climb (errata: if this unit is adjacent to a building, it may attack figures with flying)
Elite Reaper
Speed: 5
Defense: 3
Brawl: 2A * [2B] (from 1B)
Blast (short): 1A * 1B
Energy Cycle (red)
Penetrator
Climb (errata: add: if this unit is adjacent to a building or allied monster, it may attack figures with flying)
Leadership
Despoiler
Speed: [6] (from 5)
Defense: 3
Brawl: 1A * 0B
Blast (long): 2A * 0B
[Countermeasures]
Climb (errata: if this unit is adjacent to a building, it may attack figures with flying)
Sniper (errata: If this figure did not advance this turn, add 1 boost to its attack)
Elite Despoiler
Speed: [6] (from 5)
Defense: 3
Brawl: 1A * 1B
Blast (long): 2A * 1B
[Countermeasures]
Climb (errata: if this unit is adjacent to a building, it may attack figures with flying)
Sniper (Red) (errata: If this figure did not advance this turn, add 1 boost to its attack)
Leadership
Steel Shell Crab
Speed: 4
Defense: 4
Brawl: 2A * 1B
Dig In (errata: If this unit is occupying an objective space, it cannot be the target of a blast attack)
Burrow
Reach
Elite Steel Shell Crab
Speed: 4
Defense: 4
Brawl: 2A * 2B
Dig In (errata: If this unit is occupying an objective space, it cannot be the target of a blast attack)
Burrow
Reach [(Red)]
Leadership
Spiral Relay
Speed: 6
Defense: 4
Sprint (Red)
Synchronized Move (Blast) (Red)
[Power Tap]
Hover
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Invader Monsters
Pretty much all of them needed something…
Alpha Ares Mothership
Speed: 7
Defense: 5
Brawl: 6A * [2B] (from 1B)
Blast [(L)]: 6A * 2B (from short range)
Power: 5A * 1B
Health: 6
Abduct (errata: Crush adjacent enemy unit; Gain 1 p-die.)
Transport
Manufacture
Power Sink
Flight
Steady
Ultra Ares Mothership
Speed: 7
Defense: 6
Brawl: 6A * [4B] (from 3B)
Blast (L): 6A * 3B
Power: 6A * from 2B
Health: 6
Hyper Cost: [4] (from 5)
Abduct (errata: Crush adjacent enemy unit; Gain 1 p-die.)
Manufacture [(Red)]
Power Sink
Flight
Force Field (Blue) (errata: applies to monster as well)
Negation (errata: cannot be Beatback or Tossed)
Mega Ares Mothership
Speed: 8
Defense: 6
Brawl: 8A * 3B
Blast (L): 5A * 2B
Power: [7A * 2B] (from 5A * 1B)
Health: 6
Hyper Cost: 5
Abduct (errata: Crush adjacent enemy unit; Gain 1 p-die.)
Manufacture
Marker
Flight
Resilience
[Livewire (Blue)]
Alpha Deimos-9
Speed: 6
Defense: 6
Brawl: 7A * 2B
Blast (S): 4A
Power: 6A * 2B
Health: 5
[Follow Through (Brawl)]
Power Drain (Brawl)
Hit & Run (Blast) (Blue)
Power Gorge (Blast)
Penetrator
Ultra Deimos-9
Speed: 6
Defense: 6
Brawl: 8A * 3B
Blast (S): 4A
Power: 7A * [3B] (from 2B)
Health: 5
Hyper Cost: 3
Lightning Attack (Brawl)
Siphon (Brawl)
Hit & Run (Blast) (Blue)
Power Gorge (Blast)
[Adaptable]
Penetrator
Mega Deimos-9
Speed: 6
Defense: 6
Brawl: 8A * 4B
Blast (S): 4A
Power: 5A * 2B
Health: 6
Hyper Cost: 3
[Rage]
Chain Attack (Brawl)
Disrupt (Brawl)
Vampirism (Brawl)
Climb
Low Flyer (Blue)
Alpha Phobos-7
Speed: 6
Defense: 6
Brawl: 6A * 1B
Blast (L): 6A * 3B
Power: 6A * 2B
Health: 6
Marker [(Red)] (not red)
Disintegrate (Blast)
Multi-Shot (Blast)
[Logistics]
Radar (Red)
Ultra Phobos-7
Speed: 6
Defense: [7] (from 6)
Brawl: 6A * 1B
Blast (L): 9A * 4B
Power: 5A * 2B
Health: 5
Hyper Cost: 3
[Demolish (Blast)]
Disintegrate (Blast)
Fling (Blast)
Lightning Attack (Blast)
[Logistics]
Radar (Blue)
Mega Phobos-7
Speed: 6
Defense: 6
Brawl: 7A * 3B
Blast (S): 9A * 3B
Power: 5A * 1B
Health: 6
Hyper Cost: 3
Lighting Attack (Brawl)
Follow Through (Blast)
Hit & Run (Blast)
Armor Piercing (Red)
[Cloak (Red)]
Radar (Blue)
Mega Tharsis-5
Speed: 6
Defense: 7
Brawl: 6A * 2B
Blast (S): 6A * 2B
Power: 9A *[4B] (from 3B)
Health: 5
Hyper Cost: 3
[Following Fire (Power)]
Energy Sap (Blast) (Blue)
[Decoy]
Flight
Super Smash
Super Strength
Ultra Galaxius-4
Speed: 7
Defense: 7
Brawl: 8A * 4B
Blast (L): 7A * 3B
Power: 8A * 2B
Health: 5
Hyper Cost: 3
Energy Type: Radioactive
Fission
Overload (Brawl)
Radial Attack (Brawl)
Lightning Attack (Blast)
[Countermeasures (Red)]
Flight
Mega Galaxius-4
Speed: 6
Defense: 6
Brawl: 7A * 2B
Blast (S): 8A * 3B
Power: 7A * 2B
Health: 5
Hyper Cost: 5
Telekinesis (Blue)
Vampirism (Blast)
Beatback (Blast)
[Disrupt (Power)]
[Power Tap (Blue)]
Flight
Alpha Anglax
Speed: 7
Defense: 6
Brawl: 7A * 2B
Blast (S): 5A * 2B
Power: 7A * 3B
Health: 5
Command
Leach
[Feeding Frenzy (Blast)]
Jam
Super Rampage
Ultra Anglax
Speed: 6
Defense: 6
Brawl: 8A * 3B
Blast (S): 6A * 2B
Power: 8A * 4B
Health: 5
Hyper: 4
Command
Leach
High Impact (Blue)
Jam
[Massive] or [Volatile]
Weaken
Mega Anglax
Speed: [7] (from 6)
Defense: 6
Brawl: 6A * 2B
Blast [(L)]: 8A * [4B] (from Short Range, 3B)
Power: 7A * 3B
Health: 6
Hyper Cost: 4
Multi-Shot (Blast)
Siphon (Blast) [(Blue)]
Vampirism (Blast)
Distract
Jam
Weaken
Alpha Krakenoctus
Speed: 5
Defense: 6
Brawl: 7A * 2B
Blast (L): 8A * 3B
Power: 6A * 1B
Health: 6
Tow
Riled
[Fling (Blast)]
Munch (Blast)
Reach
Ultra Krakenoctus
Speed: 6
Defense: 5
Brawl: 9A * 4B
Blast (S): 6A * 3B
Power: 7A * 2B
Health: 5
Hyper: 4
Tow
Fling (Brawl)
Following Fire (Brawl)
Munch (Brawl)
[Feeding Frenzy (Blast)]
Reach
Mega Krakenoctus
Speed: 5
Defense: 5
Brawl: 7A * 2B
Blast (L): 9A * 4B
Power: 7A * 2B
Health: 6
Hyper Cost: [4] (from 5)
[Following Fire (Blast)]
Fling (Blast)
Negation (errata: Cannot be moved with Beatback or Toss)
Reach
Super Swat
Alpha Crustaceor
Speed: 5
Defense: 5
Brawl: 7A * 2B
Blast (S): 5A * 2B
Power: 5A * [2B] (from 1B)
Health: [7] (from 5)
Hoist
Crunch (Brawl)
Demolish (Brawl)
[Charge (Blue)]
Reach
Ultra Crustaceor
Speed: 6
Defense: 6
Brawl: 8A * 3B
Blast (S): 6A * 3B
Power: 6A * 2B
Health: 6
Hyper Cost: 3
Crunch (Brawl)
Power Strike (Brawl)
[Charge (Blue)]
[Force Field (Blue)]
Jump
Reach
Mega Crustaceor
Speed: 7
Defense: [7] (from 5)
Brawl: 7A * 3B
Blast (S): 7A * 2B
Power: 6A * 3B
Health: 5
Hyper Cost: [4] (from 5)
Hoist
Hit & Run (Power)
Synchronized Move (Power)
Crunch (Power)
[Charge (Blue)]
Reach
Alpha Leviathron
Speed: 7
Defense: [6] (from 5)
Brawl: 6A * 3B
Blast (S): 7A * 2B
Power: 7A * 2B
Health: 5
Energy Type: Nature
Pathfinder (Errata: Crush target enemy unit within 2, then roll the a die used for this action. If at least a strike is rolled, advance this figure up to 2 spaces, even if it advanced this turn. Then, if a superstrike was rolled, you may crush another enemy unit within 2 spaces and if this figure is a monster, roll the die again.)
Power Cycle
Power Drain (Power)
Radial Attack (Brawl)
Armored
[Jump]
Ultra Leviathron
Speed: 7
Defense: [7] (from 5)
Brawl: 6A * 2B
Blast (L): 8A * 3B
Power: 9A * 3B
Health: 5
Hyper Cost: [3] (from 4)
Energy Type: Nature
Pathfinder (Errata: Crush target enemy unit within 2, then roll the a die used for this action. If at least a strike is rolled, advance this figure up to 2 spaces, even if it advanced this turn. Then, if a superstrike was rolled, you may crush another enemy unit within 2 spaces and if this figure is a monster, roll the die again.)
Power Drain (Power)
Radial Attack (Power)
Armored
Hasten
Super Strength
Mega Leviathron
Speed: 8
Defense: [6] (from 5)
Brawl: 6A * 2B
Blast (L): 9A * 3B
Power: 8A * [4B] (from 3B)
Health: [7] (from 5)
Hyper Cost: 4
Ignite (Errata: Flip an adjacent rubble tile to its hazard side. Units on the tile suffer the effects of the hazard as if the unit had ended an advance on the hazard. If this figure is a monster in it’s hyper form, deal one damage to one monster on the hazard tile.)
Pathfinder (Errata: Crush target enemy unit within 2, then roll the a die used for this action. If at least a strike is rolled, advance this figure up to 2 spaces, even if it advanced this turn. Then, if a superstrike was rolled, you may crush another enemy unit within 2 spaces and if this figure is a monster, roll the die again.)
Radial Attack (Blast)
Shelter (Red)
Riled [(Blue)] (not originally Blue)
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thanks again for reading. Please respond below. Gotta run!
(PS. I want to thank Nate for bringing this stuff up again; it makes me so excited! Also, shout-out to Max as well. If it weren’t for him, I would not be doing this at all!)
While I love all of the changes, the one that most jumped out at me was Blue Siphon on Mega Anglax. That makes unit blasts crazy good with her. Considering a Nautilus Blaster or Vanguard will be leading any attacks against the enemy monster, it’s a 2P gain for her instead of 1, which is crazy, imo. With her having Siphon and Multishot already, and being able to sidle up to a Nautilus for Power Gorge, she could easily go nuts on power dice.
Also, giving Alpha Anglax Feeding Frenzy on Blast might be a bit much. Her blast stat isn’t amazing, but with Command, it’s incredibly easy to get a unit adjacent to the enemy monster (Spiral Relay ftw!) so I’m not entirely sure that she needed that boost. I’m not complaining though… not at all…
I could see Siphon being reduced to Red or left alone. The increased range of the attack makes it good enough.
I wanted both Hyper forms of Anglax to have a super damage attack. The way to make that possible without removing something from the Mega was to give the Alpha a new super damage ability. Although it is easy to pull off, it’s no way easier than Lightning Attack or Weapon Master, both of which are on more mobile monsters, one of which has unit-side healing and refuel. Heck, even crunch is thrown around on extremely good Alpha forms (see Mucustos).
I also wanted to make her more aggressive, while still being able to play the “lure” game. And I think Triton monsters should have Feeding Frenzy. Just makes sense!
I appreciate your concern. I had considered giving Alpha Anglax Red High Impact instead of feeding frenzy… That could work, but the alpha seems like it should be the aggressive form. Both Mega and Ultra can sit back, while the Alpha’s tools say go forward!
I actually feel like Mega plays a very aggressive game where Ultra doesn’t. Alpha Anglax does what she must, but can play either way (being an excellent power attacker, or unit general). The errata probably changes that a good bit, and I love the way Mega looks here.
Yeah, I was thinking about you when I took it into consideration. I thought making the blast long range would be nice, but that Blue Siphon was so tempting. Not to mention, the other two forms want to hurt the enemy monster with units, why shouldn’t the Mega?
I didn’t mean to say that the Mega isn’t aggressive, but that it lacks a nice 2 damage option. I know the Alpha has Command for Eel bodyslams and throws, but that’s totally screenable. More difficult to screen forever against the Mega now that blast is Long range though… Hmmmm….
Feeding Frenzy on the Alpha makes for a nice trick that’s easier than the Psi-Eel. In fact, I’d probably not even run a Psi-Eel if that option were there, because it can be a liability to spawn them for your monster and units (pseudo-Explosion if it gets next to friendly units).
In general, I like the errata a lot. I’d have to play with them though before I could really say how balanced I think they are. Invaders aren’t played a ton (only two of us at MonCon, I think), but your errata doesn’t really seem to push anything too far and it gives just enough edge where it matters to pieces I would have skipped before (Hunters might actually get played… maybe).
The Hunters are definitely better, but they’re still a bit on the meh side. They aren’t such an a-die investment anymore, but you kind of telegraph your move with them if you want the b-die, and being flying and def 2, they come out of the sky really easily.
I just had a thought: would they be put into a force if they had radar? Is it worth 4 a-dice to get a 62.5% shot on a def 3 unit (or 2 with cover) 13 spaces from a spawn zone? (Assuming the quick is still there) Wouldn’t work on the elite, unfortunately. They get the mobility, but they’re still only really good against def 2 targets, in which case it’s better to take a Naut if it can get there.
Totally on board for that Climb errata.
I know right? Why does it have to suck so bad? It’s as though they thought the few units with climb were broken or something. Neither Despoiler nor Reaper are by any means too good. Climbing up buildings just makes them doable.
What do you think about the “monsters can move through ALL (not just allied) units” errata? Suddenly, monster with Climb are GOOD at getting to the enemy, but still take damage from hazards…
I’m not sure how Climb would be any different from Jump if Climb monsters could move through opposing units. I like the idea that Climb should be worse than Jump, the way Jump is worse than Flight.
Very nice. I’d definitely pay 2 for an elite Crab to give either Tharsis or Deimos reach. I also like the inclusion of countermeasures into the agenda. That’s a nice touch. I’m a little curious as to why you didn’t do anything with the psi-eels. They always seem rather under represented.
Follow through is a great addition to alpha Deimos. That at least gives the meat shield a lot more options. Logistics on Phobos is a nice touch. While I missed the on the siphon on Mega Anglax, I did notice the range increase on the blast. Having long range multi with siphon and vampirism is really nasty. Blue livewire on Mega Ares, though, seems like a very dangerous double edged sword. It’s a very creative and interesting way to give her some conditional extra damage, but it gives her a bunch of exclusion zones on the board to watch out for, which is a little counter to her being a fast flier.
Overall very well done. Thanks for putting these up. If you get some time after you finish MM, I’d love to see you come back and include your thoughts on these.
Absolutely will. I can probably whip up something while I’m supposed to be working ;D
It’s a slow day at the Children’s Zone…
And you’re right, I left out the Psi Eel. But you know, I am now seeing that there is no room for additional abilities, so unless it’s a stat change, I don’t see what I can do. This could be useful for Anglax… Maybe…
Psi-Eel
Speed: 7 (from 6)
Defense: 3 (from 2)
Brawl: 2A * 1B
Blast (L): 1A
Unstable
Hazardous
Aquatic
Elite:
Hazardous (Red)
How bout them eelples?
I’ve always had a soft spot for the eels. They can do soft disruption pretty well. And with being a bit faster, they become even better at that. With the extra brawling abilities, they could even show up as attackers in a few forces. I like these. And red hazardous is just mean, and a little crazy. Kind of like playing russian roulette…
Who doesn’t love Russion Roulette? I think the Elite Eel is one of the least played units around. I had to do something to make it viable! I’d never run a Tanker Truck again with Q Deimos.
My favorite thing about the Invaders is how kooky they are. Red Hazardous on a unit with Unstable seems just the kind of Kooky I’m looking for.
I love it! Maybe Dig in should work like cloak since I think you should be able to shoot them if you were close enough.
Liking most of the changes I read, but I had to stop to comment when change to Mega Ares Mothership leaves me scratching my head. Blue Livewise is an interesting concept, but I don’t think that’s what’s needed for her.
She’s unable to effectively heal, so she needs something to be able to handle the healing monsters besides 1 for 1 exchanges and hoping opponent leaves an opening for a power attack. Adding blue Livewire seems like a liability if you need to use the Arisa Outposts for no-fly-zone screening.
Currently, from my little experience with playing Mega Ares Mothership, if opponent can avoid huge power attacks and do Lightning Attack or has any sort of reliable healing, Mega Ares Mothership really doesn’t have much game to bring.
Not sure what to add to keep her unique, though.
I thought the Blue Livewire would be cool, considering abduct is now an effective descreen, but I guess is too limited. Other types of healing seem too good with resilience, IMO, but if I had to add healing, I’d do something cool, like Vampirism Power, that would be awesome with a good Descreen. I fear it would be too good with Resilience though, so I’m open to other opinions.
So, can I count any of you guys in for making this errata “mod” a reality? Who wants to join the errata team!?