Through the Gates of Fire
One of the key things to note about the Gates of Fire scenario is that it is, just as Scorched Earth is a modified version of Assault, essentially the Witch Land scenario with some minor modifications.
This means that everything which applies to Witch Land applies to Gates of fire (broadly speaking) and makes the writeup on Witch Land here essential reading.
Of course it's not exactly the same scenario, or we wouldn't bother playing them, so what IS different about Gates of Fire?
1: The HexadomeA key difference is the layout of the Obstacles in the Hexadome at the start of the match. While Witch Land puts them heavily on the "center left" side of the Hexadome (towards Zones 1, 5 and 6), which produces one part of the Hexadome which has good cover against Ranged Strikers while the other is much more exposed, Gates of Fire puts all 5 around the center Deployment Zone.
This means that Aristos in and around the center of the Hexadome have good opportunities to take cover from Ranged attacks, while those around the edges of the Hexadome will be much more exposed.
In a Ziggurat scenario like Gates of Fire this means that Aristos who are on, or near, the Ziggurats have good opportunities to gain cover.
2: Scoring Ziggurats
While Witch Land allows the same kind of interaction as Assault (with the Scoring Ziggurat often bouncing back and forth between a couple of opposing well controlled choices) Gates of Fire allows each Ziggurat to be used as a Scoring Zone only once.This increases the value of Ziggurat markers (especially if you have a couple of colours available) to help keep the "Scorched" Ziggurats as clear as possible. Remember that only a Ziggurat with no Aristos in it can be selected (unless none such remain) so you can really cut down choice with good positional play.
There is also the key strategic choice of order of selection, as playing for control over key Ziggurats early in the match can leave it harder to pick up points later.
That's actually it for differences. The rest of play in Gates of Fire conforms to what you may already know from Witch Land. The set Deployment Zones mean that both sides have a good chance to context any Ziggurat, but also mean that Deployment Zone spawn-frags (with returning Aristos taking out an opponent) are unlikely. Mobility is important, but even less speedy Aristos can make it across the Hexadome from one Ziggurat to its opposite. Frags are useful, but ensure that the opposing Aristo will 100% be in position to score in the following round.
This also puts a premium on tougher Aristos who can hold their own at close range and also either shift other Aristos out or deal the damage to put them down.
As a result we have a scenario where some Aristos who might suffer in broader play come into their own. 8-Ball and Shona Carano are often pointed to as potent Aristos who just miss out because of the specifics of the Deployment Zone oriented scenarios and the ways in which their profiles make them interact with these. For the likes of Gates of Fire, however, they have enormous potential.
Looking across at the Rivals, obviously hEXx3r is going to bring a lot to this Scenario, as is Hammerhead. Both have good movement and the ability to Displace opponents to score and prevent others from doing so. Likewise 8-Ball (as mentioned above) and Mushashi are going to be strong choices for their abilities.
So, that's Gates of Fire.
We're really enjoying the Ziggurat Scenarios, and highly recommend that anyone should give them a go. They aren't any more complex than the Scoring Zone based Scenarios, so there isn't a barrier to newer Aristeia! Managers taking them on either.
One thing is for sure, they open up a much wider range of competitive Aristos, and for that alone they deserve a place in your play rotation.
