Aristeia! - The Scoop - An Updated Scenario

Today we are taking a look at a new version of an infamous Aristeia scenario "Conquest"!

And where are we coming from here?

Well, let's take a look at the original:

So the key update is in "Deployment From Bench" where Aristos are now permitted to deploy in the spaces adjacent to the two Deployment Zones, as well as inside them, when returning from the Bench.

This helps Aristos with Move 5, as it allows them to go directly into Zone 5 or Zone 4 on their return and contribute to scoring even if they can't somehow get free from their Energy penalty.

We always liked Conquest, but this seems like a good change.

If you are one of those who wasn't a fan, maybe you can tell us if this makes a difference in your opinion?

And what else could be changed?

Aristeia! - Scenario Breakdown - Gates of Fire

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 Hexadome
A 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.

With scoring decided by the number of hexes on the Ziggurat which you have occupied, rather than a "winner takes all" of points for the player with the most Aristos, it can be easier for games to play close.

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.

Like Witchland the strongest PanOceanian options for this Scenario include Maximus, Mendoza, Valkyrie, Prysm (who will nearly always be in range for her Taunt), Gata (who is always an amazing Scorer, but also has the opportunity to do a lot of Dazzling with the Zones closer) and Gaia (who is fast becoming one of my favorite options for movement control, especially aggressively offensively). For a totally different approach you could also build around Hannibal and maximising damage output, on the logic that a team permanently in the Infirmary can't score.

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.

Let us know what you think about this Scenario, and our writeup. Obviously this is part of a series, so we'd love to know if this suits what you want to know about Aristiea! Scenarios in general.

Aristeia! - Scenario Breakdown - Broken Land

Enter the Broken Land

Broken land is a unique Scenario, with no direct counterpart on the "A-Side". It does draw some elements from King of the Hill and Scorched Earth, but creates a unique blend all of its own with unique opportunities and challenges.

As always this, and all the Aristeia! Scenarios for the current season of the AGL, are available from the Downloads Section of the Aristeia Website. Once you have played a few games with the introductory set of Scenarios in the Reference Guide I highly recommend checking these out.

You are starting from the (fairly typical for Ziggurat scenarios) choice of either the "even" numbered Deployment Zones or the "odd" numbered Zones. This choice is in the hands of the Underdog and you are (again, as is typical for the Ziggurat scenarios) deploying exclusively inside your zones. This setup makes it tough for Melee Aristos to set up for first turn Frags against opponents who have not yet activated, but as always the short distance to the Ziggurat means that they will have an easy "swing" at any who have moved in to score. And, as we'll discuss below, late activation of a Melee Aristo can be decisive.

The scoring Ziggurat is moved every round, even if there is no scoring. It must go into an unoccupied Ziggurat if there is one, but if every Ziggurat has one or more Aristos present it can go down on any different Ziggurat (pushing the Aristos in it to the Centre Deployment Zone). This means that you may sometimes want to deliberately occupy non-scoring Ziggurats in order to get your strongest pick for the following round (or to set up lock down plays).

Having more Aristos on the Scoring Ziggurat reaps two VP, while drawing earns one VP each (even if you draw with 0 Aristos in the Scoring Ziggurat). But this aspect of the scoring can be overshadowed quite quickly under ideal circumstances, with both scoring Frags against opposing Aristos in the Scoring Ziggurat AND scoring Frags with your own Aristos FROM the Scoring Ziggurat earning points. Timing is key here, as you'lll want to activate your own melee strikers later in order to target Aristos already in the Scoring Ziggurat, so look to move in your ranged strikers early (to kill and then score).

This means that you are rewarded for bringing both melee strikers, especially those with mobility and positioning advantages, (Valkyrie and Mushashi remain top picks here) and ranged strikers, especially those with excellent range, (Dart and Lunah say hi) to really score well. There's possibly even an argument in favour of taking a hyper-aggressive team with a couple of ranged strikers, a melee striker and a Tank/Healer/Damage Enhancer to help keep them up. Dart, Koorie Queen, Valkyrie and Hannibal is an option for dedicated PanOceanian managers. If your opponent doesn't see what's happening (or, at least too late to stop you) you can pull off a Round 2 victory.

We've had a couple of matches of Broken Land in the Tempest Hexadome, but this example is probably the best one for how the Scenario plays out in practice:

Not every match is going to be quick however. Frag based strategies are notoriously unreliable, especially early in the match, and many a match will play out into the later rounds as our example above did.

With the relatively slower scoring per round, and the potential for a series of well timed and positioned Frags to swing the scoring, defending a lead can be tough (because it's often going to be a narrow lead). Don't overlook opportunities to put damage onto key scoring pieces for your opponent (especially if they didn't bring any healing) so you can exploit the Frag scoring in a later turn. Also be very careful with your own Aristos, try not to put a wounded Aristo into the Scoring Ziggurat early as you are begging to hand off VP.

All in all, this is a fun Scenario which I'd highly recommend. It can be slower paced, but aggressive teams can produces explosions of scoring which will be highly decisive. This makes it an exciting and engaging Aristeia! experience.

Let us know what you think about this Scenario, and our writeup. Obviously these are part of a series, so we'd love to know if this suits what you want to know about Aristiea! Scenarios in general.

Aristeia! - Scenario Breakdown - Frenzied Dance

Join the Frenzied Dance

In the second installment of our series examining the Scenarios using the "B-Side" of the Aristeia! board, with the "Ziggurats" used for Scoring instead of the standard Deployment Zones, we are looking at the Ziggurat version of Conquest, Frenzied Dance. 

As always this, and all the Aristeia! Scenarios for the current season of the AGL, are available from the Downloads Section of the Aristeia Website. Once you have played a few games with the introductory set of Scenarios in the Reference Guide I highly recommend checking these out.

This Scenario contains a known miss-print in the English version. -V- has confirmed in this thread that the first sentence in the section Conquering Ziggurats should read "A Character has conquered a Ziggurat at the end of their Activation if they are the only Character on the three Scoring Spaces of the Ziggurat". Which is a fairly substantial change.

To Conquer a Ziggurat an Aristo must be the only Aristo in that Ziggurat at the end of their Activation. If they have a Team mate in the Ziggurat then they don't Conquer it (so be careful Displacing or Placing your Team mates). If there is an opposing Aristo in the Ziggurat then they don't Conquer it, so be careful not to risk too many contested captures in a round.

As you only Conquer Ziggurats by ending your activation in them you will, by default, be defending them to some extent. Of course, the tougher the Aristo the more difficulty your opponent will have. States, Abilities and Tactics which help to keep your Aristos up and in position are all invaluable to prevent having a Ziggurat you have captured taken away.

This also means that you need to be prepared to challenge your opponent for control over at least some Ziggurats in order to win the game. Initiative to get in first will be useful, but Frags will also be important.

So our most recent game is actually a very good example of the Scenario being played correctly:

Also note that you clear the Conquered Ziggurats each Round. This means that you need to be able to either hold a Ziggurat, uncontested, over several Rounds or keep moving to take them again.

This makes the final activation in a Round valuable, if you have a highly mobile Aristo to get to any Ziggurat your opponent left unoccupied (or you have managed to make unoccupied). But it also makes activating before your opponent to get into one of the "contested" Ziggurats (assuming you both have two you can secure safely) to Conquer it before your opponent can do the same (and block them at the same time) significant. This means Initiative is valuable on both ends, and any Aristo (or Tactic) which can offer modification there will be highly effective.

On the other hand, effective Melee Strikers also offer the opportunity to simply eliminate the occupying Aristo, and Displacement effects will likewise free up the Ziggurat for you to take it yourself. Any Aristo who, either by Displacing or simply dealing enough damage to reliably send an opponent to the Infirmary, can clear their own Ziggurat is very useful.

All this taken together means that you can't rely on your Aristos being close together as most of the time they won't be able to be closer than Range 5 at best occupying multiple Ziggurats. So short range Support Aristos may suffer due to their Team being too spread out for them to be able to effectively aid them. 

Although the overall structure of the Scenario makes it very difficult for most Tanks to do their job well, there can be good reasons to still consider these Aristos. Simply being able to reliably hold a Ziggurat in the face of overwhelming firepower is a very valuable capability to bring into Frenzied Dance. Plus their secondary abilities can also be (situationally) useful. It's hard to KEEP Max out of a Zone with Displacement, for example (unless you aren't attacking anywhere else).

Ranged Strikers can also be very useful as they can take a Ziggurat away from the opposition while still reaching out to "touch" the other Team. If they can reliably eliminate an opposing Aristo then they will be able to clear the way for your Scorers to pick up an empty Zone as well. Many of these Aristos also offer useful backup Scorer potential, or useful defensive utility. Obviously the counter plays for this are Dazzle (on your opponents Ranged Strikers and Controllers), Hidden and Smoke, all of which allow control over incoming attack options.

With the potential to score up to 4 points in a single Round (especially with a well mixed team with offensive potential, scoring capability and staying power) some bold and aggressive strategies can be rewarding for the Manager who is willing to risk them. However even a moderately strong open, securing two "safe" Ziggurats and finishing with two "contested" Ziggurats Conquered can ultimately net the same outcome.

The fact that it's so difficult to wipe out an opponents scoring entirely will keep Teams in the contest far longer than you might expect. So if you do take losses make sure you get the points you can to stay in the chase.

It is worth remembering that the distance from the Deployment Zones to the nearest Ziggurat is only two spaces, so even a slow poke like Maximus can get into the Ziggurat and punch someone in the face with his shield in a single Activation. But it's ALSO only 8 hexes to go from one Ziggurat to the opposite Ziggurat, so most Aristos can fling themselves across the Hexadome with a double Move action to Conquer a Ziggurats on the opposite side. This means that a lot more Aristos than you might initially expect can potentially get to any Ziggurat which you leave unoccupied.

One hilarious aspect of the Deployment offers the opportunity for a lot of fun with the right Aristos. This is the fact that either Team can Deploy within any of the Deployment Zones, even adjacent to other Aristos. This can open up opportunities for a dedicated Melee Striker (like Shona, for example) to eliminate an opposing Aristo before Conquering a Ziggurat your opponent intended to secure, or a powerful Controller (like Gaia) to lock down opponents (as you see her execute in the match above) before they get to play. 

Particular standout PanOceanian Aristos for this Scenario include Valkyrie (for her ability to eliminate an Aristo and take a contested Ziggurat, Immobilisation Action, and defense against Displacement), Dart (for her strong ranged damage output, along with Hidden for defense against ranged attacks and ranged control) and Gata, who can hit any Ziggurat on the table with ease.

From the Rivals there are some particularly potent threats and also some fantastic Combos. Obviously hEXx3r can be strong here, clearing out Aristos from Ziggurats she wants to Conquer while moving herself (or her Team Mates) in. Bixie is astonishingly effective thanks to the positioning of the Blocked spaces opening out her mobility. Mushashi also brings the mobility and damage output to be a real threat in this scenario.

A couple of other tips relate to Deployment. Don't overlook the fact that you can use the Central Deployment Zone. It's so seldom an option that it's easy to forget. And don't forget to drop your Aristos into the Deployment Zone which allows them the best opportunity to get extra points. This is not a time for sticking to "your" Deployment Zones for a whole match.

Overall, this Scenario comes down to movement, positioning and the ability to keep your Aristos up. But due to the closeness of the Ziggurats even a little movement can make a huge difference. 

Let us know what you think about this Scenario, and our writeup. Obviously these are the first parts of a series, so we'd love to know if this suits what you want to know about Aristiea! Scenarios in general.

Aristeia! - Scenario Breakdown - Witchland

Into The Witchland

For Managers who are relatively new to the action in the Hexadome, one of the best steps to expanding your Aristeia! experience can be looking at the wider range of Scenarios available from the Downloads Section of the Aristeia Website.

Along with the selection of more advanced Scenarios for the standard board layout, there are a series of Scenarios which use the "B-Side" of the Aristeia! board and introduce the concept of "Ziggurats".

These holographic columns designate new Zones on the table, which are used for Scoring instead of the standard Deployment Zones. 

For those of you new to the concept, the Ziggurats use the three legged symbols printed on the B-Side of the board. They mark the three hexes in contact with the Ziggurat, but we've found that adding a template to the board is very useful.

It's their location in the Hexadome which really kicks these Scenarios up a notch. The distance from the Deployment Zones to the nearest Ziggurat is only two spaces, so even a slow poke like Maximus can get into the Ziggurat and punch someone in the face with his shield in a single Activation. But it's ALSO only 8 hexes to go from one Ziggurat to the opposite Ziggurat, so most Aristos can fling themselves across the Hexadome with a double Move action and arrive to score no matter where the Zone is moved.

This means that pinning Aristos with solid Brawn, and totally repositioning them is usually stronger than smaller displacements (although the latter is still very useful in terms of controlling who is in the Scoring Ziggurat THIS turn). You are also going to want to look for solid Initiative, as getting into the Zone first, and into a strong blocking position, is a strong and easy play for most Aristos. Straight blocking your opponents from the Zone is very possible.

For more on the new Scenarios in general check out the official Corvus Belli write up here:

https://aristeiathegame.com/blog/item/634-new-scenarios-for-the-hexadome-b-side

When considering Witch Land specifically as a Scenario it's good to nod to the "standard" Scenario which it draws from, Assault. Starting closer to the Scoring Zone, and with the Ziggurats being closer together than the Deployment Zones, means that there is less of an emphasis on extreme movement in Witch Land, however.

This opens up a wider range of Aristos, particularly slower Melee Aristos like Shona Carano and 8-Ball, and makes them stronger in terms of Team selection. It's even possible for the likes of Maximus to get into a Scoring Zone from one of the two nearest Deployment Zones with just the one Move Action, and he doesn't need a lot of help to cross from one to the opposite if that's where it goes in the following Activation (often pulling that off thanks to his Automatic Displace).

With the Deployment Zones split 1, 3, and 5 or 2, 4 and 6 both Teams have a good chance of getting even their slower Aristos into the first Scoring Ziggurat, as both are able to deploy into one of the two closest Deployment Zones. As these same Deployment Zones continue to be used for deploying from the Bench this situation is maintained throughout the Match. This also means that there is no real opportunity for aggressive Melee Striker spawning, and the central Deployment Zone is largely a safe space for more vulnerable Aristos to stalk.

As with Assault, the Scoring Ziggurat does not shift if nobody scored any Victory Points in the round. This can make for interesting last turn plays, 'though the actual scoring can make this challenging.

Unlike Assault there is no reward for holding the Scoring Ziggurat unopposed, and getting only one Aristo to the Ziggurat will net you only one point. You need to get an Aristo into all three of the hexes in order to score the max. This tends to slow down scoring, and regularly results in 2-1 scoring splits which helps to keep matches closer and results in few early finishes.

While this might seem to encourage Frags (and eliminating an opposing Aristo certainly helps to prevent them scoring in that Round) be somewhat careful that you aren't gifting your opponent a positioning advantage. The short range from the Deployment Zone and the Ziggurats means that every Aristo can move to score even with a -2 Energy State. At the same time, your opponent needs 3 Aristos on the board to get 3 VP, so if you can consistently put at least 2 into the Infirmary then they will struggle to pull back an early lead.

Obviously, Displacement and Immobilisation are still going to be powerful key elements in engaging in this scenario. Don't rely too heavily on movement penalties, as many Aristos will still be able to cross the shorter distances required for the Ziggurats. Just like the Scoring Zones the Ziggurats tend to be relatively exposed so having a strong Ranged Striker to sweep can be a powerful choice.

With the requirement to stack three Aristos into the Ziggurat in order to obtain maximum points there is a premium on Aristos who can offer strong close range support. Aristos who have the Defense and Hit Points to be able to take a beating and keep running will also be useful, as are any abilities which prevent Displacement (Automatic Abilities like Valkyrie, Hidden like Dart and Tactics like Gata).

The Deepwater Dragons Pre-Season Team of Dart, Maximus, Mendoza and Valkyrie was very strong in this Scenario. They were regularly able to get full 3-point opening Turns and then maintain scoring pressure with Valkyrie and Dart cutting in, and/or eliminating 2 opposing Aristos. Mendoza was a sleeper Strike option and also helped keep the whole team up for the duration. Maximus is amazing drawing Hit Point damage off the other Aristos, and Dart is fantastic for picking off the opposition and chip scoring.

Other fantastic PanOceanian options for this Scenario include Prysm (who will nearly always be in range for her Taunt), Gata (who is always an amazing Scorer, but also has the opportunity to do a lot of Dazzling with the Zones closer) and Gaia (who is fast becoming one of my favorite options for movement control, especially aggressively offensively). For a totally different approach you could also build around Hannibal and maximising damage output, on the logic that a team permanently in the Infirmary can't score.

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 and Mushashi are going to be strong choices for their abilities.

For an example of Witchland being played, you should check out my recent match with the Deepwater Dragons vs the Cherry Bombs. This match highlighted how effective Frags can be to disrupt your opponents scoring, and showcases Valkyrie as a potent force in the Scenario:

So, that's Witchland. We've really been enjoying the Ziggurat Scenarios, and we highly recommend that anyone should give them a go. They aren't really 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.

Let us know what you think about this Scenario, and our writeup. Obviously this is the first of a series, so we'd love to know if this suits what you want to know about Aristiea! Scenarios in general.