How to Win: a Battle Royale

[anonym0use]

How to win: A Battle Royale

<img src="http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=435&pictureid=4853" style="width:300px;">

In a standard two player game, there's only one guy to worry about. So what do you do when there's 2 or 3 opponents chasing you down?

Click "full story" below to learn the best way to survive.

[anonym0use]

Welcome to another 'How to Win" article. Today the focus is on winning with the Battle Royal format.

What is a Battle Royal? For the uninitiated, this event puts multiple players on one large map to battle it out, last man standing, Thunderdome style.

<img src="http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=158&pictureid=5004" class="imageleft" style="width:200px;">There are many variations on Battle Royal – some allow for players to team up in the early game, other Battle Royals forgo any alliances and pit all players against each other. Some feature a "Shock the Turtle" element where figures at the edge of the map take unavoidable damage every round (thus, forcing players to the center of the map) others have a "King of the Hill" feature, where the person in the middle of the map can assign automatic unavoidable damage each turn, to another character anywhere on the map. Only one thing is certain in a Battle Royal: eventually it's everyone for themselves. That said:

Know when to make alliances...

If there are no rules preventing two players from teaming up, by all means take advantage of it. Most players will welcome one less person they have to attack or defend against, even in the short term.

The fact is Battle Royal formats often pair two players each on a four player map with a stipulation that the minute a single player is eliminated all truces are null and void. This might be a good point to agree on with the other player. “I’ll steer clear of you until we knock out one of the others” is a valid strategy. Other winning formulas include a cease fire for a certain number of rounds, or teaming up to beat a particularly brutal character (Superman Prime, Thor & Loki) that you couldn’t otherwise tackle on your own.

Keep your friends close... and your enemies closer.

<img src="http://www.hcrealms.com/units/ha057.jpg" class="imageright" style="width:200px;">Alliances often work best when your “friend” is farther away from you. The less able you are to damage them in a betrayal, the more trust they’ll have in you. Truces can also work, when a player is right next to you but are more risky especially if their turn follows yours. Imagine getting blindsided by your traitorous partner when most of your force has action tokens. If turn order goes clockwise, better to partner with the guy on your right.

Know when to break alliances

Outside of personal honor the only thing that keeps a truce in place is usually the threat of a swift and hard retaliation. Be prepared for the cease fire to get called off at any time, particularly when you’re most vulnerable. Try to avoid setting yourself up for a backstabbing by staying out of range of your “teammate.” Leave yourself the ability to retaliate if necessary, and don’t take it personal when someone does backstab you. Everyone is playing to win.

<img src="http://www.hcrealms.com/units/svBF005.jpg" class="imageleft" style="width:200px;">A note on backstabbing: Stick to your word whenever possible and people will appreciate the honor of your honesty. If you tell someone that you won’t attack them the first five turns, then blitz them at the beginning of turn 4 don't expect to win fellowship votes. Beware the long term events of backstabbing. If you frequent a venue and have a regular habit of backstabbing, you’ll probably find the tables turned, 3:1 against you at future events.

General Strategy: Turn Order

Most Battle Royals start by a roll off: the person rolling highest goes first with turn order automatically proceeding in a clockwise order. Assuming the clockwise model is in play and first turn immunity has worn off, the player to the right will act before you do. Should the player on your right attack your force, take it in stride. Don't plot out a full blown alpha strike on their team for revenge. Instead, focus your attention to the player on your left.

Consider what happens if you retaliate to the right. You'll weaken them, at the expense of getting weakened yourself. Meanwhile, the player who gets to go next will swoop in and take a few shots at you, further weakening your team. When turn order finally comes back to the player on the right they are now trapped in combat with you. Knowing your force was weakened they may likely push to eliminate you before you can push to eliminate them.

You may be able to avoid getting sandwiched if you focus on the person to the left, attacking them before they can attack you. The player on your right may take an opportunity to clear a few figures rather than push to attack (leaving themselves open in the process). Whatever happens, attacking the player to the left will hopefully weaken their initial assault on you.

Multiplayer Power Synergy

The game dynamic changes considerably when more players cram onto a map. Certain powers have an added value corresponding with the number of targets on the board, thus capitalizing on the multiplayer format.

<img src="http://www.hcrealms.com/units/mu031.jpg" class="imageright" style="width:200px;">Mind Control for instance is almost a completely different power in a multiplayer game, and can easily wreck any player's strategy. Normally, a Mind Control attack is best served making an opposing figure attack their teammates. In a Battle Royale Mind Control may be used for far more sinister purposes other than attacks - namely repositioning:

During one 8-player Battle Royale (played on 2 maps) the opponent to my left had some very big guns waiting to pounce on me. Taking advantage of my Mind Control, I completely changed his strategy in the course of one turn. I used my Gorilla Grodd to Mind Control his Gorilla Grodd. His Gorilla Grodd then Mind Controlled an adjacent U HT Darkseid, who, in turn Mind Controlled the "Son of Darkseid" U Superman.

Now, it would have been a simple matter to have his U Superman charge one of his own figures (likely a one hit kill!), but instead, I had U Superman pick up U Darkseid and fly halfway across the board, dropping them right in the middle of another opponent's force. :devious:

Not only was my original target no longer in a position to blitz me, my enemy was now tied up with another enemy. Plus, his Darkseid and Grodd took feedback damage from Mind Controlling his own people! His team, now divided was subsequently dismantled because of one little Mind Control attack.

Aside from repositioning, Mind Control also gets an upgrade from the sheer number of targets available in a Battle Royal. A triple target Mind Controller will rarely have a hard time finding someone to boss around the map. Apart from Mind Control, another way to redirect an opponent attacks is with Barrier.

A well placed Barrier can negate attacks by protecting teammates. Barrier may even persuade the enemy into going after easier prey. Why waste an attack on blocking terrain when a player could just make two attacks outright on an easier target?

Whatever you do, don't waffle.

By waffle, I mean stall. There’s nothing more transparent than a player sitting in the corner waiting for everyone else to be weakened or eliminated before striking. Conventional wisdom would dictate that this is a good way to ensure survival and thus a victory, which is why many people try it and therefore why events often include a “shock the turtle” mechanic to discourage it. If you are bunkered in, don’t be surprised if a new alliance is formed to eliminate you from the tournament. Likewise, don’t be afraid to suggest a team up with another player to eliminate someone from a well fortified position.

Winning a Battle Royal is a difficult business. In a normal game, if everything else is equal, players have a 50% chance of winning, but a battle royal drops those chances drastically, and invites countless number of other variables to be concerned with. There’s really no sure fire, silver bullet method to winning the battle royal format, but I hope this article provided some tips and tricks you hadn’t already thought of.

As always, thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more ‘How to Win” in the near future!

[Neverfate]

I wish you could actually accomplish that cover photo with Superboy Prime in game. Just never works that way.

Great article though.

[rollinsolo]

Great article. Most of my games are home game with between 5-8 players so there are usually alot of alliances roaming around. One guy is know for breaking alliances so no one will team up with him anymore and everyone gangs up on him right away. He calls it a win when he can force everyone to attack him though so all is well.

[gawain]

May I also suggest sometimes playing the most optimal figures isn't the best strategy? If you plop down E-2 Superman in a battle royale, you may be putting a target on him. People tend to feel threatened by a big fig like that, but are usually more comfortable attacking them, knowing that there are plenty other viable targets for Supes to retaliate against.

At least with the people I play with, there tends to be an unspoken truce until a major threat is neutralized.

[beecaveman]

Fun article mouse.
I've not played shock the turtle forever, gotta do that again.

My favorite Battle Royale clix is AA Despero. TK, outwit, barrier and Dangerous Game - which alows him to essentially tk one fig without breakaway or attack roll. Send player 1's clix into player 2's force. Super fun.

#1 rule in battle royales as I've experienced them, 1st to committ is 1st to be eliminated.

[Immortal_Raven]

Great article. All of the points are topical, spot on, and useful. A couple extra points from my own experience.

-Watch for the unspoken alliance. In a true Battle Royale, everyone starts off against each other, but through table talk, alliances and battle lines are formed. What if two players come into the game and appear to have no alliance, but have worked things out before the game. Not the most ethical or sportsmanlike thing, but it gets done and tends to be effective because no one realizes until it's too late. A few ways to tell:

-Did they leave themselves tactically open to their "ally" and not get taken advantage of?
-Do they make the best use of actions. Personally, I treat everyone equally in a Battle Royale. This means taking advantage where I can and pulling back when I need to. If the best move was to attack their "ally" and they didn't, ask yourself why. Even ask the player after his turn is over. "Why didn't you hit such and such?" It's a casual question and the response can give insight, especially if you know the player to be a smart player who normally makes the correct move.
-This may sound a little weird, but watch their eyes. If they don't give their "ally's" figures much of a glance when deciding what to that turn, that can be a clue.

-Lobbying- This can be a double edge sword especially if someone takes offense to manipulation. But if someone wants to attack you and you really don't want them to, ask them to attack someone else. Better yet, if they haven't declared an attack and you fear they might, offer them a one turn alliance. "I won't attack you next turn if you don't attack me now." Until the attack is officially declared, you've got time to get yourself out of a jam. Depending on your mannerisms, this good get you some bad rep for fellowship, but a good logical argument or good offer will be seen as gameplay.

-Don't Be Afraid to attack a known cry-baby or poor sport. These are the players who insist that everyone is out to get them in a Battle Royale and think God or some higher power hates them whenever they get attacked or role poorly. I've backed off them in past games simply because I didn't want to deal with their grief. In subsequent turns they killed me and were just as obnoxious at winning. On the flip side, think twice about someone who holds a personal grudge. If you've hit someone badly enough, they will come after you whether or not it's the best move, whether or not they'll get eliminated in the process. All of a sudden you've got a big thorn in your side on top of all the other players. And all the other players have one less threat to worry about.

Here's a couple edits after playing a 1,000 point battle royale this weekend. Eight players, 4+ hours, lots of insight.

-Don't play a colossal. You will get ganged up on for two reasons. One, you're the biggest threat. Two, kill points for the KO are a game breaker. One guy played Starro and got reemed like nobody's business. Everyone focused on him and didn't really attack anybody else until Starro was gone.

-Swarm teams are a bad idea and Nova Blast is a good idea but will potentially put a target on you. Nova Blast is great for causing wonton carnage, but people may use extra resources to knock out your Nova Blaster. If you're playing for points, swarm teams are a bad idea because people will snipe you for the easy points, especially if all they can do is take a pot shot on their turn.

-Don't use any known hated pieces. I hate superman with a vengeance, moreso in heroclix than in comics. My buddy used two of them. E2 got slaughtered and Superman Prime wasn't much better. Then got their hits in, but also had targets on them.

-Use some mystics and wild cards. In a 1v1 game, you have to attack the other player, so mystics is just a fact of life. In a BR, having that mystic feedback can deter someone from attacking you. They may move around you or leave you alone all together.

-When you've got the most powerful piece on the board, consider running that piece away. This isn't turtling, but being the power piece is an open invitation for people to gang up on you and take out multiple pieces at once. If you run away, they can either chase you or fight each other. More times than not, they'll lose interest in Shazadam sitting in the corner. For the record, Shazadam did 30+ damage yesterday, would've been around 50+ without 3 successful impervious rolls by opponents. I particularly liked the oneshot crit on Sinestro.

-Immortal_Raven

[Thunderclese]

Great article! Never thought about the Shock the Turtle for this format.

[kujonomore]

I love Battle Royale's we did one with Shock the Turtle & king of the hill in play....crazy fun.

The guys I play get all pissy when I gang up on them so I usually just roll a die to decide who to attack first.

[Jarimy123]

If you make to Gencon and we get a battle royale or two in I'll be employing the "eat cheeseburger over the map and get mustard all over it so the other 2 people quit strategy." Works every time I heard. Except when Wizkids is giving away chases to the winner - they people won't even care about the mustard or how many times I've farted.

[I Am The Game]

I've found that a healthy range attack helps determine who attacks who. Everyone feels compelled to move forward, so make sure you're covering the area where your opponent would approach, and he'll rather move off in the other direction.

For instance, if my neighbor is looking at my team of bruisers, or a 12-range Darkseid and Parademons on the other side, where is he safest moving? He may not want to get into a brawl with my figs right away, but there's still more of a cushion on my side where he won't be attacked yet.

[Repulsor rage]

Good point all around. This is my favorite format of play I won one with

94 MM e Deadpool +Auto Regen and ICWO
106 MM e Cable + ICWO

Due mostly to the kindess of strangers lol Deadpool was the last one left.

[Indiana Ton]

Immortal Raven, you've pegged me perfectly. I am the "revenge/thorn in the side" kinda' guy. (I don't know why...) Pretty much in Battle Royals, if you move towards me, I'm going to attack you. If you attack me, the clix you attack me with is going to die...first. Most guys who play with/against me try to avoid me, and a truce usually breaks out because they don't attack me.

Of course, when someone does "eventually" attack me, I tend to keep my forces together. So it's usually my entire force build vs. half of yours or less. But I am very honorable. I don't attack anyone until they attack me, unless we don't have a truce going. (the object is to "KO" everyone...)

If no truces are going, and no one wants to move towards me, I'll usually attack the "one" clix I don't like. I'll think, " Ms. Marvel (Skrull) will be my first KO..."

[anonym0use]

Great article. All of the points are topical, spot on, and useful. A couple extra points from my own experience.

-Watch for the unspoken alliance. In a true Battle Royale, everyone starts off against each other, but through table talk, alliances and battle lines are formed. What if two players come into the game and appear to have no alliance, but have worked things out before the game. Not the most ethical or sportsmanlike thing, but it gets done and tends to be effective because no one realizes until it's too late. A few ways to tell:

-Did they leave themselves tactically open to their "ally" and not get taken advantage of?
-Do they make the best use of actions. Personally, I treat everyone equally in a Battle Royale. This means taking advantage where I can and pulling back when I need to. If the best move was to attack their "ally" and they didn't, ask yourself why. Even ask the player after his turn is over. "Why didn't you hit such and such?" It's a casual question and the response can give insight, especially if you know the player to be a smart player who normally makes the correct move.
-This may sound a little weird, but watch their eyes. If they don't give their "ally's" figures much of a glance when deciding what to that turn, that can be a clue.

-Lobbying- This can be a double edge sword especially if someone takes offense to manipulation. But if someone wants to attack you and you really don't want them to, ask them to attack someone else. Better yet, if they haven't declared an attack and you fear they might, offer them a one turn alliance. "I won't attack you next turn if you don't attack me now." Until the attack is officially declared, you've got time to get yourself out of a jam. Depending on your mannerisms, this good get you some bad rep for fellowship, but a good logical argument or good offer will be seen as gameplay.

-Don't Be Afraid to attack a known cry-baby or poor sport. These are the players who insist that everyone is out to get them in a Battle Royale and think God or some higher power hates them whenever they get attacked or role poorly. I've backed off them in past games simply because I didn't want to deal with their grief. In subsequent turns they killed me and were just as obnoxious at winning. On the flip side, think twice about someone who holds a personal grudge. If you've hit someone badly enough, they will come after you whether or not it's the best move, whether or not they'll get eliminated in the process. All of a sudden you've got a big thorn in your side on top of all the other players. And all the other players have one less threat to worry about.

-Immortal_Raven

Awesome post, that contains a ton of stuff I wish I'd included.

Especially:
-Watch for the unspoken alliance.

I've seen this at big regional events, where a team of players from another venue roll in and use numbers to swing fellowship votes. I suppose it also applies in the BR format (or any format really).

-This may sound a little weird, but watch their eyes.
Never would have thought to point that out, but this is true in most games. When I play Risk, I tend to take a second and gloss over the WHOLE map, rather than just keep looking at where I want to attack. Even if I have no intention of rolling into Asia, I still look there. Body language, as Patrick Jane knows, can give away a lot of secrets.

-Don't Be Afraid to attack a known cry-baby or poor sport.
Nothing bothers me more than this. I've seen players complain about being ganged up on a lot, especially when it's untrue. One thing usually holds out - no one likes to listen to whining, and they are oft eliminated quickly.

On the flip side, think twice about someone who holds a personal grudge.
Oh man - the Blood feud as I like to call it. Spite. You've made it so I can't win, so I'll make sure you don't either. There's really not much you can do once it's started, except calculate the risk of dealing with them versus running. There's also not a great way to prevent this from happening. I've found that people get angry at any number of reasons, and if they unfortunately decide to vent that anger in your direction, there's not much you can do except beat them.

Consider yourself repped, sir.

[spiderhero]

I only have one guy at my shop that plays, the owner. I enjoy playing with him, but I would like other opponents as well. I would especially like to play a battle royal. But alas, I'm stuck with one on one.

[red king]

I have a table set up in my basement for Clix, and my kids like to do a 2000 point battle royale every now and then. These are the types of stuff that come up almost every game, with the exception of the cry baby person. We don't play like that at Clan Horan. I do like the Mind Controll tactic. I may have to use that on them when they want to use Anti-Monitor and Thor's Chariot on me.

Thanks for the article!

[Immortal_Raven]

Awesome post, that contains a ton of stuff I wish I'd included.

Especially:
-Watch for the unspoken alliance.

I've seen this at big regional events, where a team of players from another venue roll in and use numbers to swing fellowship votes. I suppose it also applies in the BR format (or any format really).

-This may sound a little weird, but watch their eyes.
Never would have thought to point that out, but this is true in most games. When I play Risk, I tend to take a second and gloss over the WHOLE map, rather than just keep looking at where I want to attack. Even if I have no intention of rolling into Asia, I still look there. Body language, as Patrick Jane knows, can give away a lot of secrets.

-Don't Be Afraid to attack a known cry-baby or poor sport.
Nothing bothers me more than this. I've seen players complain about being ganged up on a lot, especially when it's untrue. One thing usually holds out - no one likes to listen to whining, and they are oft eliminated quickly.

On the flip side, think twice about someone who holds a personal grudge.
Oh man - the Blood feud as I like to call it. Spite. You've made it so I can't win, so I'll make sure you don't either. There's really not much you can do once it's started, except calculate the risk of dealing with them versus running. There's also not a great way to prevent this from happening. I've found that people get angry at any number of reasons, and if they unfortunately decide to vent that anger in your direction, there's not much you can do except beat them.

Consider yourself repped, sir.

Ha, you mentioned the Eyes in regard to Risk, but the Cry-baby post came from a Risk game. I had one guy who always lamented getting attacked, so I eased up on him and he was the only guy I could attack. Next turn, he wiped me out. Luckily everyone else felt bad for me and/or pissed at him for being a whiner and ganged up on him. The eyes are actually a technique when playing poker or Stratego to find where their flag is.

There's not much you can do about a blood feud, but knowing who is more susceptible is key. For example, I play board games with my wife and another couple. My wife enjoys retaliating whereas I look at the bigger picture. Just knowing the enemy I guess.

Since it was a great article, I believe I shall rep you.

-Immortal_Raven

[mr_moneypenny]

Superb write-up. Honestly, man, I don't know where to begin. The advice and observations you provide are of immeasurable help. You do us a great service with your articles, sir 'm0use!
Be well,
-jason

[2Face]

There are some really good ideas here that I have never considered. These are great articles. Thanks for the tips.

[Hero_guy]

Great article about in-game strategy for FFA's. However, the strategy starts before the first dice are even rolled...

May I also suggest sometimes playing the most optimal figures isn't the best strategy? If you plop down E-2 Superman in a battle royale, you may be putting a target on him. People tend to feel threatened by a big fig like that, but are usually more comfortable attacking them, knowing that there are plenty other viable targets for Supes to retaliate against.

At least with the people I play with, there tends to be an unspoken truce until a major threat is neutralized.

This 90% of this game is won or lost when you're sitting in front of your collection deciding which piece(s) to play. In an FFA, its usually best to not be the most threatening army on the board. None of the individual teams may be built to handle a figure like Superman(boy) Prime, but likewise, Superman(boy) Prime couldn't take out 3 entire teams on his own either. And with him being so many pts, you've lost a huge chunk of your army and will most likely be mopped up soon after.

As far as the honesty part, I'm not sure why, but I get pegged once in a while for being, somehow, dishonest, or at least sneaky... If I say I won't attack you for whatever duration, I won't do it unless you attack me first. However, I usually try to be very careful when making statements involving truces or cease-fires and won't commit myself to never taking a course of action against any player. I'll say things like "if you were to attack figure X, then none of my figures would attack any of your figures until you've had the opportunity to move out of my range."

Ok, I do try to offer 'advice' to other players on who I 'think' should be attacked. And usually that target isn't me, but if its glaringly obvious that I am the biggest threat on the table, there's no point in denying it. On the other hand, if there might be some doubt about that, then I'd give 'reasons' why I think another player should be attacked. But the key to it is to be subtle and not to press any particular point too much. I mean a nudge here and there is fine, but constant prodding gets annoying fast. As the adage goes..."everything in moderation"...which would include your exercise of moderation.

[soygi]

we play this all the time at my venue i win most of the time but thin there it that Big WTF! move that well screw you up

[BATMANISBRUCEWAYNE]

We had a really cool Battle Royal where it was a figure from 0-50, 51-100, 100-150, 150-200, to 200-250 in rounds where your lowest point piece was the first on the board but before that we rolled to see who went first. It was fun way to play the Battle Royal in rounds of points and rolling to see who went first. Some alliances are even made in this format and it helps on occasion thanks for the article rep :)

[muttburger]

-Don't Be Afraid to attack a known cry-baby or poor sport. These are the players who insist that everyone is out to get them in a Battle Royale and think God or some higher power hates them whenever they get attacked or role poorly. I've backed off them in past games simply because I didn't want to deal with their grief. In subsequent turns they killed me and were just as obnoxious at winning. On the flip side, think twice about someone who holds a personal grudge. If you've hit someone badly enough, they will come after you whether or not it's the best move, whether or not they'll get eliminated in the process. All of a sudden you've got a big thorn in your side on top of all the other players. And all the other players have one less threat to worry about.

-Immortal_Raven

ya i like going for those types makes me feel better because alot of people will not target them and they end up winning the game :O

[Mr. Cranberry]

Best tip. Shower before you leave your house.

Can't tell you how many times a player has been singled out because of their lack of hygiene. They're always the first to be targeted in the hopes they leave shortly afterward.

[Hawkman1980]

The way i do battle royals already dicourages camping in one spot and holding up while the other players thin each other out, we don't go by last man standing, just like regular tourneys, it's point based. after the time limit is reached, even if no one is eliminated {not likely}, then we talley up the points and most points wins. And it's not always the high point figs that will win you the game, 3 or 4 figs in the 100 pt range trumps spending all your efforts taking down superman prime.:d-indomitable:

[tyroc]

a couple of other tips for multiplayer battle royales. some figs are built for battle royales like Anarky. His prob takes off tokens from other players which can be handy. If you have a major powerhouse on your team with a deep nasty dial, Lazarus pit is really nice cause you click up on every players turn so in a couple of rounds you can be right back up to full again. Finally, my last tip is willpower, MOE, cosmic/quintessence are ideal for multiplayer as you will often find yourself having to run in and run out and a pushing ability is more useful then usual.

[petevaldez]

vet Mr. Miracle is the king of battle royals. you ain't gonna hit him.

[yazoplakk]

Great article. I definitely feel you could do a second one dealing with figure selection. Not just which specific characters to use, but what kind of powers and abilities are helpful in this format.
Obviously late dial regen or life steal can add much-needed longevity to a battle royale team.
Up front support may seem useful, but makes for a juicy target early in the game. Again, late dial support or someone that can be pushed to it ends up far superior for its 'hidden' qualities.
I'll also reiterate what people have said about staying away from those obvious 'tentpoles'. I won a battle royale recently where my 'tentpole' was a feated-up Venom. Not that he was ignored, but he certainly didn't draw the kind of attention that may have been warranted until it was far too late.
Of course, I also had the luck of the gods in my die rolling for SS, SC, and entangle. :grin:

[lucernhammer]

when you decide on people at a table think about it i was once in a br and my table was me my daughter and my nephew the 4th guy didnt have a chance it wasnt fair .i want on to win with ultraman black fire and a healer

[anonym0use]

Great article. I definitely feel you could do a second one dealing with figure selection. Not just which specific characters to use, but what kind of powers and abilities are helpful in this format.
Obviously late dial regen or life steal can add much-needed longevity to a battle royale team.
Up front support may seem useful, but makes for a juicy target early in the game. Again, late dial support or someone that can be pushed to it ends up far superior for its 'hidden' qualities.
I'll also reiterate what people have said about staying away from those obvious 'tentpoles'. I won a battle royale recently where my 'tentpole' was a feated-up Venom. Not that he was ignored, but he certainly didn't draw the kind of attention that may have been warranted until it was far too late.
Of course, I also had the luck of the gods in my die rolling for SS, SC, and entangle. :grin:

I didn't talk about selection, I suppose because most of the bR's I've played in were sealed! I'll give it some thought though.

[anonym0use]

True story about a personal moment of glory - I played in a 5 or 6 player BR once, and had si Mystic DOOM! breathing down my neck, on elevated terrain, on the Starro map (we played 2 harbor maps back to back). The only figure I could hit him with was my si Moloid (2:bolt:ftw!), but I couldn't hurt doom with my 1 damage. Another player agreed to outwit Doom's defense, but only if I gave it a shot and pushed my Moloid to hit (and even then I think I needed boxcars to hit). What did I roll? BOXCARS! So worth the push damage and Mystic feedback giving Doom 2 from a moloid throwing a rock. I lost the game, but had so much fun from that, I didn't care. :)

[pLiCk]

when i used to play magic the gathering my battle royal stratigy was be quiet, that means no talking or eye contact the less peaple realize your there the bette. i used to have peaple forget i was even playing while they where all smack talking i was just listening. next just build your defence, while everyone is attacking they are forgetting you are there becouse you havent talked and your not attacking just building a defence. then when most of them are dead then you unleash. ive often had peaple say "wo i forgot you where playing" or they would glance over at me and say"what do we have here?" as if i just started playing. this worked for me so often. i havent played a battle royal in heroclix yet but it would only take some minor adjustments but could work

[GreatCarcass]

Anonym0use I will not lie... I'm rather upset with you! You write such amazing articles and I rep you for them... but now after you have just written the greatest article I have ever read... HCRealms is telling me i need to spread the love around and cannot rep you again until I do so! So i need you to stop doing such a ####ing awesome job, so I can rep you once again! (lol just givin' you #### great article by the way... and I'm not really upset)

[llyrghmnghyll]

Great Article. I agree with everything said so far - more or less.

But a few words.

Two player games are usually strategy Games. Heroclix definitely falls into this camp. Given two players with equal builds the better strategist/tactician will win.

Three or more player games are political games. Strategy and Tactics don't get thrown out the window, but they definitely take a back seat to Politics. You don't have to care about your opponents feelings in a two player game, just play better than him. In a 3+ player game being a jerk is a great way to get ganged up on, and even the best strategies in the world lose to superior numbers.

That said here are a few simple rules

1) Don't be vengeful - this has already been discussed, the only thing I'll add is that vengeance is like a disease - it spreads. straight up retaliation tactics leaves the whole game a #### shoot.

2) There are two people you do not want to be in this Format a) the player with the most power on the board (the big target that gets ganged up on) or B) the player whose on his last legs (the soft target who people go for the easy K.O. against). with this in mind when you build your force try to consider this. You may need pieces to throw away to power down your force so that you do not become the big target. Additionally you want minor figures that are hard to kill (or costly to kill) so that you don't become the soft target. Great Characters for this are characters like the New Robin (with his high defense and low cost) or mystic characters like Etrigan or Klarion.

3) never commit to a battle you can't win. - Don't beat Prime down to his second to last click just to let him Heal back up.

4) After a big victory on your part give your opponents some gristle. this goes back to point two and point one. don't let people get irate at you, let them feel your victory cost you. and don't look like the big target.

[NickCarraway]

Way back in the day (maybe XP had come out 3 months before) I did a battle royale on 4 maps with 3-d buildings knowing there would be some interesting characters.

1) The cheese player who'd do nothing. He was running a sniper team (Bullseye I think) with some hooker bomb action. If you didn't make an effort to get him, he'd just hide behind the buildings and snipe. HE also had a Blizzard for adding barrier to the side of the building you were going after him on. If you went after him, he'd be shooting at you from so far out it was ridiculous.

2) Turtle-man. Never won a game against this guy EVER. All he'd do is hit your cheapest piece and then run away to high ground and shoot down if you came close. He had Despero and maybe a Bruce Banner LE. He placed all his objects alongside the building he started next to. I wonder why?

3) Good solid guy who'd assembled a team with Dr. Strange and some other early-heroclix carrying ability. They came down the street on the map like one big wall of abilities. I had much respect for him because he had a creative team and it wasn't really relying on cheese or the meta at the time.

4)Me. I brought a few teams so I could change what I needed based on what my opponents brought (and I knew the guys and their teams in advance). Seeing Turtle-man with a beatstick combo made me whip out the 2 Sentinels. 600 points of fun.

Turtle-man never moved more than 6 squares. He actually went round and round at one point. Literally started where he finished. Cheese-man was across the maps from me and sent his hookers out hoping to perplex D down for anyone who went after him. Early on I went after Despero and captured him. THat was massive points. Turtle-man then went after the hookers, I shot past Cheese-man hoping Turtle-man would get the clue and maintain his attack while I back-doored Cheese. Unfortunately, after a year of never strategizing a sustained attack, he bailed (and I think I ticked him off with my capture...hehe).

There were minor skirmishes for the rest of the hour and at the end I ended up capturing solid-guy's Wolverine for X-tra capture points which won me the battle royale.

The Prize: U Desaad.

I suppose what I'm saying is that there will be different people there with different agendas and you have to figure out how to play with and around them.

[eliotblacknigh]

as alway's, very good article......:classic:


every monday in my ofice, my friends come to play after lunch up to 9pm to play heroclix battle royale, but before we start, we asign numder 1-6, for example me is 1 and my friend "conrad' is 2.....now before we declare attack we will roll a 1'dice,if i roll 1' i can attack anyone in the map but if i roll 2, i must attack conrad only if i can.....:p as of now im enjoy'ing royal/group heroclix battle...it's fun and thank you for neca for making wizard shazam!(best probability power in royal/group battle).........:classic:




http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#!/photo.php?pid=177087&id=100000324889083

[dethscythe7734]

Good article. My venue plays royales every now and then ,and I can testify that once I targeted an opponnent (after being hit) it turned into a long ugly battle between us. After we finished we were completely useless.

[LittleWoodenBoy]

A great read! I love playing battle royales; I tend to play a lot of them, actually.

Some suggestions for things to use in BR format - I think a good BR team should consist of the following:
-A couple solid pieces.
-A character with Pulse Wave and/or Barrier. (E Blizzard has both.)
-A character with Mind Control and multiple targets. (HoT Enchantress)
-A Sharpshooter or two. (AA Hitman and/or AA Joker)
-Poison. It's only like the best ability there is. Energy Explosion is nice too. Maybe not so much for Quake, but it's still fun if you can pull it off.

Some suggestions on what NOT to use, as they will be targets:
-That annoying tech piece that's hard to kill in 1v1. (Y'know, like Impossible Man.)
-Chase figures. Jealousy factor comes in big time. I watched Martian Manhunter get buried before he had a chance to push.
-Kid Zoom. I've seen groups of people steamroll a team to get to him. Technically I'm not saying 'don't use him', more like 'watch out when you do use him.'
-Figures with the Kingdom Come TA tend to have big bullseyes on them.

[LittleWoodenBoy]

True story about a personal moment of glory - I played in a 5 or 6 player BR once, and had si Mystic DOOM! breathing down my neck, on elevated terrain, on the Starro map (we played 2 harbor maps back to back). The only figure I could hit him with was my si Moloid (2:bolt:ftw!), but I couldn't hurt doom with my 1 damage. Another player agreed to outwit Doom's defense, but only if I gave it a shot and pushed my Moloid to hit (and even then I think I needed boxcars to hit). What did I roll? BOXCARS! So worth the push damage and Mystic feedback giving Doom 2 from a moloid throwing a rock.

I used to love when that happened, until I got my girlfriend into the game and she started rolling unstoppable double 6's. Even when I try Prob'ing them, boxcars. Much props, and some rep, to the Moloid rock throw though.

I lost the game, but had so much fun from that, I didn't care. :)

8U

[charlesdward]

I tend to get eliminated in games like this fairly quickly...
This probably stems from my Risk-learned habits regarding alliances.
Being an honorable sort, I don't even pretend to make them. We both know I'll take you out at the first opportunity, so I basically say so.
I can't trust you, you can't trust me. Now that that's established, and just for even daring to suggest it, you're my next target... :devious:
The other thing is my habit of immediately showing my hand as a threat to everyone - planting myself out in the middle somewhere and saying, "Bring it!", while indiscriminately attacking anyone who gets within striking distance.
Yes, I'm the "big threatening force" kind of guy. I can't willingly power down my team. Uh-uh, no way.
Ok, maybe it's not particularly sound strategy, but it's fun to go down swinging.
Turtling? What's that? :grin:
Magic multiplayer games usually went pretty much the same way, unless I managed to build a nigh-impenetrable defence wall early.

Yeah... I don't do diplomacy well...

[Iceman425]

Fun article mouse.
I've not played shock the turtle forever, gotta do that again.

My favorite Battle Royale clix is AA Despero. TK, outwit, barrier and Dangerous Game - which alows him to essentially tk one fig without breakaway or attack roll. Send player 1's clix into player 2's force. Super fun.

#1 rule in battle royales as I've experienced them, 1st to committ is 1st to be eliminated.

Ahh....that's what I always do wrong. I should be 2nd to commit and 1st on the podium!

[Vivi22]

This 90% of this game is won or lost when you're sitting in front of your collection deciding which piece(s) to play. In an FFA, its usually best to not be the most threatening army on the board. None of the individual teams may be built to handle a figure like Superman(boy) Prime, but likewise, Superman(boy) Prime couldn't take out 3 entire teams on his own either. And with him being so many pts, you've lost a huge chunk of your army and will most likely be mopped up soon after.

I play almost nothing but battle royales with three or four of my friends and I can't agree more with this. If you want to win you really can't paint a big target on your back.

But if you are going to use a tentpole piece (I do and my friends do occasionally since we just play friendly games obviously. No prizes or anything on the line) then make sure you can back them up with some very effective secondary attackers. Sometimes you're opponents will be so distracted by what they perceive as the big threat that they miss someone who can dish out just as much damage for fewer points.

In the last game we played for example, I ran a team of Superman & Flash, Moonstone, Origins Sandman and Veteran Question with Moonstone thunderbolted to Batman since there weren't many anti-stealth types on the board. All of my friends immediately were afraid of Superman & Flash, even to the point of ignoring what I saw as a bigger threat in a team of HoT Captain America, Thor and FCBD Iron Man. Sadly, I only seemed to confirm their fears when I pretty much dismantled one team early because he was coming straight for me while the other two stayed back and waited until we were both committed to fighting each other before moving in.

Once they did move in and join the fight Superman & Flash didn't last very long, thanks in part to a choice of Superman over the Flash halfway through the dial. But while three people were ganging up on him, Moonstone was sitting on an object on the roof of a building supported by Sandman and Question and dishing out far more damage than Superman & Flash did, including taking out a few figures on her own. No one saw her as the big threat and they walked right into her range and got hit left and right with psychic blast. So if you really want to play that tentpole piece, always have a backup that can get your opponents when they won't see it coming.

[phantalien]

I really like the article. Personally I would have liked it more if you went a bit into team building for a battle royale, this includes sealed battle royales and constructed. It does not have to be "what team to build" but more like "what figures should be used".

[larthosgrr8]

i play in tons of games like these. only difference is we coin drop our figs in. this way, no dbl-teaming, and no turtling! ohh, and we cascade actions. we start at one(don't want anyone getting ate up before they get to go) and cap at 4. this makes it so you'll usually always have someone to attack or move with and the game will last long!!

[tidge]

Thanks for the article.

Special Comment about Probability Control in Battle Royales:

"...once during your turn..." and "...once per round during an opponent's turn..."

It's easy to forget in the heat of a multi-player battle, but you cannot make EACH opponent re-roll using a single figure with Probability Control.

[rorschachknew]

Great article.

But I disagree with many people. My strategy is to threaten to go into an all out war if someone attacks me, making it clear that Im a petty little person and we ll both lose. :D

[Ultim8 Avenger]

how i eat a battle royale:

with butterscotch, whip cream, nuts and a cherry on top.

[youngguns435]

Love the Battle Royale. Used to be my favorite part of Wizard World Chicago. My buddy and I won a couple even (they were the intital 2 on 2 kind) with one of them netting us a Planet Hulk event dial! Good stuff.

I'd like to plug characters with regen while I'm here. In both of those royales regen helped (on Av Iron Man and M&M Bishop). Every click counts when people are dealing unavoidable damage from the center of the map or the walls are closing in on you.

[happyoptimistic88]

Great article! Never thought about the Shock the Turtle for this format.

Yes, that's a crazy scenario, I remember that, Shock the Turtle. Stay in the center of the map, always, lol.:)

[Overthrower]

One question about Mind Control, I thought the target becomes friendly to you and opposing to your opponents force, so they shouldn't be able to carry a "friendly" character on that team, but CAN carry one of yours if they're adjacent. I did that once with a Green Lantern to carry two of my opponents figures out of stealth, but then recanted when I reread the power. Is this a viable strategy or was I right about not being able to carry an opponents character with a mind controlled character?

[tyroclix]

One question about Mind Control, I thought the target becomes friendly to you and opposing to your opponents force, so they shouldn't be able to carry a "friendly" character on that team, but CAN carry one of yours if they're adjacent. I did that once with a Green Lantern to carry two of my opponents figures out of stealth, but then recanted when I reread the power. Is this a viable strategy or was I right about not being able to carry an opponents character with a mind controlled character?

Darkseid and Superman were both friendly.

My Grodd MC's your Grodd. He's now my Grodd. He MC's Darkseid. Now I have My Grodd, your Grodd, and your Darkseid. Darkseid MC's Superman. Now I have My Grodd, your Grodd, your Darkseid, and your Superman.

Superman picks up Darkseid and moves him across the board. His move action ends and Superman reverts back to yours. Darkseid's action ends and he reverts back to yours. Your Grodd's action ends, and reverts back to yours. My Grodd's action ends and I place an action token on him - the action is now complete.

MC'd figures stay Mind Controlled until the action they are currently in ends.

Interesting strategy on with attacking the left side. I'll have to watch for that.

My strategy is to target the biggest threat on the board. Sometimes I get a player to join me. Sometimes they just keep whittling me down.

In one of this month's tournaments I will have to run one of these. They work well as New Guy Nights, too.

[BadAxe1]

Great article. I'm going to Dragon Con this year and good strategies for battle royales is a big help.

Also, I never head of the King of the Hill scenario, but I like it. You should have to say, " I sell propane and propane accessories" whenever you dish out the damage though.

Or at least mumble something like Boomhauer.

[Superbuddy]

Used to do a lot of three player Battle Royals (until our third player moved out of town). The problem with this is, on a four sided map, with three players, one poor sap is always stuck in the middle and gets ganged up on by the other two by default, simply because he was the closest force to attack for both of the other players. Very frustrating as it was usually me.

We played very large forces, last man standing. Usually 1000 to 1500 points. My favorite team to play in this case (and thus the one I played least often, because it could be devastating) was JSA. Jakeem Thunder sharing his 19 Defense with O VHawman, L V Stargirl, and anyone else with ESD made a devasting, very hard to breach wall of 21 or 22 D with hindering. While the Alan Scott V Green Lantern wasn't good for much, his first click of RCE, some Perplexed Range and some Trick Shot firing through the 22 D was pretty nasty. With an E2 Supes, Specter or Flash also on hand to smack around anyone who got too close, I tended to hold up fairly well for a while, but there's only so much damage you can soak up.

As a result, I did tend to play grudge match. No choice, really, when it was 500 points of my army fighting 1000 points of Player A's army, and my other 500 points fighting 1000 points of Player B's, I had to make sure they were afraid to commit their big guns too early for fear of a bloody nose.

Oh. Good times.