Monorail question

Old Rules & Gameplay Boards Sentinel Tactics Rules [Closed]
1

So I played the scenario with the monorail earlier, I was playing Visionary and Unity against my friend with Ambuscade. His objective was for the train to reach the end of the track, mine was to destroy the train before it made it there. The way we understood it and ended up playing it out, the scenario was pretty much unwinnable for him. I am thinking maybe we missed something.

The gist of it is, Unity was last in the turn order, so she was taking her turn right before the train would move. Visionary has Mass Levitation out so my team all had mobility, moving around the map was easy. I was just putting out swift bot, and moving it in front of the monorail. I would get an attack on the monorail with swift bot during unitys turn, and then when the train hit the bot I would get another attack. The text on the train card just says "When it enters a hex adjacent to a target on the track, it stops and makes this attack." It doesn't say anything about finishing the movement. We played it where the train couldn't move at all with the swift bot right in front of it, which I guess was wrong. The train should have moved through the swift bot, and then stopped on the hex after it and made the attack. But even then, it can move at most 2 hexes each round. And since Unity was going right before the train, there wasn't much that he could do to stop it. He could have put traps out, but with 6 movement, and a 3hex sprint followed by an attack, as well as mobility, it would have been easy for me to go the long way to avoid the real traps. And if I was next to the track, he couldnt put traps on the track or he would risk blowing the train up himself.

We ended up calling it early, because we agreed that there was no way for him to stop Unity from just throwing bot after bot in front of the train. Were we playing this right, or did we miss something?

2

Ambuscade should incap unity. Cloak --> pop up, aim/+1Atk, Rocketlauncher or Drone right into her. 

Sprinting is 2 hexes. How do you get a 3 hex sprint?

Also, page 5 of the rulebook might help you. When you incap a target (like the mono-rail) any damage in excess of the targets current health becomes a push effect. So, if the mono rail had 1 health left and ambuscade ended up dealing 3 damage to it, ambuscade would then get to push the train 2 hexes off the track (which would be a win for him!)

Basically, the heros have to destroy the monorail before Ambuscade gets a chance to deal overkill damage to it and knock it off the track. It's really not that easy haha

Also note that when ambuscade incaps a hero he gets +1 action next turn AND the mono takes a full move action!

3

Also also, hand cannon is great for killing Unity. 4 health, and she automatically takes an extra if she fails to block it all? Brutal.

4

 

If Ambuscade reduced the train to 0hp and dealt additional damage it would first be destroyed, then pushed.  By rule the Train being destroyed before leaving the tracks results in a hero win.

5

From the rules, its only a hero win if they destroy the train, not just the train destruction in general. I'm not sure if that semantic difference is important but I thought it was.

6

Strategy tip: The best way to stop the monorail is with a giant doughnut.

7

As far as incapping Unity, sure he could incap her, but there is absolutely nothing stopping her from standing back up, putting down a bot, and throwing it in front of the train. And with her going right before the train, there was no way for him to stop it.

Regarding the comment about the train gets a full move whenever Ambuscade incaps a hero...I see nothing about that in the scenario book. Am I missing something, or did you misunderstand something?

Also, the 3 hex spring I mentioned: Swift bot has an action that says "move up to 3 hexes and then make this attack." I read that as a 3 hex sprint followed  by an attack. Even if it isn't a sprint, in this case it wouldn't have mattered due to the Mass Levitation.

From the scenario book: "If the monorail goes off the end of the track or leaves the track in any other way, the heroes lose the game. If the monorail train is destroyed first, the heroes win.' It doesn't say anything about specifically the heroes needing to destroy the train.

I read that as the heroes win no matter how the train is destroyed. If Ambuscade could win by overkilling the train, and the only win condition for the heroes is destroying the train, the heroes HAVE to be attacking the train. Ambuscade could just Cloaking Device repeatedly while the heroes were bashing on the train, and then appear and attack it one time to win. The whole scenario would hinge on that one dice roll. He would either not incap (game continues), incap with 0 push (hero win), or incap with push (Ambuscade win.) And if that's what this scenario comes down to, then what's the point, why not just make that roll at the start and call it a day?

Also, the train is a target but not a character. So upon incapacitation, wouldn't the train be destroyed and therefore not pushed? ie it comes right off the map? I know with characters, you stay on the map when you get incapped so it makes sense that you can push them. But with other targets (monorail, dinosaurs, Unity bots etc.) it isn't so cut and dry since they come off the map when they are destroyed. Take Unity's bots for example. They get a free area attack immediately before they are incapacitated. But if you can push them first, then it essentially nullifies that attack as long as you get 1 overkill.

Sorry for the wall of text. I love this game so far, but i am definitely looking forward to getting some official clarification on some of the questions that are popping up!

8

Read the section box on the scenario page called "Incapacitations". 

Granted I am at work at just looking at the Playtester art proofs of the pages (so it's possible something changed?), but the verison I am seeing says:

" If the monorail goes off the end of the track or leaves the track in any other way, the heros lose the game.  If the hero's destroy the monorail train frist, they win"

If Ambuscade destroys the train, then A) the heros did not destroy it and B) the monorail would still leave the track upon ambuscade destroying it. Both fullfil his win condition and the heros loss condition.

 

9

I still see nothing about the train getting a free move action when Ambuscade incaps a hero. I don't have it on hand but I just looked at it on my lunch break, so I could be wrong but i am 99% sure that all it says is that when Ambuscade incaps someone, he gets 1 extra action on his next turn, and that when the heroes incap Ambuscade, the movement value of the train is reduced by 1. I will triple check this when I get home and provide a quote, but like I said I am almost positive that it doesn't say anything about a free move action.

And again, regarding the win conditions. I'm pretty sure I quoted that word for word out of the scenario book that I have, but I don't have it on hand to verify right this minute. I will triple check that when I get home as well.

It looks like there have been some changes made from the Playtester sheets to the Official ones though. Or I just have terrible reading comprehension, which is possible too.

10

It doesn't say "heroes" in the printed version, just the train is destroyed. The goal of the scenario is to stop the monorail from hitting the Freedom Tower, so it wouldn't make sense for it to matter who destroys the train. As for push after incapacitation, the rules that allow you to push during incapacitation only say for "characters". The Train isn't a character, even if you overkilled it, you wouldn't be allowed to push it.

I admit that I don't know why, "it leaves the track in any other way" is there on the win condition because I have no idea how you would get it off the track otherwise. It also makes less sense because in that instance the tower would be saved and the heroes would have accomplished their goal. Though I guess you could say they lose because it crashed into the city.

As for the solution with Unity, I'd probably suggest just not making her the last person in the round. As long as ambuscade goes at least a turn after her, he has a chance of getting rid of the bot somehow. 

11

Or put traps around Unity so that Swift Bot can't just run to the monorail and not get blown to pieces. That would work just as well.

12

It is there so that way someone like Beacon cannot use Head-On Collision to Push the Monorail off the track, which would prevent any chance of Ambuscade from winning.

13

Just put Beacon on the hero team, have her pull off a mid-air collision with the train, train leaves the track, Ambuscade can't win.  That's why that rule is in there.  Or a Ra Drawn to the Flame moving the train.

You can still fly Beacon into the train and knock it backwards along the track, but trying to win by knocking it off the track doesn't work.

The other cheap move was the one Foote mentioned, and I'm glad it got caught and fixed.

 

I love that scenario, the heroes are trying desperately to stop the Monorail, which is the perfect opportunity for Ambuscade to hunt them down.

 

Also an incap hero gives Ambuscade an extra action on his next turn (like Omnitron S1) now, so a hero incap isn't nearly as costly.

14

So the train doesn't move with a hero incap now?

15

Correct, they removed that.

16

Sounds like a fun challenge for Ambuscade.  My recommendation would be, if Visionary plays Mass Levitation, then incap Visionary before Unity's turn.  Be strategic with your explosives - occasionally take the risk and plant one right in front of the monorail.  It's more likely to kill the bot than it is to hurt the train - and once the Unity player realizes you're willing to take that risk, you can plant decoys instead sometimes.  The explosives won't stop train movement, so even if you happen to do a damage to the monorail at least you've got 1/4 down the 28-space track in exchange.

Also remember that Swift Bot will only be an option every other turn as long as you don't incap Unity.  When Swift Bot dies, the card remains in play, so Unity has to choose a different bot which may not be able to make it on the track.  If she tries to get really close to the monorail so her bots can make the run every turn, overkill-push her away.

I would say V/U is an excellent combo in this scenario, but by no means invincible.