Builds and Tactics

ST-07SLCb Assault Chub

After playing numerous games of MFZ at the Denver Comiccon last weekend, I got a first hand look at how certain builds and tactics play out on the table.

The three companies I brought to the Con were as follows

Rattler Division (Starting Initiative: 24)
Fat Snake Grunts x2 (2d6Rd, 2d6Rh, 1d6B, 1d6G, 1xSSR)
Fat Snake Snipers x2 (2d6+d8Ra, 1d6B, 1d6G)
Fat Snake Scout x1 (2d6Rh, 1d6B, 2d6Y, 1d8G)
Fat Snake Knight x1 (2d6+d8Rh, 2d6B, 1d8G)

Pit Vipers (Starting Initiative: 28)
Iguana Grunts x2 (2d6+d8Rd, 1d6B, 1d6G)
Iguana Longbow x1 (2d6Ra, 2d6Rd, 2d6Y)
Heavy Assault Chub x1 (2d6+d8Rd, 2d6B)
Fat Snake Blitzer x1 (2d6+d8Rh, 2d6Y, 1d8G, 2xSSR)

31st OMU (Starting Initiative: 49)
Salvaged Chubs x2 (2d6Rd, 2d6Rh, 1d6B, 1d6Y)
Meerkat Grunts x2 (2d6Rd, 1d6G, 1d6Y, 1xSSR)
Sentinel x1 (2d6B, 2d6Y, 1d8G)

Out of all the games played, the OMU won all but 4 with the Pit Vipers winning 3 and the Rattlers winning only 1. Part of this I attribute to the fact that nearly everyone who played a game at the table had never played MFZ before and both the vipers and rattlers require certain tactics and playstyles to win while the OMU just has to not lose anything. The games where the Vipers and Rattlers won were because they effectively used coordinated and deadly attacks, making good use of spots and focused fire.

At first glace, the lack of yellow dice on the Rattlers seems like a huge hindrance, in practice it isn't as debilitating. The amount of firepower they bring to the table tends to eat through cover quickly and paired with increased mobility (every frame has a green die) they are able to maneuver around cover to line up a good shot, which means they are often able to use their white dice to lay down spots for their allies. The snipers hung back and layed down some hurt across the table. There was only one game where they ever got touched (granted that one instance it got one shotted by a salvaged chub's hatchet with 11 damage dice) and they were rarely anywhere near close enough to the thick of things to be a serious target.

The Vipers had the advantage of versatility. They had solid firepower all around (only one frame didn't have a d8 for attack) as well as two frames with double yellows. This meant they had some heavy attacks that could be very effective if focused correctly. The Iguana Grunts were awesome assault frames, swooping in quickly and dishing out the hurt while the Longbow peppered them from afar, assisting with spots wherever needed. The Blitzer hung back by the stations and used it's SSRs to pepper any incoming frames before they got in range of his huge melee damage, all the while supporting the reast of his team with his yellows.

What did I (and should you) take from this?

• One defense system can make a huge difference in how long your frame stays on the table and contributing to the fight. It may not seem like a sound investment on paper, but trust me, it is.
• Yellow dice are useful, but not always necessary. If you have the firepower to chew through cover or the mobility to get around it, your white dice will do just fine.
• Make sure you activate your frames with yellow dice before your last frame. Those spots wont do any good if you don't have anyone left to use them.
• Be aggressive and coordinated. This doesn't mean be reckless, the team who attacks relentlessly and effectively will almost always win.

Pit Viper Assault Chubs shake down an OMU soldier.

After Con Report

The first Denver Comic Con was a HUGE success. As a first year con, it pulled in over 20,000 con goers (not including kids under 10, and there were a bunch of those there too) over the weekend, which is over double the projected attendance. Every exhibitor, celebrity guest, and professional that attended was gushing over how well the event was run, and how much fun it was and that they would love to come back next year. On top of that, already on the guest list for next year's con is Stan Lee and Mr. Wheaton (he had to cancel this year due to a huge movie gig that he can't currently discuss due to NDAs). Based off of people's reactions this year I wouldn't be surprised if the con is twice as big next year. But enough about the con itself, and on to MFZ!

I was set up in the gaming area in the Hyatt across the street from the convention center all weekend. I had a sweet spot right next to the entrance of the gaming area which meant everyone that came in saw the table. I was actually really surprised how many people that stopped by had asked "Hey, is this Mobile Frame Zero?" Nearly every person that walked by was floored by the concept, and every person that sat down and learned how to play was impressed and had tons of fun. I even had a handful of people come back the next day for another game!

I had an absolute blast showing people how to play and loving how quickly they grasped the rules. I had a group of three guys sit down on Saturday night (two of them came back for a rematch the next morning, pictured above) and I walked them through the first half of turn 1. After that, they finished the whole game by themselves! They only had to ask a couple of random situational questions as they came up. I definitely want to set something up for next year. Maybe Josh and or Vincent would be able to swing by to the second year of the best new con in the country? (nudge)

You can find lots of pictures of all the MFZ that went down on my flickr stream or Ben Kim's (Thanks for swinging by each day and taking lots of pictures Ben!).

Down Periscope

In the next week and a half or so I'm going to be incredibly busy. I'm moving into a new house, getting things finalized for Denver Comic Con, and working 10+ hour shifts for the next nine days. So don't expect to see much of me in that time period. However, immediately after the nine day stretch I'll be running MFZ demos over at the Con, so expect to see plenty of stuff that weekend! I put up a poll to ask what you want to see out of my coverage of the con, so please let me know! In the mean time I'll leave you with the progress so far on the newest frame I've been working on, the Kimodo.

Comic Con Deployment

With the Denver Comic Con approaching on the weekend of June 15th, I've been putting the final touches on two of the three companies I will be bringing with to demo Mobile Frame Zero. The third is a company being built by Soren which is shaping up rather nicely if I say so myself!

The 31st Orion Militia Unit

I still may be tweaking the companies a bit here and there, but this is two thirds of what you can expect to see on the game table out at Con! Hope to see you there!

The Pit Vipers