Epic Win at not-so-EpicCon

or How to Win at Battle Royals

My friend Lew and I made the trek up to EpicCon in Philly on Saturday to try our hand at winning some Convention Exclusive HeroClix Prizes. We had originally planned to go with a couple of other friends who unfortunately couldn't make it between work or finances. That said, the one advantage was that we had a solid team of 2 with a vested interest in one or the other of us winning. Had we been a group of 4 we would have been happy with anyone winning, but this way we could be a little more selfish. :)

That being said, the set up for the Battle Royals were done in a King of the Hill format. This meant that there were 4 squares in the middle of the map that caused one click of unavoidable damage to the opposing character of your choice if your team had sole control of the middle of the board. And after 50 minutes, all figures must take an unavoidable click at the end of each round, marked by the player who's turn it is when time is called. Also important to note, no healing may occur after time is called.

So here are my tips to keep in mind to help you win in this format:

1. Play with a friend you know and trust! This is very important in my opinion. Lew and I won 4 out of the 5 matches we played in (splitting and even 2 and 2) because we were playing as a team for as long as we could, and in some cases when we knew our game was lost, we had a vested interest in our friend winning, so you play for the assist. The opponents we went up against that didn't know each other or didn't communicate well had a much harder time coordinating attacks on us because we were playing as a solid unit. We're also both veteran players, so we really know what we're doing.
2. If you have a choice, play a set you know. For the first three matches of the day we were playing Captain America boosters. Lew and I know those characters very well at this point, and that was a huge advantage when drafting. You have to be quick and know what your looking for or what might work well together. When you can demoralize a team by resummoning a Hydra Agent for the 3rd time in a match, or keep Viper in the middle on her top click because you've got Richard Fisk standing behind a building, you've done your job well. Conversely we did not do as well drafting from Superman boosters in our last two matches because we didn't know the characters as well, being much newer. The two sets couldn't play more differently.
3. Don't be afraid to pass a Super Rare. In our first match, Lew passed on Scorpio so that one of our opponents wouldn't end up with 2 Black Panthers. It was a hard decision at the time but we won the match, so I think he made the right choice.
4. Don't neglect the Hill. There were at least a couple of matches we played in where I felt our opponents did not try hard enough to take the Hill. If you are playing against me in this format, I assure you I will have someone on the Hill, or making a concerted effort to get on the Hill. It's a very powerful mechanic once you get control of it. And I'm not giving up control of it for anyone. More than one of our matches was won by dealing out loads of damage from the Hill.
5. Don't be afraid to take one for the team. In our first match I had a Crimson Dynamo that managed to stay unhurt until we had to start taking unavoidable damage. Once all the figures started sliding, he could have become easier to take out, by my partner went down swinging against the opponent that might have beaten me, insuring me the win. In a later game, I assisted him by taking out an opponent with one of my last figures the turn before she was KOed by the unavoidable damage.
6. Don't get upset over a truly Epic move! In the same match I scored the assist on, Lew managed to pull off a Pulse Wave that hit close to every figure on the map. Sure my figures were in the blast, and we were still a team at that point. However, I clearly wasn't going to win that match anyway, and it was a really smart move on his part, because the shock had already started. It was a click race anyway. He was very apologetic after the fact, and I sort of laughed at him saying if the roles were reversed, I'd have probably done the same thing.
7. Keep your head. These matches are timed, and are almost certainly going to go into Sudden Death mode. Regardless of how bad your game is going, that unavoidable damage can turn the game and make some of the most unlikely figures the winners of the day. Just remember, it's not over until 1 man is left standing.
8. And last and probably most important, be a good sport. I play in the Battle Royals because they are fun events. If you want to be competitive, the Grinders are really the events for you. If you like crazy balls-to-the-walls knock-down drag-out fights where some really silly stuff can happen, then I want you at my table playing the Battle Royals. I pulled off a 3 way Mind Control with the common Maxwell Lord that likely did more damage to him than to my opponents, but it was funny, and a blast to try to pull off. Plus it just threw my opponents off kilter which was really more the point of the action anyway. If your going to lose, take it like a man and just enjoy yourself. You're likely going to be playing in another one it 10 to 20 minutes anyway, so what's the big deal! :)

All in all I had a great time. I managed to pull a Superman Robot, and I won the two prizes I really wanted to come home with Pestilence and Moonstone. All in all, it was a great day, and I look forward to the next time Lew and I can team up and wreak some havoc!