Mauve Manticore #21

Discussion in 'Adventure Discussion and Strategy' started by Pawndawan, Dec 1, 2016.

  1. Pawndawan

    Pawndawan Champion of Cardhuntria

    Thread for MM #21 praises / curses and advice. :)

    Mauve Manticore #21 is an adventure trilogy by @adajon.


    Battle 1: Uplink


    It seems that I was quite lucky when I ran this on the test server. I completed this on the test server twice and required only one restart. On live server, however, I died and had to restart four times before I managed to beat it.

    Paralytic Poison is brutal, and if get flanked and/or can't get rid of the poison with Genetic Engineering or Warp Run, you're most likely dead. Mutants drawing Invisibility is quite awkward as well.

    This map is a bit too cramped for my tastes. In that sense, it reminds me a bit of MM19.1 (Vlamona's Troll module). It's quite frustrating to get pinned / flanked when the AI happens to draw enough move cards to pull that off.


    Battle 2: Rescue

    Both times I've completed this, I've needed one restart. Radioactive Pulse is quite annoying, in my opinion.

    Case's prison is cleverly constructed. Case is a sitting duck and drawing a Meldown is nasty, so Healing Beacon and Force Field are really valuable here.


    Battle 3: Finale

    Bittersweet end to the trilogy. Really nice writing throughout. :) The finale was my favorite module of the three.

    I needed one restart when I completed this on the live server, Rocket Charge caught me by surprise. :D
     
  2. Just gonna say this, best MM in a LOOOOONG while. Adajon I love u.

    Battle 1 is easy if you play well enough that you're never cornered. Warp run removes immunity buffs and laser whips are seriously strong cards. You also get plenty of good armour.

    Battle 2 is hypno beacon heaven, didn't have any problems with this. Didn't need to survive 4 turns, scatter laser max rolls along with warp run from priest pretty much murdered all 3.

    Battle 3 was challenging, but I found it easier to defeat the mutants then go after the Dwarf, it's not actually that mobile, even with rocket boots. (Remember, you have hypno beacons and control on wiz)

    Um well I got MY weapon from this map.

    [​IMG]
     
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  3. Gingrich Yurr

    Gingrich Yurr Thaumaturge

    Another great MM.

    Battle 1:
    As I said in world chat, I ran around in circles staying one step ahead of the mutants and Laser Whipping them. Took 3 tries to beat it.

    Battle 2: No problem at all, I destroyed all 3 mutants in the first round. Lol.

    Battle 3: Pretty funny, had a Laser Spray which the mutant Retaliatory Mutated and sprayed their own team, killing the other mutant and putting Molly into severely injured condition. Was an easy win after that.

    Enjoy your 1000 pizza adajon.

    Edit: Forgot to mention: Helm Of Preparation is sweet.
     
    Last edited: Dec 1, 2016
  4. wavy

    wavy Thaumaturge

    Really enjoyed these battles and only 1 restart along the way (the first scenario)...got 2 Meltdowns after I'd used all my moves! Probably one of the MMs that I'll play again and again.

    Many thanks to all the contributors.
     
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  5. Killer74

    Killer74 Hydra

    Lovely idea/story behind this MM; nice work adajon.

    Found the battles pretty straight-forward, I may have just been lucky. One of the few MMs that I will probably redo now and then.
     
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  6. Rohndil

    Rohndil Hydra

    Having played it a few times since its earliest version I already breezed trough the Cyber Castle twice. Once again, great job! One of my favourite MM.
     
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  7. wavy

    wavy Thaumaturge

    I hadn't noticed that this MM was all by 1 contributor - even more kudos to @adajon!
     
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  8. Kalin

    Kalin Begat G'zok

    I breezed through this on the test server (one defeat in first and third maps), but when I tried it on live it took me like 8 tries to beat the first map. At least the losses were quick. Then I beat the second map on the first turn, and got through the third map without defeat (but it took many rounds because Marie died early).
     
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  9. CT5

    CT5 Guild Leader

  10. Kalin

    Kalin Begat G'zok

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  11. PULSEFIRE

    PULSEFIRE Ogre

    1st battle took me a while, before I used warp run a lot more. Heh.
    2nd, not hard.
    3rd, rocket charge got me, beat her to pieces next time.
     
  12. ParodyKnaveBob

    ParodyKnaveBob Thaumaturge

    Such an excellent Mauve Manticore. I'm glad to see so many others enjoying it, too. (Fitting that such an excellent new item gets awarded for completing it, too! Thanks, @Flaxative and @Jon! heheh) The writing and scenario were great, @adajon -- really telling the story through the text and gameplay very well. I've told myself I shall come back to such-and-such MMs to replay at some point because many of them I enjoyed greatly, but this is perhaps the first I recall actually doing so! $E^ D

    If you're a random reader who's gotten this far in the thread, you probably already know what's up, but um spoilers! $:^ P

    Beat the first on the first try. Just kept running around in circles, which was great. Laser Whipping across the data stream in the center is hiarlious to me for some reason. $E^ J Later on, when I played again, the mutants split up a bit more, and it took me more like 3-4 tries to get past, hm. Marie-France really is a powerhouse, eh? She can solo quite well... Really gives the feeling of a lady bent on blitzkrieging the terror to rescue her friends! $:^ ]

    Beat the second .. mm .. I don't recall how easily. Maybe first try, maybe third. It's been a couple months at this point. I agree with @Pawndawan about Case's data prison. Well-constructed appearance, mechanics, etc., really giving a feeling of desperation and cruelty. I remember my first time through, I won via surviving the onslaught yet almost destroying everything in a single round. Fun. $:^ } My second time though, I had similar not-too-hard-but-challenging fun; something happened to give Case an opportunity to escape, but I don't recall what; I don't think it was Panic since that would've forced the re-Placement; I wish I could recall what; anyway, I recall choosing to stay in place since I was close to just winning via time anyway; or, perhaps Marie-France got Panic which made me realize if Case ever got it, it'd be really funny, lol.

    Okay. The third battle is what really hit me. Not how you think, either. A Mauve Manticore which can actually be emotionally gripping. Oh. Wow. Good job. I figured it'd be a similar thing (as I expect you, adajon, wanted) with the two reunited friends up against even greater foes to rescue Molly. And then the "flat intonation" -- and I physically gasped. Good. Job. You really made me feel for these tragic heroes. And, in the end, it was a tragedy. As we know anyway, just from Cardotron3000's PvP antics, there is no happy ending here. All is lost. And, it didn't feel like some "you were the monster all along" "tack-on ending." It all felt integral. You face monstrous cruelty; the team has already partially fallen to it; now, upon putting their heart, soul, and strength into overcoming, the cruelty strips them of their efforts anyway. This was art. Thank you for it. ~ The battle itself? Fun! $E^ b Desperate-feeling for a different reason, as outlined in the previous sentences. Also, ohhh wow, didn't realize she had so much Laser Block and Rocket Charge, lol.

    Enjoy your year's supply of Papa Manchu delicacy! (As much as people complain about MMs in general, I've seen World and the forum react differently to this, thus) I believe most would agree your trilogy was worth every slice. $¦^ )
     
    Last edited: Jan 19, 2017
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