Monsterpocalypse is a game all about making the right choices at the right time. Do you throw Gorgahdra into a power plant and a cathedral despite sending him into his hyper form? Or do you bide your time and body slam into that shiny new rocket gantry?

All good for discussion and debate. But today, let’s talk about the choices you make before you even throw your first monster.

When selecting monsters and units, players have a lot of potential avenues to pursue. They can select a second monster to try to cover their first monster’s weaknesses. Or they can drill down into one strategy to ensure their models moles can reign supreme. Of course, a player can also go thematic, playing just one Faction…but let’s ramp it up bigger than that, shall we?

Before I play a game of Monsterpocalypse, I always start with a monster. In this case, let’s go with one of my favorite amorphous blobs, Globbicus.

So I have a blob—now what do I do? First, I examine that monster’s strengths and weaknesses. Globbicus hits like a ton of goop; they are accurate and just generally good at putting the hurt on. On the other hand, Globbicus is slow and not exactly the most nimble of slimes. They also aren’t great at dealing with units. Sure, their alpha form has Demolition, so they can clear models surrounding a building, but their slow movement can make it hard to get to the building they need to destroy.

One might start looking to monsters with High Mobility and Flight, so you can reach out to the threats Globbicus can’t; however, the Destroyer agenda doesn’t exactly have access to a ton of Flight monsters. The agenda does certainly have a good amount of monsters with High Mobility, but I for one like an altogether different solution. And that solution’s name is Xixorax.

Have you ever thought to yourself that those four buildings were particularly annoying? Well, Chonky boy Xixorax can knock ’em down. Xixorax does one thing, rampage, and he does it the bestest. Have a line of buildings or units you just can’t get Globbicus to? Xixorax has you covered. Need 15 Power Dice so a Bifurcated Globbicus can perform two power attacks? Xixorax can do that. Need an angry mutated stag beetle? I mean…yeah, that’s literally Xixorax, but I have to ask why you needed that?

So, we have a pairing one-part creepy and one-part crawly. Now what about units? Xixorax (currently) has no units to go with him. He’s a savage swarm of one for now. But Globbicus can bring his favorite mini-slimes. Toxxos are great to spread across the map, and since their Hazardous ability won’t hurt Xixorax while rampaging, there is little risk involved. Since Xixorax is probably knocking down a ton of buildings, Absorbers will really enjoy all the leftover debris to empower their attacks. I really like this team with a lot of Waste units, so I’d reach for two packs which gives you six Toxxos and four Absorbers.

Then we just need to fill it in. There are some great mainstays amongst the Destroyers agenda. Having at least one Mollock Berserker is pretty great utility. If that perfect set of berserk attacks ever shows up, you want to take advantage of it. Since all of these units have pretty dang good melee attacks, you’ll likely want at least two Destructomites for Flank. The Berserker may be a Lone Wolf, but he’s not above having someone distract his victims.

Any Destroyer player will end up with at least one Power Pod in their unit pool, because…why not have extra Power Dice? The one problem with Toxxos and Absorbers is that they are rather slow. Having one Task Master just for that occasional turn that Motivator and Telekinesis is required to reach out that one extra space is a good call. Now you have fifteen of your twenty units. The thing this unit pool is lacking is units with Flight. So, to fill in the last five spots, I’ll go with four Squix (one an elite) and a one Hellion. I love Squix as my go-to flier in Destroyer forces—they are fast and surprisingly hard to kill sometimes. Sure, they won’t get a ton of work done, but that’s what the Absorbers are for.

You’re probably saying to yourself: that’s all well and good, Faye, but Destroyers are meanies. So, what about Protectors? You’d be right, Destroyers are definitely meanies. So, let’s start the process all over again with a monster too hot to handle: Incinerus.

Incinerus is a pretty strange monster. He is very likely the most consistent attacker in the game. But he is one heck of a glass cannon. He has more hit points than one might think at first glance, since he is immune to hazards with his Fire Proof rule. But that only really gets him to parity with the other low-health monsters in the game. So, we know his big weakness and his strength. Which monster will pair well?

There’s a few good choices. Leviathron has a ton of health to help compensate, but he’s really slow and has a problem keeping up. The same is generally true for Armodax. Pterdax can get fairly close to what we need—someone to keep up that can also help screen with Action: Tow. That said, I think Zor-Maxim really hits the nail on the head.

Zor-Maxim is a difficult monster to peg down due to his High Mobility and Action: Teleport. Being able to set up a unit in front of Incinerus or Zor-Maxim makes them really hard to get to. An opponent will find it is all but impossible to set up two power attacks in a row.

So, what pairs well with these two monsters? Incinerus, like Xixorax, is currently without units; however, in order to take full advantage of Zor-Maxim, I think you’ll want a good supply of Shadow Sun Syndicate units. Really, you could go with just all twenty of your units as Shadow Sun models and it wouldn’t be bad—but that might be boring. So, let’s take a look at five great support units to include in almost every Protector force. First you have the Repair Truck and their favorite super helpful eco-terrorists in a van, the Scavenger Van. Since the Scavenger Van came out, I don’t think I’ve started making a Protector force without one Van and one Repair Truck. The ability to use Action: Extinguish on the Van followed by Action: Repair on the Truck is just about always useful.

Another team of models that I love is the Ape Infiltrator and the Rocket Ape. The Infiltrator is great at claiming power zones, even if you never take advantage of Spotter or Forward Observer. The Rocket Ape is a unit you’ll want at least one of to ward against your opponent playing their units aggressively. There is nothing quite as satisfying as watching a Rocket Ape spawn then promptly blow away three different units threatening your territory.

Finally, I like to have one Pteradactix on hand. Like the Ape Infiltrator, they are great at claiming territory, even if you never need Action: Tow. But for those rare instances when a unit needs a quick tow, it’s nice to have it available.

Now that we have some good support units, what does the main force look like? At present, this force only has one model with Flight, so taking four Sun Fighters seems in order. When using Zor-Maxim, playing with only one Shadow Gate won’t cut it. Let’s try three of those. Since we already have three models with cargo, we better have at least two Interceptors for that Action: Transport goodness. With two Interceptors, who can resist taking C-Type Shinobis, so I think I’ll take four of those. That gives us two spaces left. Players have a choice: since there are a lot of blast attacks among these units, a second Ape Infiltrator might be warranted. You may also want at least one Shadow Rider for all your Flank needs. Whether you decide having two Shadow Riders or two Ape Infiltrators is up to you, but either way, that’s a full twenty!

Well, it looks like that’s all we have time for this Insider, folks. I can hear the rumbling of giant footsteps in the distance, and that’s my cue to get outta here. But be sure to check out Monsterpocalypse today to build your own forces!