Building Monsterpocalypse Armies with a Competitive Edge on Black Friday

Hello, and happy holidays to everyone! I hope you’re all well and in good spirits. My name is Emanuel Class; I host the podcast Field of Fire at https://www.loswarmachine.com/field-of-fire. This is my first-ever official Privateer Press Insider, and I am excited to share my thoughts with you today about Monsterpocalypse.

Monsterpocalypse has quickly become my favorite game. I wasted no time diving in headfirst with buying models—as a collector, I could not help but want to own one of everything when I started. After all, the buildings and monsters all looked very cool. And of course, having one of every unit seemed likely to give me lots of variety when playing. The more games I played, the more I realized there were definitely units I wanted multiples of as well as buildings I wish I had bought earlier. Well, with Black Friday on the horizon, I started wondering how many people are in the same boat I was in back when I began. I reached out to Matt Wilson and proposed some army bundles to him—and he let me know that instead of bundles, Privateer Press would be having a big sale on their webstore. So, Matt gave me the greenlight to write about the army bundles I was thinking of. I hope to gives players a quick guide to pick up some fun and competitive models with lots of room to grow your force in many different directions.

The first thing I discovered when I crossed the threshold of understanding in Monsterpocalypse was that there’s no need to remain a purist when it comes to which Faction I play. I also learned there are some key elements to look for when list building.

First, let’s look at Protectors. For new players ready to expand, it’s great to get in on some of the newest releases so you can share in the excitement as other models come out to complement them. With the Draken Armada’s recent release of Rastaban, I believe this is a great time for any budding Protector player to begin. This list is one of my favorites because if focuses on speed, power, and accuracy. Something to keep in mind if you are playing a 3-monster game: you only get 25 units. Well, this list suggests 5 extra units so you can cherry-pick your favorites. And you are only required to bring between 6 and 12 buildings, so I propose 12 different options to choose from.

Agenda: Protectors

Monsters

Let’s Talk about the Monsters

Rastaban is the cornerstone of this list. First and foremost, it is a flyer, which is a powerful advantage in any pairing. And Rastaban is also outstanding at generating Power Dice. So, the first thing I look for when building a pair for Rastaban is another monster that can use those Power Dice to do lots of damage. When dealing damage is the name of the game, there are two monsters I love to play: Krakenoctus and Terra Khan. Both monsters make a great pair with Rastaban and round out a strong three-monster list.

The Draken/Kraken Combo

Krakenoctus is one of the most potent monsters in the Protectors’ stable. With Grappler on both sides of its card, 12 HP and 9 DEF, Krakenoctus is a great front liner. Krakenoctus spends the Power Dice Rastaban earns to leverage Lightning Strike, Reach, and high Action Dice values. When Krakenoctus goes hyper, those extra Power Dice generated by the Draken Armada go a long way toward that super damage from its ability Windup. To round it all out, Motivator on Rastaban helps the slower Tritons.

The Terra/Draken Combo

This has been one of the most enjoyable monster pairs I have played yet. Motivator on Rastaban and Stampede on Terra Khan can make for a deceptively quick force. The combination of the Bastion Lander’s Tactical Shift and Mount Terra’s Tectonic Shift make triggering Feeding Frenzy on Terra Khan a reliable strategy. When Terra Khan goes hyper, it can burn through Power Dice as it leverages its extra attack from Lightning Attack combined with Feeding Frenzy.

Units

Draken

I suggest doubling down on the blister with the Berserker in it because it is so amazing and pairs so neatly with Rastaban’s ability Power Swell. Coursers are decent speed and defense, and with their ability Pointer, they can help Rastaban, Terra Khan, the Bellowers, and the Raptix hit more accurately.

Triton

I really like the Triton units in this list. The Steel Shell Crabs give you a hearty power point holder and with Motivator, Tectonic Shift, and Tactical Shift, they can get to where they need to go and be hard to remove once they get there. The Psi-Eel also adds another movement trick with Telekinesis.

Terrasaurs

Bellowers are a sneaky hidden annoyance in this list. Using the movement tricks of the list, it becomes reasonably easy to get a Bellower into place to trigger Feeding Frenzy. And once in place, the Bellowers’ Disruption ability can be a nuisance for your opponent. Speaking of movement tricks, the Pteradactix has Tow Offering—yet one more way to relocate your units. This gives you a deceptive amount of mobility across the units in your list. Raptix offer you another fast unit with high mobility and bring Anti Air to round out your offensive package. Last but not least, the Brontox offers you another solid unit to dig into a power zone, and its Nesting ability allows you to net an extra unit each turn.

Buildings

The 6 Core Buildings

• Bastion Lander: Movement and cheaper units
• Mount Terra: Movement and cheaper units
• U.A.R.D Defense Base: a re-roll can be crucial for such a dice-dependent list
• Industrial Complex: More speed!
• Skyscraper: Discounted units
• Imperial State Building: City Planning can help you adjust building placement after the opening set up

 Supplemental Buildings

• Downtown Highrise: Healing if needed
• Apartment Building: Sometimes it’s good to have some Apartment Buildings to place if your opponent starts placing buildings like Media Company on your side of the map

Now this kaiju monster mash would not be complete unless we talked about Destroyers. This is a list that has grabbed my interest since the release of the Zerkalo Bloc.

Agenda: Destroyers

Monsters

Let’s Talk about the Monsters

Voyaka 099 is the cornerstone monster of this list. Its big guns supported by Big Game Hunter make it a potent monster hunter. Spotter and Secondary Battery are great support abilities to really turn the guns you bring up to 11. Yasheth is a mobile flyer with Vampirism to help keep it healed and in the fight, running interference if possible. Yasheth is a simple straightforward melee monster to complement the ranged-focused Voyaka. Things get really interesting when Blastikutter gets involved, as it brings a whole array of great abilities.

Cthul’s 099

When playing Voyaka, I felt I needed a monster to run interference to allow it to support by fire and stay safe for as long as possible. Yasheth fit this role in many interesting ways. Flight and Vampirism make it a great frontline monster. Once Yasheth goes hyper, it grants Arcane Void to your units and gains Syphon on its brawl, which is supported by Penetrator and Lightning Attack. These abilities will help take the wind out of your opponent’s sails by stealing their Power Dice. I also like Yasheth because it’s quite simple, which helps when the other two monsters in the list are loaded with abilities front and back.

Zerkalo-Kutter

Blastikutter brings a lot to the team with High Mobility, Blitz, Extinguisher, Earth Works, and Cut Power. Cut Power is a nasty ability that Blastikutter brings on both its alpha and hyper sides, making keeping Power Dice an issue for your opponent. When Blastikutter goes hyper, it gains Follow Through on its brawl and blast attacks. Voyaka 099 synergizes with this excellently, with Spotter and Secondary Battery helping to ensure that those ranged Follow Through blast attacks really hit home.

Units

Zerkola Bloc

Zerkola Bloc units are a mix of air and ground units armed with good blast attacks and extra abilities like Anti-Air and Aim that combine nicely with Voyaka 099’s Spotter and Secondary Battery. And the Propo Walker brings an interesting load out of support and denial abilities.

Lords of Cthul

Snatchers are one of my favorite units because they are self-replicating. The Hellion brings a strong 3/2 brawl attack and Siphon to boot for more Power Dice denial. Spitters bring a long-range 5 blast attack and add more Extinguisher to your list, while the Task Master is a potent support unit.

Subterrans

The Mollock Brute and Mollock Berserker both bring some much-needed punch to your unit selection. With high mobility and good speed, they can be deceptively mobile for a brawling unit.

Buildings:

The 6 Core Buildings

• Reclamation Factory: Recycle and Deconstruction are great. Cheaper units!
• Communications Array: For longer-range guns
• Tokyo Triumph: Tourism Campaign and Vantage Point are exceptional for this list
• Corporate Headquarters: To ignore Cloak
• Void Gate: Empower and Psychokinesis are both excellent
• Industrial Complex: For faster units

 Supplemental Buildings

• Imperial State Building: City Planning helps you manage buildings after set-up
• Rocket Gantry: Helps level the playing field…literally
• Apartment Building: Sometimes it’s good to have some apartment buildings to place if your opponent starts placing things like Media Corporations on your side of the map

This should give you a comprehensive list to help take advantage of the Black Friday sales and grow your monster collection in a competitive and fun direction. I hope you enjoyed my first-ever Insider, and I hope it helps you dive deeper into the Monsterpocalypse sweeping the land!