Map Analysis Series: Isle of Annihilation [Gearbox]
The instructive images in this article are captured from the free Tabletop Simulator mod by Tekk which you can subscribe to here.
Hello again and welcome. I’m Gearbox and I’m here to help you go from casually tossing monsters around the board to playing MonPoc competitively. This is the third article in a series analyzing all the maps released for Monsterpocalypse. In today’s article I’m going to walk through an analysis of the Monsterpocalypse map Isle of Annihilation. I recommend reading my articles on Power Bases and Vectors before you dive into this article.
Released in 2018 as a paper map for use in the appropriately named Isle of Annihilation league kit; this map was rereleased as a standalone neoprene-fabric product, first at the Lock and Load 2019 convention, then to the general public in November of 2019.
It is not great. Not even very good. It’s bad for competitive play. It’s designed for one on one monster games in an escalation league, when most competitive games are two monsters to a side. It’s far too open and the volcano in the center does very little to make up for the limited damage options the low foundation count offers.
Foundations, Clutter, and Spawn Points
There are only 16 foundations on the entirety of the Isle of Annihilation. It’s very easy to maneuver on this map, given how few buildings there are to get in your way. Just be wary if you’re playing a monster without high mobility (a pedestrian). Pedestrian monsters do not enjoy walking through the 9 hazard squares in the middle of the board that define the active volcano
You will rarely, if ever, be able to use a building as a screen on this map. They’re just in awkward places that don’t form many pockets. Units will be your best, and sometimes only, source of screening here.
With 6 spawn zones deployed relatively far forward and reasonably close to multiple power zones, it’s relatively easy to swarm the board. The far right spawn point is relatively useless, though. Note, also, that the map has nothing in the back two rows, effectively shrinking the vertical space by four squares.
Asymmetry, and what all is Impassible anyways?
One interesting thing about this map is that it’s asymmetrical. The Impassable water squares are not evenly distributed around the sides. This rarely, if ever, comes into play, but there has been confusion in the past regarding what squares are impassable and which are not. Below is my attempt to clear up the confusion. All squares highlighted in blue are Impassable. When I initially created this a year ago, this clarification was confirmed to be correct by the then Lead Designer of Monsterpocalypse.
Remember that monsters can move through impassable terrain without issue. As to the asymmetry, I recommend playing on the red side if you go first on Isle of Annihilation, since the far leftmost building has more squares that can secure it on the red side.
Potential Power Bases
On the far left side of the map there is a single building with two spawn points next to it. Not very exciting. In fact, the most exciting thing around this side of the board is the neutral spawn point. It greatly improves your reach into the hotly contested middle.
Just to the left of the middle we have a single building with a Safe power zone next to it. Also nearby is a power zone near the volcano, occupied here by a repair truck. I consider this second, further forward power zone a Middle power zone, not because of threats from opposing units, but threats from opposing monsters.
On the right of the map we have an Alleyway Double.
To either side of the volcano are two Middle power zones. These are within 5 squares of a spawn point for either player and provide no cover without Dig In. Take these zones if you can, but don’t rely on them for power generation. Note that both g-tanks in the below example can be swatted into the repair truck.
The Volcano
Let me preface this by discussing how Hazards work in MonPoc. If an opposing monster begins an attack within a Hazard, that monster does not take damage from that same Hazard even if this attack forces the opposing monster to collide with that Hazard. Also, if your monster begins its movement within a Hazard, it does not take damage from the Hazard until/unless it moves or is moved out of and then back into the Hazard.
How this works with the 9 square permanent volcano Hazard on Isle of Annihilation is that once your monster enters it, whether it takes damage from the entering or not, it is immune to collision damage from the volcano, and the volcano alone, until it moves or is moved out of the entire 9 squares of the volcano Hazard.
So if Krackenoctus advances into the volcano, Waterlogged prevents it from taking damage, and any attack that forces it to collide with the volcano Hazard deals no additional damage, since Krackenoctus is immune to the entirety of the Hazard it started the attack in. It will still take damage from colliding with other Hazards, however. If it is thrown out of the volcano and Alley-Ooped back into it, it will take damage from colliding with the volcano Hazard since it left and was returned.
Alley-Oop Vectors
Remember that anything done on your side of the map can be done on your opponent’s side and vice versa. Also remember that Vectors can be reversed, if done properly. In the examples below, Red Goghadra will be where the enemy lands from the initial attack, Defender X will be where you can position your second monster, and Orange Gorghadra will be where the enemy finally lands. There are 3 key Alley-Oop Vectors to discuss on this map:
Double to Backline. If you manage to drop your opponent’s monster onto the Aligned Double on the side of the board, you can then Throw them 5 squares away into the far corner building.
Backline to Volcano A. If you drop your opponent’s monster directly onto the rightmost building of their Alleyway Double, you can then Throw them 5 squares back into a building and the corner of the volcano.
Backline to Volcano B. If you drop your opponent’s monster onto the corner of their building next to the Safe powerzone, you can then Throw them 4 squares back into a building and the corner of the volcano.
That’s about it. What more can be done with only 16 foundations?
Final Thoughts
COMPETITIVE PLAYERS MUST BE COMFORTABLE ON ALL MAPS. Half the time, your opponent is going to choose the map, so you need to be ready to play on all of them. Everything after this line is just Gearbox's opinion, and should not be taken as the last word. In fact, many competitive players vehemently disagree with the below opinion.
Even after all this analysis, I stand by my opening statement. This is not a good map for competitive play. With the limited Vectors and foundations, power dice are few, good power attacks are rare, and the game is just a boring slog once the buildings are used to kill off a monster per side. The 1v1 game in the middle of a fiery volcano is cool, thematically, but not mechanically.
If you really want to play on this map in a competitive format, I can’t stop you. In that case I recommend playing at least one monster with Super Damage access and at least one monster with Hazard immunity (Waterlogged, Flight, Fire-Proof, etc.). Play quickly, because with the limited damage options on the board you’re more likely to end via clock than via monster kill.
There is one saving grace for Isle of Annihilation: Demo games. With only 16 buildings to put down, the wide open layout, short distance from spawn points to power zones, and a design that screams for single monster games, this map is great for demoing Monsterpocalypse. It’s very thematic, difficult to screen on, and just all around fun for a casual introduction to the game. Heck, with 12 paper apartments, you only need to own 4 resin buildings to fill up the board.
So, if you’re looking for a fun map to demonstrate MonPoc on, this is a great pickup. If you’re here to learn about the more competitive side of the game, I do not recommend choosing to play on the Isle of Annihilation
Have Fun!
-Gearbox
