Mastering LSN

Ah, challenge recieved, though on a map I've never played, Trains. It figures ... I'm playing someone I've not played before on a map I've never looked at.

After spending a bit of time looking at the deployment zones and the terrain, I don't like the balance. :)

Have to admit, I agree to an extent. Slightly favors Blue.

-Nim

The blue deployment zone has easy access via door or starting point to two of the largest buildings in the middle of the map. The green deployment has easy access to a small mid building, and no door access to the other two.

Buildings in the middle of the map are also mostly on Blue's side.

-Nim

The blue deployment has two very clear lanes of fire toward his base and nice open areas to the west. Mine is cluttered with boxes and barbed wire and buildings that hide incoming spawn ...

So, what race to use? I think both sides will ignore grey for this encounter. The deployment zone is too tight to allow for useful placement of regenerators, and they'd likely have to travel a good distance before engaging. Not so good for grey.

All very true. Though the flank deployment zone makes Greys a little better choice....but maybe not much.

-Nim

From my deployment, I don't think mechs make a good choice either. While I could place a few missle tanks and likely blow a bit of terrain to dust, the blue train with slits near his deployment would hide snipers to eventually take down my tanks. That, and I doubt he'll use them either.

I do think that Mechs would be a more viable option on the Blue side, as there are more Military Walls to hide tanks behind. For Green, the pipes would hinder tank movement...a lot. Plus it would be hard to get a line on Blue's deployment zone.

-Nim

I've considered spawn for this map, however, with limited access to the mid buildings, I'd need to bring a queen along with each group to move through that cover.

This may play in later - Queens are sluggish wall breakers - no one can make holes in walls at range like MTs or Commanders. Another thing here is Spawn have very limited access lines to Blue's dz. A canny opponent will force Spawn to take either quick, predictable routes or slow ones where the Queen or Drone bites through the walls to get in. Even so, they can only make holes so fast, and this takes valuable time.

-Nim

But wait! What's this? I finally scrolled the map to the very edge and noticed two more small deployment zones. One for blue and one for green. I don't believe this changes much for using either a grey or mech deployment, but spawn does look more attractive at this point.

Regen? Seems like it would make Greys a little more attractive on this map

-Nim

Another balance issue I've noticed ... both routes far left and far right have explosive canisters on my 'side' of the map with no corresponding danger zones for blue. Not very nice ... I can't move quickly forward on the west side of the map without taking out the canister first. (I don't leave weapons of mass destruction laying around behind my lines ... ) Doing so would either lose a point with most races, or give away the fact that I'm marines if I use a grenade. On the east side, my 'rail car' is a death trap, but his corresponding train is, well, not.

A final consideration ... this game is going to be very public ... will we use our best races??

And so, I've decided spawn ... it should make for an interesting match, and I need practice on them. :)

So Boomstick has admittedly taken "not his best" race here. Take note, everyone! - hehe

Seriously though, I don't think I would have taken Spawn here if I were trying to play my best game. The lines of approach are just too limited. Too easy to herd the Spawn into predictable approaches.

And naughty, naughty! Boomstick only took one Spitter. Spitters are great units to have versus any race except Flying unit only type armies...which you never see in any serious play. Vs Mechs, you goo the tanks and XTs, then Spike from extreme range. Vs Marines, you goo them down so they can't heal, and if they don't self-grenade the goo patches early enough, they are doomed (Medics excepting), and lastly...in Spawn games they are PRICELESS, as you can deny corpses to the enemy Queen, stick her down for Spiking, etc. Really in 25 points I would for sure take 3 Spitters.

-Nim