The impact a map can have on a game is often overlooked. A good strategy incorporates a tactically-sound map choice. But when it comes to locale, sometimes it's hard to see the forest for the trees. We're here to help you make smart decisions when it comes to HeroClix real estate.
Official Title: Assassin’s Alley
Environment: Outdoor
Map on Reverse: None
Dimensions: 24" x 36" (16x24 squares)
Set: ROC 2014
Status: ROC Legal

With Balls of Fury (or Watcher Fury if you prefer) really popular, I’ve seen this map pop up a lot in ROC tournaments. The nice thing about ROC maps is that they don’t have a time limit on use. The bad thing, of course, is that they’re not usable in WK-sponsored events like Worlds, though with ROC tearing up the tournament scene, and most venues being pretty lax about map choices, this isn’t much of a problem. Regardless, a word of warning would be to make sure that your venue and those who play there have no problems using an unofficial map in a tournament ahead of time.



Making Yourself At Home:
If you’re looking for a reason to play this map, I have one word for you: Elevated. This map has plenty of Elevated, and can be a real pain to get around if you’re not prepared for it. There are three levels of elevation, and they are all used fairly liberally. Moving from one rooftop to the next can be a challenge, and moving across the alley itself can be even more challenging. Characters who ignore elevated terrain for movement have a huge edge here in being able to get around wherever they please.



This is a layout of the general flow of movement on this map based on a grounded character taking the shortest route from rooftop to rooftop. There are three things to pay special attention to is that each starting zone has one rooftop they can easily move up, and one rooftop that they cannot (marked in yellow). You can still start on the rooftop from either side, but you might not be able to backtrack when you need to. The second thing is that while the flow of movement seems to draw everything toward the center, that's not true, and it only makes it easier to setup sniper nests against anyone caught in the middle. The last thing is that there is only one ladder to each side, and they are both in the middle of the map. Aside from that, single ladders surmount rooftops on each side means that it’s very easy to choke movement, especially with objects.




Marked in red are good places to place objects if you want to force grounded characters to stop moving. Placing the object on the bottom or top of the ladder can make the difference in whether you want to keep opponents out of line of fire, or to force them to walk in to your own firing squad on top of a building. Aside from objects, placing tie-ups in or adjacent to one of these spots can do the same thing, and force a charging brick to smack a tie-up with his ultra heavy rather than your primary attacker.

However, to take full advantage of the map, you’ll probably want someone with Improved Targeting: Elevated. Lines of Fire can be hard to draw on this map, and characters with Improved Targeting can wind up firing at you from the other side of a building. The key here is that each rooftop is in an alternating Elevation, which means you should take Elevation 2, because most of Elevation 1 and 3 won’t be able to see you. One thing to keep in mind about is when shooting another elevation, standard size characters won't block line of fire so you can shoot behind the front lines. Another idea is Colossals, and with the change to Size rules, they'll have no problem drawing lines of fire to just about anything on the map, though positioning might be a little tricky at times. Aside from Improved Targeting, another good choice would be Hypersonic Speed for some hit and run fun. Lacking that, Running Shot can help you get in to position and shoot from an overhang, or even just Sidestep can help you either move up to a ledge and fire, or vice versa. Lastly, this is a great map to isolate someone for a Pulse Wave since the Elevation changes and walls make it easy to keep some members on one side of the blast and others on another.

If you want to try something completely different, keep in mind that the center alley is almost completely clear, and a couple TKs can launch a melee brick across the map fairly easily. Additionally, if your opponent chooses to stick to the streets, this is a great map to meet them head on, or to have a flier take a perch to force them to catch up. Generally speaking though, you'll usually want to avoid standing in the main alley as it's an easy setup for a snipers, and a Grounded or Outwitted character can easily find himself without a lot of options to move up and retaliate.

Stuck in a Lease:



Losing map roll here means that your team is probably lacks mobility or Improved Targeting. It can also mean that your opponent is going to capitalize on something similar, regardless of your level of ability to defend it. Pay attention to this map showing general lines of fire across the roofs. If they’re trying to snipe you, the best thing to keep in mind are the "Now Leasing" signs on two of the rooftops. Most characters that can ignore elevated can’t ignore blocking, so take advantage of that on trying to move in on your opponent. To that end, pick the starting zone near row "A" because it has direct access from the street to the roof with the Now Leasing side, it’s sign is actually a little bigger, and it’s a little closer to the center of the map if you need to sneak in to position. Losing map roll doesn’t mean you’re out of options, just that you’ll probably need to pin down your opponent before he can do too much damage. There are a lot of ways to use the map to isolate your opponent so make sure your characters can support each other, and try to reverse the terrain against your opponent.

Alternatively, if you have Great-Sized or Colossal characters, keep in mind that you can block line of fire for anyone who shoots through elevated but not characters. And in some cases, it might be better for you to bite the bullet and simply base your opponent's snipers, foregoing a first strike to make sure that theirs isn't so bad.

Vacation Spots:

If you're looking for a casual play map, what I like about this one is that it slows down the flow of battle. Casual games tend to be about taking your time, and this forces each player to avoid running off ahead. It's also easy to practice maneuvering because even a Sidestep can change the entire flow of combat here. Line of Fire is fickle, and adjacency is fast and loose. The only thing I don't like about the map for casual play is that while it's easy to lose sight of a group, it's harder to divide or flank them. Rooftops can get crowded quickly, and with a limited number of ways to get on or off one, initial battle positions can be more straightforward than they appear. Still it's a great map, especially for blocking lines of fire, or having fun knocking people off of and in to buildings.

It's Getting Kinda Crowded:

If you're playing with multiple people in a game, this is a great map for it. The map can actually fit lengthwise with other copies of the same map for a really long map. Additionally, the unsafe nature of the middle, and the difficulty in traversing the roofs means that this map will slow the action in a larger game. If you're trying to fit three players on this map, I'd recommend placing 2 of the players on one side of their normal starting zones along column "1," and then the third player can start in the middle near the dome. Being sandwiched by elevated terrain will help insulate the third player so they don't get rushed as easily. If you have 4 players, you might place one player in each starting zone, and then one on each side of the road on 2 elevation terrain. A better option though might be to place everyone against the map border all along either their own rooftop on elevation 3 or elevation 2 closer to the middle. The walls and elevated will help block alpha strikes and allow more people to choose the enemy they want to face rather than getting dumped on.

I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here:
I’ve already mentioned Watcher Fury, but other characters who Ignore Elevated will work as well, like Banshee, 050 Jane-Thor, Phalanx Ultron, JLSG Darkseid, and several others. It’s also good for support characters like Skye, Riddler, Accountable, or Lyssa Drak who can hide out away from the action, and still use their powers. cap2 009 Winter Soldier is another good choice because his power helps him navigate the map, it's easy to pick several sniper spots that give him a wide area of control, as well as allow him to shoot at people who base the other nests while remaining far away from them. I also had a lot of fun with 021 Red Tornado recently on this map. The elevated means that your opponent will have a rough time out-ranging you, Flight helps with the elevation, Sidestep allows you to play with the ledges, and Force Blast is great with all of the walls and ledges to run people into and off of.

If you want to get a little more themey, I’d recommend the Nightwing and Batgirl duo. It’s not Modern anymore, but it’s still fun, and this is the map they were meant for. Stealth, Improved Movement, and the ability to Smoke Cloud anytime they change elevation during movement. Great stuff for a figure I don’t see as often as I’d like. Agent 37 and bmao Batman could also be pretty fun since they can angle their shots (or the LE Speedy if you’re not in to Bats). Sentry and Void might also be fun since the HSS Flying means they’ll have no lack of places to hide, and if push comes to shove, they can level the majority of the map at one time. In the same vein, Spider-Hulk has no problem playing Rampage one building at a time.

Saturnflight's Corner:
This Side Up:

Theme: 4/5
We don’t get a lot of good rooftop maps, and I think this one does a good job of that without having too little or too much for the road tiles. This all feels pressed together and shady, and the alley in the middle feels like a place rich parents don’t want to end up. Good stuff.

Clarity: 3/5
While I do like the large amount of different elevations, it’s not always clear whether you’re shooting up or down by just glancing at it. There’s a few well-done staircases, but I find myself often surprised about where they actually are when I need them. Additionally, I played on this map for months before I realized that one part of each starting zone doesn’t have a ladder in to the alley. It’s good design, but the dark colors and abundance of elevated naturally make the map a little confusing the glance at.

Tactical Impact: 4/5
This map is huge. If you’re sporting Improved Targeting:Elevated, then it’s a godsend. Even without that we’re talking freedom of movement from Flight VS a lack of options to get up and down while hoofing it. We’re talking at least a half dozen choke points, innumerable sniper’s nests, and the ability to force even Colossals to limit line of fire to a few squares on an outdoor map. Good stuff.

Balance: 3/5
The thing about this map is it has a little bit of everything for long or short range teams, and it is balanced in that regard. The problem is that characters with strong movement or targeting powers will have a huge edge here, and everyone else will be running up stairs to catch up.

Terrain Diversity: 2/5
This has heavily Elevated with small clusters of Hindering and a smattering of Blocking in a few spots. The Elevated terrain kind of dominates the map, but the other types are in smaller quantities and feel more like afterthoughts. There’s definitely enough Hindering for Stealth teams, but realistically if you’re on this map, just being on a rooftop makes almost anyone a Stealth team, and there are very few tactically sound positions that are also in Hindering.

Overall: 3.2/5
Regardless of the numbers, this is a great map for very specific teams, and a fun map for most others. It has a fairly specific function, but so do water maps or open terrain maps.

In the Neighborhood:
The Batcave
http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=403201

Bizarro World
http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=391345

Gotham City Rooftops
http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=388359



That's it for this week! Post suggestions on maps you're interested in, and I'll be happy to give you a showing. Until next time, enjoy the scenery but just leave the pearls at home!

Great read. Your map reviews are well thought out and thorough. This map is still on my wants list, especially, as I said above, for the theme that appeals so strongly to me.

New range-oriented giants are so brutal here!

One of my favorite ROC Maps, very fun to play on. Competitively it's a pain in the ass if your team can't perform on it, or a godsend if it does.

Ironically, I lost a critical match at a ROC in part because I didn't choose this map when I won map roll.

It was mentioned in the article, I'd be very interested to see photos of your 3D Hell's Kitchen map.

I'll have to snap a few pictures!

Thanks for the praise. "Thorough" is definitely a word I've heard about my writing. Yeah, if Colossals were allowed in the current ROC format, I have a feeling Solaris would be dominating here.

My last ROC I used this map with a Nick Fury/ Banshee team. I only got map roll once out of 6 rounds, but when I did, they performed beautifully. My opponent also made the mistake of starting in one of the yellow areas, and his support units couldn't fall back as a result. I also did a 500 point all Red Tornado team at a local tournament, and she cleaned up here.

I was going to ask you about this too Saturn, because homemade foam maps are always interesting to me. I keep meaning to get in to making some, but I always get distracted with something else.

Multiple-elevation maps make my head hurt. I really enjoy the flow-lines in your map analysis. Thanks for taking the time!

Thanks for the compliment. Yeah, multiple elevations or really just a lot of a single type of terrain can be confusing to navigate, so I wanted to take extra time highlighting lines of fire and movement on this map. Sadly my artistic skills are a little basic, but I'm glad it helped anyway.

What set is this map from? And what's the best recommended way of getting a hold of it?

It was given out as a prize for ROC tournaments last year. The best way to get one is to participate in those. Aside from that, the secondary market tends to have one pop up every so often. The HCrealms store posted a map pack from ROC maps a few months back as well, which makes me cross my fingers that we'll get some of these soon. (hint hint)