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: Ryut
Environment: Outdoor
Map on Reverse: Zamaron
Dimensions: 24" x 36" (16x24 squares)
Set: War of Light
Status: Golden Age
POWER BATTERY: Orange squares are Power Battery squares. The player who chose this map may chose to place a WOL#R108 Power Battery (Black Lantern Corps) that is already part of his or her force in the Power Battery squares, but only if the Emotional Spectrum trait is active. Once a Power Battery has been placed, no other player may place one. When a Corps Member friendly to the Power Battery KO's a character, roll a D6 and subtract 2 (Minimum 0): Heal that many other Corps Members of 1 damage. NOT FOR TOURNAMENT PLAY.

Ryut was Atrocitus' original homeworld back before he founded the Red Lanterns. It also marks the place where the Black Lantern Battery was formed. You might ask yourself why I'm previewing this only a few weeks before it phases out of Modern. The reason is it's one of the last maps that hasn't been previewed that's still seeing a lot of play in tournaments, and with the WKO only days away for most of us, I thought it was timely as if you haven't seen it yet, you probably will soon.


Making Yourself At Home:

The above map is a little sketchy, but I wanted to include a copy of the original. Luckily, eMouse had a copy of the layout, which I'll be referring to.


The first thing to note about this map is that each starting zone starts at opposing bases of a mountain, and you must move up the mountain the closer you get to the center. This means that Elevated Terrain is hugely dominant, and it's easy to play ring around the rosie here as you move to control the center. Hindering terrain is present, but off in the corners of the map, so this makes it a great place to set up snipers who can't ordinarily ignore stealth. Just to get it out of the way, though, the primary reason to use this map is because you have Nick Fury or another character with Improved Targeting: Elevated. If you're using Nick Fury, this is one of the best maps you can pick, since not only does the Elevated Terrain grant you plenty of things to hide behind, but also because your opponents will have to traverse a winding path of mountainside in order to get at you. There are other good choices as well, but the winding path, combined with the complete lack of things to hide behind make this a strong map to choose.

Aside from that, this is a good map if you want to draw things out, as characters will have to move along narrow paths to progress. Even if you're not in to Improved Targeting, it can be a good map for characters that like rushing in and mixing it up, since they'll have cover the entire way, especially if they can fly. Your opposing characters will probably have a little more trouble, and this is a great map to consider placing objects near stairways in order to slow progress, or to create cover for your own Stealth characters. Tie-ups work just as well, and can force your opponents to walk in to spots that leave them exposed, or waste several more turns trying to reroute through another path.

Fliers definitely have a huge edge here if nothing else, as they can reach the top of the map relatively quickly, as well as descend upon their opponents who have been winding back and forth to make it. Since Fliers can also Carry, it helps move around characters who are less mobile. Even better is mid-range fliers with Running Shot, as they can spring on opponents, fire down on them from a ledge, and force them to move up slowly in the meantime. Even without Improved Targeting, taking the high ground with fliers can get really mean really quick.

Line of Fire can be tricky here as intermittent elevations between targets can slow things up a bit. This means that not only do long range characters suffer, but support characters trying to Outwit or Prob will have a rough go of it. This also really mucks up formations, and for a lot of teams, that can be huge. If a team requires a specific formation, it'll either reduce their effectiveness or reduce the number of places they can go and fight at full strength. This is one of the reasons the summit is so important, because it's one of the most open areas on the map, as well as the most likely place to find your opponent. Pay attention to what your opponent has, and you'll have a good idea of where they'll go and how they'll get there.

Stuck in a Lease:

Looking at the lines of movement for this map can really help in navigating the map.


If your opponent brought you here, there's a strong chance that he's using Improved Targeting: Elevated. If he's not, he probably dragged you here because he thinks you don't have a lot of Improved Movement options, you need long lines of fire to be effective, and/or you need a specific formation to be effective. Either way, the best face on the mountain would probably be the Northern Starting zone. If you're on foot, taking the shortest route will require only 15 squares of movement VS 18 on the Southern face. When flying, you can also get to the summit in 8 squares as opposed to 9.

Keep in mind though, that the summit only helps you if it can block lines of fire while you're setting up. If it doesn't help you, don't go for controlling the summit, and instead make a beeline for the opposing force to try and get to them before they do too much damage. Alternatively, try and draw them to you. If you're not going for the top, and instead want to pull them close. Consider basing around C3, and move up from there when they're close enough. You have enough steps to get to the right elevation and face off when they try to spring on you.

When placing objects, consider that since there's no cover, you might place them in spots where you see yourself making a stand. While it will take longer to make it up the cliffside, your opponent might not be counting on Improved Targeting: Hindering since the lovely thing about this map is that Hindering doesn't matter. However, many of the characters who can ignore Elevated can also ignore Hindering, so just pay attention to opposing characters when placing objects.

Vacation Spots:

Ryut makes a cool map for casual just because the cliffsides and terrain slow the action down, allowing for more maneuvers. Aside from that there are multiple ways up to each elevation, making a perfect map to explore while you're doing battle. Also, if you want to do Black Lantern stuff, this is the only way you get to use the Orange text, which allows you to move your Battery out in to the center of the map.


It's Getting Kinda Crowded:

When playing multiple teams, you could consider placing extra teams around B or P 13, since it should insulate the teams from each other. The nice thing here is that the teams have multiple ways up and around, so avoiding other teams is very doable. When combining multiple maps, you might see a little more variation with two or more spires with plenty of room to fire between them.

I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here:

I'm just going to say this now: Nick Fury. There's plenty of other people to place on this map, but if you're here, there's a strong possibility that so is Nick Fury. I've played a lot of Nick Fury teams this year, and with one exception, every single one has brought me here when they took map roll. Aside from him, anyone who ignores Elevated is Gold here. Toning down the meta a bit, both Red Lanterns and Black Lanterns do well here since the mountainside also provides a lot of cover for melee based teams to move up a little at a time, so feel free to drag Atrocitus home. Give a little more leeway to characters who can fly, and there's plenty of places to get the drop on people. Speaking of dead guys, KC Spectre on his budget line is great here. Place him on the summit, and he has plenty of early cover while controlling the entire map with Prob. It's also a great map for tie-ups like Streaky since it gets plenty of cover to easily base someone. It's also a fun map for Void and Sentry since it both provides cover as they bounce around, but also because it provides such a malicious trap for them to cave the mountain around other players. Spider-Hulk could do something similar, though it's smaller in scale.


This Side Up:

Theme:2/5

Honestly, there aren't a lot of great shots of Ryut, but most of them don't involve mountains. Even the sequence where the Black Lantern forms looks like it forms on a flat piece of land with a sheer 15-20' platform just for the Battery itself, not a tiered mountainside with a plateau to fight on near it. It also doesn't incorporate the soil color or obsidian landscape, which are minor points, but when that's all there is, it's noticeable.

Clarity:3/5

I mark it down because it's a very windy trail that's almost mazelike with the layers of Elevated Terrain upon Elevated Terrain. That said, it's not unclear, and the red borders work well against the soil color. There's also not a lot of other terrain types to navigate through, so it's good there.

Tactical Impact:5/5

With Improved Targeting, this is a huge map to take on, and the primary reason to use it. Even without Improved Targeting, the trails force people in to narrow corridors and locations they wouldn't normally go.

Balance: 3/5

I'd mark it higher, but honestly the map has become stained with Nick Fury use, so that there's only one reason almost anyone uses it. It can be good for a variety of teams, with sniper spots and places to hide while moving in close, but it's mired in the idea that if you're here, it's because the person who picked it had a very big reason.

Terrain Diversity: 1/5

While there are a couple terrain types involved, Hindering Terrain is mostly used on the outside of the map, away from the action. This is all about the Elevated Terrain and nothing else.


Overall: 3/5

The tactical element of this map is not to be underestimated. That said, mountain maps kind of feel the same to me. Like, this reminds me of Wundagore Mountain and Verkhoyansk Mountains from AvX. I'm not sure what to do to make it different, but my first thought would be to maybe have more than one spire or to vary the terrain a bit more.

In the Neighborhood:

The Blue Area of the Moon
http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=366447

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

Mount Olympus
http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=559257

Well, that's it for this week. Until next time, enjoy the scenery, and good luck with your tournaments!

My corner is blank, and I have no one to blame but myself!

Now that lines to and from giants ignore elevated terrain, this is a great map for big figures with ranged attacks. It's extremely hard for grounded opponents to get close.

Lol, at least you mentioned something I forgot to.

Welp.. I want a copy of this. How did one acquire this?

It was available during the War of Light OP. I actually just bought mine last week for a few dollars, and a lot of venues have a ton extra.

I always read your article before I come up with my thoughts, so as not to duplicate! I need to justify my corner!

not played this map yet, thank you for the insightful article.

I can't wait for this map to retire in a few weeks. Very few that are less fun to deal with.

Lol, I don't think you need to justify anything. Sometimes when you turn in your corner before I'm finished, I check your work to gauge what I wrote.

I've always been on the receiving end of this map the few times I've played it, but hoping to use it in my favor this weekend (... if I can borrow a copy).