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: Technodrome
Environment: Indoor
Map on Reverse: The Sewers
Dimensions: 24" x 36" (16x24 squares)
Set: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Status: Modern

I've been waiting a bit to do Ninja Turtles, but I figure it's about time to take a look, so let's check out the Technodrome!


Sorry about the map itself, but I couldn't find a scan, so I just took a picture with my phone. That just means I'm going to steal more images from eMouse's Atlas for a clearer layout.


Making Yourself At Home:

You got an indoor map here, so make the most of it. There's plenty of walls and Blocking terrain, and more than a fair amount of Hindering terrain, so lines of fire are going to be tricky, but not too overly so. Be sure to take some characters who can ignore at least some Hindering, because the map kind of opens up in the center except for the two mutagen tanks.


As you can see from the lines of movement, this map is primarily built for mid range combat in the center. I mentioned earlier that there's a little Hindering there, but overall it's a large open space compared with the smaller, more cramped areas further to the ends. The center area has about 10 squares uninterrupted by walls, so people going in to the middle are going to leave themselves exposed without something like Stealth. If you're trying to advance, try sticking to the two smaller rooms near the middle, because you can use them as a forward base to launch an attack on future turns.

Despite how large the dimensional portal room is, it only has the one entrance in the center, so it's less of a room, and more of a detour. Because it's so close to the center, it's hard to set up shop there without teleporting or at least blowing a hole in the wall early on, and it's open enough that it makes turtling in there difficult because your opponent can just set up shop outside the door, and come in guns blazing.


If you do want to turtle, I'd recommend sticking to your starting zone around the C-F columns. It's a small room with a little bit of cover that will require a bit of time for your opponent to get to. Place a tie up near the only entrance in to the room, and you'll have plenty of time to charge up whatever you need.

Alternatively, both sides of the J-L columns have a lip that forces your opponents to not only move up to your square, but past it in order to attack you. It's a good forward assault position if you're using someone who doesn't care about Blocking terrain, or just want to wait up for your opponent to come to you.

Stuck in a Lease:

Sadly, picking one side or another doesn't make a lot of difference here. The good news though, is that for as many walls as there are on the map, it's still fairly open if you need it to be. If you need even more space though, don't be afraid to shoot open a wall to the portal room. It's normally closed off until you get in to the center, but the room itself is huge, and offers a lot of places to draw lines of fire easily. If you're looking to move up for melee combat, Stealth can do you a world of good unless they have some way of ignoring it. Either way, try using the two smaller rooms near the center to try and set yourself up, but be careful, because they could easily be setting traps there.

If your opponent is looking to turtle (which I can't say here with a straight face), don't run in to an obvious trap, and my advice is to try and set yourself up so that you can attack either from the front or possibly by shooting one of the nearby walls to create an opening that they might not be able to defend. It's basic advice, but it's easy to overlook, so just keep your eyes out.

Vacation Spots:

This isn't a bad map for casual play, though it won't slow down the action as well as well as Qward or the Labyrinth. One thing that really catches my eye is the portal to Dimension X. If I were making a scenario on it, I might toss on a map to Sakaar or Tamatra to give it that Dimension X feel. If you're more in to the current cartoon (I know there's no Technodrome, but still), I'd try Nok or something.

The other thing is that with the self contained rooms, this would also make a good map for capture points. Controlling different rooms on the map would make a good win condition.

It's Getting Kinda Crowded:

The nice thing about all of the walls is that it creates a lot of places to put a third or forth player. You could place a third player next to the portal to Dimension X, and the walls of the room should help insulate them from getting sandwiched. You might run in to a little trouble leaving the room though, since leaving the room will drastically increase the odds of getting caught in a pincer. A fourth player can find a little bit of solace across the map either inside or between the two smaller rooms. Because the map is symmetrical, and a little bland, it's a good candidate to place copies of itself at different places. Maybe instead of Dimension X, the portal leads to a mirror universe where everything is reversed! Sorry, had to get that one in there.

I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here:

I've used him before, but this is another map I would like to use dofp Professor X on. Being able to camp behind those lips of blocking terrain and effectively control the entire map makes him a great target. Additionally, if we're going theme, this would be a great place for Mousers to be able to make the most of a firing squad, or Nobody to advance without you being able to target him. And while it kind of mucks up his benefits from being Colossal, this is a great map to get Krang in to position for that alpha strike without being open to similar attacks himself.

This Side Up:

Theme: 4/5

I love that they thought to include the portal to Dimension X, as you can't really have the Technodrome without it. That said, I'm a little disappointed because most of the map kind of feels like a generic evil lab otherwise. I'm not really sure what I was hoping for except maybe rooms for Bebop and Rocksteady or something, though I think part of me is a little disappointed they didn't do Orange squares for automated defenses or something.

At the very least though, I think you could spruce it up by having a Technodrome map with a smaller Technodrome inside to hit people with.


Clarity: 4/5

Overall, it's pretty clear there the walls are, and it's not a hard map to understand, but some of the colors kind of blend together with the blacks and purples, so I'm marking it off a little bit for that.

Tactical Impact: 3/5

Honestly, the map doesn't have a lot of strength outside of creating a good place to turtle. The middle is a bit of a no man's land, and it's both too closed in for long range battles, and too open for close combat battles. It definitely has uses, but it doesn't really give you a huge edge anywhere for using it.

Balance: 4/5

It's a pretty balanced map in that you can go where you want fairly easily, and play how you want depending on your location. It's still a bit cluttered, but overall it's not a bad map to find yourself on regardless of play style.

Terrain Diversity: 3/5

We have walls and Hindering in good amounts, but there's no Water or Elevated terrain, and everything else is a bit straightforward.

Overall: 3/5

As much as I love the idea of playing here, there isn't a lot that makes this map stand out over several other maps. The No Man's Land in the center is nice, but there's other maps that can either capitalize on it more, or make it more balanced depending on what you want. It's not bad for theme, so if you're just looking for something fun, it's a very iconic location that otherwise wouldn't get any attention. If they make another map down the road, I'd love a front loading area that connected to the outside.

In the Neighborhood:

The Lab
http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=296276

Jean Grey School for Higher Learning (Indoor)
http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=564041

UN Conference Hall
http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=558679



Well, that's it for this time. Until next time, enjoy the scenery, but don't get trapped in Dimension X.

the theme? i hear you. i feel it is missing something or things

I enjoyed this map in the Turtle events mostly for punishing opponents for spamming Renet Tilley's trait. It's got some nice little holes that you can stick grounded opponents that takes them out of the game for several turns or makes it really hard for them to return to formation.