A Yordle School Under Constant Siege in Mechs vs. Minions
Return to a unique correspondence class about programming command lines for Yordles with Mechs vs. Minions.
After a rather early defeat the other day, it was time to regroup and plan some better strategies. The campaign structure of Mechs vs. Minions encourages the completion of missions in a fairly short period of time. I was determined to get things together this time! With a bit of luck, my mech programming skills would be better. They had to improve!
Spoiler Alert
This post covers Operation: Swift Scouts. Be sure to ignore it if you’d like to find out more about the mission when you have a chance to play! Sealed envelopes are shrouded in their own sort of mystery. Read on if you want to, though!
Game Overview
Game Name: Mechs vs. Minions
Publication Year: 2016
Designers: Cantrell, Ernst, Librande, Saraswat, and Tiras
Artists: Danny Beck and Tysen Henderson
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game (Cooperative)
Through the use of command cards, a program emerges for each mech. This directly affects elements like movement and attacks in the main play area.
It’s a very clever sort of system filled with humor. Even damage cards can be useful, or at least silly to act out!
Protecting the School
This mission involves picking up crystal shards in a constantly growing field of minions. They approach from 3 sides and create all sorts of trouble. Typical!
The school is represented by the platform in the back area. It has a lowly 1 health, so the first minion to enter will destroy it. That’s how I lost so quickly the other day.
Rather than send everyone off on their own, Corki and Heimerdinger worked together on the left flank.
They swept through the minions and ensured that things were kept in order. I was doing relatively well!
Clear Instructions
Every mission booklet includes details for the setup process and any new concepts. I’m still very impressed by the quality of the writing and how simple it all seems!
Minion movement is laid out with a visual example that’s hard to misinterpret. Straightforward rules are the best.
I still occasionally look up a rule, yet the majority of my play time goes into strategizing and figuring out what to do with the mechs. My decisions aren’t always great. Ha!
Confident with my newly learned skills, I kept everyone near the school to clear a path. The shards could wait.
Bad Luck and Ziggs
While the left flank was almost completely empty, Ziggs was in charge of making sure the right flank was under control. He assured me it was all fine and dandy.
Not quite. All of the minions advanced a standard space, and I saw the immediate danger next to the school.
This wasn’t the end, though! I just needed the rune die to show any color besides green, and Ziggs could fix this.
Well, well, well. What showed up on the rune die? Green! It only had a 25% chance of appearing, but of course it did. Ziggs took no responsibility. A likely story!
A Useful Overview
As I reset my play area to try out the mission for the third time, I gave Ziggs questionable looks. You had one job!
I stumbled across the reference sheet with all of the command cards. It was kind of surprising to realize that there were only 12 different types in the deck!
At the same time, each one can range from level 1-3. Stacking the same symbols strengthens the top card, but sometimes it’s worth it to have a lot of low-level cards.
The descriptions here are excellent. They provide enough details and a little bit of humor for the perfect mix.
Speeding to Victory
What an exciting play! I was completely lost in thought for nearly 2 hours. I failed to take a lot of photos, yet it all worked out for me in the end. Focus is necessary!
There was a time when the left flank was swarmed. I’m talking about 20-30 minions in a small area!
Somehow, I maneuvered everyone into position and they took out every enemy. It was amazing! The same thing happened on the right flank, and I was stuck.
Then, Tristana set off some explosions and nearly wiped out the rest of the board. Only 3 minions were left!
The Trouble with Collecting Shards
Perhaps the most difficult part of this mission is figuring out when to stop defending with a character so he or she can gather 1 of the 3 crystal shards. I took forever to find an opening, although I was happy with my decision!
The hardest part was right near the end. Corki and Tristana secured 2 crystal shards and moved back into defensive positioning. However, I had no opportunity to send anyone off into the distance to get the furthest shard. So I had to improvise. Most of my command lines were designed for short-range attacks with plenty of rotating.
It was none other than Ziggs who started to pick up movement command cards! He raced back with the ability to move about 10 spaces forward. Luckily, he repaired his own damage and I could keep him facing in the right direction.
Encroaching Doom
This was the end state of the play area when Ziggs flew back into the school with the final crystal shard!
Maybe it isn’t as dire as it looks at a glance. How many minions are there? About 70. What?! Indeed! Defeat was imminent in a couple of turns. Thank goodness I won!
The final positioning of my mechs should also showcase some of my strategies. Heimerdinger protected the right. Corki and Tristana swept across where they were needed.
Talk about difficult! The tension near the end was intense. I honestly didn’t think I could pull this off. 70 minions?!
Session Overview
Play Number: 5 and 6
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game (Cooperative)
Play Details: Operation: Swift Scouts (Mission 2)
Required Play Space: 52″ x 34″
Setup Time: 10 Minutes
Play Time: 45-105 Minutes per Play
Outcome: Loss and Win
Up close, all of those minions were pretty threatening! Yet I finally pulled off a success with this mission. Not too bad, considering how I tend to lose a lot. Now I have my first sealed envelope to rip into. I’m excited!
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20 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
8
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
10
Originality
Design & Theme
10
Quality
Components & Rules
10
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
8
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
6
Continue the Conversation
How do you work through the strategies for each mission in Mechs vs. Minions? I’m having a wonderful time, even if it takes me a little time to figure out how to program an optimal command line! What is your favorite command card in the game? I enjoy them all, although the fuel tank ability is pretty awesome. Now to open a sealed envelope…
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