Shatterpoint, from its release almost a year ago, one of the things that has always impressed me with the game was the provided terrain. It was chunky, it was big, it felt like Star Wars. While the core game comes with a good amount of it, I always wanted more. So much so that I ended up buying a second set of core terrain just so I could have more on the board. If you read my article on having more terrain, you know I thought it added even more to the game. However, the second set I customised to try and add more higher layers and I still wanted more.
When I saw the High Ground Terrain Pack, I thought it looked perfect. Not only did it have two more towers that are found in the core set, but it also had a much bigger tower that would allow for higher levels of fighting. Also, it appears to fit in beautifully with the rest of the buildings already available. Even with a second core set I could see the appeal, without a second core set of terrain, this looked to me to be essential for players to add even more to their games.
When you get the box, you will see that it is big. When opening the box, you can see why. Along with the leaflet that contains the QR code to point you in the direction of the build instructions, there are two big bags heaving with sprues to construct this terrain. More buildings, more crates, more ladders, it looked fantastic. I have never been too fussed by terrain, but this speaks to me in a way only Star Wars style terrain can.
With the instructions loaded up, I sat down to start building. First up is the array, which is going to be the main draw of this set as it is the only unique building that is not found in the core set (which if you’re playing Shatterpoint you will almost undoubtedly have). The first four pieces you need are all conveniently on a single sprue, making life just that bit easier. I did rummage through the other sprues to find the top of the bottom half of the building (part A07) so I could use it to make sure the walls were straight when I glued them.
I glued the opposite walls first before glueing all four together. The roof came in very useful and also meant that I could wrap all four walls in elastic bands to keep everything together while the glue dried.
The array is split into two parts, the top and bottom. This works brilliantly for constructing, as while one-part dries, you can skip to the other and vice versa. While this part was drying, I started on the top. The builds are simple this way and players won’t encounter many problems.
When the two pieces are joined together, it is a sight to behold, it’s extremely imposing and looks superb. The detail is incredible… and the build isn’t quite finished. There are two options for the building related to a gatekeeper droid, which can be seen at the start of Return of the Jedi at Jabba’s Palace. You can either have the droid out, or you can have the hatch closed. When I first saw this, my instant reaction was – of course – to have the famous droid. But when I stopped to think about it, I decided against it. It comes out of the building, and although while playing a game, I don’t think it would get knocked, I’m not convinced when it’s been stored between games, some damage would not befall it. However, I do think this is an awesome option to have, one that I hope I can use elsewhere! The building once complete is a centre piece model. The detail, the size, it all just draws you in and is a very fun build. It fits in perfectly with the terrain that has come before. Don’t get me wrong, it’s big and I am looking at it and thinking where it will go, but I also look at it and think how amazing it will be to play with it on the battlefield.
The other two buildings, the towers, are the same from the core set. I won’t dwell too long on their construction as you can look at my previous articles. What I will say is that these towers have five different builds you can do, which is perfect. You can either build them the same as your core towers or mix a little to create some variation. Having these as the repeated buildings is perfect as you can still make them look different. It is also worth noting that the small sides are interchangeable, so if you want even more variability, you can switch them around to give a slightly different configuration (which is what I ended up doing).
From then it’s more gantries and crates. Again, I’m not going to talk about the construction, but I do want to reflect on the gantries and how best to build them. Initially when I received the core set, I added pylons on a couple of my gantries to offer support. Now, for storage and for versatility, I find that the pylons aren’t really necessary. They take up more space but also, I can’t use them for high up levels, they are strictly for placing directly onto the gaming zone. The construction of the buildings is extremely solid, they’re not going to fall over, in fact, in all the games I’ve played, I’ve never had a building fall over. As long as the gantries are correctly constructed, they are not going to break; they don’t need pylons to ensure they are stable. The other thing I’ve found is that the longer the gantries, the better. It allows me to fill the board up while leaving plenty of space for models (and players’ hands) to be able to get around the board. As I have already constructed a few shorter gantries, I really don’t need anymore. This set allows me to learn from these observations, meaning I’ll be constructing much longer gantries with no pylons. I’m also going to use some of the spare gantry pieces (only two) I had from the core set to extend some of these if I need to. There are lots of end pieces, enough to make four gantries, but so I can get a decent amount of length, I think I’ll only be assembling three. I do wish (and hope) that Asmodee might be able to release the middle pieces as a pack so we can have much larger gantries! Now my one complaint about this set are the railings, or more the lack thereof. In the core set, you get several railings that will fit into the gantries and really add something to them. I had them on all of mine. Yet in this set, there aren’t any. I find this rather shocking and am very surprised by it. Not only did it add some support to those gantries, but the look of it was very pleasing! I’m not quite sure why they haven’t been included here.
I’m also going to leave the ladders off my new constructions. From the core set, I added plenty of ladders and they make things easy. Characters can move quite freely. I then ended up in a discussion with someone on the Facebook group about removing all ladders and how it can change the game. Now, I don’t want to completely remove the ladders (yet), but I think restricting their use could be interesting. Also, if I change my mind, they are easy enough to put on. With a set of terrain with ladders, and one without, it should create an interesting mix for playing games in the future.
Crates are great for scatter terrain. I glued my crates together to form groups of two and three. It makes setting up a bit quicker but also means that when I’m gaming, they don’t get knocked over as easily.
The last part of terrain is another new piece, a convor on top of a rock pile. This is in the same vein as the loth cat from the core set. Like the loth cat, I love the idea of this, but scatter terrain of rocks just doesn’t really add enough for me. For players who are, I really like the addition of creatures. Instead of just buildings, it adds a bit of realism to the terrain, making it come alive. Unfortunately for myself, the convor is placed in such a way that, unlike the loth cat, it isn’t very easy to remove and place elsewhere as its tail circles the top of the rock. But I knew what I wanted to do, I mean, I’ve just constructed this huge array, surely the sensible place for an owl-like creature is going to be near the top of that! So, I thought I’d start attacking the rock with some clippers. It took some time and a lot of filing, but I was able to strip everything off from the convor and place it in its rightful place, overseeing the battlefield!
Once everything is assembled you can see just how much you get with this set. As a terrain set by itself it’s awe inspiring.
When placed with the terrain from at least one core set, it really brings the board alive. Although it gives you plenty for ground level and the first level, it’s what it adds to the second. It gives you a grand building that can provide a two-way junction for creating your board. Suddenly the area above the board becomes so much more complex and gives you far more options for placing your objectives. I have already experimented with this a little with two cores, but this really adds something more. It’s the size of the building that really helps to bring it all together. At £75, it’s not the cheapest set, but I do think it adds a lot and really helps to complete the feel of a board while also expanding your gaming options. That said, now that it has been out for a few months, you can purchase this set for under £50 with some shopping around. At that price I think it’s a bargain, just for the array building. Add the extras in and I think it’s a steal. I’m not going to lie, I am seriously considering getting a second set, it has added that much for my board. With more sets within this theme promised to be released, boards are going to look the best they ever have. There are very few games where the boards can look this good. For me, this is an essential buy and at the price you can purchase it now, don’t look back, you won’t regret adding this to your games.
