Mythic Battles Pantheon - Athena vs Hades

Athena? Remember her? Had her own poster shop back in the 80's. You know. The one with the New Man with baby and that Tennis Girl scratching her bum. Call that art? Look at her now though; proper kick-ass Greek Goddess and leader of mortals. That's more like it! Here she comes to sort out that Underworld upstart Hades...

Odysseus - "I have a cunning plan my goddess..." 

It has taken far longer than either of us anticipated, but Pete and I finally got to revisit Mythic Battles Pantheon for a rematch. This time Pete controlled Hades and the forces of the Underworld (Cerberus and a pack of Infernal Hounds), plus the hero Atalanta, pitched against my line-up of Athena, Odysseus, The Minotaur and a unit of Hoplites. The action took place in Mino's Labyrinth, which should have suited the Minotaur right down to the ground. Events would prove otherwise.

Hades' forces go on the offensive

During the long interval since our first games Pete and I had forgotten some of what we had learned. This meant play started a little slowly as we rechecked rules. As neither of us was familiar with our forces' talents and powers we were also a little unsure of the most appropriate tactics. 

Hades and Athena rush to collect the precious Omphalos.

Pete took the initiative in the first game, sending Cerberus bounding out to dominate the centre of the board and collect his first Omphalos token. He proved impossible to dislodge, despite the Minotaur's best efforts. There was much skirmishing around the edges as Atalanta and Athena made use of their ranged attacks, but Athena's forces were hampered by the blocking terrain of the Labyrinth and it was Hades who got to another Omphalos token first, sealing his victory.

Cerberus and the Minotaur go head-to-head-to-head-to-head!

Game two picked up the pace as both Pete and I began to get the hang of our respective forces' abilities. Athena gained extra activations for her units through her special abilities, but Hades realised that he could draw strength from destroyed units (even his own) to recover lost damage - and strode about the Labyrinth with impunity. Meanwhile, the Infernal Hounds got the better of the Hoplites. A mighty charge by the Minotaur that barrelled through Atalanta, Cerberus and Hades was not enough to save the day and Hades' forces emerged triumphant again. Two-nil to Pete!

Unleash the Infernal Hounds!

So much for Athena. Maybe she's not cut out to be a Greek Goddess after all. Back to retail for you girl. You should have stuck with the poster vibe.

Once again, Mythic Battles Pantheon delivered a couple of fun and engaging games. Neither side found it a walk-over and once we'd started to grasp the subtleties of our respective forces' unique abilities the tactical options made game play even better.

We'll no doubt return to Mythic Battles Pantheon again in the (not too distant) future.