The Martian Menace is the faction that really got me interested in Monsterpocalypse. I was browsing the vendors at Captaincon last year and loved the look of Deimos-9 who had just released. A few weeks later I had my first demo and dove right in from there!The Martian Menace is a utility and finesse faction in the Monsterpocalypse world that allow for a ton of skill expression and unique abilities to pick apart the enemy Monsters. A small splash of Martians find their way into every Destroyer list, but can also come together as a primary force to bring answers to just about any problem you might run into.Deimos-9 is a great Monster to learn the basics with and showcase the power through utility that Martians bring to the table. Grappler is the show-stopper that offers some hard control by dictating where the enemy Monsters can move. Power Gorged on his Blast attack fits with the aggressive Destroyer theme and lets you squeak out some extra power dice when you need it. In Hyper, Deimos-9 starts flailing around and brings great screen clearing with Fling and Lightning attack. Those of you that have seen Krakenoctus on the table will know how disruptive that can be...Deimos-9 lacks screening tools and can only clear screens in Hyper form, but his generalist playstyle make him fit right in with most other Monsters. Furthermore, he does not have access to Super Damage in either form, so he really benefits from a beefy dance partner to bring the pain. Cthugrosh will help you play a slow grindy defensive game while Monsters like Gorghadra and Hammerklak will make an aggressive compliment to your pair. Ares Mothership is certainly an option for mono-faction builds, but might be more challenging for newer players due to Ares having a weaker Hyper form than other options.The Martian units bring tons of tools and dice efficiency to your team that make up for their lower defense values. Saucers can drop off Power Pods either before or after they move to save you the trouble from Bump Spawning when you run out of room on your Spawn Points. Hunters are gonna hunt, but try to avoid units in cover since their defense might get a little too high. Vanguards are great due to their high speed, but be careful not to feed your opponent free power dice with their DEF: 1. Heavy hitters like Chompers bring the punch Martians lack to round out your unit selection.The Martian Command Post is by far my favorite Building. Every turn you spend power dice, the Command Post gives you refunds. Combined with Deimos-9's Energy Cycle in Hyper, you can squeeze every drop out of your late game turns when resources are tight. Industrial Complex takes your fast units up to the next level. A Power Plant makes for a great "junk placement" that you can save for late game. A Lightning Attack from Deimos-9 can heal a point of damage from a Power Plant that could mean the difference between winning and losing.If you must.... Current Martian Menace options make it difficult to go exclusive. Deimos-9 and Ares Mothership pair together just fine. The main issue is a lack of bulky Unit options. Flooding the table with Vanguards will give you great board coverage, but they're just too easy to kill in retaliation. Spawning too many of them will let your opponent churn them all into power dice and give them a pretty significant advantage. You can go heavy into Martians, but they work best when teaming up with other factions. This is all but guaranteed to change in the next wave of releases when new units are released alongside Tharsis-5.Here's a low-budget entry point for someone interested in the Martian Menace as their first Monsterpocalypse faction. While not a complete tournament list, it will give you great options that will stay relevant as you expand your collection. I like combining Hammerklak's extreme speed with the control of Grappler to hide behind Buildings before bursting out into a brutal alpha strike!Deimos-9 | Hammerklak: Martian Command Post, Industrial Complex, Power Plant- Saucer- Saucer- Power Pod- Power Pod- Hunter- Elite Vanguard- Vanguard- Vanguard- Vanguard- Hunter- Elite Chomper- Chomper- Chomper- Explodohawk- DestructomiteTotal cost comes to $142.02 at online retailers like DicountGamesInc.