Comparison: Tactical Traps

The tactical trap type is the most comprehensive power type in all of Mousehunt. Starting at the Great Gnarled Tree as a master, and going all of the way into Zugzwang’s Tower as a lord, you will always need a tactical trap for something. Consequently, there are a lot of different tactical traps, all for different phases of the game. That makes writing a comparison a little bit harder for this trap type.

We’ll break it down into phases, just like always. The first phase is the Master-Grandmaster phase; that is, traps used at Furoma or earlier. Next, we’ll cover the more powerful tactical traps, meant for the Tribal Isles and Zugzwang’s Tower. Third, we’ll cover Limited Edition tactical traps (this excludes the Gingerbread House Surprise- that will be included in the first section). To close it out, we’ll discuss the situational uses of all tactical traps.

Early Tactical Traps

This section will focus on the first regions where tactical traps are used; specifically, the Venus Mouse Trap and then all of the Furoma traps.

Venus Mouse Trap
Stats: 1,900 power, 0% power bonus, 5% attraction bonus, 5 luck, Extremely Fresh cheese effect

The first tactical trap- the most basic stats, the first one available, from the Great Gnarled Tree in Whisker Woods. What can I say about this trap, really- it’s the only tactical trap available, so it can’t really be compared with the other traps at the time. And unless you have a Gingerbread House Surprise in your possession, you definitely should buy it. The comparison that matters comes next, with the next 3 traps.

Mutated Venus Mouse Trap
Stats: 2,300 power, 15% power bonus, 0% attraction bonus, 8 luck, Insanely Stale cheese effect

Gingerbread House Surprise
Stats: 2,200 power, 10% power bonus, 10% attraction bonus, 8 luck, Uber Fresh cheese effect

Zugzwang’s Last Move
Stats: 2,200 power, 15% power bonus, 0% attraction bonus, 7 luck, Fresh cheese effect

Rather than explaining all three of these traps separately, the best thing really is to just compare them side by side. The short answer is pretty obvious, just from looking at the stats: the three traps are so similar that it really doesn’t matter which one you pick. Be it the MVMT, the GBH or the ZLM, you will have the same trap, for the most part. So, if you have one of them, then you don’t need the others.
Of the three, the GBH is the cheapest to make, so if you were able to make it, congrats! You got an effective tactical trap for almost nothing. The MVMT and ZLM are more expensive, but are also useful for a longer period of time. The MVMT can be smashed and recrafted into a much stronger trap (the Horrific Venus Mouse Trap) once you get to the tribal isles, while ZLM can be smashed to make Zugzwang’s First Move at Zugzwang’s Tower. Ultimately, you’ll most likely want both of those traps, so take your pick of which one you want to buy now.
If you want a definitive “pick me,” go with the MVMT. It’s cheaper, has better stats, and is more immediately useful as the Horrific VMT can be used as a legendary while ZFM isn’t used until you reach the rank of Lord.

Ambush

Stats: 3,000 power, 5% power bonus, 0% attraction bonus, 12 luck, Fresh cheese effect

The capstone trap of Furoma, with a significant power and luck boost over all three of the previous traps. Once you get all of the pieces necessary to craft this bad boy, do so. It’s useful not only in Furoma, but also as your first trap in Nerg. It’s also dirt cheap, coming in under 100,000 gold. This trap is still one of my favorites- what’s not to love?

Late Tactical Traps

These traps are used in either the Tribal Isles or Zugzwang’s Tower. Once you have the first of these traps (the Thorned Venus Mouse Trap), you don’t technically need to get any of the other ones. Having said that, I certainly don’t recommend sticking with the TVMT and ignoring the others. All of these traps are extremely useful in their own ways, and I know that I own all of them, despite the cost.

Thorned Venus Mouse Trap
Stats: 3,400 power, 5% power bonus, 2% attraction bonus, 14 luck, Very Fresh cheese effect

Once you’re able to upgrade your Mutated Venus Mouse Trap, you’ll have an enormously powerful and useful tactical trap at your disposal- more than capable of taking down the Nerg tribe! The stats are excellent across the board and it will serve you well. Of course, I’d get the Horrific Venus Mouse Trap, if I were you.

Horrific Venus Mouse Trap
Stats: 3,400 power, 12% power bonus, 1% attraction bonus, 16 luck, No cheese effect

Sacrificing almost nothing, this trap gains a large bonus to power and luck, making it an even better option for hunting in the Tribal Isles. And with no additional cost or point requirement, this one should be a no-brainer: get your 20 radioactive sludge and make this monstrosity.

Zugzwang’s First Move
Stats: 3,660 power, 15% power bonus, 0% attraction bonus, 17 luck, Very Fresh cheese effect

Taking another step upwards, you get another bonus to power and luck, making this the strongest tactical trap that you can get. The monumental power of ZFM makes this the absolute perfect trap for use inside of Zugzwang’s Tower, where the amplifying bonus of the tower affects power and not luck. While it’s an expensive trap, it’s well worth getting, and no matter what traps you have, you will want this for when you enter the tower.

Technic Pawn Pincher and Mystic Pawn Pincher
Stats (both): 60 power, 5% power bonus, 20% attraction bonus, 0 luck, Fresh/Stale cheese effect

The stats of these traps are inconsequential: what matters is that these are the only reliable way to collect pawns from one side of the tower while avoiding the other side. You can read the strategy page on Zugzwang’s Tower to learn more about it. It’s simple enough to say that you want both of these traps and that they are invaluable towards finishing the tower.

Obvious Ambush Trap and Blackstone Pass Trap
Stats (both): 3,000 power, 15% power bonus, 0% attraction bonus, 12 luck, Very Fresh/Stale cheese effect

In the same way, these two traps play foil to one another with nearly identical stats, and both serve as the go-to trap for the respective sides of the tower (technical and mystic, respectively). Again, if you want specific points about using these traps, read the strategy page on Zugzwang’s Tower but, again, these two are must-buys and will make the tower much easier to complete.
Although unlike the pinchers, one could make the argument that if you don’t intend to spend much time in the tower, getting these traps may be a waste of gold. I’d still buy them.

Limited Edition Tactical Traps

These are the traps that were brought by Ronza over the years. All of these traps have one thing in common: they replace every tactical trap up through the Horrific Venus Mouse Trap, which means you won’t need to buy a tactical trap up through the Seasonal Garden as a Lord!

Snow Barrage
Stats: 1,400 power, 20% power bonus, 20% attraction bonus, 28 luck, Very Fresh cheese effect

This is one of my favorite traps, and always has been. It boasts a top-notch attraction bonus while also having the most luck of all tactical traps. While the 1,400 power initially looks underwhelming, this trap is a monster when paired with the Lucky Golden Shield and a Magma base, boasting near-perfect catch rates in Nerg against all of the mice. Most hunters don’t have this trap, but for those lucky few that do, you’ve got a real treasure that can hold its own against any other tactical trap in the game.

Giant Speaker
Stats: 2,850 power, 5% power bonus, 5% attraction bonus, 22 luck, No cheese effect

This trap sacrifices the hefty luck of the Snow Barrage for a whole lot more power, and the results are similar. While not quite as good as the Snow Barrage (as a matter of fact, this trap was the weakest of the Limited Edition tactical traps), it still outperforms all of the non-LE traps by a pretty fair margin, and is incredibly successful in Nerg. If you somehow got this without getting one of the next two traps, then don’t fret! This trap is still really awesome.

2010 Blastoff Trap
Stats: 2,600 power, 15% power bonus, 0% attraction bonus, 25 luck, Very Stale cheese effect

This trap came out right after the Giant Speaker did, and outclasses it in every way. OK, so maybe there’s a difference in attraction bonus, but that’s nothing. The 3 luck that it adds is far more valuable than a 5% attraction bonus. As with the Speaker, this is an excellent tactical trap and lets you avoid buying any future tactical traps if you don’t want to.

Rewers Riposte
Stats: 2,900 power, 15% power bonus, 5% attraction bonus, 25 luck, Fresh cheese effect

Nevermind the trap name, which has stirred up a surprising amount of controversy. The fact is that this trap is far and away the best of the tactical traps. Adding 300 power to the 2010 blastoff while also bringing back the Speaker’s 5% attraction bonus, there’s no question about the superiority of this trap. There’s really no competition- just use this trap!

How to use your tactical traps

OK, so we’ve briefly explained all of the tactical traps. However, it’s honestly only so much noise- who really cares what I have to say about the traps; we want to talk about which trap to use, right? Let’s do that now.

First, let’s assume that you have no Limited Edition traps. In that case, use Zugzwang’s First Move everywhere, except in the situations in Zugzwang’s Tower where you use the 4 tower traps. The Garden, Nerg, etc- always ZFM. This should be obvious, but it should also be said just in case.

If you have LE traps? Well then it gets complicated…

• The Snow Barrage is the absolute best trap in the Dojo for collecting students, and it’s also the best trap in the Nerg Plains for collecting vegetables. I’d hazard a guess that it’s the best trap in the Seasonal Garden too, although I haven’t seen much research to back that claim.
  However, against tougher tactical mice, the other tactical traps are better (Furoma’s masters, Nerg’s Big 3, and in Zugzwang’s Tower)
• The Speaker, 2010 and Riposte are all better than ZFM in Furoma and Nerg, as well as in the Seasonal Garden. However, ZFM is much better in the tower due to the multiplier effect.

So theoretically, someone with every tactical trap would use the SnoB in the dojo, the Riposte in the Meditation Room/Pinnacle Chamber, the SnoB in Nerg to collect vegetables, the Riposte to catch the Nerg Big 3, the SnoB in the Seasonal Garden and then finally ZFM in the tower.

Surprised? I know that many hunters have asked how on earth ZFM could be beaten out by all of these LE traps in so many areas, and I admit that I can understand why there is some confusion on this issue.

The answer to the question of why is not a simple one. However, a simplified version of the answer is that Luck affects your catch rate more than you realize, to the extent that even just going from 17 to 22 luck (and certainly when you go up to 25 and 28) can have a significant impact on your catch rate, more than the extra power that the ZFM offers. If you want more information on luck and its effects, I recommend heading over to Mousehunt Analytics (can be found in the helpful links) for an explanation. Be warned: it’s complicated!

Regardless of the whys, here is the best comparison of tactical traps that I can provide. If you got one of those LE tactical traps, be glad! Outside of the tower, they are unmatched and make hunting for loot a breeze. Of course, once you get Zugzwang’s First Move, you still should have quite an easy time in any location you should choose to visit, as it’s quite a monster of its own. Either way, best of luck and happy hunting!