A tool I use every time I begin to construct a Sponsor for a team is a little spreadsheet I made for just this type of application:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wL9uBdE06CwtfcvVORn63nymCzVjkfEkzDF39TI4zSA/
Feel free to copy it and paste it into your own spreadsheet where you can easily manipulate it using filters.
Below is a typical systematic process that approximates the way I would build a bashy team.*
With a Sponsor for a Bashy team looking for first and foremost great Guards, I thought that the Group "Guard" would be a perfect place to start. In Guard, you have the following players:
| Ada-Lorana Guard |
| Crystallan Guard |
| Brokkr Guard |
| Trontek Guard |
| Marauder Guard |
| Jetari GL14 “Brawler” |
| The Enforcer |
| Grak |
| John Doe |
| Yurik Yurikson |
That is a pretty decent start. I mean, you've got some of the classic choices in there for Guards: Marauder Guard, Trontek Guard, The Enforcer, John Doe, Grak! That is a nice place to have some options from. Now, keep in mind that this is just filtered for "Guard", meaning that if you took the Group "Guard", these would be guaranteed to be Allies, but not Friends yet. So, like I said, this is a good place to start.
What would be another trait that Guards that like to beat people up might have? How about "Vicious"? Well, the "Vicious" Group is a much longer list...
| Asterian Guard |
| Kalyshi Jack |
| Convict Guard |
| Forge Father Guard |
| Hulk Guard |
| Void Siren Guard |
| Koris Guard |
| Kovossian Guard |
| Martian Guard |
| Martian Jack |
| Martian Striker |
| Nameless Guard (Hard) |
| Rebs Rin Guard |
| Teraton Guard |
| Veer-myn Guard |
| Z'zor Guard |
| Nameless Bloodsucker |
| Barricade (GIANT) |
| Iron Ancestor (GIANT) |
| Asylum |
| Buzzcut |
| Crypt |
| Dozer (GIANT) |
| The Enforcer |
| M’zei Kein |
There we go! Now we are pulling in some of the meanest and most brutal players in all of Dreadball. In "Vicious" we have Buzzcut, Nameless Guard (Hard), a few GIANTs, and hey, there The Enforcer again! But, other than the Enforcer, there seems to be no overlap with "Guard".
Let's go a little more hardcore than "Vicious" though, let's try "Psycho":
| Hulk Guard |
| Marauder Guard |
| Pusk Rampager |
| Buzzcut |
| Grak |
| Mellisandra |
| Nightshade |
| Reek Rolat |
| Tycho Brahe |
Now we're talking! We have a nice bit of "Vicious" and "Guard" overlap with "Psycho". And what's better is that they are all three in different columns on the Groups chart! So, let's put those three down as our starting three Groups for our Sponsor.
What could we do next?
"Hunter"?
| Koris Guard |
| Sphyr Guard |
| Avaran Treebeast |
| Pusk Rampager |
| Alpha Simian (GIANT) |
| Nameless Spawn (GIANT) |
| Sann-gar (GIANT) |
| A’Teo Adysi |
| Reek Rolat |
Eh... not really feeling "Hunter". What about "Convict"? Surly there are some bad characters in the prison system!
| Convict Guard |
| Convict Jack |
| Convict Striker |
| Asylum |
| ‘Brickbat’ Vognar |
| Lyra the Fixer |
Well, I suppose those are decent choices. Maybe we can put that in our back pocket for later. How about a more broad category that might allow for some overlap and cool flavor, how about "Alien"?
| Crystallan Jack |
| Koris Jack |
| Martian Guard |
| Martian Jack |
| Martian Striker |
| Nameless Guard (Sticky) |
| Nameless Guard (Hard) |
| Nameless Striker |
| Rebs Sorak Jack |
| Sphyr Striker |
| Teraton Guard |
| Teraton Jack |
| Tsudochan Jack |
| Nameless Bloodsucker |
| Vlorox Spinpede |
| Yndij Reaver S |
| Alpha Simian (GIANT) |
| Chovar (GIANT) |
| Nameless Spawn (GIANT) |
| Irsala |
| John Doe |
| Kryphos |
| Ludwig |
| Schnörkel |
There we go! So, let's see what we have so far:
Alien (Column A), Psycho (Column B), Guard (Column C), Vicious (Column D)... what about Column E? Well, there's Greedy, Hunter, Pirate, Outcast, Weird Science and Machine-Mind. So, really at this point it is mostly about flavor and taste. Me? Well, I would go with "Weird Science". Why you might ask? Well, with our other Group choices, it give me these guys as Friends:
| Martian Guard |
| Martian Jack |
| Martian Striker |
| Tsudochan Jack |
And I am a huge Martian fan, especially in DBX where they all have guns! And oh course, paying 7 MC for a pseudo-telekinetic (Tsudochan) is a steal!
Now, let's make the team... in Part Three...
* I wanted to mention that one thing I will not be taking into account, in this entry at least, is the League Option for a Sponsor to "Buy Group" at the beginning of a match. This is an incredibly powerful option an tool at a League Sponsor's disposal. I really do think this option should only be used in League play too (as in the Rulebook). In one-off games, it could be a very unbalanced power-gamer option that could make the experience just not fun for the opposing Sponsor. In a League, it is a great tool for underdog Sponsors who might not have chosen their groups wisely.
* I wanted to mention that one thing I will not be taking into account, in this entry at least, is the League Option for a Sponsor to "Buy Group" at the beginning of a match. This is an incredibly powerful option an tool at a League Sponsor's disposal. I really do think this option should only be used in League play too (as in the Rulebook). In one-off games, it could be a very unbalanced power-gamer option that could make the experience just not fun for the opposing Sponsor. In a League, it is a great tool for underdog Sponsors who might not have chosen their groups wisely.
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