Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Mechanites Assemble! ... um... assembled, that is.

I received some Zip Kicker in the mail the other day. I was pretty excited because I have decided that unless you were going to in the Mechanites (which I was not), Zip Kicker was an essential part of the assembly process.

I had planned out exactly what builds each of the Mechanites were going to be prior to assembly, of course. I posted blog entry on it a few days ago. So, here is how they turned out. They are not painted yet, but I did throw on a quick wash to differentiate them as to their coding.
Group shot of my Mechanites!

First, we have my pair of Strikers, Celoxon A4 and Celoxon A7. I went with a quick green wash on them. They are Speed and Skill 4+ with a Movement of 6. They have Duck & Weave and they have Launchers (Long Arms) for that extra distance.


Next, we have the Offensive Multibots V.8 and V.9 - Jacks. These guys are there to support and augment the scoring side of the team. They have a Glove, giving them A Safe Pair of Hands and they have the Tactics Upgrade, because Running Interference is just that awesome!

Up next is Defensive Multibot V.10 (another Jack). He is there to assist the more defensive side. He is equipped with Steady, Gotcha! and, of course, the Tactics Upgrade.
Finally, we come to Fortetron Build 12. He is a fantastic Guard, sporting a 3+ Strength, Steady and Can't Feel a Thing! And lots of style, look at the guy! 



I know six guys is tough, once I lose one or two I am really gonna feel it. But I only had one box of the Mechs and wanted to try them out. We will see how this team works out!

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Finally decided that I need to make my Mechanite Team!

So, I've had my Mechanite team since my Rampage level pledge arrived from the Kickstarter. They are very cool, but they have just sat in a plastic bag since I opened them up to check for all the parts. I kept worrying that since I only have one pack of them, that I wouldn't have enough parts to make a decent team - I had thought that you needed at least two packages of Mechanites to make one good team.

But I realized that if I don't go ahead and put them together, they will probably sit in a plastic bag forever... I couldn't have that. Therefore I decided that I would make a team using the parts that came in the box.

Here is what I came up with (super special thanks to Geoff Burbidge for making such a fantastic Mechanite team creator):

MechanitesPlayer 1Player 2Player 3
DesignationCeloxon A4Offensive Multibot V.8 Offensive Multibot V.9
CodingStrikerJackJack
LocomotionBird LegsArmoured LegsArmoured Legs
ChasisBODY CBODY BBODY B
HeadQuadeyeSlimSlim
Arm 1LauncherGloveGlove
Arm 2HandHandClaw
Software 1Tactics UpgradeTactics Upgrade
Software 2
Software 3
Software 4
MOVE655
STRENGTH555
SPEED444
SKILL444
ARMOR544
AbilitiesDuck & Weave, Long ArmsA Safe Pair Of Hands, Run InterferenceA Safe Pair Of Hands, Run Interference
Cost (mc)181414

MechanitesPlayer 4Player 5Player 6
DesignationCeloxon A7Fortetron Build 12Defensive Multibot V.10
CodingStrikerGuardJack
LocomotionBird LegsQuad WheelsQuad Wheels
ChasisBODY CBODY DBODY A
HeadQuadeyeTankCranehead
Arm 1LauncherWrecking BallGrab
Arm 2HandWrecking BallHand
Software 1Tactics Upgrade
Software 2
Software 3
Software 4
MOVE655
STRENGTH534
SPEED455
SKILL454
ARMOR544
AbilitiesDuck & Weave, Long ArmsSteady, Can't Feel A ThingSteady, Gotcha!, Run Interference
Cost (mc)181917


This is a 100 point team with six players and a pretty good chance to be a great "all-comers" team.

Now, to build them.... :-)


Tuesday, December 8, 2015

TEAM: Sulentic Shards (Crystallan team) Review Version 2.0

Sulentic Shards (Crystallan team)
Original Assessments in Gray from MAy 26, 2015, revised assessments in white.

Strengths: 
A Team of Bruisers - Having 5 Guards with an Orx Strength is no joke. These guys hit like a ton of bricks. Every single Rush you should be Slamming a couple of opposing players. This team is not for the timid. This is truly where the teams advantages are. Not just the Guards either, the Jacks are 3+ Strength too, and benefit from Harmonics. This team is a force to be reckoned with. The Crystallans also may be one of the top teams to benefit from the Star Realms League rules for Organized play. Being able to Slam from 2-3 hexes away, with 3+ Strength, and between 3 and 5 dice makes the Jacks no joke when it comes to crushing your opponent on the field. And in the Star Realms rules, if you can clear the Pitch so that there are no opposing player on the Pitch at the end of your opponent's turn, you automatically win in a 7 point landslide!

Pitch Perfect - Harmonics is a very strange ability, it definitely has some depth to it. Having the plus to Movement in most cases is a must. The extra dice to Speed comes in handy more often than I would have initially thought, and when you can get the extra dice on Strength for the Slam, that is amazing. With the Movement 5 bonus being the one you will see the most often, that should be the only one you rely on getting (much as I alluded to in my original Overall thoughts).

Defensive Chops - With the right setup, defending your side of the pitch is made easier by the Harmonics ability. Spacing your players to grant bonuses to other players is key. Knowing the capabilities of your opponent will help you know whether to set up for the blocking of the front 1-2 point zones or blocking the 1-2 centers and crowding the 3-4. I hold to The C3 Defense being the best setup if you are the Visiting team. It has proven itself very strong. Try it out.


Weaknesses:
No Strikers - Well, scoring is not easy with the Crystallans. A jacks only team is a challenge, but this is not an insurmountable obstacle, I mean look at the Orx. :-) This is a very difficult hurdle to get over. Jacks are less reiable scorers than Strikers, plan for this difficulty.

Clumping - If you are not careful, you will find your players clumped together. An astute opponent will try to get you to maneuver your players into areas that will handicap your ability to defend. This is also made even more difficult by one's own brain constantly saying, "Yeah, but 6 dice Slams!" It takes a few games to not fall into this trap. But if you can plan ahead, this weakness can actually become a strength as you learn where a player should end up when performing an action - it might be different than other teams.

They Are Big Rock Guys - Terrible Speed and Movement. Now these are mitigated by the Harmonics, but you cannot rely on it all the time. Getting the ball stolen is a problem. Try your best to Threaten hexes around your Jack if you have to hold on to the ball. If you can manage to be within three hexes of two Crystallans, you get an extra dice for Speed rolls too.


MVP Recommendations:

Crypt - This guy is a great choice if you are going for a team to crush and destroy your opoent, in a literal sense. With a 2+ Strength and a higher than average Crystallan Speed, this guy is a murderer. With a possible 6 Dice Slam on a 2+, you are all but guaranteed to send someone off the pitch with every Slam!

Any Striker MVP! This team would kill for a Striker. Whether it is Nightshade or the Praetorian or WHOEVER, it doesn't matter, grab 'em!


Overall: 
Don't fall into the trap of HAVING to have full Harmonics on everything you do. Crystallan Guards are utterly amazing BEFORE the extra dice from Harmonics. Take advantage of the single bump from Harmonics that 1 other Crystallans near you grants, this is a great advantage in and of itself. Use the plus to Speed to keep your players safe from those in the back Slams, and when you need to Steal (but you had better be Threatening the ballholder with at least one other Crystallan too!). If you are willing to put in the time on the Sulentic Shards, I have a feeling that the reward will proportional. If you are a fan of the Orx from Season One, I think you might enjoy the Crystallans. I agree with the original assessment for the most part. Like each of the teams from Season Six, the Crystallans are not a "pick up and play" team. They take time to learn and time to master, but I think they are a bit better than I originally thought having played with and against them more now.


Grade:
C +

C + is probably right, but easily a "B" if in the Star Realms League

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

TEAM: Glambek Gosts (Ada-Lorana team)

Glambek Gosts (Ada-Lorana team)

Strengths: 
Phasing - This is obviously the special advantage only the Ada-Lorana have. Being able to just ignore the other side's players and position wherever you want is cool. This does make positioning pretty simple. AND, it has the added bonus of subtracting dice to to Slams (yours and your opponent's). This makes them nigh impossible to take out, especially when you couple it with...

Gaseous beings on Speed - The entire team has 3+ Speed. With the negative to Slambacks, I even find myself using a Dodge on my Guards! Taking out a an Ada-Lorana is ridiculously hard! 

Cards and Dice! - The Glambek Ghosts begin play with a Card and a Coaching dice. Considering their stats, I am not sure this was neccessary, but if you are playing them, it really makes you happy.

Great Strikers - With average Movement, decent Skill, amazing Speed, and Phaser, the Strikers really deserve a specific mention themselves. They are fantastic!


Weaknesses:
How many players? - You only have 6 players to put on the Pitch. When you lose someone, even for only a Rush or two, you feel it. And should someone get lucky, or your dice rebel against you, and you lose more than one player, you game becomes a bit more diffcult.

Damaged - With only one Guard, you don't have much of a bashing game to speak of. If you want that in a team, I would look somewhere else.


MVP Recommendations:



M'Zei Kein - Though it might not intuitive, I think that the best bang for your buck is going to be M'Zei Kein, the Tsudochan MVP. You might be tempted to grab a Buzzcut, or Enforcer, and they would be fine choices, but I think that to completely dominate the Pitch, just add a little Push to the mix. Everyone but the ball carrier will be able to Phase, so we should fix that! With Push, you can clear the Strike Zone, or remove a Threatening player. You can move a Striker that extra hex to allow him to Throw without moving. I really think that utilizing M'Zei Kein for the Push is the way to go. Oh, and he is a Guard with 360 and Grizzled... so there's that too!

Overall: 
The overall themes of the Season Six teams are "practice to perfection" and "utilize your uniqueness". The Ada-Lorana are by far the most forgiving of the season (as long as you keep them alive). The are great at getting into place, Stealing, scoring, and not getting hurt. Honestly, they would be a great team for a player that is fairly new to the game. That is not to say they aren't pretty awesome for a vet to play with... then they are awesome!


Grade:
A-