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

SIDELINE REPORT: Glambek Ghosts vs Sulentic Shards

I had the good fortune of being able to slip in a game tonight with my buddy, Dan. We both came in wanting to play the Glambek Ghosts, but not wanting to play a mirror-match, Dan grabbed the Sulentic Shards. It was my first time trying out the Ada-Lorana and Dan's first time playing the Crystallans. Two blue plastic teams! Woo hoo!

The Game:

Dan ended up being the home team and set up his Crystallans in a very aggressive formation. He had Jacks and Guards lining the front of his side of the Pitch.

Dan's initial setup.

I counter by setting up my Ada-Lorana way back, and trying to keep as many Strikers out of reach without hampering my ability to go after the ball.

My initial setup.

The Pitch looked like this at the start of the game:

Red - Crystallan Guard, Orange - Crystallan Jack, Dark Blue - Ada-Loana Guard, Light Blue - Ada-Lorana Jack, Green - Ada-Lorana Striker

The first Rush saw Dan's Crystallans work in cooperation to Slam my Jack in the 1-2 point Strike Zone. But the elusive form of the Ada-Lorana Jack proved to be too difficult for the Crystallan Guard, even with a Crystallan Jack Threatening the Ada-Lorana. 

"Why won't this guy die?!?!" - Crystallan Guard

Then one of Dan's Crystallan Jacks grabbed the ball and the first Rush ended. He moved the Ref down toward the action.

On my Rush, I concentrated entirely on scoring. I stole the ball. And tried to throw it in for a 3 point Strike ... and I did... and thus ended the second Rush.

The next Rush, Dan managed the knock out the Jack he was focusing on by getting one of his Crystallans "fully harmonic" (getting all the bonuses from Harmonics). But even then he was only knocked out for 1 Rush. Then Dan grabbed the ball again and it went back to me.

I stole the ball. Then, I believe this was the Rush that I used a Showboat Card doing an Evade in the 3 point Strike Zone and caused the Ball Shatters event - hooray! So, no scoring for me this Rush...

Next Rush, Dan's guys attacked mine. That was the pattern usually. And my guys took it fine. 

Then this was the Rush I missed the goal and the ball scattered... :-( But it scattered right in front of the Striker that had jetted out of the cluster above. 

Ok, so... here's the very short version of the rest of the game. Crystallans try to Slam Ada-Lorana and just can't do it. Ada-Lorana score and win.

Final state of the Pitch.

What Did We Learn:

• The Crystallans NEED to play the defensive game. Even better if you can start second, maybe the best team to be the Visiting team as.
• You have to think not one, not two, but three or four steps ahead when playing as the Crystallans.
• The Ada-Lorana are really fun to play.
• The -1 to the opposing player's Slam, coupled with their 3+ Speed make taking a Ghost out nigh impossible.
• The Movement of 5 and only having 6 players keeps the Ada-Lorana from being too overpowered.
• The Gruba-tek VII Coliseum Pitch is awesome!

PAINTING: Crystallan Team

I finished painting my Crystallan team (at least, the first team of them).

What I did:

• I used Vallejo Matt Vanish to lay down a simple coat to paint on.
• I used Army Painter Blue Tone to tint the model and darken the crevices blue.
• I dry-brushed a mixture of Citadel Foundation Mordian Blue and Army Painter Matt White - heavy on the White.
• I painted the metal areas with some Greycoat Grey topped with Citadel Chainmail.  
• On the metal areas, I then used some Army Painter Strong Tone to give it a little depth.
• Then, I went over the metal with some Vallejo Matt Vanish.
• I did some red coloring on the metal with P3 Khador Red Base.
• Finally, I went over the crystal portion of them with Gloss Vanish to give them a crystal-like shine.

I was pretty happy with the results!

TACTICS: Crystallans Setup - The C3 Defense

Before I even begin, I know that as of this time this team is still officially in beta status, and their stats and relative play style may change. But, reading Jake's comments on his blog, probably not that much. So, having said that...

Crystallan Center Column (Visitor)

Dark Blue - Guard, Light Blue - Jack

This defense ("The C3 Defense") is the way I like to begin with when I am the visiting side of a match as the Crystallans. 

It is a powerful defense of the 3/4 point zone. If you can take out one of the Fully-Harmonically-Tuned Guards, you deserve those points! Each Guard will be hitting you back like a Forge Father Guard rolling at full Strength! Unless you are a Hobgoblin Hulk, with a little Hobgoblin sidekick or two, you are going to be hard pressed to clear the lanes enough to make a 3/4 goal.  When you opponent's Striker inevitably geets stuck in your backfield... well, destroy him! That should be easy considering the Harmonic Guards back there. 

In addition to what was just said, you have made an Evasion gauntlet in the center using the Guard and two Jacks. And what of those Jacks? Well, if the center Guard should survive the initial onslaught from you opponent, then you get the Movement bump for the Jacks to be able to get further. They might need to work in tandem to get the most out of ball-handling, but that is really just the whole Crystallan thing--working together and whatnot.


BTW, I also thought that "C3 "was clever, as in they are more powerful when they can "See Three"... SMH at myself. :-)

TEAM: Sulentic Shards (Crystallan team)

Sulentic Shards (Crystallan team)
Just some initial thoughts after the beta test release...

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.

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.

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.


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. :-)

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!"

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.


MVP Recommendations:

I am going to wait on this until I can see the Crystallan MVP and the other Season 5/6 MVPs are capable of.


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.


Grade:
C +

MANTIC UPDATE: Mantic Open Day Dreadball pics

Originally, I saw these posted on the Dreadball Fanatics page on Facebook, by one of the group members (I won't post his name here out of respect for it being a closed group--though a thousand thanks to him and everyone who is posting the pics). Here are some of the pics:

Really like the look of pretty much everything, but especially the Koris! Very excited to get the next wave of the Kickstarter! Hopefully it will be here by early next month.

Then there were a lot posted at: https://imgur.com/a/bkc40#66 . Here are the DB ones I saw:

Hopefully there will be more revealed soon!

TEAM: Sulentic Shards (Crystallan team - beta)

Just in case you missed it, Jake published some early rules for the Crystallan team on Quickworthy:

http://quirkworthy.com/2015/04/17/sulentic-shards/

I am hoping to playtest them soon. They look interesting, but need high competence and planning to play. A few people are saying that they think they need a card. I am not so sure. It might give the Guards TOO much power with a card--not sure yet. 

What is unfortunate is the lack of Strikers. Strange, in the Kickstarter I thought they were planning on them (see the three styles below). I suppose in design they might have decided to drop the Strikers though.