DBX SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: Lord Abraxon, "The Iron-Fisted Dreamer"

Name:
Lord Abraxon, "The Iron-Fisted Dreamer"

Background:
Not everyone's vision for the future of the galaxy meshes entirely with reality, but in the case of Lord Abraxon, it directly conflicts. It was only 22 years ago that a young Lord Gaius Abraxon had his first dream of the future. In it, his future self instructed him to find the world of Lolentra and establish his empire beginning there. Eventually he found the peaceful planet of Lotentral, believing this to be the world he was looking for, Lord Abraxon worked for years to build an underground resistance and eventually launched a terrible bloody revolt against the governing body. Unbeknownst to Lord Abraxon, the Feldemark Corporation, known for strange and exotic weaponry, had just taken over a controlling number of seats in the Senate of Lotentral and voted to suppress this revolt with extreme force. Somehow, Lord Abraxon made it out alive, but under arrest. He spent 15 years behind bars light years away from Lotentral in a Feldemark Corporate Prison Colony, but had the "good fortune" of having an exotic weapons test go wrong close enough to the prison that major damage was caused (including badly burning Lord Abraxon's face). This allowed for his escape. Since then, he has been on a quest to return to Lotentral and take his rightful place as the ruler there. His reputation has led to him becoming a minor celebrity on the DBX scene, where he plays for big stakes and only with those he deems worthy.

Rank:
5

Groups: 
Cunning, Rebel, Convict, Vicious, Outcast


Initial Starting Team:
67 Points (3 MC for Exploding Collar)

10 - Rebs Ralarat Striker

10 - Rebs Ralarat Striker

5 - Convict Striker
5 - Convict Striker

Two amazing Strikers for scoring. Two backup Strikers for scoring--that double as a bomb when needed! This should be enough scoring power to keep Lord Abraxon in the game for the long run, especially if the other half of the team does its job.

6 - Convict Jack

9 - Rebs Gaelian Jack

10 - Convict Guard

12 - Brute Force

Three fantastic head-crackers here! Speed, a little Brush Aside and some brute intimidating force! And a Convict Jack to be sure we use that exploding collar!

COACH'S CORNER: DBX Quick Reference Spreadsheet

I made a quick reference chart/spreadsheet for the "groups" in DBX. I wanted something that I could look at quickly to determine if the sponsor I was designing was actually in-line with my wants/play style. It is nothing fancy or elaborate, I know some of people on the Dreadball Fantatics FB page are making some that are way more intricate and with a better and more polished system ("Tech Guys" if you will) but like I said, this is a quick reference that I made and have been using. Feel free to comment if you see any errors...

DBX Sponsor Sheet

If you want to make it more user-friend, just copy the whole thing and paste it into another Spreadsheet and use a Filtered view. That will make searching even faster.

DBX SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: Ack-A-Bakka

Ack-A-Bakka

Name:
Ack-A-Bakka

Background:
Finding that competing in Dreadball was more difficult than they expected, mostly due to the fact they were injured very easily, the Martians began the development of a synthetic being with tougher skin to be an anchor for their team. They attempted to approximate the appearance of a human for the synthetic artificial lifeform they created, but fell quite short. The artificial lifeform was given the "Ack-A-Bakka" and programmed to be a Dreadball Guard. Ack-A-Bakka was a good Dreadball player, but his special adaptive programming was more expansive than the Martians had originally intended though. After less than four weeks on an officially sanctioned Martian Dreadball called "The Earth's Devastation", Ack-A-Bakka had grown in intelligence so much that he quit the team and decided that he could do better himself on the underground circuit. Ack-A-Bakka's ultimate goal is the gather enough wealth and glory to raise a secret robot army with which to conquer the galaxy.

Rank:
5

Groups: 

Alien, Dreadball, Guard, Mr. Roboto, Weird Science

Initial Starting Team:
70 Points

11 - Jetari GL14 “Brawler”

11 - Jetari GL14 “Brawler”

8 - John Doe

The Guards on Ack-A-Bakka's team are all Strength 3+, the main focus being of course injuring the opposing team's players. But in addition to that, the Jetari bring some staying power with their Armor of 3+, Can't Feel A Thing, and Grizzled. And John Doe brings the ever popular Gotcha!

9 - Jetari SL22 “Thrower”

9 - Jetari SL22 “Thrower”

8 - Sphyr Striker

The Strikers on Ack-A-Bakka's team are focused on scoring. Between the solid Sphyr Striker with his standard human style statline and with two Throwers with a 3+ Skill, A Safe Pair of Hands, and 360, scoring should be well within reach.

8 - Tsudochan Jack

6 - Martian Jack

Finally, the Tsudochan Jack is there for some sneaky extra movement shenanigans! The plan is to leave him on the bench until he is needed. Then he can move onto the field and Push a player around to further Ack-A-Bakka's plan. And the Martian Jack is there for the Ray Gun! Because it is too much fun!

DBX TEAM CONFIGURATION: Greater Alienation (Blaine)

Ok, as a second thought and follow-up to the one yesterday... how about this one:

Greater Alienation
Blaine
Kalyshi Strikers x 2
Nameless Bloodsucker x 1
Pusk Rampager x 1
Zee Buccaneer x 4
Total: 68 MC

Let's see... 

• Not many players on the pitch, but with the Zees Speed and Duck & Weave, they are very difficult to take out, so that should help immensely.
• Got the two very good Strikers for Scoring, and in total 7 out of 8 people can Score. 
• The Pusk is there for the occasional Slam, but mostly for single hex movement via Ram--to clear lanes and such. 
• The Nameless Bloodsucker is there for some added nastiness to those that fall on the ground, plus he has great Movement and Speed. And he is fairly cheap. 
• Just need to be sure I have everyone on the pitch I can. Because if they start going down, I could loose the game easily. 

Variants
Maybe switch out a Zee or two for a Kalyshi Jack or two?

Drop 2 Zees for a Yndij Reaver?


Conclusion
Haven't played it yet. But I am liking the way it is sounding.

DBX TEAM CONFIGURATION: Alienation (Blaine)

The basic team for Blaine is actually a very good team. It does what Blaine's team does well and you won't go wrong with it. But, let's look at another viable team. How about something like this:

Alienation (Original)
Blaine
Kalyshi Strikers x 2
Kalyshi Jacks x 1
Pusk Rampager x 1
Zee Buccaneer x 2
Yndij Reaver x 1
Total: 69 MC

I tried out this team and it is very interesting, if a little fragile. I really think that with a few more options and just some slight alterations, this might be a good team. I have not won with this configuration yet, but it is fun. It has a lot of speed and scoring ability, but little in the way of "punch". And only 7 members - eek!

Variants
Increase the number of Kalyshi on the team by dropping the Zee?

Get rid of the Pusk and the Zees to grab another Reaver and another Kalyshi Striker - going full on Score-happy?

Conclusion
It is hard to get much better than Blaine's original starting team (though I have had some success just dropping 2 Jacks for 2 Zees). I don't think this team is ready for prime time yet, but until we get some more options, there is little that can be done... maybe a Nameless Bloodsucker? Nah.

DBX TEAM CONFIGURATION: Speed Freaks and Roid Rage (Warden)

With 70 MC, there is only so much variation that can come into play so early in DBX. One of the more successful configurations we have been trying out has been what I like to call Speed Freaks and Roid Rage. This team, and the slight variations on it, involve letting go of most of the Convict Jacks in the Warden's team. It looks something like this:

Speed Freaks and Roid Rage (Original)
Warden
Thug x 3
Runner x 6
Con x 1
Total: 64 MC

This original setup allows for one Jack to hang in the back and be ready to jump onto the pitch if he is needed in the middle of a rush. It also leaves enough MC for 2 uses of the explosive collar. The 6 Runners give the Warden ample chances to score and the 3 Thugs ensure that there is a lot of blood on the floor. It is an all Convicts team with a 10 person crew and it works pretty well.

Variants
I have one friend that likes to drop the Con for another explosion.

I have another friend that likes to drop a Con and a Thug to grab a Jetari SL22 "Thrower" - this makes the team slanted heavily towards the scoring end of the spectrum.

I have tried it dropping one Runner and one Con and picking up 2 Zee Buccaneers. It worked decently.

Conclusion
I find that the best is still the original. It is simple and sticks to doing a few things well. Until we get a few more options, I think this is my go-to Warden list.