SIDELINE REPORT: Ro-Tek Brutes vs Glambek Ghosts

We got together for a little Dreadball finally! It has been over a month since I got a team on the Pitch! I was happy to try out my take on the Mechanites too, while my opponent tried out the Ada-Lorana.

Ada-Lorana Guard, Ada-Lorana Jack, Ada-Lorana Striker, Celoxon A4 and A7 Mechanite Strikers, Offensive Multibot V.8 and V.9 Jacks, Defensive Multibot V.10 Jack, Fortetron Build 12 Guard

For the stats and builds of my Mechanite team, check out my earlier blog post about my design.

The initial setup did not seem to favor anyone from the onset. And as a matter of fact, both teams fumbled the ball in each team's first Rush!

But the highlight of the first Rush, and the possible MVP move of the game was the Ada-Lorana Guard destroying my Defensive Multibot V.10 before he got to take advantage of his Gotcha! ability. The Ada-Lorana Guard rolled 6 successes! I rolled one, and no armor saves... sad face. Wow. And since each of us only had 6 players on the Pitch, that single loss before I got to even move him really hurt.

The game went fairly average to good for my opponent. He missed some rolls, but he got the majority of his attempts at throwing, dashing, and scoring. The Ada-Lorana are great at getting done what they need to. With average stats, and their abilities, and dice, and cards, they are a team to be reckoned with.

The Mechanites, well, they could have been good, but my dice HATED me. I fell on Dash attempts, my Strikers failed to pick up balls, my Guard could not knock anyone out. IT was not a night for the Mechanites, maybe it is was my faulty programming.

The game was a lot of fun, but ended in a landslide victory for the Ghosts. Man, that team is strong.


What did we learn:

- When designing a Mechanite team, don't go for the Launcher (Long Arms), at least not on all your Strikers. Not being able to score in the 4 point hex hurt me some, but not being able ot score in the 2 point hex hurt a lot more. My opponent basically won from 2 point scores.

- Mechanite Running Interference is a great deterrent.

- The Ada-Lorana are still really good. Speed 3+, plus the Phaser ability and the card and dice... may be too much. We discussed that perhaps their hard counter is the Hobgoblins, but then again, aren't the Hobgoblins the hard counter to a lot of teams?

- 4+ is not as good as 3+ no matter how many dice you have! I know statistically this is not true, but dang it, it feels like a axiom when playing Dreadball!

SIDELINE REPORT: Greenmoon Smackers vs Wu-ling Wanderers

This game was played with a specifc purpose in mind. I wanted to try out the new Jack rules that are in the Star Realms League Play Pack. So, I asked my opponent to choose a Jack-heavy team, as did I. I went with the Marauders and my opponent went with the Koris.

Orx Guard - Red, Goblin Jack - Orange, Koris Guard - Dark Blue, Koris Jack - Light Blue

I pulled the Home team for the Marauders. I decided to go with a highly aggressive setup on the center line. I wanted to get the Orx on the other side and see if I could wreck some ugly Koris face. I did put one goblin in the front line too, you know, for the ball. I also decided that with the portal movement the Koris can manage, I wanted to guard the 3-4 point Strikezone - two goblins and an Orx.

My opponent went with a similar setup in the 3-4 Point Strikezone. He chose to use two Jacks to Guard the extra point hexes in the 1-2 point zones too. And finally, he went with a Guard in the center, no doubt to try and attack the poor Marauders on his turn.

The first few Rushes saw the Orx and Goblins dominate. By the end of the third Rush, 5 Koris were off the Pitch and I had scored a 4 point Strike with a Goblin! My dice were above average for sure, and my opponent's dice were... awful.

The game began to balance out after that. The Wanderers came back on the Pitch slowly, but with the use of the portals and some luck, they did manage to score a 2 point Strike. My opponent did a good job of placing the portals and utilizing them. 

The Goblins began having butter fingers and flubbed some easy rolls. The Orx continued to beat down the other side, but more knocked down models than sent off the Pitch as the game moved along.

The final score was in the Marauder's favor, but just.

Thoughts on the game:

• Orx are still big boys! They crush like it was Season One all the time!
• Koris Movement 4 HAS TO be mitigated by the portals.
• The Koris Striker is a huge target, and is taken off the pitch easily - use him for the big score and then pray he doesn't die.
  
• Goblins Dash well... unless they don't.
• The Koris Guards are better than I originally imagined.
• Slamming to get the ball is usually better than trying to Steal.

Thoughts on the new Jack rules:

• The new Jack rules will matter the most for teams with Jacks that have decent Strength. I think that the Teratons, Brokkrs (and I guess by extension the Forge Fathers), and the Crystallans will gain the most from these new rules. Being able to Slam with a 3+ Strength from 2-3 hexes away is a fantastic boon to these teams.
• The all-Jack teams for instance, can only be improved by the rules of course. I am not sure it will make them more competitive though. Time and playing them will tell, but my gut says that it will not vastly improve them.
• Void Siren Jacks! Um, a Running Interference Slam from 3 hexes away is crazy, crazy good!
• Z'zor Jacks... makes the Z'zor Striker useless now.
• The Sorak Jack will be improved by this change (like the Rebs needed another boost!).
• Martian Jack guns?!?! Does it work on their guns?

SIDELINE REPORT: Nemion Oceanics vs Pelgar Mystics

This week, the Sphyr and the Judwan faced off on the Pitch. My friend Dan had not played his Judwan in quite some time and wanted to bring them out. They are a nicely painted team and it was good to see them back in the game. I decided to try out the Sphyr, and though I had seen them played before and played against them, it was my first time as their coach.

The Setup

Yellow - Judwan Strikers, Dark Blue - Sphyr Guard, Light Blue - Sphyr Jack, Green - Sphyr Striker

I set up in a pretty aggressive forward formation. Dan countered with a fairly standard defensive formation, except for the one strike are off to the side, assumingly  place there in order to be able to get to the ball later.

 The first rush went pretty well for the Sphyr. I ended up getting my guard to slam one of the outside defenders on the three point strike zone out of the way. While at the same time using a striker  to both assist with the slam, by threatening the Judwan player, and setting himself up to catch the ball. I easily got the ball through it to my other Striker, and scored a three point goal.

The second rush saw my opponents players head down the pitch and attempt to move my players out of the way for a three point strike. Just to not go as easily as he had planned, as his Feint actually ended up having him slammed onto the ground. My opponent ended up settling for a one point strike.

*Sigh*

I could go rush by rush at this point and describe what happened, but honestly it was a comedy of errors on my part -  I missed three strike attempts and flubbed picking up the ball once. That pretty much cost me the game.  On my opponents part, it was slowly moving down the pitch, moving my  players out of the way, and scoring three point strikes.  The job one finally ended up winning by a landslide in the 10th rush.

 In no way am I trying to take away from my opponents abilities. He played a pretty flawless game. He utilize the abilities the Judwan have to throw long distance and score 2 great advantage. Plus, he is experienced at using Feint like a pro. He won the game fair and square.

My dice were on a cold streak. Oh well, such is life.

"Sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes the bear eats you." - the Stranger, The Big Lebowski

What did we learn:

• The Judwan are still quite a viable team. Now, take that with a grain of salt of course, because it will entirely depend on your opponent. The matchup against the Sphyr is actually a pretty good one for the Judwan.
• The Long Arms ability never ceases to amaze me. It is just fantastic. 
• The Sphyr all right quite remarkable team, even though I lost, I could tell that there potential is near limitless. They are like a human team, but with a couple of extra tricks, and Movement 6.
• Both teams in this game head Movement 6. Movement 6 is where it's at. 
• Tail vs the Judwan is useless.  OK, not entirely useless. I realize that it would be great if one of them were trying to steal from you, but being honest, I never had a single rush where that was even an option for them. There was always a time for me to attempt a strike -  I never had the ball on their rush. Wished it worked against Feint.
• Feint - in the hands of a skilled (and averagely lucky) player, this ability is really good, and very hard to counter. 

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!

SIDELINE REPORT: Bremlin Nebulas vs Rallion Roses

I was lucky enough to get a match in this week with a friend of mine. He decided to play the Kalyshi. I had thought to play them too (I wrote down their stats prior my friend arriving), and though a mirror match can be fun, I went with my second choice of teams (I wrote down the Hobgoblin's stats too, so I was ready).

My friend got the Home side of the pitch. Then he went with a fairly standard setup. I went with a variation on a setup I called Middle Irk. You can see the setup a little better below.

Orange - Kalyshi Jack, Yellow - Kalyshi Striker, Dark Blue - Hulk Guard, Light Blue - Hobgoblin Jack, Green - Hobgoblin Striker

I did my best to keep up with the turns, but I have got to discover a better way than just jotting down a few illegible facts for every Rush. Regardless, here is what I wrote down:

RUSH NOTES:

Rush 1 - Kalyshi Striker throws the ball at the back of the Hulk's head and sends him out for two rounds.

Rush 2 - The Hobgoblins knock out a Striker for a round. Then the Hobgoblins score 3 points.

Rush 3 - Kalyshi score 3 points.

Rush 4 - Hobgoblins score 1 point.

Rush 5 - Kalyshi score 1 point.

Rush 6 - Hulk comes back in and knocks out a few Kalyshi, the Hobgoblins run and hide with the ball.

Rush 7 - Nothing really.

Rush 8 - Hobgoblins score 3 points.

Rush 9 - Kalyshi score 3 points.

Rush 10 - ****can't read my handwriting****

Rush 11 - Kalyshi score 2 points.

Rush 12 - Hulk fails to injury the Kalyshi. Hobgoblins flub the attempt to get the ball.

Rush 13 - Kalyshi score 2 points.

HOBGOBLIN CONCEDE. 

What did I learn?

• Don't let a Striker-heavy team get the drop on the Hulk. The Hulk being out for 2 rounds was awful! 
• The Hobgoblin Jacks are decent at damaging opponents too. 
• I also learned that Brush Aside is not as good as I initially thought-it is rather situational.
• Kalyshi, much like the regular Asterians, should pretty much focus entirely on scoring.
• Skill 5+ is terrible! Argh!

Getting both your Strikers stuck in the opposing teams goal is no bueno.

SIDELINE REPORT: The Fran-Taar Philosophers vs Long Rock Lifers

This is my first Sideline Report (Battle Report) on the blog. I plan on alternating some between the TACTICS and the SIDELINE REPORT entries. It is not the format I am going to follow, and I didn't know I was going to even write it when I played the game. But I did want to get some of these up here to discuss a few things about the flow and movement of games. We'll see how it goes...

I was fortunate enough to get in a game of Dreadball with a fellow veteran Dreadball Coach the other night. We decided to play two of the newer teams and see how the match went. He chose the Long Rock Lifers, the Convict team, and I chose the Fran-Taar Philosophers, the Tsudochan team. We had seen the Tsudochan on the Pitch before, but this was our first time trying out the convicts.

The Setup:

Orange - Tsudochan Jacks

Dark Blue - Convict Guard, Light Blue - Convict Jack, Green - Convict Striker

We both began the game in a very standard setup for Dreadball. We each had three players along the center and one player guarding the extra point lane of each Strikezone. My opponent's plan was obvious, he was going to try and hurt me with the Guards. Not a whole lot I was going to be able to do about that-a Jack with a 4+ Speed and a 5+ Strength isn't going to strong a monster 3+ Strength Guard. Oh well..
The first Rush went totally my way. Being on the Home side as the Tsudochan is a major boon to your game. You are pretty much guaranteed to get an attempt to score, which I did, for three points!
Then the pain... the rest of the Rushes after the first consisted of lots of pain, for both sides. For the poor Tsudochan, the pain was actual pain. Although he ever only managed to kill one player, I was constantly getting guys sent out and getting knocked down. There was pain on the other side too, but it was the pain of bad dice. My opponent missed every Strike attempt, when he actually managed to Pick Up the Ball.
The 12th Rush is the only other one worth mentioning. In the 11th Rush, I made a crucial error, I one I had avoided the entire game so far...

I ended my turn in the 11th Rush with the above setup. I had two Tsudochan Jacks (Orange) side-by-sideThreatening his Convict Striker (Green) who was sitting on the 4 point hex. On his turn, in the 12th Rush, she Sprinted a Convict Jack where you see above (Light Blue). Then he used his shock collar... *sigh* it sent both my Jacks out for two rounds (removing them from the game), and freed up his Striker, who finally scored a 4 pointer.

And though there was some valiant last ditch attempts at scoring, the Fran-Taar Philosophers met defeat that day.

What did I learn?:

1. The Convicts are a really good team (despite my opponent's terrible dice). They can score like Trontek (maybe even easier considering they come with an Offensive Coach), but there Guards hit like Orx. And that Shock Collar at the right moment can turn a game.
2. As much as I really want to like the Tsudochan, an all Jack team is still difficult to handle. With a 5+ Strength, your only real option is Dodge. Moving people is great, but you only get that on your turn. 
3. If you can at all avoid it, do not space your guys so that the Convicts can get that Shock Collar on more than one player.
4. With the Fran-Taar Philosophers, score early and go for the three pointers if possible.