PAINTING: Season 4 MVPs (Asylum and The Excavator)

I finished painting two MVPS for Season 4. 

More to come...

TEAM: Pelgar Mystics (Judwan Team)

Pelgar Mystics (Judwan Team)
Reviewed during Season 4 for DBO only

Strengths: 
Master Strikers - I don't know that you could ask for more in a Striker (and still want some game balance). Long Arms alone makes the Judwan amazing--it is a crazy good ability. Being able to reliably Throw the ball farther than any other team is a major advantage.

Misdirect - A way for Strikers to clear lanes, awesome! Man, this ability truly gets under your skin when you are playing against Judwan. It is frustrating in the extreme. Even with the Speed reduction, they can really manage a lot of board control using this ability, especially against a non-dexterity oriented team.

Weaknesses:
Bunches of Broken Bones - When you lose a Judwan, they are often out of the game! I know it is just me, but it seems that when they begin to drop to a bashy team, they drop like flies. Especially considering they have a Striker's armor check, and only average on the Dodge rolls, they are not a team that like to get hit.

Extra Pointless - No 2 or 4 point goals. This does not hurt their game too much, but it is definitely a drawback to playing the Judwan--and such an odd drawback too.


MVP Recommendations:
I will keep this short and sweet: 
ANY GUARD! 
I REPEAT, ANY GUARD!

:-)


Overall: 
In my opinion, the Judwan should have been play-tested a whole lot more before release. The initial Speed they had made them unstoppable, bending the distance for Throwing rules is clunky, and the "no extra point" thing just seems weird. Having said all that, the Pelgar Mystic are fun to play, and after the Speed reduction, not infuriating to play against. They are a solid team if your play style is board control and Scoring only.


Grade:
A -

COACH'S CORNER: Dreadball Resources

Mantic Website

Of course. It is a great place to find some free rules, to see when releases are happening, and what is in the box. 

Mantic Forums

A nice place for rules questions and to show off your models.

Dreadball Xtreme Website

A newer website dedicated to all things DBX. I like the layout and info so far. Hopefully as Dreadball Xtreme grows, so will the website.

Dreadball Fanatics Facebook Page

This community is fantastic in my opinion. A great resource all-around. You will need to be added, as it is a closed group. The group's description is: 

This is the unofficial fan group for DreadBall by Mantic Games. Feel free to post questions on rules, share pictures, conversions, paint jobs, news, tactics, and anything else related to DreadBall.
You can use the group to sell or trade stuff, but use your judgement - if things get out of hand and spammy, to the point where it covers up important threads of lovely pics of painted models, we might change this.
By stuff we mean keep it dreadball or games related. anything else you will be banned!
Let's keep everything family friendly, but the group is pretty lax and we've never really run into any issues so far so let's keep it that way. :)
We're in no way official, but we do have a few pathfinders and Mantic staff in the group so keep that in mind. Game on!

Dreadball Board Game Geek Page and Dreadball Xtreme Page

Another great resource and place for some discussion.

Strike Zone Podcast on War More Radio

PODCAST - Great thoughts and advice--and a joy to listen to! And focused on Dreadball!

Beasts of War: Dreadball Acedemy

VIDEOS - A wonderful Youtube series by the cool fellas over at BoW.

I know there are more that I am missing. Please feel free to alert me to any and I will add them! Thanks!

COACH'S CORNER: Introducing New Players to Dreadball

 One of the best things about our hobby is being able to introduce people to games that are new to them. And of course, the one I always want to show off to a gamer is Dreadball.

If the player is a miniature gamer, they usually jump on board with little prodding or coercing. Miniature gamers are often familiar with Mantic in some way, and if not, they are familiar with Blood Bowl, which makes them interested pretty quickly--especially when I describe it as, "a fast-paced game more akin to basketball or hockey rather than football (American Football, of course)." If they are regularly a board gamer, they usually are willing to jump in pretty quickly too when they see the familiar shape of the game board come out. This contrasts starkly with most miniature games having to set up terrain on a large table.

Once a person is willing, where do you go from there? I think that the general recommendation from most is to start with the basic set up of the starting two teams of the Corporation and the Marauders, no ref and no cards. I agree with this... sometimes. Not matter what someone wants, I always play the first game with no cards and no ref, but beyond this, this is where you often have more success knowing if you are playing with a miniature gamer or not. If the person across from me is a mini gamer, then Corporation versus Marauders it is. They are probably intimately familiar with the idea of sides that are differently balanced but solid. These two will work with them easily. For the non-mini gamer, I really think the match should be the perfectly balanced Corporation vs Corporation. The truly balanced game is something much more similar to a board game. This, of course, requires you having 2 Corporation teams (preferably painted or with colored bases to help differentiate). After a game or two, then introduce the element of the Orx and Goblins.

***I would recommend that those teaching new players encourage them to watch the Dreadball Acemdemy on Beast of War too--it is a a great intro and a riot!***

The next step is the the introduction of the cards and ref. After a few games with the two starter teams and ref/cards, then I move on to talking about the Season 1 and Season 2 teams. Most people are ready at this point to begin a discussion of what they enjoy most about the game. This allows for a more seasoned player to recommend a team or two to the new player. I have found that the addition of the abilities slipping in with the new teams has not been an issue with new players. They are ready to soak up that knowledge happily. Sometimes it might require a few more minutes of explanation, but it's worth it. Adding just the rest of the Season 1 teams can also work, but after a few games, most people are either into Dreadball and ready to find their niche, or they appreciate learning a new game, but it is not for them.

Why not Season 3 too? I find that Season 3 is where it gets a bit more complicated and, just to be honest, can be VERY unbalanced to a new player. Teams like the Nameless and the Asterians can just run the pitch. Whereas the Zees are, at best difficult, and at worst terrible. So, Season 3 is a more advanced step (as is Season 4 especially with teams like the Martians and the Rebs). Tht is not to say many gamers, especially old Blood Bowl players, wouldn't be able to jump into the harder teams without a problem--just know your new coach's comfort level.

After all the Season 1 and 2 teams are introduced, then MVPs in Exhibition Games are next. Which leads into introducing Season 3 and 4. This should lead into Exhibition Games 120 or 130 MC to use for Coaches and Cheerleaders and abilities rolled from charts. This should lead right into a league. Hopefully, you have a decent community or a good number of interested new players when a league starts. The more the merrier is definitely true for a DB League.

And as always, the key to it all is to have a blast!

PLAYER: Vlorox Spinpede (Vlorox DBX Free Agent)

PLAYER: Vlorox Spinpede (Vlorox DBX Free Agent)
Reviewed when only the DBX box set was out


Strengths:
Rollin, Rollin, Rollin - Alright, we all know that the biggest draw for the Spinpede is the triple Movement Sprint. This puts the Spinpede on par with some of the fastest in the game.

Tough Guy, Eh? - The fact he has a good armor save is great for a Striker. Couple that with Can't Feel a Thing and a Forge Father Strength and you have yourself a Striker that is hard to put down.


Weaknesses:
Fast? - The thing is, the Vlorox is not really "fast". His actual Movement is awful, his Speed is terrible, and the one pivot part of Rolling is just plain crippling. For a Striker, he sure doesn't do anything I want a Striker to be able to do (well, he does have a 50/50 shot on his Skill checks, that is good for a Striker).


Best Sponsor:

Warden - Even though he is MUCH cheaper for Blaine, he is not even in the ballpark of a "good" player for Blaine's team. That leaves the Warden. He is pricey for the Warden, but he has a bit of a survival trait to the team for a Striker, something that the Runners do not bring.










Overall:
I cannot bring myself to use the Vlorox Spinpede, other than in the example games and using the stock Warden team. He doesn't bring much to the table. He brings NOTHING, in my estimation for Blaine. And honestly, the Warden would rather have 3 Runners with 2 losses rather than use the Spinpede. Unless a later Sponsor can bring him for super cheap, I do not see a reason to use this guy.


Grade:
D

PAINTING: Martian Team!

Finally finished painting my Martian team! Just need to get the helmets on, then start playing them!

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.