Best Features:
Bloody Chess - If board control is your style of play, Blaine is the way to go. He doesn't bring the sheer, direct brutality that the Warden does, but he can bring the pain. To make the most of what Blaine can bring, you will need to utilize the superior movement shenanigans that he can get on the cheap. Kalyshi Jacks have Shove and the Pusk Rampager has Ram, both are players that Blaine can take advantage of to make the pitch his. Use your players to move your opponent into, or out of, position - or directly onto an exploding crate. Then use your Kalyshi Strikers to get wherever they need to be - Jump and their Movement make this easier than you might think.
Dexterity - On the whole, Blaine's team is going to be dexterity-oriented. Whether it is the Kalyshi, or a Yndij, you are going to want to zero in on the quickness available to his team, and the talents they bring. Speed is the stat that I tend to lean heavily on when playing a Blaine team. And next, I try to go for the big Score as much as possible.
Deceptively Good - When I first looked at Blaine versus the Warden, I thought, "Ugh, Blaine is awful!" But having played him multiple times now, and won more games than I have with the Warden, I can say for sure, Blaine has game. His team is usually smaller than a Warden team, but each player is individually better.
"Quickness is the essence of the war." - Sun Tzu
Drawbacks:
Bring your Wallet - Blaine cannot buy a cheap player. If you want to play for Blaine, you are getting 7 MC or better. This makes his teams smaller, because of that it also has the disadvatage of...
You Feel Every Loss - Much more than when I play the Warden, I hate losing a player on the pitch. Someone getting hurt is bad, someone getting killed is awful. Sometimes losing a few key players can quite literally cost you the game.
Custom Options:
You have to play Blaine as if you were Blaine. Be ruthless in your attacks and Score every chance available. I usually take the extra die when I play him, it helps secure the victory more than doing something to hurt the opposing players. Be quick, be smart, and be willing to do what you need to get the win! Blaine is extremely enjoyable to play! He is a great compliment and contrast to the Warden in the stater box.
Grade:
A
This was a useful overview of Blaine, thank you! I've included a link to your post in our article about the DBX set: DreadBall Xtreme base set
ReplyDeleteI have also included a link to this in our article about the model itself: Sponsor Blaine
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