Just some initial thoughts after the beta test release...
Strengths:
Never lift finger - You don't have to worry about evading. No one can block your scoring lanes. You can thwart your opponent's plans with movement choices he never ever made. Telekinesis is of course their shtick, and it is a crazy one.
I use the pitch my own way - When you play the Tsudochan, you have decided to play a different style of game than everyone else. You have decided that you are going to do as you please on your turn, getting where you want, and moving other players out of the way. Board Manipulation is their thing! It is a great addition to the styles of play for DB.
Weaknesses:
You DO know Jack - Well, some teams suffer from having only Jacks... and this is one of them. Only Jacks on the squad makes it a bit harder to Pass the ball, to Score, to Slam (although, you can position players into Threat Hexes easier), to everything. I think that the all Jack teams feel this a lot more than the Jack-Heavy teams.
Different Playstyle - I know this is the same as the strength from above, but it is also a disadvantage. Newer players might find it hard to "not play the game". Seasoned players will find that normal stratgies don't work (which is good in many ways too). Add to this no Guards and no Strikers, and you have a difficult team that needs a lot of practice.
MVP Recommendations:
I am going to wait on this until I can see the Tsudochan MVP and th other Season 5/6 MVPs are capable of.
Overall:
I'll have to play these guys more to really get a handle on their play style. Much like the Koris, I think that positioning of the players is key. It is nice to have another Board Manipulation team on the pitch. I bet in a league they would do pretty well.
Grade:
C +
I think this is one of the teams that needs more testing, as you said their style is so radically different it's hard to change gears. I'm pretty sure they are a bit higher than a C+ at the very least, I wouldn't say they are that much better, maybe a B or B- at the most. Their ability to just plain bully the other team around with little to no risk to themselves is just too good not to abuse and the moment someone figures out the best way to do it I expect this team to explode.
ReplyDeleteFair enough on the grading. I think that in the very limited experience I have had with them, I have not seen them win yet (I have seen them landslide lose though). But, I think that this may well be different with more time in the pitch. Also, Jacks just have a hard time sealing the deal.
DeleteIn a league, I think they might be a juggernaut. Get one or two Skill 3+ players and a while new world will open up.
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DeleteDefinitly the Worst team of the game. Impossible to stop à Human Striker alone on the pitch :-)
ReplyDeleteAgainst Bashy teams, it's a nightmare. Against 3+ speed team, impossible to Slam or Steal.
Only interesting trick is to push own players on the ball before using 2 tokens.
Fun on the paper, definitly bad on the pitch.
Grade: E
Thanks for the comment! I absolutely appreciate what you are saying. They can be a difficult to to wrap your head around and have some glaring weaknesses. I have played them a number of times with limited success. They suffer from mediocre to bad stats and having an all Jack team. Some of the all Jack team part can definitely be mitigated by the Push ability - kind of gets around the one hex problem inherent in Jacks and you never have to worry about someone Threatening you. I have enjoyed playing them even when I lose, but I can understand them being quite frustrating too.
DeleteI don't think they are as bad as the Season 1 Forge Fathers or Season 3 Zees (of course, this could just be my personal play style), but I don't think they are a top tier team by any stretch.