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.