This is going to be the last of my tournaments for the \u2018Spring of DreadBall\u2019 in 2013 – there may be something going on towards the end of the year, but it\u2019s time to chill out for the summer and try some other teams out.<\/p>\n
I think for Firestorm<\/a>, I\u2019m going to try something different. I\u2019ve had acceptable results with the Marauders, but they suffer in that their Jacks are unable to get the full utility that a Striker can – both in losing dice and losing mobility. They have a maximum of one hex movement on a throw, and that one hex loses them a dice. A Striker on any other team can move up to four hexes (bare minimum, most teams are five or more) and that reduces their dice to that of a stationary<\/em> Jack. The goblin Jack\u2019s chances of slamming are significantly lower than of dodging, so I have been using them mostly as surrogate Strikers.<\/p>\n Looking at their disadvantages and considering the meta-game (Judwan and Corporation heavily in attendance in tournaments so far), I think it might be worth trying the Veer-myn. They have the same speed and distance of a Judwan, same bonuses (being Strikers) and both their Guards and Strikers can dodge well while defending the three-point strike zone. They have capable guards able to disrupt a defensive formation and open the opportunities for a 4-point strike.<\/p>\n I can’t work out the best combination of advances for them – extra ranks on the Strikers would be a good thing, to try and counteract their Skill of 5 (raise it to 4, get A Safe Pair of Hands, etc.) but they could also benefit heavily from coaching dice. I don\u2019t think that cards or coaches are really too necessary, since they are accomplished dodgers (don\u2019t need a defensive coach) and really fast (less need for the extra actions of an offensive coach or a card action). Maybe following Oli<\/a>‘s pattern of four ranks on Strikers to make a copycat Judwan team, since at least one of them should get a Skill upgrade and one of them get A Safe Pair of Hands. With three players standing behind to guard the three-point strike zone, I think it might even pay to have two Strikers with two advances each – this almost guarantees that they will each get Skill 4+, and combine their upfront offense with a single Guard. Leaving three Strikers to defend the strike zone means there\u2019ll be one Guard up front and one in reserve, so combining a Striker\u2019s threat hex with a Sucker Punch slam won\u2019t be as risky since if it works, I am forcing opposing Guards (the most dangerous on a non-Judwan team against this tactic) to dodge on 2 dice against a 5-dice slam. If the fouling Guard is sent off, the reserve Guard can come on and play it slightly safer for a turn or two.<\/p>\n Having played a couple of practice games with that setup, I think it is a winnable tactic. The three blockers at the back are not going to keep it closed forever – consistent, sustained Misdirect actions will move one of the blockers. In one practice game, it was open for a single turn and let two three-pointers through! On the other side of the board, my Guard was not performing well but I put that down to bad dice rolling. I think I need to react better to my opponent\u2019s play style – if they are sitting on the DB1 hex, I need to keep the Guard there to put a threat hex on that spot. If they are blocking the strike zone bonus hexes, I need to get one of them open and try and get the Guard back to the DB1 hex. And if the Guard is trying to smash something that can dodge well, I need to use my forwards to threaten the target.<\/p>\n It was slightly disappointing, only four players turned up – Jen and myself, and Liam and Tom from the Bristol Blitz<\/a> tournament at Vanguard. We were told that the top four players qualified for the nationals in Essex later this year, so congratulations to everyone just for turning up! There was plenty still to play for though\u2026<\/p>\n I was terrified \u2013 I\u2019d never played Z\u2019zor before, and Liam is a really strong player. I set up exactly to plan. Liam\u2019s dice hate him though, and his players failed to score (despite trying) – I knew that Z\u2019zor Strikers had poor skill, but I didn\u2019t realise they had average speed (I thought they were slow). I managed to get a landslide win in about rush 11 or 12.<\/p>\n I hadn\u2019t played Tom at the Bristol Blitz. but I knew that he had learned a lot from that game and to be on my guard. My skill increases were very useful, and I managed to (for the second time) get my three-pointer on the first rush. On the second, I got another one and (without realising it) had left a Veer-myn on the second ball launch hex on the off-chance of catching a launched ball on his turn. I did, and thought \u201coh, my best chances are for a single point, and every little helps\u201d. I scored the point, looked up and Tom was offering me his hand. I checked the board and realised that was a landslide win in the fifth rush! I was feeling pretty chuffed with myself as we headed outside for a nice barbecue and long lunch.<\/p>\n Jen and I play each other all the time. On the one hand, I know everything that she will do but on the other,\u00a0 she knows everything I will do. And I explained my strategy in detail to her last week to try and get ideas on how people might beat it.<\/p>\n Once more, I got the first-turn three-pointer but Jen scored two points in her first rush – the first time I had been scored against. By rush eight, however, I got back the landslide win.<\/p>\n Liam had been learning how to use the Z\u2019zor over the course of the tournament – he had beaten Jen in the second game, making great use of the powerful Z\u2019zor Guard to keep the majority of her team on the injury shelf during the game. He took the same aggressive tactic against Tom in the third game, and me in the final game. My two powerful Strikers were put out quickly, and my Guard was killed in the first few turns. Thankfully he wasn\u2019t any good at scoring again (the Striker\u2019s low skill being a particular pain), and after losing one of my Striker\u2019s to total death (and a lot of lucky Evade rolls around a Z\u2019zor Guard with 360 vision) I pulled another landslide win in the last few rushes.<\/p>\n Four landslide victories and only four players – I won!<\/p>\n Tom came second (one landslide win, one win, one loss and one landslide loss), Liam came third (two wins, two landslide losses and Jen unfortunately came last again (two losses, two landslide losses). There\u2019s additional report on the tournament from Pathfinder Pete<\/a> who kept it all running and organised, with pictures of us all and a picture of me holding a picture of the pitch I will receive! All of our teams were photographed for the blogs – and I was ashamed that my Veer-myn weren\u2019t finished yet. Some parts are clearly in need of some work. I\u2019m feeling suitably guilt-tripped into getting at least one team finished this year, and I think the Veer-myn have earned the right to be it!<\/p>\n I was trying to work out the scores after the third game and I thought I had almost won, depending on who won Liam and Tom\u2019s game. And I won! I get a free ticket to the nationals (as opposed to simply qualifying, it probably only saves \u00a315) and a metal pitch with the event name and my name<\/em> engraved on it. That\u2019s going to be amazing, I was completely over the moon. There was a scaled down picture of the pitch that wasn\u2019t terrifically clear, and be assured I will be swamping this blog with pictures as soon as it arrives.<\/p>\nThe Day<\/h1>\n
<\/h2>\n
Game 1 \u2013 Liam\u2019s Z\u2019zor<\/h3>\n
Game 2 \u2013 Tom\u2019s Corporation<\/h3>\n
Game 3 \u2013 Jen\u2019s Corporation<\/h3>\n
Game 4 \u2013 Liam\u2019s Z\u2019zor rematch<\/h3>\n
The Aftermath<\/h2>\n