Coach Me! Building a DreadBall Smackers Line-Up

DreadBall Marauder Team by Pins of War

I did not (yet) have a lot of opportunities to play games at events and conventions this year. I even had to give Salute 2013 a miss. Oh well.

With a few deadlines out of the way, I thought I’d jump back in. In particular, I think it is about time to redeem my DreadBall Kickstarter-ticket and head north to Nottingham for Mantic’s Open Day.

I may get a chance to see a Deadzone display!

Even better, I should be able to in four DreadBall matches in a row next Saturday.

Mantic Games DreadBall Unboxing

My DreadBall “Season 2013″ Kickstarter Ticket


#1 – Which DreadBall Team to Pick?

Yesterday, I finally received my DreadBall Season 2 shipment. I was hoping to field “my” Locust City Chiefs, but there is simply no chance I would get the DreadBall Season 2 stuff painted in time.

Besides, “rusty” doesn’t even begin to describe my current DreadBall skills, especially for a tournament (and Mantic even wants to test Chess Clocks at this tournament, oh my!).

I need something simple… not one of those finicky Season 2 teams.

Long story short, I plan on bringing a Green-Skin-Team to pummel my way through the tournament, Marauder-style, and hopefully leave a good number of Judwan-shaped smears on the pitch.

As there will be no MVPs (if I read the tourney-booklet correctly), I won’t even have to bother with a Striker. As simple as it gets!

Or is it?


#2 – A DreadBall Conundrum: More Orx or Meaner Orx

So… Marauders. Greenmoon Smackers. I will need a name of my own too.

The tactics for a Green-Skin-Team, especially if you cannot switch it up with a MVP, are very straight-forward: Simply apply lots of Orx-fist-shaped pain until the pitch is clear (if a bit slippery)!

For this tournament, I’ll get the basic Greenmoon Smackers starting-roster:

  • 5 Goblin Jacks
  • 3 Orx Guards

Moreover, I get to spend 20 MC (millions of credits) on

  • Additional Players (with Orx Guards costing 13MC)
  • Coaching Dice (6MC per Dice)
  • DreadBall Cards 10MC per Card)
  • Advancement rolls (5MC each)
  • Coaches and Cheerleaders (my lack of painted Season 2 models kills this option)

Now, I’ve been pondering two options all day: Get more Orx (i.e. another Guard) or better Orx (i.e. Advancements).

Option 1 – More Orx

There is nothing quite like deploying 4 Guards and 2 Jacks to set a suitably violent tone for the game right off the bat. It’s a proven set-up, a classic even, though it does have three downsides:

  • As all the Open Day tournament  games “re-boot” your team for each new round, and there is no league play, a roster of nine DreadBall players feels like a lot of extras to bring to a match. I might be wasting a lot of MC on the bench.
  • 13MC for an extra Guard doesn’t leave much else. Probably an extra Coaching Dice for a total of 19MC spent?
  • It kinda lacks variety over 4 games (which might also be a good thing).

Option 2 – Better Orx

So what if I don’t buy a 4th Guard, but invest in advancements and other bonuses instead?

It would probably either be 4 Advancements (I might even fork one for a Goblin) or 2 Advancements and a Card. Both add up to a clean 20MC spent.

The downside is… I’ll only have 3 Orx (and I will not be able to advance them to become Keepers, again for a lack of minis)! Are some fancy Steady, Does This Hurt? and Can’t Feel A Thing abilities worth the “lack” of a 4th Guard? Wouldn’t the extra Guard be more effective?


#3 – Coach Me!

If you know a thing or two about DreadBall, help me out and leave me some advice in the comments below! I won’t reveal which option I am going for until after the weekend, but I certainly will consider all tips and recommendations (it is the reason I write this post after all).

Let me know what you think!

Oh, and if you’re going to Nottingham this coming Saturday, let me know!

Z.

About Zweischneid

Hi. I am Zweischneid. Wargame Addict. Miniature Connoisseur. Aspiring Blogger. Did you like this post? Follow me on Twitter or Facebook for more. And don't forget to share your favourite miniature pictures and wargaming videos at www.pinsofwar.net.