DreadBall Tactics: Season 1 – The Marauders

With all the DreadBall previews for the Season 3 floating about, it feels like the right time to put a few more of my DreadBall musings to (virtual) paper.

First up, Marauders (Orx & Goblins, Green Skins, etc…). The Marauders are my first DreadBall team, and I still play them often. It makes sense to start with them.

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#1 – Marauder Game-Play Basics

The play style of the green skins is rather predictable. The team has no Strikers for a start, but loves bashing things. As a rule of thumb, Orx want to play a full game of 14 rushes if possible (doing as much damage to the opponent as they can). They struggle to score high point values, not least for the scarcity of “free actions”  that more Striker-oriented teams tend to generate in a rush.

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#2 – The Marauder Team

The Marauder team starts with 5 Goblin Jacks and 3 Orx Guards, as well as with 1 Coaching Dice and 1 DreadBall Card. All players have Movement 5 and an Armour save of 4+.

It’s worth remembering the different stat-lines. It’s amazing how often I see people mixing things up. Orx actually dodge on 4+, even if they cannot slam-back, and Goblins on a 3+, making them relatively hard to catch. As a result, Marauders tend to suffer fewer casualties than the other Season 1 bashing team: the Forge Fathers. They also have a much easier time standing up.

A skill of 5+ means nothing to a Guard, but the Goblin’s Strength of 5+ obviously limits their contribution to the bashing-game (aside from assisting Guards).

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#3 – Marauders in One-Off Games

Playing Marauders in a DreadBall tournament is a bit of a balancing act.

On one hand, even a Marauder team needs to score, if only to deny the opponent the chance to end a match early with a 7-point landslide. On the other hand, and especially in the first half of a game, Marauders (or, more precisely, their Orx) want to cripple the opponent team’s ability to perform first.

The latter is easier against some teams (e.g. Forge Fathers (always Sucker-Punch)) and more difficult against others (e.g. Judwan, knocking one or two or even three down rarely diminishes their ability to do their thing).

With the exception of Veer-Myn (whose limit of two Guards are a weak spot in the overall team-structure), teams with Speed 4+ (or Speed 5+) are far easier to suppress than teams with lots of player benefiting from Speed 3+. “Catching” the latter requires one, better two Goblins to assist the slam. With only 5 actions per rush, its important to pick fights carefully in these match-ups.

Goblins, I find, are far better than their reputation. They aren’t Strikers, but Speed 3+ has many good uses (solid dodge, good ball-stealing, reliable evades and dashes, etc..). Skill 4+ isn’t horrible either. Their biggest weakness isn’t in any of their stats, but their inability (due to being Jacks) of getting deep into the opponent’s half (where the high-point strike-zone is) and still score.

Don’t be afraid to use those Goblins (and for things other than assisting Orx with their slam too).

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#4 – Marauders in Leagues

In leagues, the players hogging the experience tend to be the Orx. Aside from things like Man of the Match, experience for Goblins is hard to come by (e.g. scoring 3+ points). Experience for Orx, notably for slamming opposing players hard enough, is always plentiful.

There is little point in playing a “friendly” Marauder team in a league. An Orx with the opportunity for a kill should go for it.

Orx don’t make the best Keepers (Skill 5+), though it is still useful to have one. Other skills I always love having for Orx are…

• 360° Vision (Season 2) – A guard classic. Orx aren’t as vulnerable to Sucker Punches as Forge Fathers, yet being able to slam-back in all directions is always welcome.
• Stretch (Season 2) – A much overlooked Guard Skill, I believe. Being able to make a “comfortable” Dash with your Guard before a slam is a very nice thing, I find.
• Steady (Season 1) – Really shines if you picked up 360° first.
• Can’t Feel a Thing! – The classic. Being harder to hurt, what’s not to like!

Given that Orx are expensive and quickly acquire useful skills, a resurrection (or cheap-resurrection) is often worth considering if an Orx Guard dies.

Goblins mainly benefit from an improved Skill of 3+. In the absence of MVPs and/or Free Agent Strikers, more ball-control makes an enormous difference. Other than that, I prefer defensive skills (Can’t Feel a Thing!) on Goblins over other things (e.g. Slide) as Goblins rarely throw (much less Slam!) on the move. Running Interference allows some shenanigans, but Goblins hardly shine at it.

Much more useful than any particular skill is, I find, a coach that allows (a ball-carrying) Goblins to perform a third action and reach the third strike-zone more often.

Given how cheap Goblins are, you can buy a new one for the same price as a cheap-rez (+ body-recycling fee), making the cheap-rez a no-go for Goblins. Just buy new Goblins when they die.

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#5 – Thoughts?

• Have you played a Marauders team in DreadBall?
• Have you played against Marauder teams in DreadBall?
• How do you go about winning a game of DreadBall with Marauders?
• How do you go about winning a game of DreadBall against Marauders?

Share some of your DreadBall (anti-) Green Skin tactics!

Z.