Guild Ball (#10): Grange vs Esters

After four games playing Brewers vs Farmers, I get my first game with the roles reversed. I haven't played the Farmers before, so we play with no clock, and my opponent helps me out all through the match.

MVP!

Farmers

It's the starter pack. No strategy was applied in the creation of this roster.


Grange (Captain)
Peck (Mascot)
Bushel
Harrow
Jackstraw
Windle

Brewers

First time I see Esters in action! She seems very different from Tapper. This is going to be interesting! Mash is also new, he seems to bring yet more scoring threats. With Friday, Mash and Spigot, this team should have a lot of scoring opportunities, but losing Tapper probably means less damage overall.


Esters (Captain)
Scum (Mascot)
Friday
Mash
Hooper
Spigot

Round 1

We set up and I get to kick.

My first discovery is that Windle is pretty annoying to move. Several moves I move a player into a position I don't like, in order to move him up the board with his 1" dodges every time someone lands within 4" of him. I think using Windle requires a lot of planning!


Esters sets 3 of my models on fire and hits two more with rough ground. She certainly can do much more in the first turn than Tapper.


Brewers build a lot of momentum. Then, the ball is passed to Friday, and with the 4" teamwork dodge, 2" speed buff from Esters, 2" Shadowlike dodge, and Sprint, she moves straight from the starting line and scores a very fast goal in the first round!

I kick the ball up to Spigot. Grange enthusiatically beats the living daylights out of Friday, who is taken out. 4-2 to the Brewers!

Round 2

I give Bushel the full influence and place a strategic harvest marker. She then uses "I'm open!" to grab the ball, she eats some cabbages, moves up, and scores!

The ball is kicked out to Mash, who grabs it and "Howzats" Grange away. Jackstraw is taken out. I learn just how deadly Hooper is with double damage buffs, three blows for 5 damage each take out Harrow in one activation. I got to remember this for my own Brewers games!

Grange moves up and grabs the ball from Mash, building a lot of momentum. I then do pretty much the same play again. Bushel uses "I'm open" to get the ball. She is engaged, but the safest play seems to just be to shoot at the goal. Bushel east more cabbage, I blow momentum on Bonus Time on every roll, and land another goal!

Brewers consider who should get the ball.. There is extensive measuring with those awesome measurement tools from Frozen Forge to see if Spigot has ny chance of running up around Bushel and scoring. He is 1/2" short...

Round 3

This round I have an important decision. I need 2 points to win, and the Brewers need 4. I can win by taking out one opposing model, but there are no sure kills. I do some math and find that Grange on 6 influence has perhaps an even chance to take out Spigot in one activation. If I fail, Friday is almost guaranteed to score a goal.

I decide to activate Jackstraw, who I gave the maximum 3 influence and placed as near as possible to Friday, and try to make scoring a goal as hard as possible. It would be almost impossible for him to do 6 damage to Friday to take her out, so I charge, get a tackle, and grab the ball. The next attack I use to push her out so that she no longer engages me, forcing her to use Shadowlike first to engage me if she wants to move after grabbing the ball.

The Brewers made a clear mistake here by not allocating 4 influence to Friday. If the likely way to win is to score with Friday, it's better to not be greedy, and go all in on that play. But, she has only 2 influence, which is not enough to tackle, sprint, and kick. So, a goal is impossible.

Esters wants to watch the world burn, and sets everything on fire..

My next activation is trying to take out a player. Grange moves up and starts hitting Spigot, getting an extra die for Bushel. The first attack is really poor, so I choose a knockdown.

I really want momentous 3 damage results, and maybe a lucky wrap. I therefore decide to use a momentum for Bonus Time on every single attack, since it greatly increases my chance of getting 6 successes on 7 dice and hitting that sweet momentum 3 result. My rolls are fairly average, and I end up taking Spigot out on the very last attack!

An Honest Day's Labor!

Farmers beat Brewers, 12-8! This was an extremely fun game, so much maneuvering and tactics. It really showcases how fluid and dynamic the game is!

Post Mortem

Farmers clearly need a lot of practice. Not only do you have a bunch of auras, but placing all the harvest markers so that you can buff your models adds even more order of activation and positioning problems. Windle also requiring other player activations to move him up the field might make it in reality impossible to everything efficiently. My guess is that Windle might better be replaced with some other model.


I used Jackstraw poorly. He has very low TAC, and does not want to end up in the middle of the mêlée like that. I think that he should be used more as a flanking force and general annoyance.