Guild Ball: Brewers Cup - Falconers sighted!

We had a double event this weekend. Steve Margetson, who works as a game designer at Steamforged Games, was invited by our excellent LFGS Outland to give a talk. Also, he would join us Norwegians on Sunday for the Brewer's Cup hosted at Brygg. Our first international Guild Ball visitor ever, I think. Also, he brought Falconers, making this the first ever tournament for that guild.

I had met him once before at BonesCon, nice to see him again, such a nice guy!

We talked for a couple of hours about GB game design, the future, and got a spoiler - Horizon will only be worth 1 VP. Local pundit Stig was giddy with excitement, that man loves his spoilers. :D

Brewers Cup

I brought my now pretty much fixed Fishermen lineup to the tournament.

Captains: Corsair, Shark
Mascot: Tentacles
Squaddies: Angel, Greyscales, Hag, Jac, Sakana, Siren
Union: Gutter ( while it lasts... :D )

Looks like you can learn to brew beer here, this must be tested at some point

I had spent some time looking at Falconers in case I was lucky to get a game. Corsair seems like the better pick, Falconers are fragile, and Corsair and Jac can tank better than the Shark lineup.

Pub opens, I go for one of my summertime favorites, Kronenbourg 1664 Blanc, game on!

Match 1: Corsair vs Theron

Gaspard has been away for a couple of months, nice to see him back!

I don't like Shark into Hunters, so it's going to be Corsair. I pick Angel for the first turn goal threat. He picks all the damage dealers including the new Veteran Minx. Jac gets scrum control duty.

Fishermen: Corsair, Tentacles, Angel, Hag, Jac, Gutter
Hunters: Theron, Fahad, Hearne, Veteran Minx, Seenah, Zarola

First round, Hag grabs the ball and passes it to Angel. Corsair pulls in Theron and he and Gutter get him down to 5 health. Angel scores as the last activation, and moves up to engage the bear. I had forgotten about the automatic 2" push so that was not a great idea.

Next round, my first activation is to put Angel on 6 defense, to make the Hunters spend as much influence as possible on her. She has already scored so she is not so important now.

Gutter takes out Theron, then Shark waddles up and starts beating on Zarola. I lose Angel. Jac resets the scrum, moving out Hearne and the Bear and leaving Minx and Zarola engaged.

Corsair takes out Zarola and Minx, and then everyone piles up on Hearne after Hag pulls him into the crowdout. Hearne goes down. Fishermen win 12-2.

I think having more control maybe makes for a better Hunters lineup than going pure beater like this list.

Match 2: Shark vs Tapper

Corsair is not happy with Tapper and all the Tough Hide, and Esters ignores a drag and has good control. So I drop Shark, even if I am not receiving. Next beer on tap: Brooklyn Lager.


Fishermen: Shark, Tentacles, Greyscales, Hag, Sakana, Siren
Brewers: Tapper, Scum, Friday, Hooper, Spigot, Veteran Decimate

Shark kicks, Hooper grabs the ball, passes it to Spigot, Shark does Shark things, goal! A good start. Since I saw a goal run I went for it immediately, even if it meant Shark would almost certainly die.

Shark survives the first round, for some reason. Friday is holding the ball but I can get to her with Greyscales, so Fredrik is forced to use Friday to take out Shark. Sakana gets the ball and kicks it away so that Siren can get it. Decimate pushes Sakana off the table. Score is 4-4.

Fredrik was really nice to give me a takeback after I head miscalculated the dice when Sakana was trying to get the ball - I thought I did not get a critical dodge, but I had forgotten Anatomical Precision for some reason. Maybe the beer was getting to me. Great sport!

The ball is passed around the pitch until it ends up with Greyscales, who scores. Shark is then able to zoom up the pitch and get hold of the ball again, making it 12-4.

Finally, I got revenge! I am pretty sure the last time I beat Fredrik was last year, I think he had at least 5 straight wins against me.

We had a discussion about the game afterwards. We agreed his main mistake was not using Friday to kill the ball. 5/1 is tricky to deal with for Fishermen, since my tackles are at 2. The worst option is Greyscales with a 21% per attack to get the ball. Shark has 32%. My best bet is Sakana, with 53% due to Anatomical Precision. Siren only gets one shot with her Seduction, however it has a 70% chance to land. If Friday is in cover or I am forced into crowd outs, it gets a lot worse.

I think the matchup is playable by either faction. Certainly the threat and flexibility of Veteran Decimate makes it a lot more even than it used to be.

Match 3

Last match I get Gaute playing Masons, and since we are the only two who are 2-0 this will be the last match. This matchup is list chicken. Corsair does not want Hammer, who outfights him, and Shark versus Honour is at best even. At least I am receiving. I drop Shark and get Hammer, which makes me happy. Another Blanc 1664, and off we go!

I blind Hammer and Shark lands the first turn goal. I am not able to get away from his threat range, though, so Shark gets boxed in.

Round 2, Mallet takes out Shark and Hammer drops Siren, so we are back at 4-4. I get the ball with Sakana and score again. Hammer hammers Sakana into the dirt.

Flint receives the ball but is engaged by Shark. He has to run out of my melee to reach the goal. I bonus time the parting blow and get a pretty lucky 5 hits (25% chance). This allows me to get the ball away from his guys and over to Greyscales.

Shark is taken out again, but now Gaute runs out of time. It's probably impossible for him to get 2 takeouts in time, but I do my goal run anyway since he cannot really get hold of the ball even if I miss. The final score is 12-8 to the Fishermen. Victory!

Post Mortem

Well, that went well! Both Fredrik and I were checking Longshanks in the bar afterwards. Damn it, but he is still ahead of me!

And Steve is now the #1 Falconer in the world!

Steve had time for a game afterwards - so I got my Falconers match, which I will post soon!

Guild Ball (#55): KTC March Match 3: Corsair vs Honour

I get the exact same matchup again against Gaute. The only difference is that I get the original Harmony version this time.

Fishermen

Corsair (Captain)
Tentacles (Mascot)
Angel
Hag
Siren
Gutter (Union)

Masons

Honour
Marbles
Brick
Flint
Harmony
Mallet


I kick off and get a nice 1-1 deviation, landing the ball just over the half way line.

Round 1

Corsair: 6, Tentacles: 1, Angel: 1, Hag: 0, Siren: 3, Gutter: 2

Siren gets 3 influence so that I can threaten to take the ball off. Gaute only allocated 2 to Flint, making it hard for him to get completely into safety behind cover.

I punish that by dragging in Flint and punching him a lot.

Round 2

The round starts with Honour far back with the ball. Seize the Initiative is played to dodge Flint out immediate danger.

Corsair: 6, Tentacles: 1, Angel: 1, Hag: 0, Siren: 3, Gutter: 3

The ball gets passed to Harmony, who chain links. Unfortunately Tentacles gets a free strike, grabs the ball, and with Close Control Harmony is not able to get it off again.

Corsair then beats up Harmony, and Gutter takes out Flint. Brick takes out Hag. 4-2 to the Fishermen!

Round 3

Gutter is ready to score.


Corsair: 6, Tentacles: 1, Angel: 4, Hag: 0, Siren: 0, Gutter: 3

Another screamer for my Angel! 8-2 to the Fishermen.

Round 4

Lots of models have returned on the left flank.

There is a lot of combat - Angel ends up taking out Flint (!), Honor retaliates by taking out Gutter.

Round 5

Finally Corsair slides forward across the rough ground and punches up Mallet. 12-4 is the final score!

A very different game from the last one, quite grindy. Corsair and Gutter sure can deal out the damage!

Normally the tournament would have ended at this point, but we decided to extend it with a round since we had several out of town visitors.

Guild Ball (#54): KTC March Match 2: Corsair vs Honour

My second game was against was against Manuel. I think he usually plays Honour, so I expected that as a drop.

It's on!

Fishermen

Corsair (Captain)
Tentacles (Mascot)
Angel
Hag
Siren
Gutter (Union)

Masons

Honour
Marbles
Brick
Flint
Veteran Harmony
Mallet


My guild plots were:


Back in the Game
Keep the Ball Moving
Kick'Em When They're Down
Lone Striker
Stick to the Plan

Round 1

Corsair: 6, Tentacles: 1, Angel: 3, Hag: 0, Siren: 1, Gutter: 2

With Hag and dodges, a centrally placed Angel is quite able to score a first turn goal, so that is what I am going for.

It works perfectly, Angel zooms up and kicks it into the goal. 4-0 to the Fishermen!

Veteran Harmony stands in a position to out her aura on all the team mates I can reach (except Brick, but I don't want that dude). So I risk a bonus timed Drag directly on her, and it lands. Harmony ends up knocked down and at 2 health, surrounded by Corsair's posse.

Flint gets a double activation, but his goal kick misses!

Round 2

I play Stick to the Plan against Seize the Initiative.

Gutter takes out Veteran Harmony. It's inconvenient for me to contest the ball right anyway, and I am happy to get a goal kick. Flint picks up the ball and taps it in. I then kick the ball up to Angel who casually strolls up and scores a screamer. 10-4 to the Fishermen!

No countercharges please

Veteran Harmony then goes into Angel, taking her out. 10-6, it's looking good.

Round 3

I can try to go for another goal, but I decide to just end it as soon as possible. I play Lone Striker. Corsair uses his six influence, trundles over to Flint, knocks him to the ground, and beats him up. 12-6 to the Fishermen!

Angel is just... wow. Getting a first turn goal with Corsair is awesome, and with her high defense she is hard to deal with. I am pretty sure she has a permanent slot in my Corsair lineup now.

Guild Ball (#48): BonesCon 2018 Match 2: Corsair vs Hammer

For the second match I get a match against Rich Green, currently ranked #47 in the world. Well, this is why I am here in England (well, except for the fun, the games, the socializing, the Fish'n'Chips, the excellent beer and cider) - to get my ass kicked by people who are way better than me at this game, and hopefully learn something in the process.

I have not played against Hammer, but I hear he is considered one of the better captains.

Fishermen

Corsair
Tentacles
Hag
Sakana
Siren
Avarisse & Greede

Masons

Hammer
Marbles
Brick
Flint
Mallet
Tower

Round 1

I get to kick, and choose the side with no obstructions in the middle. Corsair moves up and lands a pretty good kick. Mallet has to move far up.

Corsair: 6, Tentacles: 1, Hag: 0, Sakana: 1, Siren: 3, Avarisse: 1, Greede: 1

Mallet is pullet in and beaten up. I manage to screw up my very last activation, and trigger a countercharge from both Marbles and Brick into Tentacles. Suddenly Corsair is crowded out twice and then Hammer runs in and starts hitting, dealing a ton of damage and taking him down to 7 health. This is really bad!

Round 2

Corsair: 0, Tentacles: 1, Hag: 0, Sakana: 4, Siren: 3, Avarisse: 3, Greede: 2

Hammer takes out Corsair. This of means my damage output is now much lower than his. Not looking good!

Round 3

Both Avarisse and Hag are taken out, Masons are up 8-2.

Round 4

Flint lands a goal. Masons beat me 2-12!

Phew, that was rough. The double counter charge but me in a horrible position, and it went quickly downhill from there. Hammer seems strong and flexible, I definitely need some more games into him. Rich played a very tight game, very friendly guy.

I am now 1-1 in the tournament. Next match, Midas!

Guild Ball (#38): Oslo November Cup - Shark vs Honour (1/4)

In the first round I meet Manuel, who gave me a good fight in the same matchup a few days ago.

Fishermen

Shark (Captain)
Salt (Mascot)
Greyscales
Hag
Sakana
Siren

Masons

Honour
Marbles
Brick
Chisel
Flint
Mallet


I felt fairly confident going in, I have all the tools to get the ball off the Masons, and they will have a hard time making many takeouts with this list against me. However, Manuel is a strong player, he positions well, so if I make any mistakes he will certainly punish me for it.


I am lucky - Mallet does an agressive kick that fails. The ball is placed on Salt.

Turn 1

Shark: 6, Salt: 1, Greyscales: 2, Hag: 1, Sakana: 1, Siren: 3

Honour: 6, Marbles: 0, Brick: 1, Chisel: 1, Flint: 1, Mallet: 3, 

The plan here is to pass the ball, let it end up with Shark, and use the Hag and Shark's threat to score a first turn goal.

It works like a charm. Shark runs around Chisel and engages Marbles. The Masons had misplaced slightly, so Brick could not counter charge between Marbles and Flint. Then I built momentum and scored, ending with a Knee Slider out.

The Masons were on the ball, though (heh)... Honour kicked the ball to Mallet and gave him a double activation. He also scored. 4-4!

I kicked the ball to the left so that Sakana could grab it. The plan is to pass it up to Greyscales and score.

Turn 2

Shark: 4, Salt: 1, Greyscales: 4, Hag: 0, Sakana: 2, Siren: 3

Honour: 6, Marbles: 1, Brick: 1, Chisel: 1, Flint: 0, Mallet: 3

Siren is taken out. The Masons are kind enough to try to place Brick in the way of Greyscales, giving me a prefect target to dodge off on my goal run. Score! 8-6 to the Fishermen.

The ball is passed up to Harmony. Shark builds momentum and dodges towards the center of the pitch. I win the initiative, giving me good chances...

Turn 3

Shark: 6, Salt: 0, Greyscales: 4, Hag: 1, Sakana: 4, Siren: 0

Honour: 6, Marbles: 1, Brick: 1, Chisel: 1, Flint: 0, Mallet: 3

Sakana runs around the building and grabs the ball off Harmony, kicking it into space near Greyscales. No-one can stop Greyscales from getting the ball and tapping it in.

12-6 to the Fishermen!

Post Mortem

Things went pretty much as planned during this game. It really is quite hard for the Masons to keep the ball here! The counter-attack bubbles are pretty annoying, but of course the Fishermen are fast enough that they can often often dodge or run into melee, and then dodge or run out again.


Next round is against the Hunters!

Guild Ball (#36): Shark vs Honour

Stopped by Outland for a couple of games. First game is versus the Masons, piloted by Manuel!

I forgot to print out my game note sheets this time, so I have a bit less info.

Fishermen

Trying out my newly painted miniatures!

Shark
Tentacles
Greyscales
Hag
Jax
Siren

Masons

Honour
Wrecker
Brick
Flint
Mallet
Tower


I get to kick. The Masons deploy super skewed so I try a pretty aggressive kick to the left, unfortunately none of the scatters are good, so he can get the ball.

Turn 1

Shark: 6, Tentacles: 0, Greyscales: 2, Jac: 1, Hag: 1, Siren: 3

I wait with Siren and Shark for the two last activations, which makes the Masons pretty paranoid. The ball is kept far back on Flint.

Siren first pulls in the wrecking ball, I did not check the card and all Siren's attacks do nothing. 3 dice against 3 armor is pretty pointless.

Being far back does not stop a 6 influence Shark from doing Shark things, so he charges and pingpongs off Brick, dodges straight through everyone, gets a bunch of momentum and snatches the ball from Pretty Boy. Yeah, I had watched the SteamCon streams this weekend and got pretty good instruction on how this works!

Turn 2

Shark: 6, Tentacles: 1, Greyscales: 3, Siren: 3


The plan here is to score first with Shark, and see if I can get the ball of the Masons again with Siren or Greyscales. The one on Tentacles is for blinding a choice target in the second activation.

Go go Sharky boy!

I make a mistake here by not walking Shark into safety before scoring, I forgot that the activation ends. 4-0 to the Fishermen!

Tentacles moves up and blinds a very, very sad Honour.

Turn 3

I am unable to get he ball back, though, Flint gets through and scores. 4-4!

Siren is taken out. The ball is passed up the pitch on the left side, Jac scores. 8-6 to the Fishermen!

Turn 4

The ball ends up with Brick...

Shark grabs the ball off Brick and scores the last and final goal!

Final result: 12-4 to the Fishermen.

Post Mortem

I think the Mason deployment was poor, I could have really punished it with a more lucky scatter.


It was a very dynamic game, there was a lot of Flint grabbing the ball back nested inside this, unfortunately my notes were lacking so I can't do exact play-by-play, sorry about that.


Having Siren there was excellent, she is such a great threat for getting the ball off the Masons.


I think that with both of us going for football I have an edge here. The Fishermen are quite simply better at grabbing and scoring than this Masons list. Possible he should have focused on getting a couple of takeouts, because it is very hard for him to win on scoring after I land the first goal. Still, it was a hard fought game!

Guild Ball (#22): Tapper vs Honour - Somebody Puts Flint In A Corner

After having the after-work game at Megapop, I wolfed down some falafels and went down to Outland. Manuel was waiting and ready to try out his Masons for the third time! He has yet to score a goal in Guild Ball. We'll see if we can oblige!

Brewers

Tapper
Scum
Friday
PintPot
Spigot
Stave

Masons

Honour
Marbles
Brick
Flint
Harmony
Mallet


I kick off with Tapper, since I like to get him within range of stuff.

Round 1

Tapper: 3, Scum: 1, Friday: 4, PintPot:0, Spigot: 1, Stave: 3
Honour: 4, Marbles: 1, Brick: 1, Flint: 2, Harmony: 2, Mallet: 2

I think allocating 0 to PintPot was a mistake, he ended up a bit too far back.

I tried to make a play by baiting Brick into counter-charging Friday, but forgot that he had not yet activated. So he smashed Friday into the dirt and backed out again. Oops!

Round 2

Tapper: 6, Scum: 1, Friday: 0, PintPot: 1, Spigot: 2, Stave: 2
Honour: 5, Marbles: 0, Brick: 1, Flint: 3, Harmony: 1, Mallet: 2

Flint is flanking hard!

Mallet made a play here by knocking down Tapper and pushing him out of melee range. I had no momentum, and everything was a bit far away! But I had a counter-move. Stave ran up and hit Honour (knocking her so far away she did not get to engage anyone), Brick and Mallet! Mallet ended up knocked down in front of a 6-stack Tapper. Only one end to that! 2-0 to the Brewers.

Harmony had dived in the generate some much needed momentum last turn, but rolled terribly and failed. So, there was no momentum to score. Brick ran into the corner.

Round 3

Tapper: 6, Scum: 1, Friday: 2, PintPot: 1, Spigot: 2, Stave: 0
Honour: 5, Marbles: 1, Brick: 2, Flint: 3, Harmony: 1, Mallet: 0

Harmony goes down, of course. Flint then moves in and scores a goal. It was a misplay to score this early - I could not really do anything about it, and this gave me a change to score myself. Score is even, 4-4.

Scum picks up the ball and zooms forward! He kicks and scores! 8-4 to the Brewers. Note Spigot there, which is why Scum could kick at 5".

Round 4 and 5

I just need two more takeouts, so Brewers do what Brewers do second best (next after drinking). Honor goes down first, then Marbles. Friday is also taken out. My opponent had to leave at this point, but it could only end one way. 11-6 to the Brewers!

Post Mortem

Those counter-charges are a pain to play around! I did some misplays, but overall it went well. We talked over it a bit and we think that Masons should probably use their a bit more, and be more careful about charging right into the middle of my guys.

And, Manuel got his first goal in Guild Ball, congratulations!