Today I've ventured in a game of Guild Ball against Rob (@derby_malal), our local Pundit. My task this time was fairly straightforward: Use Scalpel and look at her in a team as a serious threat.
I was listening to Guild Ball Tonight (Episode 40 - Scalpel Curious: http://www.guildballtonight.com/gbt/) when they were discussing Scalpel and her uses. The podcast episode also talked about the type of team that they took with her. To some extent, I agree with their view - she is a complex captain and Obulus is a tough act to beat but I think there are merits. They also posed the question - what do you do with her Legendary Play? Well, I do have one solution for this which I'll discuss later on!
Anyway, I wanted to see how Scalpel work with a team and I must be honest, I think I overdone it a bit. My mindset was very much - "Smash Face, Drink Blood!"
What did I go for?
* Scalpel [C]
* Dirge [M]
* Silence
* Cosset
* Minx
* Rage
The idea was fairly simple - Get Scalpel, Cosset, Minx and Rage in to wear down an opponent and then move on with Silence controlling activations. I know what you're probably thinking - Why no Averisse and Greede? Easy - Haven't got them! They are on order but not in my possession!
So I went for a team which effectively charge for free and hopefully hit hard - especially Cosset. Now, I've never used Minx before and by reading her card, I thought - 'She'd be okay to Mark Target to help everyone else.' Little did I know, my idea was with the best intention, maybe not the correct execution.
Right, Rob. So, most of you who have read the blog before will have hear of Rob. He is a most excellent pundit who has built a tremendous Guild Ball scene from virtually nothing. On the table, he's a class act and I'm always a bit dubious playing him because I know his knowledge of the game is immense. Today he was trying something different - Butchers led by Fillet.
Now, this team poses a big threat - something I didn't know when I started with Shank and his mobility. 10" charge against wounded models?! A real threat!
I've got to be honest, I've not got much experience with plot cards but they do bring something else to the game. Looking at them, the 5 that I had weren't that achieveable - I managed to get one across the game but I chose:
We Set Up:
Rob wins the roll off and elects to kick. My tactic was to try and bunch up and target one player at a time.
Rob's set up:
Anyway, on to the Highlight Reel:
* Rob kicks and Dirge picks the ball up, then hides behind a tree!
* Silence and Cosset come back on to the board only to be hunted down by Shank...
* Minx and Rage get smashed off the board by a combined effort of Fillet and Shank.
* Rob wins 12-0... no goals...
* Dirge has 100% possession which proves that Morticians play 100% football!
Lessons Learnt
* Fillet with Boiler behind gives her DEF 6+... that is strong!
* Shank is a complete cock! 10" range against models who have taken wounds is insane!
* My tactic didn't quite work - I think I picked the wrong model to try and break down firstly. Bundling into Fillet was, in theory, not a bad idea - if I had a beat stick in there too. In a Big League game with Boar that could be a fairly deadly smash!
* Minx should at no point ever be allowed to spearhead an attack. I know those in the know will read this and go 'No shit, Sherlock!' but I had to find out for myself!
* Minx is a good flanker to go and hunt those injured models but the problem is... I can't injure them enough in order to hunt them down again! #Fail!
* A beater is needed in order to strip wounds off a model. I'm not sure who that is, any suggestions please tweet me (@geekphotoguy).
Overall, a very sobering experience from an experienced player but one with a few positives. Whenever I play Rob one thing is for certain - There will always be a new way to lose!
I've learnt that there is merit in this list, I think it's the way that I've played it which has given me problems. I didn't utilise Silence well enough, he didn't get a hold of the game and give the control problems that he can. Once I've got him down with this team then I can begin to use Scalpel's ability of moving influence on to others.
Minx is another one in this team which I'm not sure should be in there. She has her merits and I do feel that she could be included in a 8 strong team using this format but for me, it misses a certain punch.
I will, of course, continue to experiment and explore!
Scalpel's Legendary? Oh yeah, I completely forgot! What to use it for? Okay, well - Stupidly, I got Scalpel within 1" of Fillet and Rob managed to counter-attack, dodging away from her Melee range. With 5 INF still left on her, it was useful to pull her back in. Stopping those shenanigans of dodging away (I'm thinking of models with the 2" dodge when you enter their Melee range) enables you to negate this and draw them back in. It seems like a futile way of using her legendary but captains or models who have been worn down relying on this movement, using their Momentum on this seems a fairly decent strategy. Admittedly, it is circumstantial but I can still see merits in drawing those in. It would be particularly effective with Cosset and Rage using their 'free' charges if they are not engaged.
The Big League
Looking forward to the Big League and this guy has appeared:
Anyway, that's enough from me for tonight. I do have a few exciting projects to report on!
My overall aim today was to Smash Face, Drink Blood - I ended up getting Smashed in the Face and Licked my Wounds!
Thanks for reading,
I'll see you soon!
@geekphotoguy
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