Something's a-brewing! (Guild Ball)

And, we are back!





So, we are in to Round 4 of the Guild Ball Big League at Phoenix Games and it is getting instense! The fight for the bottom of the league is heating up and it's a crunch week!

Current Results 
Round 1: Si (@irons1de) 8 - Me 12 (Union)
Round 2: BYE
Round 3: Jimmy (@jimmygstar) 12 - Me 0 (Union)
Round 4: Archie (Brewers)

This week I take on Archie and his Brewers in what is set to be a battle for the Wooden Spoon! Conversations have been flying about regarding the bottom of the league teams (Archie, Si and I) and we have decided to create a 'sub-team', a franchise if you will. Like The Dudley Boyz or Generation X (I stopped watching wrestling a long time ago, okay?! Give it a rest!).
We've decided to go for...

Reflects our current situations!

Anyway, Archie has so far played against: Steve (Brewers), Si (Union) and has had a bye last week!
Like a lot of the people in the league, Archie is a proper sound bloke! He's been around miniature gaming for many years and is a pretty good painting to boot! He's the kind of guy that enjoys his games and has a laugh whilst doing it!

The Team
What do I expect Archie to take? Well, there are 4 staple players I would expect for him to include in his team and two others which could be an interchangeable depending on what he thinks at the time.

Who are these mystery players?
Let's start with the captain - Tapper.

Solid player who is a great support piece. For the third game in this league, here is a player with Commanding Aura so players will look to be in and around him (4") - into the brawl! Marked Target is also a fantastic tool in order to take down models.
No Legendary Play here but having an heroic which gives 2 infludence between friendly guild models that can pull off every turn is very useful, particularly when you need to reallocate quickly to react.
With cheap access to KD's (momentus too!) he is a bit of a beast. Oh, and a 2" melee zone!
The way to combat him? Play around him. He is tough to take down but I have a feeling he will be in the centre of board trying to clog up the middle.

Next, the cat...

 Those who know GB know that the cat is a must kill! He provides additional infudence for Tapper (on Tapper's card) and he's a little bitch! I suspect he will be near the goal so getting to him will be difficult but essentially if he's not close to Tapper, he won't cause too many problems... for now!

Now on to...

Big Hooper! The model with a big stick! His heroic play makes wrap arounds very easy. Hooper is really more of a support piece, pushing models into a postion in order for others to wail on them. Shove the Boot in is another ability which should not be underestimated - like they say: 'Every little helps!' Like Tapper, Hooper has Tough Hide, reducing the damage of each result by 1. This, coupled with ARM 1, makes him a tough model to bring down!

Finally, the final part of the Fantastic Four (for the Brewers), our girl:

 

Friday! See what I did there?! Best striker in the Brewers faction! Armed with a dangerous 3/8" kick and ARM 1, she is a real threat. Another model here with an Heroic play. This one give her +1/+2" kick AND +1 DEF against parting blows! I don't really see her as a melee monster but a momentus tackle on 1 playbook result and 'Dirty Knives' ability makes her another excellent tool in the Brewing Machine. 

Looking at the back of her card, a 2" dodge to start her activation and gaining extra DEF whilst involved with Spigot is just excellent! 

There are the 4 which are certainties. What other two may he include? Well, I think Spigot is a choice which you would be foolish not to in this build!

Despite being a defensive midfielder, he's got access to a cheap tackle (momentus), a heroic play - giving additional movement when starting activation within a 4" aura, making Friday a 8"/10" player without anything else! 

Tooled up, again another amazing ability. He is another utility player which adds the topping to a well lubricated machine!

Finally, the final, final choice... 

Mash! The monster, Mash! I know - I'm just full of puns today! With the potential to go into a 4/8" kick, Mash is another threat which should not be taken lightly. However, a 2" melee range makes him a better piece which can support through denying channels due to his lack of mobility. His Long Bomb for 1 INF makes him seem more like a midfielder or an opportunistic striker (like Bonesaw in the Morticians). I feel this is better with Esters, giving him better ARM but unpredictable movement is just incredible action in order to get moving further up the pitch. We've seen with Obulus how good that ability can be!

The Plan!
The plan? Stay the hell away from the centre of the board! I think that both Archie and I will be trying to achieve the same thing - board dominance. Archie will undoubtedly want to smash face and I really don't want that! I don't like getting into a brawl and this week I'm going to try something new - playing football. Something I've not been very successful with before. This will come down to positioning and how well we set up.

Team Selection
How are we going to go about dealing with the Brewers? It seems to me a lot of control should be met with control! Therefore, Obulus would seem an obvious choice in this situation. His ability to control players (particularly those with low DEF) can allow for movement tricks and clearing parts of a board. Obviously Silence and Dirge are auto includes, along with Ghast! This leaves two spaces available.
What I've learnt from the previous games is that scoring for me is an issue. The fact that Scalpel and the kill team scored by going up the board and dodging in and out gave me some heart but I don't feel that using her with Cosset and Scalpel will be of benefit in this game as they are fragile against a team with armour and the ability to smash face.
If I'm looking to play football, there are a number of options. I could look at getting players in on loan for the week - Angel from the Fishermen, for example. Looking deeper and thinking about movement tricks - Zarola's Midnight offering can allow for players to move further up the pitch in order to clear space. Alternatively, Hearne's Heroic Play with a 2" can make him a decent threat in the way of board control.

A potential team would look like this:
- Obulus [C]
- Dirge [M]
- Silence
- Ghast
- Hearne [Loan]
- Graves

Looking in further depth, the final place is still up for grabs but looking at the Brewers' - Momentum is fluid but making Archie remove conditions instead of spending it on Heroic Plays would seem a sensible choice! This make Graves a more potent choice for the team!

That's it from me, for now!
Thursday will be the biggest game since Aston Villa last won a game!

Thanks for reading!

I'll see you soon!

@geekphotoguy