Masons coach finally equal to the task

Our monthly gaming day has been set as the final Saturday in the month. We meet at 8.30am and play through to lunch time. It is working out very well and leaves the rest of the day to do family stuff. Yesterday saw us back at the Guildball pitch and we were both looking forward to it very much. The Dark Templar had laid out his thoughts on his blog.

I had done some reading on my Masons and decided to take Brick for the first time. I dropped Tower. There is a lot written about Brick but I had figured out that his roll can be complementary to the overall team. I am playing him as a rumble strip. He sits in the middle of the board and can charge anything that comes in his 6" range. With 19 wounds he can be a pain for the opposition. I am not planning to give him influence and this will mean that I can stack it elsewhere. Flint and Harmony will be my runners and ball carriers. Honour and Mallet will be my beat sticks. Marbles will support in the middle of the board and cast Tooled Up on Mallet, adding plus one to his damage.

My plan was to stack Influence on Honour and Mallet and focus them on a single target to kill someone and get the player numbers working in my favour. I want to use Momentum to allow my guys to have the additional 4" dodge. This will increase my movement and make it hard to get to me. That was the basic plan.

So to the game.

It was fantastic. A proper dust up, a really great game that ebbed and flowed and had us breathless by the end.

We played Plots for the first time.

You deal 5 and pick 3 out of the five. I had Man Down, Knee Slide and Miraculous Recovery. Very handy especially against the Butchers.

I opted to receive the ball. This was a first but I figured starting with the ball would be a good thing for the Masons.  Brisket kicked off and the ball bounced very kindly to land in front of Harmony.

Harmony picked up the ball and then kicked it to Honour who kicked it to Mallet who kicked it Flint. This all generated lots of Momentum and gave me lots of 4" dodges. I was able to advance Mallet using Quick Time. Honour got stuck into Boar. Unfortunately the Butchers were wise to my tactics and managed to break line of sight so that Mallet could not double team Boar. As it was he was badly mauled. Mallet got stuck in to the rest of the Butchers team instead. My new dice were on fire. I am loving them.

The new tokens were brilliant too!! It is much easier to keep track of all the buffs etc.

Flint advanced up the right hand side of the field with ball.

The Butchers got to him and stripped the ball.Only for Flint to get the ball back and score. A great start. The Butchers were bloodied and we the Masons had scored. This felt like a very different game to those that we had played to date.

The Butchers recovered the ball.

They bunched together in the middle of the park to take advantage of over lapping pulse effects. They recovered their composure and began to do what they do best - dish out damage. They advanced the ball and quickly scored while taking out Honour, Harmony and Marbles. Ouch! I was able to use Miraculous Recovery to get Honour back into the game and try to defend against the score. To no avail. 10 - 4 to the Butchers.

However she was well positioned for the restart. I recovered the ball and ran down the right and kicked to Flint. I used Superior Strategy to allow Fint to immediately activate. He ran and used Where'd They Go and Super Shot to score. 10 - 8 before the Butchers could do anything about it. It was on a knife edge. Could the Masons get the ball back and score to win? Or would the Butchers finish off another Mason to claim the victory.

It was to be the Butchers day. They ganged up on Honour and took her out of the game. But what a game.

I have proved that the is much more to the Masons and the way to achieve this is to stack Influence. Brick works because he is not given any Influence. I am starting to understand how to use Influence to generate Momentum to give additional Movement. There is a lot to this game and each team has its own specific character. I think that the Masons are difficult to play because you have to think strategy and tactics and then use the Influence properly to deliver the plan. Bloody good fun though.

2016 Guildball Match Report

Hello all and welcome to 2016. May it prove to be a great one for the hobby. Lets get paint on models and play for fun.

We started the new year year with a new game - Guildball. The Dark Templar came back from his trip up north and we were ready to go. I was playing the Masons boxed starter set which I had painted earlier in the year. DT was playing the Butchers and he had done a splendid job on painting his captain Ox.

We laid out the board and were ready for whatever the day would throw at us.

The excitement was palpable. We were using the the full 3x3 and did not place and debris. We set  the target Victory Points at 6. There are 4 for scoring a goal and 2 for taking out an opposition player. They recommend playing 2x2 and I think this would have been better in terms of play, but we had the  mat so .....

There are some excellent utube videos out there to give guidance to any new players and it is advised to take advantage of this resource. I found it really helpful. The rulebook itself is not easy reading although the starter rules are excellent!

The Masons team was made up of my Captain Honour, my ball carrier Harmony and Mallet for some power.

We faced the Butchers who fielded the captain Ox, ball carrier Brisket and Boiler.

We kicked off and were both trembling with excitement.

First thing to say is that this game has real personality. We really got into it very quickly. There is a lot to take on board and the first game was all about getting a feel for the characters and learning a few tactics.

The Brewers are an extreme team. There way of winning is to stick the ball 'up their jumper' and wail on the opposition. The Masons need to play and score. It was great fun.

The first game was a static affair and Ox set the tone. By laying into Mallet.

This was followed by a proper 'dust up' in the middle of the park.

Before finally the Brewers got the first Touchdown. Mallet had already been 'laid out', so 6-0 to the Brewers to conclude game one.

So I had learned that I could not 'mix it' with the Brewers!

Game two was a much more fluid affair. I started with the ball. I passed a few times and each time used Pass'n'Move with the Momentum gained to Dodge forward an extra 4". This proved to be a really cool tactic and got me moving well up the board. We also spotted that Honour has a Momentous 1 Damage, 2" Dodge in the second column of her damage table. So if she Attacks and does 2 damage she can trigger this outcome. I used this to revolve around the group of Brewers. I had success after success. It was amazing and exciting. Really cool game mechanics. I loved it!!

Finally I got myself in shooting distance. I had 4 Kick dice and just needed to roll a 4+ on any of them for the fist Masons Touchdown! I picked up my blue dice and confidently rolled .....

No matter the game - you still need the luck of the gods. The Brewers pounced on my miss and proceeded to pummel my guys into submission. 6-0 to the Brewers. A trend developing. On the up side I had learned how to move the ball quickly and effectively. I had learned about Momentum and how it could be used to great advantage. 

The third game followed and more learning.

I started with the ball and this time I teamed up Mallet and Honour, using Quick Time to drag the slow moving Mallet up the field. I did't use Topping Out except once and this was a mistake as the extra Armour or Influence would have been important.  Responsive Play is a great advantage when linked with the Momentous 1 Damage, 2" Dodge. It takes Honour out of harms way. I slid Harmony up the field while tying dow the Brewers in the middle of the park.

This time Harmony got close.

And closer still, however Brisket got in a vital Tackle to retrieve the ball.

The Brewers had the ball back and were able to march down the field before Ox stepped up to do the honours and score the final Touchdown.

A familiar out come 6-0 to the Brewers.

Summary

This is a great game. There is a lot to learn and it is very chacterful. It feels like a cross between Bloodbowl and Malifaux. The game needs to be 6v6 on a playing field of this size. This will increase the options for each side and tigger more of the interesting plays.

The game is great fun and there is lots happening. There are plenty of dice to roll and there is a need for a multitude of markers. I'm not sure how this will feel when there are more characters in play but it manageable at 3v3.

We need to get dates in diaries and get a few more games under our belt.

Happy 2016 to one and all.

Painting the Masons Starter Box

The paints have made a reappearance and I have been busy with the Masons starter box set. They are lovely to paint and there is a good level of detail. I am enjoying picking out little bits and pieces. The colour scheme is coming together and I think they will be a pleasure to field. I have added a chalk line on the bases just to make it feel like a pitch.

Mallet has that intense look to him. A man serious about success.

That weapon sure looks like he is going top cause problems for the opposition.

And then it happened - Guild Ball

My main playing partner has had a pretty hectic few months and hobby time has been at a premium. He is relishing a return and can light light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. A paint tray sits at the end. I suggested that he choose a 'project' he help get him restarted. Something exciting, interesting, challenging.....you know the kind of thing.

The Dark Templar launched himself into the new project yesterday. Guild Ball!!

Now you know that this propels me into action. Last year we were in the middle of our Batman games when Salute 2014 came along. We had so enjoyed Blood Bowl that Guild Ball caught my eye. The guys from Guild Ball had an amazing display at the event. Really persuasive.

The game looks fantastic! There are a small number of models all of whom have been lovingly sculpted. The game dynamics looks very interesting and the rules gave each team very different playing styles. What is not to love. I piled in a bought a couple of starter teams. One for me and one for the DT.

My choice was the Masons.

The starter box comes with three models.

It was the female models that drew me in. So dynamic.

Lets start with Mallet though. He is a cool model with great detail and a wonderful large two handed hammer. As with all things there were some assembly issues but a combination of pins, greenstuff and glue got me there.

Next comes Honour. Fabulous flowing movement in the pose.

And then finally we have Harmony. I just love this model. I think it is the hair. You can imagine her dropping to this low pose before sweeping in to undertake her action.

As luck would have it we didn't actually get to play any Guild Ball. Batman was still the main game at the time, then there was Zombicide. So many games so little time.

Sounds like Guild Ball could be the project that takes us to Christmas and beyond. Guess I will need to get the paints back out of the garage and make some purchases to fill out my team. The Dark Templar has even gone and switched teams. He started as the Morticians. Sounds like he has been doing some research. He has gone and bought The Butchers. Well he never was much of a salad guy!

Salute 2015 - an inspiration and a new project

Yesterday was the annual outing to Salute. I always travel in hope and sometimes, just sometimes you come across little gems that surprise and delight. It makes the day worthwhile. Yesterday was filled with such moments - a great day out.

I found a new game that I have high hopes for, Guild Ball!

We enjoyed Blood Bowl last year. It was pure joy and a pity that it is unsupported. Guild Ball can hopefully provide a similar experience. I watched some of the game play at a couple of demo games and fell in love with models.

The idea is that it is a ball game played between Guilds. Each team has unto 6 players. The Guilds are the Butchers, Fishermans, Brewers, Masons, Alchemists, Morticians and Engineers. These are supplements by a group called the Union. I have yet to read the rules and work out how it really works but it looks in interesting.

My team will be the Masons. The female models called to me.

There was a deal at the event that got me two starters sets (one for me and one for the Dark Templar) and a book of rules for £50. Each set comes with three models which, I am told, is all that is needed to get a feel for the game.

The models are beautiful. I have Honour, Harmony and Mallet.

I seem to have an alternative sculpt for Honour but hi ho. The models themselves are metal and have separate arms that will require pinning.

I was also surprised and delighted to find a football in the box.