Character Assassination (4) - Corsair

The big fat man with the wooden leg, and if ever there was a model released that changed up the playstyle of a Guild, this guy would arguably have to be it (my other vote being Smoke). You think you know Fish once you've sussed out Shark's eDenny-esque Legendary, Gut and String spam, Momentous 1" Dodges, and "lol 3 Goals, I win" shenanigans...

Then Steamforged released a new Captain and boosh - "lol 3 Goals, I win" suddenly has new life when the Fish can turn on a dime and morph it into "lol 6 Take Outs, I win" (probs small exaggeration, but). Way to work the design space, SF.


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So big that he even disrespects the "Relevant Links" sidebar! #FishOP

The strength in Corsairs game is the comparatively substantial depth of play options that he opens up for the rest of his team - a combination of his Legendary, ball handling skills, control options, enabling abilities, and personal survivability. Where Shark is a superstar striker who does his work almost independently of his colleagues, Corsair can cheerfully manage scoring the odd goal while providing stealth buffs and Take Outs.

Let's break it down....


Ball Handling and Goal Scoring

Corsair is superbly built to both take and receive the ball and retain it until such time as he is ready to unleash the goal scoring apocalypse. It's easy to forget his many options in this regard and therefore probably worth inspecting them closely so you don't get caught out in the future.

Rough Seas will make it difficult to have your own players hold the ball. It's a bit of a niche ability in that I haven't seen it come up in every game and it's especially unlikely to be used against a Winger playing in position as Corsair deploys centrally in most games in order to affect the most control (and to a lesser extent get value out of using his Legendary Play aura). But if you have a player holding the ball in the interior board space then you can reasonably expect to not be holding it for long! The two dice rolled on this Character Play (fortunately it cannot be triggered through his Playbook) gives him a 75% chance of simply taking the ball from a DEF4 player. By way of example he could therefore Rough Seas the ball away, Legendary Play, pass it 8" away. The ball is now 14" (plus his base size and advance, plus a possible Dodge from receiving) from where it previously was. That's a lot of ball movement. It's not conditional upon how good the player holding the ball is at kicking so unlike Puppet Master where you could hold the ball with a KICK 1/4" Mascot and flip the middle finger based on the fact that you're so trash at kicking it's actually advantageous in that situation, Rough Seas literally just takes the ball. Corsair of course doesn't generate Momentum by taking it, but most of the time he doesn't care anyway. This can lead to a surprising number of Snapshot goals and you should be especially wary of Fishermen players that have already scored a goal but are lurking within shot distance in the next turn.

Sturdy allows Corsair to ignore the first Knock Down result against him and therefore not automatically lose the ball to a random scatter on Knock Down. Outside of Engineers very few teams can muster multiple ranged Knockdowns in a turn, and burning a melee attack to get through his first Knock Down "immunity" can often be enough to tip the numbers against you.

Close Control is again a fantastic natural ability to have on his card. Where these two abilities really shine is in combination with his playbook, 2" melee, and the option to take a Counter Attack in melee. His Knock Down on two results and/or Push or Dodge on three results means that after your initial attack you might find yourself on the floor or out of range to follow up with more punching. He could even ignore the first tackle with Close Control, let you attack again to tackle the ball, and then Counter Attack and tackle the ball back with his tackle result on one hit. Amazing.

Meanwhile with Stand Firm and his Legendary Play One Leg Stance, he can hand out these abilities to his team mates. This makes him one of the premium ball handling models in the game - able to not only manage the ball well himself, but also place it into the very safe hands of a teammate at the right time.


One Leg Stance also ups the kicking game of the already very capable Fishermen for one glorious turn of elite super scoring. While superficially it can allow Corsair or another player within the aura to take a "guaranteed" (obviously with dice where is no such thing) shot at goal, you're in jackpot territory if you can position players in earlier turns and score multiple goals in a turn under it's effects. Look for synergies that will exacerbate the already competent scoring abilities of the Fish:

- Angel's Super Shot and the Legendary turns her into a 6/12" kicker threatening the goal from 20" away with a Sprint.
- Sakana's superior mobility (Cover of Darkness/Smoke Bomb) and the Legendary means he can Sprint 10" and shoot with a 4/10" Kick for a 20" threat.
- Siren's natural high speed have her kicking at goal from 17" away.
- even Tentacles can threaten the goal from 14" with a (surprising) 3/8" kick.

Obviously to reach these incredible numbers you need to have the relevant player within 6" of Corsair himself. It also makes Corsair a 4/8" kicker.

Just Fish things.


Offense and Control

Bringing both Harpoon and a Momentous 2 damage + Push on three hits, plus a Momentous Knock Down on two hits to the game has a substantial effect not only on how Fishermen can choose to play the range of their game, but on what players you might choose to add to your team. Essentially he's an interesting enabler for damage and while he's not easily able to solo down other players with a flood of 3-5 damage results, he can certainly set targets up to receive a good curb stomping from other members of his team in combination.

Harpoon plays a big part of this game and provides as element of active control (as opposed to the inactive control of Shark's Caught in the Net)  - pulling individuals into his loving embrace to find not only a swift Momentous Knock Down from Corsair himself but also numerous follow up attacks from his 2" melee range-rich team members. I've seen Corsair and Co do some horrendous things in this regard and it really turns the Guild as a whole in new directions when you start considering 4 Take Outs/1 Goal with Fish as a reasonable path to victory (albeit in the right matchups).

Fishermen can take the Harpoon control game further by doubling down, including Kraken in the team. Furthermore they could consider taking Siren1. Where one Harpoon is good, two is better and adding in Lure/Seduction puts you into Morticians-like levels of control. Few ball carriers are safe and players are getting pulled or walked out of position all over the show. Careful thought must be given to how far down the control rabbit hold you want to go however because there's potential for more control to equal less punching. Sakana, Jac, and Greyscales are useful additions or subs on the bench.

Once the target is reeled in, Corsair's damage results being Momentous becomes perhaps the most telling difference between him and the alternative. After a successful Harpoon and a (Momentous) Knockdown, a fully loaded Corsair can expect to put 6-10 Momentous damage into the target prepping them nicely for a finish from the likes of Kraken or Jac. Harpoon threatens 10" with a Jog and while this doesn't seem terribly exciting on paper, remember that Corsair deployed on the line is already able to target 2" into the opponent's half. Fish players should be well aware of the power of Pass 'n' Move or Give 'n' Go to give players a pseudo-speed boost. Once you've added that to the maths Corsair is spearing you if you've moved more than 2" out of your deployment zone.


Defense

As noted above Corsair has Sturdy to keep him safe from the first Knock Down of a turn and with 18 boxes and Tough Hide he takes a fair beating to put down. His 3+/1 defensive stats aren't amazing but again you must never under-estimate 2" melee and some very generous playbook options when it comes to Counter Attacking. Unless he's been Pushed away or the opponent has opted to flee (Dodge), Corsair should almost always be Counter Attacking when he can. It will not only put down those seeking blood, but put paid to a lot of Strikers and Attacking Midfielders looking to reclaim the ball.


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Weaknesses

Like any other player, Corsair is susceptible to co-ordinated and focused attacking - nothing in Guild Ball is either fool- or bullet-proof. Burning through Sturdy can be costly and if you have it low on your playbook you may be better off jogging up to make your initial run unless you think wrapping to generate two Knock Down results is a possibility. Make sure you go in on Corsair with Momentum in the bank or when the opponent can't spend to make a Counter Attack.

His Knock Down on two hits makes surrounding him and not taking him out a risky proposition. He will cheerfully load up and a flail around himself, Knocking Down most or all of your players before retreating away.

Barriers and other players are the only things that will prevent the Push from being harpooned. Standing low DEF models behind much higher DEF teammates is a (risky) way to avoid being dragged in unwillingly (Dirge often get this job when I play into him with Morticians). It's pretty niche, but the goal marker is a barrier and you therefore cannot be Pushed through it. In the Dojo we infrequently find very small buildings make an appearance and they make for useful anchors (pardon the pun) against a Corsair-led Fish team (incidentally also providing Cover in the Season Two rules). He also can't Harpoon what he can't see so any handily positioned forests are definitely up there on the anti-Corsair priority list.

In terms of losing the ball to Rough Seas it's a bit of an Obulus game. Dropping the ball so you have nothing to give to him is a possibility, but them Fishies are slippery and liable to grab a free ball if you leave it lying around. Risky stuff but a viable tactic. Killing the ball at least puts the Fish in Murderball mode and while Corsair has surprising options in this area they're still Fishermen at their core and likely to preference shooting for goal than smashing face. Be wary of a Corsair team including Siren when it comes to ball handling and management.


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To finish up, as luck would have it, THIS VIDEO was released today. Trent plays a tight game into luckless Alchemists with a Super-Shotting, Corsair LP'd Angel crushing out a fantastic goal. Gutter misses the pass to Angel but a fortunate scatter followed by Nimble allows her to tank the Parting Blow, uncaring of a tackle result due to the LP giving her Close Control. #FishOP

Meanwhile check out Corsair punching the shit out of Decimate to close out the game, casually playbooking his way through Don't Touch the Hair, KDing the poor fool, then pounding her into the grass. Lovely. #FishOP


So much to like... a true hard man of the game, simultaneously changing it up for Fishermen while reinforcing one of their most powerful game-winning options. Awesome.

Underestimate him at your peril!

Cornerstones (8) / Character Assassination (3) - Blackheart

The final article in the Cornerstones series is an exception on two counts - it is the first to feature a Captain, and is also a Character Assassination. Get ready for the whine.

I decided to include the Union's captain as their Cornerstone because the Union as a team is so individualistic and devout of synergistic special rules. They have a dedicated support model (Hemlocke) and a dedicated scorer (Mist) but for the most part are all "core" brawlers with unusually good KICK scores. #justunionthings

Let's start by looking at these stats. On the whole I'd say they are good for a captain, but not necessarily amazing.

• 5/7" MOV is pretty average, by itself anyway.
• TAC 6 is very good, and common on captains.
• 3/6" KICK is an average solid stat.
• 3+/2 is a solid, tanky stat line. 16 boxes may be a little bit low for a Captain, but it's not too bad.
• 4/6 INF is also standard for a captain.

Note also the 2" melee. So we can see he is pretty solid all-around - decent kicker, and pretty good in a scrap. Moving on to the playbook.

This playbook could either be seen as very good or freaking amazing depending on how well you use Blackheart.

The early part of his playbook is quite good on a defensive level - momentous dodge on 1, and a double dodge + 1 DMG on 2. This is followed by a Tackle. So definitely not too impressive in the momentum or damage department so far, but good for mobility. If all you set up for is getting low results, you can at worst farm momentum and move around as much as a Fisherman (a 3+/2 Fisherman that destroys people in combat).

Then shit starts to get real - KD and momentous GB/GB on 4 hits in order to activate Commanding Aura (more on that soon). 4 hits is a pretty likely result with TAC 6 on a charge with no other modifiers.
When you move into the 5 and 6 successes column, all his results basically read "3 momentous + whatever other result you want, bro". Double dodge, KD, Tackle - it's all there. I dunno why the Momentous 3 with no other result is there, as it will never ever be chosen. I am guessing it's a legacy thing.
5+ hits is where it gets freaking amazing - with a little set up and Commanding Aura, getting 5 hits is not that unrealistic for old Blackheart. He'll wreck someone and move around like a ballerina while doing in.

Anyway - good striker playbook with lots of mobility and good options for counter attacks. Then if you get 5+ successes, he starts tearing holes in people while doing it too. Momentously. Sickening.

Ok, I'll admit I've never seen Blackheart use Misdirection. With the amount of mobility he has, he's usually just better killing someone and removing all their INF rather than spending 4 INF to steal one. It's a nice strong play to have in situations where he get pinned down however.

Commanding Aura, however, is ridiculous for Union. Sure, you can get it in Brewers on Union models, but you probably won't get it on too many Union models since you want those Brewer synergies on your team. Having it on 4 fighting Union models (who aren't bad at scoring goals, btw) with access to Coin however - that's another realm of BS altogether. Commanding Aura pushes Blackheart's personal damage significantly by allowing him to reach those 5/6 successes somewhat reliably with minimal set up. With 6 INF, he is crushing people and getting momentum like a boss at the same time. Nevermind Gutter, Decimate, Avarisse, and all that....

This is when I start to rage (more) about Blackheart. What you have here is a way for a beatstick tank to move 2" for free at the start of it's activation, basically guaranteeing him an exit from almost every combat for 1 INF (dodge 2", then momentous dodge for 1). Seems good. Oh, it also makes him an effective 7/9" MOV (better, even). Fast as Shark? Seems legit for a walking killing machine. Who is also a 3/6" KICK for lolz.

Oh wait, he also has a legendary with two super strong effects - an immediate 2" dodge for all friendly guild models OR +1 DEF for everyone. You usually just see the first one even though +1 DEF on all friendly guild models (who are all likely at least 4+/0 or better) is pretty ridiculous. Even stronger when you consider that after Blackheart has activated you'll probably have 6 momentum to defensive stance and counter attack, rendering your team nigh invincible for a turn. Seems legit.

Anyway, as mentioned, you probably won't see that +1 DEF because all his fellow douchebags dodging 2" and getting out of combat or getting ready to wreck someone you thought was safe or scoring goals from miles out is pretty good. In fact, it's pretty good JUST for Blackheart to gib someone unexpectedly from 13" away. And all it costs you is the INF to run/charge.

Dealing with Blackheart

Weaknesses? Few to none.

• He is not a stellar kicker, but he is a very good striker due to high mobility and momentum generation. More than good enough to reliably put the ball on the post multiple times.
• He does little for his team outside feat and commanding aura, but that tends to be enough since he can move that aura around to basically wherever he wants, even when MOV debuffed (unlike Tapper), thanks to his low-playbook dodges and Shadow Like. Even in the worse case scenario if he is completely shut down from moving and isolated (which requires a LOT of investment), he still has a 10" threat on Misdirection to dump his INF somewhere.
  Not to mention that his team is made up of highly independent models that are pretty awesome all on their own, so throwing in +1 TAC and DMG  and DEF/2" dodge is alright.
•  His DEF of 3+ makes him a little vulnerable to character plays, I guess.....

VetRage is clearly designed to be the beater/brawler of the Union captains but it's hard to outfight 2" melee + Commanding Aura (functionally identical to vRage's Legendary with less set up and a smaller area - but every turn) + a nasty playbook - and this does not even consider Blackheart's amazing mobility and decent KICK stat. Not only does he strongly compete with vRage in the damage dealing department, but he certainly leaves him in the dust in terms of scoring goals. There is a reason Union has been on top of the overall guild rankings for a long time, even after receiving a good chunk of nerfs to their models - that reason is this god amongst guildballers.

All I can say is - thank the powers that be for the Season 1 errata, bringing him back into line... or should I say, almost back into line.

Thus ends the Cornerstones series. Thanks for reading.

Character Assassination (2) - The Fat Lady Sings

One of the great downsides of a limited availability schedule combined with a small meta is that these articles are rapidly going to focus on the guild opposition I see on a regular basis (Brewers and #FishOP). I'd like to openly invite contributors to this series who are seeing a wider range of opposition or this will shortly appear to be a VERY biased topic.

Caveat - you don't get to rag on Morticians because Obulus needs all the help and buffs he can get. And because statistics.


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This article will discuss the ins and outs of the new Brewers Captain - Esters; lusty singer of songs, bustiest of valkyries, holder of the heart-strings of one Dr "Handsome" Dave Cameron, and latest dire threat to the existence of my pitiful band of hopeless misfits.

Two fat ladies.

According to Wikipedia, the font of all rigorously tested and wholly truthful knowledge (aka the wellspring of information to which desperate students have turned since ages past and time immemorial), Esters are derived from a combination of acid and alcohol. There are a few sub-types:

- Glycerides (fatty acids of glycerols)
- Phosphoesters (the backbone of DNA molecules)
- Nitrate esters, known for their explosive properties

Nitrate Esters. Nick gets it. Probably.

So allow me to unpack by taking these definitions and reapplying them as frighteningly dubious metaphors, pushing the boundaries of commonly accepted hyperbole, all the while highlighting a few of the more vomit-inducing abilities beheld by Handsome Dave's other favourite large lady.


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Old Esters has some pretty sweet tech going for her right from the statline, so we'll start there:

- a deceptively adequate MOV of 4"/6".

- TAC5 combines with a 4-long Playbook to deliver solid hitting power. With support, wraps are not uncommon. Lack of reach (2" melee zone) is sad panda but she has three Push results to counter dodges and of course the ubiquitous Momentous Knock Down (third column). Each column offering a Momentous result is... momentous!

Wrapolopolis!

- Kick 3/6" is fine and generally not found to be her job. Spigots Football Legend can add some surprise factor here but I've seen the wretched cat be more of a goal threat than Esters (so far).

- DEF 3+ ARM 1 is super ok in combination with her other abilities and a crazy 22 damage boxes.

- INF 4/5 is super solid. Heads up - an Esters fully loaded in turn one is an Esters about to do deceptively serious work.


So now we have some of the basics down let's dig deeper and bring those much vaunted and most heinous metaphors to fruition...


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Glycerides - It's the saturated fats that'll kill ya...


Esters has Gluttonous Mass (not Glutinous Mass... that's what I get after visiting the bakery) and good grief if there was ever a gotcha in the game then this would be it. Gluttonous Mass is easy to forget (speaking from experience, cheers Mike) and can make a real hash of your turn. Ignoring the first hit gives you the ability to:

- pseudo Close Control by ignoring the selection of a Tackle result.

- suck up (i.e. ignore) the first Attack then spend a point of Momentum to Counter-Attack a 1" melee zone enemy model, safe in the knowledge you won't/can't be Knocked Down or Pushed away/Dodged off.

- ignore the first Chain Grab, Shut Out, and (lol) Puppet Master. Ignore Deadbolt, Butchery, Tidal Surge. Ignore Brick's (or Compound's, or Tenderiser's) Counter-charge (Gluttonous Mass doens't work during an Advance, but because you've finished your Advance to trigger Counter-Charge it will still be effective).

- ignore a Charge Attack.

Esters - bad for my tummy.

Workarounds:

- Gluttonous Mass ignores the first hit "that targets this model" so AoEs don't trigger it (for better or for worse).

- punch through it by allocating extra INF (easier said that done). Don't do what I did for three turns - allocating two INF to Silence so he could punch her to generate Momentum in order to Bonus Time a Shut Out on something else. Fail. Fail. Fail!

- burn a ranged play that targets her if you're desperate to make a Charge Attack count for maximum value later on (1-dice plays are risky because the model has to be hit by the Attack or Character Play, not just targeted).


Remember Gluttonous Mass ignores the first Attack or Character Play that hits. If nothing else it has weird implications on your order of activation and when it's on a key/central high synergy model like Esters (as opposed to a backfield keeper like Compound) it has a vastly different effect on the game. It's also not voluntary - it MUST be used on the first successful hit. Use this to your advantage where you can.


Phosphoesters - the DNA backbone of a good team


Esters is one of the most synergy intensive models available to Brewers (in a Guild rife with strong synergies and model inter-dependence). Practically everything she contributes to the game is designed to make your dudes better. This is reflected in her Push-heavy/short-length Playbook (moving opposing models around to generate Gang Up bonuses, more wraps, and more damage), her unique Character Trait, and her Heroic and Legendary Plays.


Empowered Voice is what most contributes to her comparison with Grissel1 in Warmachine/Hordes. She may choose one (Guild) model within 6" (which may be herself) to benefit from one of the following effects:

- +2"/+2" speed
- +1 DMG to Playbook damage results (not Character Plays)
- +1 DEF


This is a pretty sweet "free" ability (in that it costs neither INF nor Momentum to trigger). Here are a few uses:

SPEED

- make Esters faster in turn one (sprint 8"), extending the threat of her ranged plays and setting her up for a solid Legendary in turn two.

- make Friday 8"/10" with Unpredictable Movement.

- make Spigot 9"/12" (holy shit!) in combination with his Heroic Play (Time's Called). Or make anyone else within 4" of Spigot effectively +4"/+4". That's... mental.


DMG

- non-Momentous 4 damage on Esters' fourth column if she uses this on herself. Plus wraps to a first or second column for additional fun times and bloodshed.

- Hooper bashing a Knocked Down opponent. Momentous 5 damage on five hits. Or how about Momentous 6 damage results when he's been Tooled Up by Spigot.

- arguably the best and most hilarious option? A Tooled Up, Empowered Voice [Strength] Friday. Momentous 4 damage on two hits. Wonderful.

- or just Spigot punching some Knocked Down fool with TAC7 and Momentous 4 damage on 4 hits. Just Brewer things.


DEF

- the real stars here are DEF6+ Scum or DEF6+ ARM1 Friday (when she's within 4" of Spigot). Hmm... feels like Spigot is going to be the topic of the next article...

- DEF4+ ARM1 Esters isn't terrible.

- and just for Nikola... DEF3+ Stave. What a champ!

At DEF3+ this guy's the real threat!

Meanwhile, Esters is holding on to her Legendary Play, It's not over until... This allows her to combo up all three Empowered Voice shouts in one turn onto various members of her team. Note that because Steamforged haven't completely jumped the shark (yet) she doesn't apply all three shouts to her entire team! Rather, she may choose to imbue three models each with a different buff (one speed, one defence, one damage).

The restraining factor here (if indeed there is one), is that all three models affected must be within 6" of Esters when she triggers her Legendary, so she has a tendency to brick her team somewhat to this end (commonly looking for the Legendary Play to go off at the top of turn two). The timing of the LP means she wants to go first so Shut Out is looking particularly spicy. If you can spot a big positioning issue you might also stuff the turn for the Brewers by crushing through Gluttonous Mass and pulling her out of position, or if she's really badly positioned locking her down instead (Shark's Legendary, punch through Glut Mass, Tidal Surge her away et al <insert obligatory #fishOP here>). Or pulling away a player that she would just love to buff. Or just killing the player she would love to buff. This is probably going to be quite tricky of course but somewhat like Tapper, Esters is susceptible to a control game (although less so personally).


Finally, and by no means of least significance, is Esters' incredible "bang for your buck" Heroic Play (Soothing Voice) healing friendly models within 3" for two hit boxes and removing conditions. Another nail in the coffin for the "not all in on Midas + Union players" Alchemists build, but also generally a massive pain in the arse for removing Fire and Knockdown (or when Graves has Scything Blowed everything and she just calmly switches off all the Bleeding). Don't forget Soothing Voice works on Esters too. Obviously.



Nitrate Esters

So she's helping her team mates out immensely and can dish out some punchy repositioning goodness in combat. You know she needs to help set her apart from Tapper? I know, let's give her TWO ranged Character Plays!

Blast Earth does 2 DMG and creates a 3" AoE of rough-ground.

Fire Blast does 2 DMG and sets your dude-bros on fire (they suffer the burning condition).


Which means Esters on 5INF at the top of turn one can Empowering Voice [Speed] herself to sprint to the middle of the pitch and instantly slow down most of your starting line-up if they aren't sufficiently spread out (and while you likely don't have the Momentum generated to remove conditions or Glide). Bitch.

This is really indicative of what I love/hate about her - the glorious fullness of her... game. She does work at range with two 2-cost Character Plays, helps her team out enormously, and generates Momentum in combat like a champ while soaking damage and tanking with the best of them.


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And there's Esters. One of the more appropriately named Guild Ball models out there I think you'll agree. Also one heck of a competitive choice when balanced against Tapper so nice design work from Steamforged on this one.

Character Assassination (1) - Guttered

A new week, a new series... This one will focus on a player I don't like (because they're so damn good) and/or am having a lot of trouble with.


This past weekend Auckland hosted a fair number of travellers to participate in the annual Ides of March Warmachine and Hordes tournament. Naturally this meant that a lot of Guild Ball was played. Tournament highlights include Union v Morticians (12-6) in Round Four, Will and Pete's across rounds game of Morticians v Masons (8-12), and the simple fact that Adam opted to play Guild Ball in Round Six (I assume Alchemists v Brewers and Adam won because he ended up placing 3rd overall - congrats for that by the way).

While this quite possibly heralded the imminent demise of our success at the OTC it also opened up a very interesting connection between what had previously been independent metas separated by the cruel tyranny of geography. Suddenly Christchurch was playing Wellington and Wellington was playing Auckland! Saturday night also yielded much Guild Ball action. As predicted it was discovered that various locales had been playing the rules "wrong" (Steamforged rules writing being what it currently is meaning no actual shots were fired and all was immediately forgiven).


We/I learned that:

- Playbook wraps are applied simultaneously (huge implications, eyes opened wide).

- Knock Down doesn't prevent Unpredictable Movement (because engaging and having a melee zone aren't the same thing).

- Gun Mages in Guild Ball are not much fun to play against.

- Blackheart doesn't actually have any Pushes on his Playbook if you understand which way the arrows are pointing.

- Wellington doesn't tend to use Guild Plot cards. Oh my!...

- You get a permanent Influence bonus for every goal you score, not just the first.

- Fish OP.

- Will Wheaton executing what he thinks is the closing play of the game and holding out his hand for a GG handshake before realising that he can't count properly and has not in fact won the game is hilarious.

- Peter Williamson is easily as much of genius at this game as he is at everything else.

Pro GB player with pro GB attitude.

- Scum OP.

- Mike Thorn has fantastic taste in photo frames (Mike - Jen says thank-you for the lovely and very thoughtful gift).

- You can return Icy Sponged players from any table edge in your deployment zone and they just have to be touching the edge (within the deployment zone, not completely within).

- Ah... so that's what Jac does.

- Gutter OP.


But for the purposes of this article I want to focus on that last observation.


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Gutter does the following:

TL;DR

- MOV 6"/8" with Melee Zone 2". A walking threat of 8" is nothing to be sneezed at with 'reach' allowing her to contribute to or take advantage of Crowding Out from a surprising distance away. 2" melee is one of the best attributes in the game (sounds familiar) and helps to stealth swing the dice math once you get the melee bonuses/penalties/Bonus time train rolling.

- Anatomical Precision means that she ignores the first point of ARM on the enemy model's card. ARM1 models become ARM0. Gutter loves her some DEF3 ARM1 targets!

- TAC5 with a 5-long Playbook looks fair but combines crucially with both 2" melee and Anatomical Precision to allow her to frequently bust out 4 hits with a friend or two nearby. She also has a Knockdown on 4 hits because reasons. And Momentous 1 damage on 1 hit because other reasons (we've started referring to this kind of stuff as "just Jamie P things").

- Momentous Scything Blow on four hits in the Playbook. Easier to achieve than you'd first think. Pretty damn busted.

- Life Drinker restores a single point of health every single time she damages one or more enemy models. Her 14 health points with a 4+/1 defensive statline looks somewhat innocuous until you realise she can heal herself for 8 points in her own activation, then another 4 points from Come on, mate! from a friendly model within 8". This turns a nearly dead Gutter about to activate with 4INF into a fresh Gutter ready to carve you up (again) next turn.

- INF 2/4 means she's adding enough to the team to not be considered a big drain.

- Chain Grab (range 4", cost ONE) Pushes a model up to 4" directly towards her. Any time in Guild Ball where you are repositioning models you are likely to be doing huge work. In a game where you only have 6 models to play with, having something not be where you want it to be (or where you left it) is a BIG deal. Sprint + Chain Grab range gives her a 12" threat to Push things around. Remember that it isn't once per turn either.


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Gutter has some fantastic synergies within the variety of Guilds that can choose to use her too (these being Fishermans, Brewers, Engineers, Butchers, and of course Union). Here are a few:


- +1DEF Gutter who can Defensive Stance will make you punch the wall. Hard. So Blackheart isn't hating that option with his Legendary. Commanding Aura for more damages. Gutter is crucial in a team that isn't exactly spoilt for choice when it comes to 2" melee zone players, but still has useful damage dealers who need her support and encouragement (Decimate, Rage, Avarisse/Greede).

- +1DEF Gutter in Butchers (from Swift Stance), who can then Defensive Stance, who can then Chain Grab a model for Ox to wreck... that's a problem. The Owner and Ox's Legendary (Get 'Em Lads!) applies to all friendly models, not just Guild models so Gutter goes up to 11 in Butchers, potentially ignoring 2 points of ARM and dealing 5 damage Scything Blows like they're going out of fashion. Broken.

- All the harpoons Fisherman (I'd like to call this build "Fishers of Men") looks like a royal pain in the arse. Corsair + Kraken + Gutter + Siren and suddenly nothing is where you left it, everything is Knocked Down, you can't hold the ball thanks to Seduction, and they have the damage dealing options to smash face while holding Corsair's Legendary so they can downtown a goal to close out the game.

- Anything moving your toys into Tapper's Commanding Aura and/or artificially extending the threat range of the rest of the Brewers beatdown team is something they'll appreciate. Spigot will be well happy, not just about the threat range extender but also being able to charge/jog up to an already Knocked Down player and unleash stabby glass hell. Also more reach, more better.

- Engineers want to extend their Pushing/ranged game shenanigans, chipping damage to eventually apply to the finishing blows, or clearing a pathway for the goal-scoring game. Gutter can cheerfully assist with this. Reeling in a model that's Knocked Down and already bristling with crossbow bolts lets her have another 3 swings dishing out Momentous 2 damage results or Momentous Scything Blows. Be mindful of getting a group of bunched up players Knocked Down and Flurried only for Gutter to lazily wander up and apply 12 damage to all and sundry with Scything Blows.


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What doesn't Gutter like to see and how can you deal with her?


- Alchemists, specifically Midas. This all comes down to True Replication and that fact that giving Midas Momentous Scything Blow on one hit in the Playbook is effectively suicide (but that's for another article).

- Conditions are a risky game, specifically Fire. Forcing her to Chain Grab to close the distance means one less damaging roll in melee. Unfortunately conditions are often easily worked around and you still need to roll the 4+ to land it on her.

- High DEF models make Chain Grab less of a guaranteed play but don't forget that Bonus Time exists.

Can cause Gutter some issues.

- Clone/Gluttonous Mass/Beautiful. Something that ignores a Character Play or makes you harder to hit. Something that makes her spend for less outcome. Tough Hide to reduce Scything Blow damage.

- Kill her. Kill her dead. Right now. You simply need to be able to delete Gutter from the pitch in one activation. I say simple - in reality it's obviously difficult to manage for some Guilds. If you leave her alive at the end of the turn and you've lost the initiative roll, unless there's a game-winning play available to your opponent, she will be activating first in the next turn, punching something repeatedly, and healing 8 damage. Then if she's still alive in the next enemy activation she'll be healed for another 4 damage. Killing Gutter can become a kind of horrendous mini-game where you're stuck in an almost indefinite time-loop of misery and sadness. Finding the fine line between playing this game and trying to play around this game is way tricky.


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Gutter has been errata'd a few times as far as I can tell (something of a Lich2 counter-part as it were). She used to heal two damage every time she caused damage, and Chain Grab used to have a 6" range. I'm not sure if she needs to be errata'd again and exactly how I would go about doing it. A few thoughts:

Not a drain on resources.

- make her INF 1/4 so she's more of a drain on the team?

A drain on resources.

- put Scything Blow higher up on her Playbook? Remove Knock Down?

- change her melee range to 1"?


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So there's Gutter - easy to hate, hard to deal with. No idea who will be the focus of the next article in this series - probably something that smashes me tonight in the Dojo (place your bets on which Fish player I guess)...