Guildball experiences - Union

 

Union - Artwork

Having now played a couple of games of Guildball with union I'm now starting to find roles for my players and understand a bit about how the game flows. 

 

Current Roster

• Blackheart,
• coin,
• mist,
• gutter,
• hemlock
• fangtooth/rage (swapped between them). 

 

Union Overview

Union has plenty of options I've still not tried out so they could could play out a bit differently but the line up I'm using is getting me used to the team. Some overall things I've noticed:

1. Union generate momentum with ease, apart from Blackheart it seems pretty much every hit I do generates momentum!
2. Union feels like a beater team but with the right setup most players are reasonable kickers so you can move the ball relatively easily when you want so can play an all round game.
3. 2" melee range on most models is really useful for typing down opponents and clogging up the field forcing them to waste their movement or take parting blows. 
4. Limited shooting range but moderate kick dice on most players means you can move the ball about relatively easily but can't get the ridiculously long range scoring potential of some teams.



Union Renders

Player by Player

Blackheart - is a striker. Dodge at start of activation, Playbook full of dodges, Good movement. Only thing he lacks is a good kick range.


Coin - pick a player that wants an influence, that you will activate later in the turn, stand inside 4 but don't bother putting influence on him. I was usually using it for hemlocke or gutter. Dunno how this compares to other mascots impact on the game but I used for activation management more than anything else.


Gutter - is going to be my crutch. Seriously! She has good damage output, ability to heal by hitting you, Chain pull to isolate players to beat senseless and AoE damage ability if she does end up in a crowd. All whilst being fast and a capable ball handler.

Rage - needs to be dealt with but he will go down if targeted. My opponent left him alone and he went on a wrecking mission through the middle of his crew. Damage output is amazing and most of the time I was forgetting bleed! Preferred him over Fangtooth as only ever using 1 influence means the rest of the team has plenty to go round.

Mist - isn't a striker. Instead I used him (I still think should be a she) as a sweeper. Load up with influence and move in tackle, dodge out and pass off is easy to achieve in a single activation with 4 inf.

Hemlocke - I've found tended to just sit behind the beaters and be a nuisance. The damage & poison AoE has enough range to be really annoying. That ability to heal/remove conditions is incredibly useful too, though you generate enough momentum usually that it isn't entirely necessary. Her Playbook is all momentum too. I'm realising with def 6 I can actually just put her out front too and not really worry so can be a nuisance piece.  Wonder if she might be a stealth striker, lacks dodges or other move tricks but with blind and def 6 can get away from people pretty easily without too much worry of a high hit total so not that fussed by parting strikes. 

Team selection thoughts

I do wonder about dropping hemlocke for someone else but I think I'd be struggling for enough influence to go round. And the player coming in would be running about more so I'd be putting coin in more vulnerable spots as a result, or possibly just hang out with gutter.

Influence allocation is important for team selection. Obviously it's situationally dependant but I was usually loading gutter and mist early on, always one in rage, Hemlocke gets one and another from coin to get the AoE out there, remainder in Blackheart.

Look to get Blackheart gets into a scoring position at end of turn to activate first and score the next turn. you want enough influence to generate momentum, dodge out and shoot. Which I was generally finding needed 3 influence as his playbook isn't momentum heavy on useful results so slightly trickier to achieve than other players. 

Tactics

Early game hold gutter and rage to late in the turn try to get some momentum for gutter to chain pull an opponent out into isolated position and in rage charge range. Those two can potentially one turn take down most players. Even if they don't you generate so much momentum it sets you up for first next turn.

Use 2" melee to tie up as many people as possible allowing isolation of ball carrier, mist the strips the ball and sends it downfield, whether to space or Blackheart doesn't overly matter! He can then use his dodge ability to get free for a scoring attempt.

Activation order - hugely dependant on ball position. If opponent has a threat on goal activation changes. Also depends on whether rage is in combat or charge range. Want to get that charge off whenever possible to generate 4 attacks from 1 inf.

Overall I'm loving how the team plays. Synergy is in how you use the players and not what is on their cards and I really like that, there isn't the obvious A buffs B, B then does X going on every turn. It also means each player can work in isolation as required and not become inefficient.