Skip to main content

Season 2 Release of Dreadball - Initial Thoughts

I'm almost finished construction of my recently-received season two shipment. The models are of the same quality as the first release and overall I think they're very nice. The material is sturdy and even fine details like pointed fingers outstretched arms don't worry me. I'm confident that a model dropped on the floor won't shatter on impact.

I received all four of the new teams: Corporation Females, Judwan, Robots and the Z'zor. I paid for an extra team of the Judwan and Females, so I have several extra figures that I can use for new teams or maybe to paint as free agents. I don't need to decide any time soon.

As with the season 1 teams, each one comes with a different sculpt for each player role, but no variation between models for that role. I haven't cleaned all of the mold lines from the models yet, only doing the spots that I need to for construction, or that looked like they'd be difficult to reach afterwards.

Over the course of two or two and a half hours I was able to construct all the teams except the Z'zor. The Z'zor models have quite a number of pieces so they'll take a little bit longer.  Sadly one of the guard models for this team had a badly miscast upper body component. I thought about complaining to Mantic, but once the figure was put together I decided that it was fairly minor. With a little careful painting is should be largely unnoticeable.

The robot team is the outlier, coming with ten figures instead of eight. This is because the basic team roster starts with six jacks, all of which can transform into other roles. You also get two striker models and two guard models. The legs on the robots are rather thin and a few of my figures were a little bit bent up from shipping. I've fixed that by dunking them in some hot water then setting them in cold water. No problem!


Sebastien and I played our first game on Sunday using the robots vs. the Judwan. I really enjoyed the Judwan team. They're a finesse team for sure, requiring a very different mindset to play. They're very fast and can throw the ball farther than any other team. The downside of this is that you'll never be able to slam an opposing player, and thus can never force your opponent to change his lineup short of catching them committing a foul. The scoring ability of the Judwan is very high if not properly properly defended against!

We're both on the fence about the utility of the robot team. In the right hands I can see some solid potential, but the quick change rule almost seems like a hindrance as opposed to a benefit. Sebastien had some trouble making the transformations count, and often choosing what role a player should have seemed harder than what they should actually do. That said, I'm certainly not ready to write them off after only one game and want to play a few games using them myself.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Coming of Galactus FAQ

The Coming of Galactus Frequently Asked Questions Compiled by Paul Ross, with contributions from Dave DeLaney, David Harris, and Edwin Teh Last updated November 16, 2007 1. Applicable cards in this set are legal for sanctioned Constructed tournaments upon release. All cards are legal for sanctioned Constructed tournaments except Planets and the Galactus avatar. 2. Epic plot twists Plot twists with version Epic can’t be negated. 3. Opposing and friendly Opposing cards or effects are those controlled by one of your opponents. Friendly cards or effects are those controlled by you or a friendly (non-opposing) player. 4. Worldeater locations The Worldeater locations were printed with their names and versions reversed. All should have version Worldeater. As a result: • Flipping an exact copy of a Worldeater you already control will invoke the uniqueness rule. • Flipping a Worldeater when you control a Worldeater with a different name will not. 5. Giant-Size VS FAQs A summary of the Giant-Si...

A Spot of Fiction: Part 3

Outside, the two searching figures slowly return to the main building. As they approach the light from their flashlights reflects off of the building and their shapes resolve. They're wearing simple, nondescript military style uniforms and armed with automatic weapons. One of them snarls at the other, "There's nothing out here except coyotes, dirt and wind. Besides, if I were in charge I'd have come out here and checked it out myself!" "Yeah right! If you were in charge we'd all be dead already Carlson. That door was rusted shut, I'd bet money on it. Ain't no coyote cracking it open like that," says the second guard. They pause outside the door and turn off the flashlights and he digs a pack of cigarettes from his shirt pocket. Lighting up a cigarette he offers the pack to his companion. "So if it ain't a coyote what the hell was it? Nothing around here for miles!" "I don't know Staves, but I'm not taking that...

Errata Discussion

Here's my first-ever joint article! Thanks to Scott Mooney for providing counter-point to my ramblings. Following the release of Marvel Universe and Marvel Evolution there has been a lot of discussion among our player group (and online) about the powers of certain cards, both in terms of sheer power and in terms of wording. I'm sure most of you are familiar with the debate brought on by the 3-cost, Exiles-affiliated Blink. We'll not be discussing that particular card today, but rather some other combinations you may or may not have thought of. Scott has built a very deadly Starjammers/X-Factor/X-Men deck that takes advantage of discard effects and Energize to lead to an amazing turn 7 combo using Cyclops, Astonishing X-Man and Havok, Proud Son. This combo can stun an opponent's board if they are unable to pay the discard required by Havok's ability. It is especially dangerous in a multi-player format and brought up some thoughts on designer intent versus the ...