Last night we played the final game of the regular season for the Calgary Dreadball League. It had taken a few tries to get the game scheduled, but we finally did it and had a top-notch, down-to-the wire game of epic proportions play itself out on the table top.
Lair's "Mistakonic University Elite" was up against my "Berserker Island Beasts." With my team holding a 3-0 record, Lair could essentially decide who would take 1st place and earn a bye into the championship game. Orrin's "Rinberg Rallarat Rebellion" held a 3-1 record and a whopping 9 league points, so if I were to lose he would take first place.
I ended up as the visiting team and we kicked off. There was little in the way of scoring through the first 10 rushes, with the nameless guards really locking me down. Two of my guards were put out for a few turns. The high speed of my Veer-myn saved many of them from certain death, but mid-game the sheer number of dice I was losing in tests ended up with two of my strikers being killed.
In the 11th rush the MUE were able to score a 3-point strike and put me in a seriously tough spot, needing to score 4 points to win. In the 12th rush I was able to get into position for a strike attempt but failed, and in doing so left my 3-point zone unguarded. Some very good luck for me (or bad if you're Lair), resulted in a failed 3-point strike attempt by one of his strikers in the 13th.
Lair's recap of the 14th rush makes it sound way better than I ever could, so here's a little guest commentary on the end of the game.
"That was an epic game. In the final rush the [Veer-myn] striker in his own end Run action to evade (-2 dice) away from the tentacled grasp of my guard. Grab the ball (-3 dice) Doubles the pick up (5+) Evades again, runs and throws a 9 distance pass with two success (5+) The receiving striker despite being in the threat hex of my guard. Doubles the catch on two dice, evades and twists into the 4 point strike hex. Two dice (5+) then scores three success to showboat to victory by 1.
Great end to a really good match. Congrats Charles on heading to the finals of season three. I was a little in shock it worked, but it was awesome (even though I was on the wrong side of the dice). "
In the first game of the season I had tried to make a pass early on and it failed spectacularly. After that I realized that skill 5+ does not make for good passing plays. With several of the other teams I've played with, passing was a frequent tactic for me to use. With this game I was sure that the Nameless had the game all sewn up, but when the striker missed on his 3-point attempt in the 13th, the long-bomb passing play was my only option. If I hadn't gotten my offensive play call success at the start of the 14th, none of it would have been possible either.
One of the things I have loved about Dreadball from the start is that you can have a game go right down to the wire and still be exciting. I got lucky in so many ways in this game and could easily have lost by 6!
The Berserker Island Beasts take a bye into the championship game. The remaining four teams will vie against each other in a game of Dreadball Ultimate (tentatively scheduled for March 13th), with the winner facing off against the Beasts for the season 3 championship title.
Lair's "Mistakonic University Elite" was up against my "Berserker Island Beasts." With my team holding a 3-0 record, Lair could essentially decide who would take 1st place and earn a bye into the championship game. Orrin's "Rinberg Rallarat Rebellion" held a 3-1 record and a whopping 9 league points, so if I were to lose he would take first place.
I ended up as the visiting team and we kicked off. There was little in the way of scoring through the first 10 rushes, with the nameless guards really locking me down. Two of my guards were put out for a few turns. The high speed of my Veer-myn saved many of them from certain death, but mid-game the sheer number of dice I was losing in tests ended up with two of my strikers being killed.
In the 11th rush the MUE were able to score a 3-point strike and put me in a seriously tough spot, needing to score 4 points to win. In the 12th rush I was able to get into position for a strike attempt but failed, and in doing so left my 3-point zone unguarded. Some very good luck for me (or bad if you're Lair), resulted in a failed 3-point strike attempt by one of his strikers in the 13th.
"Bottom of the 13th, down by 3..."
Lair's recap of the 14th rush makes it sound way better than I ever could, so here's a little guest commentary on the end of the game.
"That was an epic game. In the final rush the [Veer-myn] striker in his own end Run action to evade (-2 dice) away from the tentacled grasp of my guard. Grab the ball (-3 dice) Doubles the pick up (5+) Evades again, runs and throws a 9 distance pass with two success (5+) The receiving striker despite being in the threat hex of my guard. Doubles the catch on two dice, evades and twists into the 4 point strike hex. Two dice (5+) then scores three success to showboat to victory by 1.
Great end to a really good match. Congrats Charles on heading to the finals of season three. I was a little in shock it worked, but it was awesome (even though I was on the wrong side of the dice). "
In the first game of the season I had tried to make a pass early on and it failed spectacularly. After that I realized that skill 5+ does not make for good passing plays. With several of the other teams I've played with, passing was a frequent tactic for me to use. With this game I was sure that the Nameless had the game all sewn up, but when the striker missed on his 3-point attempt in the 13th, the long-bomb passing play was my only option. If I hadn't gotten my offensive play call success at the start of the 14th, none of it would have been possible either.
One of the things I have loved about Dreadball from the start is that you can have a game go right down to the wire and still be exciting. I got lucky in so many ways in this game and could easily have lost by 6!
The Berserker Island Beasts take a bye into the championship game. The remaining four teams will vie against each other in a game of Dreadball Ultimate (tentatively scheduled for March 13th), with the winner facing off against the Beasts for the season 3 championship title.
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