The Match Day Report - Pre-season training

The official PDF rules for Guild Ball have now been released and you can find them here. I must say that I am very excited about this as from the moment I saw the Kickstarter campaign pre-launch info, I loved the aesthetic and the idea of the game. 

Although due to time restraints I haven't been involved in the field testing, I have been keeping an eye on the progress throughout the months. Seeing the miniatures develop and keeping tabs on the discussions, I have to admit that it is seeming even better than I had hoped from the first glance of the Kickstarter page.

Such fantastic work is proving difficult for me to decide upon a starting team, so to recap, these are the options I chose as part of my backer rewards:

Alchemists

When I saw their artwork as the first of the second set of teams, I loved the idea of them. I have to say that the big draw of this team was Katalyst. I've not seen the finished model, but if he's half as good as that picture I'll be very happy indeed.

Their playstyle seems to be very much about positioning AoEs to block areas of the board, which I think is very intriguing. Certainly this isn't a style that I've played very much in any of the other games I play, with probably the closest being Jarl's feat in Hordes. That said, I think although I won't play them initially they will be a nice team to have as a second option once I've got a handle on the rules.

Butchers

The artwork for this team was the reason I gave the project a second look. Before I saw them, I had heard about it, and hadn't given it much thought, however following a chance second post  link to the Kickstarter page and seeing the team art, I was hooked by the aesthetic.

Their playstyle seems to be one of the more, if not the most blunt of all the teams, which given some of my previous armies, is no bad thing. I keep darting back to these guys as my first choice and it is a good bet, with their prodominant colour being red, that these may be the first team to get a coat of paint as Red is something I actually feel I do to a reasonable level.

Masons

When it came to choosing my teams on the Backerkit survey, I was really pushed as to whether to opt for these guys or for the Fishermen. In the end I chose these guys, though I'm still conflicted by the choice. From a miniature stand point I love the simplicity of the Masons.  I think they are an 'honest' aesthetic whereby their strength isn't in the intricate detail, but the plainer functionality of each model, whereas the Fishermen are the sort of models that you notice something new each time. Certainly from a painting angle, it will be quicker to get the Masons done and dusted.

From a play point of view, these guys seem to be the 'average'. Reasonably solid, yet still with a few tricks they can work in unison as well as independently. Certainly this is a playstyle that I'm used to with Trolls and Convergence in warmachine and Hordes and in certain crews in Malifaux. Because of this I do keep cycling back to these guys.

Brewers

I wasn't as blown away by these guys when they were announced, or rather, the other teams were more of a draw, however over the last few weeks, and having seen the Resin masters, i bitterly regret having not increased my pledge to four teams, though in truth would four have been enough then?

I've since pre ordered this team and I'm looking forward to giving them a whirl, but as they aren't part of the Kickstarter rewards I will be receiving, I won't receive them soon enough to use them for my first few games. 

In the end I suspect it will come down to gut instinct when I actually get the models in front of me. I know that Luke certainly wishes that I would make my mind up as he is struggling to make his own decision and my darting about isn't making that any easier for him.