Pitch Invasion - October

It's that time of the month again! October's Pitch Invasion was one of the biggest since I started to play there - 28 coaches showed up to play the 4-game one-dayer, including my fellow Pitch Invaders, meaning a NAF shield was definitely up for grabs. As usual, the field was a competitive one, with a couple of Team Wales regulars and a number of high-quality coaches in the mix.

Unlike other PIs, this time around there was absolutely zero doubt what I was bringing. Vampires were the first team I tried to play seriously on BB2 (to disastrous results), and semi-seriously on BB2020 (to slightly less disastrous results). With the recent revamp (sorry not sorry), I had a feeling that the time had come for this team that had long been a borderline joke roster to really shine. So when the team came out two weeks ago, I just had to get it, paint it up and see what it could do. Due to planned vacations, though, I would get no chance to play them until the tournament itself (and had barely enough time to paint them!) so I had to take a stab at the roster and hope for the best. Here is what I ended up going with:

Player	Skills
Vargheist	Juggernaut
Thrower	Block, Dodge
Thrower	Leader
Blitzer	Strip Ball
Runner	Block, Dodge
Runner	Pro
7x Thrall
3x RR, 1x Coach

I thought long and hard about what to bring here. I felt two Throwers were a must, as were the two Runners - 4 versatile players who can move the ball around, Hypno or blitz effectively. One Blitzer was also a shoo-in, as the Strip Ball + Juggs combo on a ST4 AG2 piece was just too good to pass up. With that as the core of the team, no ball is ever safe!

The sixth positional took some more thinking. Taking both a second Blitzer and a Vargheist, though technically possible, was out of the question, as that would mean rocking up with 7 Bloodlust pieces, 6 Thralls and only 2 RRs! The Blitzer is slightly more reliable than the Bat Ogre due to no Loner and at 40k less would have allowed an extra Thrall, but the Varg seemed too good not to take with its ST5, AV10, Frenzy, and Claws.

Next dilemma was skills. Strip Ball Blitzer and Leader Thrower were almost an auto-pick to bump us up to 4 RRs (and I would need every last one of them!), and Blodge on a Runner to maximise its versatility. I toyed with the idea of putting Mighty Blow and Block on the Bat Ogre for maximum removal, but that would have cost too many skills on a roster that needs them dearly, so I settled for Juggernaut which has the added benefit of easy surfs and 1TTD assistance. This left me with 3 more skills - originally I had thought Pro Runner, Pro Thrower and Kick Thrall, but the allure of a ST4 AG2 blodger won me over so I dropped the kicker and doubled up on the Thrower.

So, how did the roster fare?

The Games

I'll be honest here: usually I can remember fairly well how the games went, turn by turn. I'll make the odd mistake but generally I'll get the gist of it and the main plays down. The thing is with these Vamps, more things happened in a single game than in entire tournaments with other teams. This was always somewhat the case with Vamps, but they were tempered by the harsher Bloodlust/Animal Savagery rules and the lack of reliable ball handling. With these new rules, I felt there was very little reason not to go all in every turn, so the games got absolutely crazy. Unfortunately (or fortunately if you prefer brevity!) this means I can't remember them in as much detail as usual, so I will be a bit more abstract than usual here, give the general feel of the game instead of a play-by-play. At the end I'll give a general overview of how I felt about Vampires, for good measure.

Now without further ado...

Round 1: Alchemist, Vampires

28 coaches, only 2 Vampire coaches - of course, round 1 has to be a mirror match! I have played Alchemist a couple times before (I got my first introduction to the, uh, delight that is Varagworld thanks to him!) and had always gotten a good game out of it - a perfect first match to see what this new roster could do!

He went in a different direction with his roster, bringing only 4 Vamps (2 Throwers & 2 Runners, all Blodged up) and Ivan "The Animal" Deathshroud for some punching power, rounding it all off with Thralls up to 14. I won the toss, and found myself with zero idea of what to do. Ultimately I decided to receive, reasoning that I could get a chance to remove some Thralls early and potentially keep Ivan controlled if I took the initiative. This more or less worked - I managed to knock down the Animal early and keep him busy with the Bat Ogre, while the rest of my team got to work with the whole scoring thing. Thralls were hardier than one would think on both sides, and few if any bites resulted in anything more serious than a stun. His vamps, however, took a beating, and I scored suitably late for the 1-0 half.

Second half, I went in for a sacking right off the bat (ha) and managed to get myself into a horrible mess as I kept getting in my own way (lesson 1 of the day: THINK before you Hypno!). Fortunately I recovered quickly and managed to pop the ball turn 2, eventually scoring the 2-0, which held until the end of the game.

I had heard people discuss Ivan in a Vamp roster before, and had strong doubts about it. This game reinforced that opinion for me - it was fairly easy to keep Ivan and his AG 4+ tagged and away from the action, whereas my Blitzer could happily dodge away and use his Strip Ball/Juggs combo to dispossess any carrier he hit, or in a pinch step in for the Hypno. He also had no easy answer to the Bat Ogre, who could rampage around and threaten both Ivan and the Throwers with his claws. All in all, though, a good intro to new Vamps and a fun (if slow and brain-hurting!) game.

Final result: 2-0 win

Round 2: Hekdar, Amazons

A Pitch Invasion regular! Seems like every tournament I get matched up to Hekdar, which I am always pleased about - always fun to play against, a great coach with a great attitude. He was playing Amazons with Dribl & Drull, and had thrown Block onto most of his team with Leader and Sure Hands on a Thrower. A solid roster, and Sure Hands would need dealing with before I could use my Strip Ball effectively.

I don't remember who won the toss, but Hekdar received the first kick-off. Instead of going for the ball right away, I decided to deal with the foul threat first and used my Hypno to clear a path to Dribl so I could punch the little blighter off the pitch. It took a couple turns but I finally managed to KO him with a Thrall foul (how do you like it, huh!), then set my sights on the ball. Sure Hands was no protection as I Hypnoed away a cage corner, Hypnoed the carrier then threw my Blitzer at her. The bounce was not particularly helpful and I did not manage to get the ball away before the Zons blitzed me right back, but this time the ball ended up in the hands of a terrified Thrall. A stab and a block did not manage to take him down, and he hurriedly handed off to a Vamp who then sped off downfield. I stalled out until my 8th and finished the half 1-0.

Second half, with my Vamps to receive, and Hekdar was down half his Star Player and one of the big girls. I went for a fast-ish score (turn 2 or 3 I believe?), relying on my Vamps' ability to turn the Zons over to do the rest. This time, though, I failed a rush at a key moment and I failed to stop Hekdar from bringing the score up to 2-1. This still left me 2 turns to score again, which I very nearly did, bringing the ball all the way to the end zone but failing the catch on the scoring line with no rerolls left. The ball mercifully did not leave the pitch, so Hekdar had no way of scoring, ending the match on a 2-1 and another victory for the Vamps.

This game was where I felt the Vampires really start to cook. There was very little the Zons could do - Hypno took away their biggest defensive advantages, wiping away Sure Hands, Block and Dodge to maximise the effectiveness of my blitzes, and making their screens irrelevant. I did, however, get a bit complacent here. I was rushing and dodging too much, and though I got lucky most of the time, that one failed rush meant I could do little to stop the score in the second half. Better reroll conservation and some more thoughtful positioning would likely have saved me there! I also think the novelty of the Vamps meant Hekdar did not know how to properly counter them and left me with easy dice on the ball with Hypno, which I'm sure he will not do again when he faces Vamps in the future. Having said that though, it's hard to see how you would defend against that - looking forward to seeing what strategies develop to counter them!

Final result: 2-1 win

Round 3: bgmcclean, Lizardmen

Hooooo boy what a game. I had met bgmcclean before at a Pitch Invasion, but never actually played against him. He brought an 11-man Lizard roster with block on all the Sauri, Guard on the Krox, 3 RRs and an Apo. Before we begin, my plan is simple: Hypno my way to the Skinks and remove those, then relax and let the TDs pour in.

The game started fairly normal - Kick goes deep, Lizards receive and keep Skinks back as Sauri pound on the Thralls, removing one turn 1. Then the Skinks move forward with the ball and all hell breaks loose. From turn 2 onwards there was not a single turn where the ball stayed on a Skink longer than one turn. Hypno and Strip Ball were used time and time and time again, the ball was popped, then recovered, then popped, then recovered, more times than I can count. All I can say for sure is that when the dust settled, the first half ended 1-0 to me and one Skink had been surfed and killed. Second half, I went for a quick score, going hard into the left flank but leaving a runner on the right. bgmcclean did a very good job shutting down the main thrust but Hypno made it a breeze to swing around and pass to the right-hand runner and score the 2-0 in turn 10.

2-0 up and I felt quite confident about the game. Again, though, that complacency bit me hard, as what should have been an easy sacking fell flat due to a snaked dodge. Had I thought to reposition free players first, I could maybe have still stopped the Lizards from scoring, but I didn't so they easily made the 2-1. No problem, I though, still plenty of time to get the 3rd in. Except this time it didn't work like that - I set up for another push down the flank, but the ball ended up on the wrong side, and dangerously close to the LoS. My thrower manages to pick it up, but then snakes the 2+ pass to get it into the runner's hands which would have then meant an easy 2-turner. Again, because I had failed to properly protect the pass, and the Lizards manage to swarm the ball and steal it. Another 4 turns of insanity follow, where the ball gets within 4 squares of both end zones at least twice, with some absolute bullshit plays from the Vamps to move it away followed by Skink shenanigans to bring it right back again, but ultimately the Lizards manage to wrest the ball away at the last minute and pull a stretch play that spends the last of his RRs but delivers the equaliser on turn 16.

This was an absolute blast of a game! Again, really showcased what Vamps are capable of: ball was never safe, and once it was recovered it was almost always possible to get it to the other side of the pitch quickly. As with the previous game, it also underscored the importance of good reroll management and careful planning and sequencing. Had I been a bit more careful, I could probably have prevented at least one of the two TDs the Lizards scored, and secured the win, though I think the choice to quick score on my drive was essentially correct. The Vargheist shone in this game as well, getting in a critical ball carrier surf and keeping the Krox entertained while the rest of the team did its thing. The Lizards' speed did make it hard for the Vamps to protect the ball once they had taken it, though, which is something to remember in future matches vs faster teams.

Final result: 2-2 draw

Round 4: Nonumber, Shambling Undead

Speaking of regulars - Nonumber is the owner of Tabletop Republic, TO for Pitch Invasion and a Team Wales veteran. Both of us had gone undefeated thus far and would be battling for the tournament win on table 1. He had one point over me, having one 3-0-0 to my 2-1-0, and so I would need the win here to take the shield home. A tall order, considering he's brought a fearsome Undead roster featuring 4 blodge Ghouls and 2 Tackle/MB wights!

Right of the bat, things start going wrong. A Pitch Invasion kickoff result (appropriate!) takes down my blitzer, denying me one of the LoS blocks. All 3 vampires that I attempt to move choose to bloodlust - first is my Pro runner, who thankfully passes her Pro, focuses on the game and Hypnogazes a Ghoul to remove the Blodge. Next is my Blodge runner, who had declared a blitz on the now Hypnoed Ghoul. I had set up a Thrall ahead of time, so could go ahead with the blitz, but the attack proved far deadlier to the Thrall than the Ghoul, CASing the former and merely knocking down the latter. Finally, my Thrower also bloodlusts when attempting to recover the ball, and though I have a Thrall ready next to the ball I choose to reroll as I can't be losing another Thrall this early, and I haven't done the LoS blocks yet. Of course, he then fails to pick up the ball, and at this point I choose not to reroll and take the turnover instead of wasting a second reroll on turn 1.

Nonumber predictably pounces on my now exposed runners, killing one outright (though Regen kicks in and saves her) and locking the other one between a Tackle and a Block piece. He also sends one of my LoS Thralls packing to the dugouts, bringing me down to 8 vs 11 for my turn 2. Things are going from bad to worse, and it as his Wight dispatches my second runner (again, Regen saves her) I see a slim chance of getting a score in by sending my Blodge thrower in for a potato on the other flank, with my Blitzer trying to knock down one of his safeties. I have to spend a RR to stop the Thrower from Bloodlusting, which leaves me down to 2 so when the Blitzer fails to achieve the pow I just let it happen and base his safeties to force a dodge. Nonumber has to rush twice and dodge a Ghoul out to get 2 dice, but it all works and he gets the pow he needs, which not only pops the ball but removes the vamp from play (not sure if a KO or another regen'd CAS), which eliminates any chance of recovering the ball next turn. I can do little more than watch as he removes the Blitzer and Bat Ogre (this time regen finally fails and Bogre is removed for good) and scores on the 8th turn of my drive.

My 4 KOs remain fast asleep, which added to the considerable number of casualties I've taken means I can't do much on his drive - with the ball going deep, I send my remaining 2 vamps downfield to try and threaten the carrier, but he sends the regen'd runner right back to the CAS box on the first attempt and that's that. The rest of the game is my sole remaining Vamp trying to pop the ball, occasionally succeeding, then being stomped on repeatedly while Nonumber comfortably walks in the T16 score. I try a 1-turn on my 16th for the hell of it but it fails pretty quickly as the second block yields two pows.

Now, it is very tempting to blame Nonumber's CAS dice for this - and they were hot - but I don't think that would be fair. He was playing very well, and my turns 1 and 2 were very bad. My setup was bad, I had no real plan beyond "Hypno the ghoul then hit it" and when everything went wrong I should have adapted and played more conservatively instead of going for the blitz anyway. I should also, in retrospect, not have rerolled the Bloodlust on the thrower, as the ball was not in immediate danger and just putting the vamp next to it would have been enough to protect it (even without tackle zones). I could have sequenced things a lot better, and I could have recovered from the T1 debacle a lot better. After that there was very little I could do with the few players I had left - I could have held back to try and protect the 0-0 instead of potatoing but that would have given him the chance to cover the whole pitch and snipe at my vamps with his Tackle MB pieces then foul them to oblivion, so I think that was still the right choice at the time even though it didn't work out. At any rate, it was going to be a hard game no matter what, and though it was a real downer at the time I think ultimately it was for the best that my early mistakes were punished so harshly, as I will remember them for a long time. Onwards and upwards!

Final result: 0-2 loss

Tournament record: 2-1-1

Closing Thoughts

So what do I think of the Vamps? I am very impressed. The first three games they felt utterly unstoppable, game 2 could have easily been a 3-0 and game 3 could have easily been a 3-1. There weren't any chumps in there either, all the coaches I faced knew what they were doing, but the combination of 5x Hypno pieces, Strip Ball + Juggs, reliable passing and MV 8 made them feel incredible to play. And the Vargheist, oh Nuffle the Vargheist! I was undecided going in, but it is an absolute beast of a Big Guy. It can be a roadblock, it can be a heavy blitzer, it can be a killer, it can surf, it can help with 1TTDs... just an all-round monster. Yes, it is expensive, but I feel losing the 14th player to upgrade a Blitzer to this thing is well worth it.

Regarding the new Bloodlust, I think it is more interesting and less punishing than before. You always have the option to just do your action then take the turnover and save your rerolls/your Thralls' lives. Compared to before, I found I had little trouble keeping them alive, as though the consequences of biting are worse, you can get away with biting a lot less often, so 6 Vamps 7 Thralls seemed like a reasonable mix where in ToL rules it would have been madness to even contemplate it, especially with just 1 Pro. Going back to being able to bite prone or stunned Thralls was also nice, as often it was better to just leave the LoS Thralls on the ground to be food for the Vamps when they inevitably need to Hypno or blitz around the midfield.

They do require very precise sequencing though, and I feel I did not do as good a job there as I could have. That is largely what I think cost me the win in game 3 and contributed to the disaster that was game 4, and it is absolutely the thing I will be focusing on next time. Reroll management is also critical, and I think part of the reason I had trouble with that is that I was going for the ball every turn. Just because you can take the ball (and with Vamps you almost always can!) doesn't mean you should, and my game vs Hekdar showed that sometimes it's worth using the Hypno to achieve more long-term strategic goals like removing dangerous players instead of going straight for the ball. The ball will always be vulnerable after all, so playing in such a way that improves your chances to take it for good once you do go in might make more sense than going straight in and burning all your resources when recovery isn't easy.

All in all, I think this was a fantastic tournament experience and I am delighted to have been on top table game 4 on my first outing with them, even if I ultimately couldn't seal the win. I feel like learnt a lot about how to play this new roster and am beyond excited to bring them back out next week at Filth-Tober!