Hey everyone! We did it! October weekends are done and Season 4 is underway. Time for that sweet sweet Longshanks smack you crave!
Wait… we only had like 2 weeks so far… and SCUS is super mixed up w S3/S4 blend ugh. Well… I guess we’ll kick the charts out another month and rely on the anecdotal opinions of some random scrubs I found hanging around.
On to the questions!
#1) Name two Guilds you think will be early S4 successes:
Ian – Hunters and Butchers Both teams got massive damage buffs. The hunters are the real winners of the general upwards shift in influence values.
Glenwood – Hunters and Morticians. Specifically Skatha and Scalpel both have new incarnations for which many are not prepared.
Pete – Butcher’s and alchemists because they got really nice changes. It will take some experience to adjust to their new power level
Frank – Hunters and Butchers, especially Hunters
Pat – Expect Hunters and Butchers to be strong early in season 4. Both teams bring strong stat lines and playbooks. They also have a proactive plan that is easily understood by newcomers to the guilds.
Jared – Butchers and Masons. Both teams I consider to be easy to play and their core gameplay did not change much.
Mike – Hunters, Morticians.
Alex – Hunters and Morticians. Both got big upgrades and are at or near the top of power level. Hunters in particular will run the season I think.
#2) Name a Guild you think is being overhyped
Ian – Morticians. Scalpel is exciting and all and the team seems more solid than it’s ever been but I don’t think it’s going to be the team to beat once the hype dies down.
Glenwood – Alchemists. The team now has to get closer to do their thing, and the damage numbers for S4 in many guilds are quite a bit higher. I think the other S-tier guilds are going to be able to keep them in check, which will possibly make them a bad Meta pick.
Pete – Alchemists are over hyped. When I played games at Steamcon, everyone and their mom was playing alchemists.
Frank – Scalpel, she asks some strong questions but I feel like her weak counter attack and lack of answers are going to hold her down
Pat – While I think Blacksmiths are probably overall stronger than they were in season 3, the other guilds have gotten significantly stronger as well. They’re above average, but Hunters, Butchers and Alchemists will keep them suppressed at high levels.
Jared – Alchemists. I believe they are tricky to play in that they will require accurate counter drafting and seem quite vulnerable at times.
Mike – Navigators. They are good, but will struggle into the top players and teams that can anticipate their plan and disrupt it.
Alex – Blacksmiths. I’m guilty of this as well, but while a lot of their pieces got better, their matchups against most of the best guilds in game look brutal. They got kind of unlucky in that way.
#3) Name a Guild you think folks are sleeping on:
Ian – Engineers These guys have been really good since midway through season 3. I don’t think they were hurt that badly by the season 4 changes. They got nothing all that new so most people will continue to sleep on them.
Glenwood – Union, specifically Blackheart Union. Blackheart was always unfairly slept on in S3 and he gained some good new toys for S4 in the form of Snakeskin, momentous tackle Mist, improved Marked Target, and cheaper Second Wind.
Pete – Brewers are not trash! Everyone is so down on them. They got some really interesting changes to vet spigot and tapper and mash. I want to try them out.
Frank – Engineers, I like their game into the top tier.
Pat – Alchemists. Smoke seems exceptionally strong, but very easy to play badly. When played well I think Smoke is a top tier captain that makes Alchemists competitive with Hunters, Butchers, and Morticians.
Jared – Ratcatchers. I played them the other day and was surprised how well they scrum with momentum denial. Piper is so dynamic!
Mike – Masons? People are rating them well, but they will be really strong in s4, probably stronger than some think.
Alex – Navigators. If there’s a team that has a legitimate shot of winning games on a 3-goal plan, it’s them. Most successful minor guild design so far.
#4) Say a player comes to you looking for one piece of advice in Season 4. They’re an intermediate level player hoping to break into the upper echelons of Guild Ball Godery. What would you tell them?
Ian – There’s no substitute for practice. Reps against good players, ideally players better than you, are invaluable. It will help you play faster and analyze the state of the board. Having a plan is great but it’s not worth much if you can’t execute it or not grounded in experience.
Glenwood – Learn the threat ranges of your opponent’s models, which really means learning the threat ranges of every model in the game. If you can’t memorize them then at least learn about every threat extension each team has. Manage to control exactly who your opponent can engage, how they have to do it, and having the patience to commit to a turn 1/turn 2 standoff if needed.
Pete – Just play a ton of games, play people outside your meta, and soak up GB content. I started getting better at GB when I started travelling to national events as well as listening to and watching top players. Playing in tournaments like STC, Spring Fling, steamcon, howzat, and this year BTO have given me a lot of experience and knowledge to really improve as a GB player.
Frank – Borrow guilds from locals and play all the perceived strong teams, see what they struggle with, it’s fine to one trick but it’s a huge boon to get perspective.
Pat – Think a lot about how the lineup you’re playing actually wants to win against each specific guild and recognize that it will often vary dramatically. Standoffs seem more prevalent in S4. Understand positioning, and when to break or extend the standoff to your advantage.
Jared – Learn your team inside and out. Experiment with everything even if you think its dog crap. I feel with the increase in rosters to 12 it will be important to know how to counter draft your opponent.
Mike – Evaluate your decisions, the pros and cons to doing them. Both during the game as you are deciding, and afterwards. Try to ask yourself – what is the overall goal of what I am trying to do this activation/turn and what steps do I need to get there? What could get in my way?
Alex – Focus your game plans on how to pressure opponents. In a season where many guilds have gotten better at killing and the game is faster and possibly less interactive as a result, learning when you can dictate your opponent’s actions through the pressure of points conceded is more crucial than ever.
Thanks as always for reading everyone! As always, leave us feedback on the content and let us know what you think!
(*note, some quotes contain grammatical editing)
Momentous Tackle 