play: dreadball league: da albinorks

My FLGS started a seven-player Dreadball league last week and there was no way I wasn't in. Having played my Forgefather team, Rammers of Krass Brokkr pretty much exclusively since Adepticon 2013, including a five-player league in January/February, I decided en route to my first game that I'd switch over to Da Albinorks and see what they had to offer.

(Apologies for this being a text only post. I get so caught in playing that I forget to take pictures of my games. I hope to rectify as the league progresses.)

The league is set up in two week time periods where we're required to play two matched games set up by the league commissioner. In addition to the usual player advancement, player death, league scoring, and monetary winnings, these games net a +5MC "appearance fee" just for showing up. During the same time period, we're allowed two "off books" games that retain the player consequences and potential monetary winnings, but have no appearance fee and do not count in league scoring. They're truly a gamble, and add a bit of excitement outside of the regular league games.

Da Albinorks: Starting Roster
#	Name	Role	Exp.	Rank	Move	Str	Spd	Skill	Armour	Abilities	Value
1	Bule	J		1	5	5	3	4	4		9
2	Cracker	J		1	5	5	3	4	4		9
4	Gringo	J		1	5	5	3	4	4		9
5	Redneck	J		1	5	5	3	4	4		9
6	Peckerwood	J		1	5	5	3	4	4		9
9	Honkey	G		1	5	3	4	5	4		13
11	Whitey	G		1	5	3	4	5	4		13
14	The Man	G		1	5	3	4	5	4		13
				Dice:	1	Cards:	1	mc:	0	Total Value:	100

I kicked off Da Albinorks' season with a scheduled match against an equally fresh human team with a rookie coach. The humans put up a good fight, but a 3-turn slam in the first Rush followed by a 4-point score in the third set a pace the Humans just couldn't match. Over 11 turns, the Humans' dice failed them whenever it counted, and Da Albinorks walked away with a 7-point victory that saw both Peckerwood and The Man level up.

Da Albinorks: After Game 1
#	Name	Role	Exp.	Rank	Move	Str	Spd	Skill	Armour	Abilities	Value
1	Bule	J		1	5	5	3	4	4		9
2	Cracker	J		1	5	5	3	4	4		9
4	Gringo	J		1	5	5	3	4	4		9
5	Redneck	J	1	1	5	5	3	4	4		9
6	Peckerwood	J		2	5	5	3	4	4	A Safe Pair of Hands	14
9	Honkey	G		1	5	3	4	5	4		13
11	Whitey	G	1	1	5	3	4	5	4		13
14	The Man	G		2	5	3	4	5	4	360 Vision	18
				Dice:	2	Cards:	1	mc:	10	Total Value:	127

Da Albinorks, riding high on their success accepted an off-books invite from another Human team. This game was crazy, with the Human coach using his underdog bonus to secure both Rico Van Dien and The Enforcer to help him out. And help him they did! The Enforcer killed Bule on the first Rush, Rico scored on the third, and the Enforcer again quenched his thirst for blood in the 5th. After that, Da Albinorks had had enough. Whitey's rage took over, killing both The Enforcer and a Striker on Rush 6! Despite additional kills and 3-turn hits from Whitey and Honkey late in the game, Da Albinorks just couldn't get their offense together and lost by 5.

Da Albinorks: After Game 2 (off-books)
#	Name	Role	Exp.	Rank	Move	Str	Spd	Skill	Armour	Abilities	Value
1	Ghost	J		1	5	5	3	4	4		9
2	Cracker	J		1	5	5	3	4	4		9
4	Gringo	J		1	5	5	3	4	4		9
6	Peckerwood	J		2	5	5	3	4	4	A Safe Pair of Hands	14
9	Honkey	G	1	1	5	3	4	5	4		13
11	Whitey	G	1	2	5	3	4	5	4	Can't Feel a Thing	18
14	The Man	G		2	5	3	4	5	4	360 Vision	18
				Dice:	2	Cards:	1	mc:	12	Total Value:	124

I've managed to get a jump on our second two-week interval and things are starting to heat up. Stay tuned for further updates!

paint: dreadball: da (new) albinorks

Back in 2010, with Australian Podcasters practically shouting sweet nothings into my ears, I got a hankering to play Games Workshop's (now defunct) fantasy sports game, Blood Bowl. The problem? Nobody around I knew played. The solution? Adepticon has a yearly Blood Bowl event known as The Stupor Bowl. I signed up at first opportunity and got to work assembling a team from various fantasy Orcs waiting in the wings for a (now defunct) Warhammer Fantasy Battles project. The result was a fun little team I affectionately named "Da Albinorks" that somehow managed to get the ball across the line on the last play of the last game of the day, saving me from being dead last in the tournament.

Da Albinorks: Blood Bowl

Three years later, I played in Adepticon's Dreadball tournament and had an absolute blast, wanting to sing Dreadball's praises to the masses. But for that, I'd need a second painted team to demo with. A team without a well researched, faux-background or elaborate team logo. A team that was already assembled, that could paint up quickly. A team like... the Marauders! But no matter what variation of armor and skin-tone I mapped out, I kept coming back to that Blood Bowl team from 2010. Partially because I had so much fun painting and playing with them. Mostly because I they sit on a shelf easily visible from my painting area, mocking me...

So I revisited the concept, making a few, notable changes to the scheme. I dropped most of the the blacks and greys, using multiple shades of green for variety. I also subdued the bronze and added in a couple shades of brown at the straps. I like to think of 'em as Da Albinorks after a slick marketing guy from the future decides that their skin doesn't have enough chlorophyll for instant brand recognition.

Albinorks: front

Albinorks: rear

Albinorks: Jack, outta the box

Albinorks: Guard your back

Yeah, I know. There are visible mold lines, the paint work is sloppy, and the pictures kinda suck. I'm okay with the two of those. This project was a quick-and-dirty way to get a second team on the table, painted, and it does that pretty well. It was never meant to win any awards. I've got other projects in the pipe-line for that...