Slaughterball: Team Gruesomes

Perhaps the toughest team in the league, the Gruesomes have yet to prove themselves as contenders to the Slaughterbrawl crown. Like their other teams inspired by classic literature, Chemozoic Incorporated contracted Honeydew Labs to create this team genetic template. And while the athletes certainly look the part, their traits and skills have made it difficult to rack up the victories necessary to snag the championship. The Gruesomes as a team rely on their resilience and sheer strength to dominate opponents and survive attacks. Unfortunately, they lack the hand-eye coordination and speed to have full access to all possible Slaughterball strategies. Indeed, their shooting game is perennially inadequate. Even so, previous coaches have managed to build them into a respectable foe over the course of a season by training them with new skills and concentrating on the strategies explained below. Coaching the Gruesomes is a challenging task, but your victories will be that much sweeter knowing it was your coaching ability, not the athleticism of your athletes, that won the day. They are slower and less accurate than other teams, and as such you cannot rely on a shooting game to win. Instead, you should doggedly attack your opponents, even taking risky chops to knock them down. You should be chopping every turn. And get everyone moved toward the center of the pit as soon as possible. Field coverage is imperative for the Gruesomes, so they are always in range to attack someone. Your athletes’ resilience will help them stay out of the Slaughter Box, and the great Brawling values will usually result in chop success. Once you have your opponent on the ground, send your slashers and butchers over to foul them on the ground and then cancel any Penalty cards with the Scare Ref skill. Interrupt cards are very important to your fouling strategy, so be sure to cycle through your hand quickly. If you don’t have any Interrupt cards, discard your whole hand to find some. Being able to attack prone opponents and get four extra dice is paramount. Especially when you can avoid Penalties.