Team Talk- Trontek

Team Talk- TRONTEK 29ERS

Season One Humans

Introduction

Literally the poster-boys of the Dreadball universe, the Trontek 29ers are one of the most popular teams in the fiction and on the tabletop.  This popularity is down to three factors.  Firstly, they come in the core box set, so lots of players are going to own them.  Secondly, most players of Dreadball are humans in real life, and therefore find the Trontek 29ers to be relatable ‘good guys’.  Lastly, they are a well-balanced and flexible team, easy to learn and still competitive many seasons from their release.

The TRONTEK 29ERS

Player Breakdown

A basic team consists of 8 players; 2 Guards, 3 Jacks, and 3 Strikers.  As in most fantasy/sci-fi universes, humans are Mr Joe Average, the benchmark of normality against which weird aliens and unfamiliar robots are measured; this is of course reflected in their stats. 

They have a healthy, but not too vigorous movement of 5, letting them sprint up to 10 hexes, and can reliably get an extra hex or two at a push from their Speed of 4+.  Their Skill of 4+ is pleasantly dependable when rolling more than one dice for shooting or picking up the ball, and their Strength of 4+ is enough to press with.  Their stat line is completed by their armour save of 4+ for the Jacks and Guards, and (the only stat that is not 4+) 5+ on the Strikers

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Team Assets

The Trontek 29ers begin with 2 cards, and 1 Coaching Dice; the highest value assets of any starting team.  The Dreadball cards, and the ability to buy 2 new ones a turn, offer the 29ers greater flexibility of actions and a significant grip on the game ‘event’, which should never be unfavourable.  The lone coaching dice might pale in comparison to the 3 that the Void Sirens, season 2’s human team, but can be used to good effect in ensuring that a strike is made, hopefully earning another back in the process.

Stark Industries 26ERS

Team Tactics

The Trontek 29ers are an incredibly flexible team, jacks of all trades but masters of none.  In game, the Trontek coach must identify where the opposing team is lacking, and press the advantage.  For example, against a strikey team such as the Asterians or Judwan, Trontek must play as a fighting team.  Make use of your two Guards to take out your opponents players, block up your rear strike hex with Jacks to limit the scoring potential of your foe, and use the strikers to keep the game going.  Ultimately, you should be able to move ahead with points as the opposing players cease to be available.  Against bashy teams like Teratons or Orx, Trontek needs to play the striking game, using the guards to free up the rear hexes of the enemy and relentlessly score 3 and 4 pointers, before too many players are incapacitated.

The Barr's Girder Grinders

League Play

Although two Trontek teams might start the same, you can be absolutely sure that by the end they’ll be worlds apart.

In leagues, players earn experience based on the success of their actions in game.  If you find that your first few games that you are pushing hard to score big with your strikers, these models will rank up and become more valuable players based on their abilities.  Alternately, if you find yourself putting more focus on your guards, these will level up faster; Trontek jacks are rarely the ones to gain the experience, except by being declared ‘Man of the Match’.  Where this early experience falls will likely determine the focus of your team moving forward, as your strategy forms around the newfound ability of your players.  If your Guard gains Keeper, he’ll fall into a more defensive role, if he gains a Strength increase he’ll be used more aggressively, and when you have gained multiple, similar upgrades across the team, a clear focus and strategy will emerge that differentiates your team from other Trontek coaches.

Upgrades to be aiming for are Strength on your Guards and Skill on your Strikers.  Other favourites of mine are 360 Degree Vision, which makes Strikers very adept at catching the ball, letting them camp in the 3/4 point zone, and gives Guards the great defense of a literal all-round offense, and defensive traits like Grizzled and Duck & Weave to push the odds of survival further in you favour. For Strikers the Backflip skill is also a very useful still as it allows players to get back on their feet and counts as a double result, so offers a free action. As long as you don't have the ball you can keep dashing until you fall over without worrying about losing an action to stand up when you do.

Another advantage that Trontek has in a league is the relatively cheap cost of new players; at 8mc for a Jack or 10mc for a Guard or Striker, filling up your roster with subs or specialists with a bit of XP is easy! 

Don’t forget to spend some cash on some extra team assets too; a coach goes a long way, and extra coaching dice are useful when levelling up, as well as in game.

The Encom Gridrunners

Tournament Play

The Trontek 29ers are a great team to take to a tournament; they are flexible, forgiving, and a competitive choice. 

Most Dreadball tournaments provide a coach with 20mc in order to buy upgrades and assets for the team, so how should this be spent? 
Personally, I would never be without a coach, usually an offensive one, but many people choose defensive. Getting off an offensive play in the right turn can be the difference between victory and your opponent getting another chance to foil your plans; three actions on one player allows you to pick up the ball, position yourself correctly for the strike (which can be quite far away if you doubled the pick-up), and make your strike attempt on the most dice possible, maximising your chance of success.  This can be done with a defensive coach, but I prefer the reliability of rolling four dice. The coach costs 8mc.

This leaves 12mc, which can be spent quite neatly on two additional coaching dice at 6mc each.This gives Trontek three coaching dice in total; I tend to spend these on must succeed, unopposed actions, such as striking and picking up the ball. Having three gives you plenty to use without having to earn any more, although it is likely that you will with all the big point strikes you will be making!

Alternately, skills for your various players can be bought.  These cost 5mc each, and if you can land a Striker with a skill improvement you are in for big fun (and big hospital bills when your opponent throws everything at him).  However, I am averse to buying skills as they must be rerolled every tournament game, and thus can be unreliable.

Teo-Te-Wakan Temple Guard

Conclusion

The Trontek 29ers are a great team to introduce you to the game of Dreadball due to their simple, easy to remember rules, and ability to succeed in all situations.  Not only that but they remain a competitive choice as you develop your skills as a coach, providing various directions in which to develop. 
All in all, I would recommend them to any new player as their first team, and injected with your own team theme and personality, I believe the Trontek 29ers are a team that veteran players will keep coming back to.