A game about violent, medieval football. Win by kicking goals, or shanking your opponent's team, or a mix of the two.
I just started playing the Mason's guild and it's a fantastic game. The rules and proxy cutouts are all available for free at http://guildball.com/#downloads
I recommend anyone give it a shot, it's especially easy for Warmahordes players to pick up and needs only 6 models.
Bump for Morticians
Massive boom of it at my nearest store. really enjoyed it so far surprised there hasn't been a tread yet. This is my goal almost done.
I'll check it later.
>>44041337
I hate them
>>44038592
Is this "football" football (i.e. soccer), or gridiron American football?
If the latter, what does this offer over Blood Bowl? Or the other nearest clone, Dreadball?
>>44046025
>Help me, I can't go to the site linked in the OP and read!
Having done that, it looks like it's old school proto-soccer gone the route of Blood Bowl. As for what it offers over Blood Bowl... It's not a GW product? Gods know that's a selling point for half of /tg/.
>>44046025
to answer the second question, its much more of a skirmish game, no grids, each player is more of a character then dwarf 1, dwarf 2. alternating activation as well and it doesn't end for dropping the ball. you have 6 players aside a side and swap out before a game, small investment for a full team £50 to £60
>>44038592
>Hey guyse lets talk about a game, but first go to this site and read up on it!
Be polite OP, include some more info about the game even if it's just a copypaste of some marketing blurb.
>>44047079
There's nothing much to read, its basically a shit dreadball clone, that stole the focus/fury mechanic from Warmachine.
>>44046025
>>44046594
>>44047079
Football as in medieval English soccer.
It's more freeform than Bloodbowl and Dreadball, to call it a clone of either is incorrect. For starters it doesn't utilise a grid playmat, it's a proper skirmish game where models can move in 360 degrees
The closest game it shares similarities to is Warmachine, which isn't surprising given there's very high profile Warmachine players working on the game like Jamie Perkins from England (played for the English WTC this year).
However it's still very different from Warmachine, both games are heavily about positioning and resource management and they share the similar nature of tight functional rules and terminology, but Guild Ball uses player alternating activation sequences and a very different combat system.
There's more resources to manage than Warmachine, you essentially have two different focus pools that do different things. One you generate at the start of every turn, and one you generate by doing actions like hitting/knocking out opponents or passing the ball/scoring goals. Managing both resources is very important to the game.
The guild team playstyles vary wildly too. Butchers are all about melee combat, they score most of their points by taking down your opponent's models. Fishermen are the polar opposite, they play football, it's not uncommon for Fishermen to win without taking down a single opposing model, they're all about outplaying and running circles around their opponents. Other guilds all specialise in different areas, Morticians are control/denial based, Engineers play a ranged combat game, Masons are a synergy based jack of all trades team.
>>44047219
How is dreadball anywho?
I've never seen it talked on it's own merit before, merely bloodbowl in spess
>>44049791
The problem Dreadball had was it didn't have alot of marketing and it's pretty similar to Bloodbowl.
Bloodbowl's fanbase is hardcore and entrenched. They survived and looked after themselves when GW left the game for dead.
Mantic didn't do enough work behind convincing them to switch from their game to a very slightly different game, so it struggled to take off in most places.That's why you don't really hear shit about it.
>>44043803
git puppet stringed
>>44041402
there were few threads but it's been dismissed as either not! warmachine or not! bloodbowl.
>>44047219
Have you played the game? Other than they're both fantasy sports games, Guild Ball is nothing like Dreadball. Or Blood Bowl for that matter.
>>44049791
>>44049837
Personally I think the problem with Dreadball is that it's more like basketball/hockey than Blood Bowl - there's no "reset" after a score, which means you need to plan ahead for the turn after the score.
It's also nowhere near as punishing of failure, so it lacks some of the same sense of drama that Blood Bowl can create.
>>44038592
Help me, I literally cannot stop raping my meta with Fishermen.
>>44053506
What size games are you playing and what are you playing against?
>>44053673
Full size normal games, all factions represented.
Also I lied, I don't want help, I enjoy violating my opponents too much.
For those who need to look at the card on a mobile while playing, here's a website so you don't have to wait for the pdf to load
http://cards.playguildball.com/
Looking to pick up Brewers as my third team. Someone give me the over-under on Stoker.
I've played a few games using the paper tokens, and I just can't make the guy work. He's a greedy little shit and doesn't generate any Momentum half the time because he wants to be fireblasting instead of punching.
Is he just a sideboard tech piece for when you really need to light 4+ players on a fast team on fire all at once? I could see that being a totally legit use for him, I haven't played played Brewers into any teams like that yet.
>no pictures of the actual models on the website.
>most models are designed to have long, thin bits or stand on one leg, just begging to break off if you as much as look at them.
>Nearly all the designs are just very generic fantasy, it would be impossible to tell that this is combat football just by looking at them.
Red flags everywhere.
>>44056378
You're an autistic faggot, anon.
>>44055708
Think of him more like this, he's not there to generate Momentum, he's there to sap your opponent's Momentum by encouraging them to spend alot of it putting out burning effects (which also prevents them from using the same momentum to heal).
>>44056378
>not being an Infinity player
Could I get a run down on how the various factions play? Are there any factions that should be straight up avoided for either being stupid broken good/bad?
I've been looking at Brewers, they're pretty cool
>>44059862
Brewers are bit of a tank/disruptive bash team. Lot of knockdowns, 2 inch melee radius and average Def with armor/tough hide to soak.
Butchers are 90% bash. They shit out damage, are actually pretty sub par defensively, but still has a hell of a kicker from brisket.
Alchemists are faction based around applying debuff effects and being able to ignore them in response. Requires a very flexible mindset to play them
Engineers are masters at ball handling and ranged damage. It's a bitch to take balls away from them. They are also tanky as fuck if you are deploying the automatons.
Fisherman are opposite from butchers. They suck balls at fighting, but is the best kicking team in the game. They all tackle and dodge very easily and easily generate momentum through passing and 2 inch melee attacks.
Masons are the jack of all trade faction. A lot of friendly buffing interaction so they are least likely to recruit union members. Has a kicker that makes enemy men gay around him. Pretty hilarious.
Morticians are opposite. They are very sub par statwise but applies very heavy control on the enemy. Dictating enemy play is what they do best by controlling their action or activation order. Kinda shit at kicking until recently.
Union are the mercs of the game. You almost decide your team based on what union members you want. Almost zero synergy between models but each member are really strong specialists. Went and will likely go through lots of changes for balance.
I think I got them all.
fucking phone makes it hard to type
I have the rulebook and while it seems ok the teams and the fact that I am forced to use named characters don't interest me.
One of the best parts of Blood Bowl is developing your team, it's how they become yours and not just another human/orc team. The fact that this is missing is rather sad from what looked like a decent skirmish game.
>>44060285
That's the price of a balanced game unfortunately
>>44060285
Build your own minis and refluff them? It's not hard if you're willing to work on it. Sounds like you're just lazy
What's the best faction to start with?
>>44061697
Any. Butchers vs fisherman are recommended for demoing since they fall on extreme ends of game play for demonstrations
What's with the different seasons?
>>44062157
Basically think of them as new model releases and few game rule changes. new guild plots, circumstantial bonus that's triggered, are coming, some older players are going to get newer versions like how epic models work in warmachine.
>>44059862
None are blatantly better than the others right now, but the information coming in is skewed somewhat by the fact that community as a whole are still learning the game.
For example, there's alot of surprise that Masons are doing so well at tournaments, they were considered a really weak faction on release. You can look through alot of old conversations and you'll see a common theme is players ragging on Honor and Harmony, especially Harmony.
Now Honor is considered one the best captains in the game, and people are starting to realise that Harmony is actually really strong piece.
Either way balancing erratas are applied. It was decided as a whole most of the 40mm base "tank" type characters were under performing at their role. So most of them received various stat/unique rule additions to help them out in the October errata.
>>44063752
Don't masons still get eaten by butchers?
>>44064544
Everyone gets eaten by Butchers. If you try to take them head on you're playing their game, and they're the best at it.
Masons against Butchers comes down to outmaneuvering the Butchers. Masons are more mobile and tactically flexible so have a better football game than Butchers.
>>44064544
Butchers beat everyone in a straight up fight, there's no way around that. That's how they're designed as a guild.
However every guild has their own unique strengths. Masons have the advantage where they can fuck with the order of activations heavily. Brick's out of activation counter charge, Honour's link to Harmony, and Superior Strategy.
Ox can't just walk up to apply his double Auras, because if he does then Honor takes the next activation and Harmony can chain activate and take him off the board.
You use those with Flint to run circles around the Butchers and score goals, Flint is a much better footballer than anything the Butchers have access to, including Brisket.
>>44065104
>>44064751
So if Butchers are so amazing what stops them from just murdering everyone on the table? Stresses I read had them kicking the ball behind them and then just murdering the other team since they couldn't score.
That just sounds like bullshit
>>44065288
Relatively low def values. Butchers can shit out damage, but they are susceptible to a lot of abilities.
Also for that scenario, you either opt to receive or you pray that the opponent fucks up the kick.
>>44064544
>Don't masons still get eaten by butchers?
That's literally every team. The solution is don't get into a fair fight with the Butchers, because they win that match 11 times out of 10.
The faction with the single best striker in the game, activation shenanigans, and a Counter-Charge model with Concussion (suck a dick Boar!) should be able to deal with Butchers. If they can't, then the player has probably fallen into the "hurf durf me have Arm2, ME PUNCH GUD" trap.
>>44065288
The solution is you just don't fucking let them drag you into a brawl. They've got low defense, low Kick, only medium movement, and very few special abilities or plays that don't just equate to MORE DAMAGE.
With the exception of a single player (Brisket, who is an acceptable ball carrier) all they do is shit out damage. Other teams can bully them around with crowd control effects and superior scoring potential, or scalpel out their important synergy pieces to make the fight more even.
>>44065288
Because if they do that and leave a freeball behind them Mist or Flint can just run through them and pick up and score.
Flint can physically move 22" in one turn. He can sprint 8" twice, be given a 2" dodge from Honour, and then do another 4" dodge himself.
If the Butchers want to leave a freeball behind them you stall in the middle of the board while Flint goes around the flank to fetch the ball. If your opponent peels models to chase Flint then you take the advantage and start using Honour, Harmony, Mallet and Brick to alpha strike models off the board and take a numerical advantage in the centre.
>>44065426
>If they can't, then the player has probably fallen into the "hurf durf me have Arm2, ME PUNCH GUD" trap
That's pretty much why Masons were considered underwhelming and weak on the initial release. People hadn't had time to actually dig through all the synergy plays, like on Receiving Flint can pretty much guarantee a turn 1 goal.
I wonder how intentional it is that the guildball models, as compared to other fantasy sport models, look like fantasy non sport models. maybe outside a select few
>>44065624
I think it's pretty intentional. It's not like bloodbowl where the events are heavily "regulated" and endorsed. The games are spontaneous affairs represented by terrain existing and people looking like in the middle of their day job.
>>44065624
Probably intentional, gives bigger design diversity if they don't have to stick to putting sports equipment/uniforms on every guild faction. These are just the beginning factions too, more a coming out. Pic is from the unreleased Hunter's guild.
>>44065793
Any eta on hunters? Likely going to be my second team
>>44066533
Most of season 2 is supposed to be April next year.
>>44057382
Witty retort.
>>44058882
I bought an Infinity starter box years ago. Two of them broke almost instantly, and they were really annoying to paint because people who use Zbrush instead of learning real sculpting have no idea how to design miniatures.
And why don't these models have anything to do with the theme of the game? That's basics!
>>44065793
Pretty sure it's just bad design.
>>44066989
If you think infinity models are poorly manufactured, you've lost what little credibility you have.
Please trim down your ham hands that keep on breaking the models.
>>44066989
Infinity models don't break if you know how to pin. Use a paperclip as the rod.
Or if you really can't deal with it with your ham hands just buy the resin version of the Guild Ball models.
>>44066989
>And why don't these models have anything to do with the theme of the game? That's basics!
They do have everything to do with the theme of the game, you just have no idea what the theme is.
Abridged Lore:
>Humans are humans and start fighting amongst themselves. Conflicts continue and escalate, strings of wars break out across the entire continent that become known as the Century War
> Century War is fucking ruining everything. The various trade guilds realise this is ultimately going to do nothing but bankrupt them and leave all their customers dead.
> Guilds unite behind the political scenes and simultaneously lean on all the weakened countries to eventually broker a peace.
> Realising that humans are fucking stupid ass animals, if they don't give them something to channel their aggression and nationalistic pride into the peace will be shortlived and the wars will resume.
> Guilds nationalise mob football, a popular peasant game in every country, as Guild Ball. Guild Ball essentially becomes Europe's The Premier League + Roman Gladiator fighting.
> Guild ball is keeping the peace but also now making the guilds a fuckload of money.
Why do they all look different, Anon? Because, you half witted imbecile, the game is Football PLUS Rome's Coliseum. Every guild has their own fighting style, they train their own recruits to fight their way. They wear their own armor and bring their own weapons.
Some like the Fishermen focus on mobility and less on fighting, they play to score. The Butchers are all about full on brawn and aggression. The Masons are lead by an ex military commander who lead her own military company, so they're more about teamwork and are clad in comparatively heavy armour.
The theme is there. You just don't understand it.
Given the current Alchemist options, will Venin just make Calculus obsolete?
He seems clearly superior in a fight (which was the only real edge Calc had over Hemlocke), plus he finally gives them Bleed so Katalyst will have more love when he's on the team.
I could maybe see some strange mass poison/blind lineup working: Venin, Calculus, Hemlocke, Katalyst, but aside from doubling down like that I think Calc is getting benched.
>>44069792
Where are the rules for Venin?
>>44070003
http://cards.playguildball.com/
>>44069792
perhaps.
are there any alchemist plays that require a lot of influence? I think Calculus might become something of a influence caddy. Venin's melee prowess isn't quite good enough to get the bleed without charging reliably unless sitting in momentum already.
>>44069792
Short answer: No
Long answer: Calculus has Blind, it's a really good effect and you can use it to control the board offensively or counter attack with it when your opponents bunch up, like if they're trying to bring down Katalyst.
>>44070227
>Calculus has Blind
Counterpoint: So does Hemlocke, who also brings healing/condition clearing that doesn't require Momentum, and better clutch ball plays with a momentous tackle on 1, momentous dodges on 2 and 3, and 5+ def plus Slippery.
>>44070351
She's also only 10 hitpoints. Against the wrong opponent that's free VPs in one turn if she tries to come close enough to do anything.
Calculus has overlap with Venin and Hemlocke, but all 3 are better than the other in different scenarios, which means to answer the question, no, Calculus will not be obsolete.
>>44070403
If you say so, but a team only has 6-8 slots, I can't see any scenario where someone would legitimately think the mediocre generalist would be better than the strong specialists.
>>44070453
Just depends on what your meta is.
>>44070453
The idea that generalists are usually not very desirable compared to specialists is a school of thought that applies very well to other table top games.
In guild ball generalists fair alot better than they do traditionally on the table top. It's because of the alternating activation sequence. Specialists, without argument, excel in an environment where they're given the ability to chain their combos or wreak whatever havoc they're specialised in doing.
However, when you alternate player activations, you introduce a new factor, every time you make a move, your opponent makes a move to try and fuck up what you're doing. Your opponent will do everything in their power to prevent your specialists from completing their wombo combos.
This is where generalists are alot stronger. If your opponent does something unexpected or successfully jams a plan, a generalist model has a better chance of unjamming the plan, creating a new opportunity, or simply surviving the situation until the next round.
That's not to say specialists are bad in Guild Ball, just generalists are alot stronger than they are in other traditional games.
>>44070602
Note I said MEDIOCRE generalist. Some generalists are fucking amazing, but I can't comprehend Calculus as being one of them. She does what Hemlocke does but worse, which would be a desirable trait if she did something Hemlocke didn't do with any degree of competency (aside from dying slightly slower, she's still no tank), but she really doesn't.
>>44070453
>>44070602
How is Calculus even a "generalist"? She's just there for her character plays, like Hemlock, but has one less useful play. Her playbook is nothing but low damage, pushes, no momentum until 2, and a tackle all the way on 3.
Isn't Hemlock the generalist in this scenario? She can support or carry a ball, and can actually escape when enemies try to corner her, just don't leave her in a Butcher's charge lane like some kind of retard. Calculus can support (worse than Hemlock) and basically nothing else.
>>44038592
that girl all the way on the right is stolen from another artwork fucking faggot shit artist
>>44070623
She fights a hell of alot better than Hemlocke does. If a scrum breaks out, Hemlocke can't lay in damage to try and finish models off. Calculus can bring that finishing damage if needed. With a couple of assist dice she can knock out 4-5 damage on a charge with wrapping thanks to her short playbook. Which is the difference between Ox going down, or Ox tearing everyone to pieces next turn.
She also has access to pushes in melee, which Hemlocke can't do.
Calculus is a generalist, she responds to problems, and takes advantage of opportunities. Hemlocke can't do that.
As for your call on mediocre, find a model that has access to offensive damage spells, control spells, and can do damage in melee when loaded with influence, and has decent ball handling skills, and doesn't die to a stiff breeze. That's a textbook generalist. They don't shine brightly, they exploit opportunities or changing situations. That's how they are.
>>44070720
>ass tit pose is unique
>>44070665
You're missing the part where she's only a 4 column playbook. It's a short playbook with damage results in every single column.
Characters with short playbooks are actually some of the most potentially deadly models due to wrapping.
>>44070720
Link to said piece of art?
>>44070830
>You're missing the part where she's only a 4 column playbook.
With 4 TAC in a faction that has almost no TAC buffs, DEF debuffs, limited access to knockdown, and almost universally 1" reach models which limits ganging up.
And if she's charging, she's not Blinding or putting out Noxious Blast.
Still not seeing it.
>>44069792
>He seems clearly superior in a fight
It's not that simple. To deal 3 damage.
> Calculus needs 4 hits
> Venin needs 5 hits
To deal 4 damage
> Calculus needs 5 hits
> Venin needs 6 hits
To deal 5 damage
> Calculus needs 6 hits
> Venin needs 8 hits
When you're talking about straight, upfront damage, Calculus actually has a bit of an edge because of how her playbook is structured, and she has ranged combat options to skirmish with before committing.
>>44070884
She can charge and still use character plays. You could if you wanted to Charge a model, land 3-4 damage, then noxious blast them for a further 2, and then another 2 potential poison in the following round.
> and almost universally 1" reach models which limits ganging up.
It's actually pretty easy to get 3 1" reach models into the same fight. Have to do it all the time with Masons.
>>44070922
Who cares about upfront damage on a support model? This isn't Butchers, his easymode application of conditions matters more than her slight theoretical edge in raw damage. She's 4 TAC in a faction that doesn't buff it, he's 5 TAC with free poison on any damage and bleed application in a faction that cares about applying conditions.
If you want damage and conditions, but you also want Blind, just put Hemlocke and Venin on the same team.
>>44070884
>And if she's charging, she's not Blinding or putting out Noxious Blast.
That's part of being a generalist, you don't do everything every round. You pick what you need to do based on the situation.
You can go and blind some targets, or, if an important model survived due to a bad roll, you can potentially reroute Calculus and lay in some physical damage instead to finish them off and get your turn plan back on track.
That's the definition of a generalist. If a model literally does everything all the time, that's just overpowered.
>>44071005
Because it's not a pure support model, it's an allrounder. It's a generalist model. The idea behind the model is you have options to adapt to a turn as it unfolds. Need to blind somebody? Can do. Need to deal direct damage to finish a model off? Also can do.
When you play more Guild Ball you'll understand first thing that happens with your plan is nothing goes to the fucking plan. Dice roll bad, your opponents mess up your plans. Being flexible in itself is an advantage and will salvage otherwise lost situations.
>>44070990
>She can charge and still use character plays.
Then she falls over and dies to retaliation. Not to mention if she's charging and using plays in the same activation she must have got 4, which means other better players didn't get as much as they could have. Loading her up like that is almost universally a tactical error, and including her in the team for those edge scenarios seems fucking retarded when the others vying for her slot would have better consistent output throughout the game.
>It's actually pretty easy to get 3 1" reach models into the same fight. Have to do it all the time with Masons.
Yeah, with Masons, a faction that can actually stick their nose into a cluster fight without getting bludgeoned into the dirt. If Alchemists are in a cluster like that it either means they've fucked up and are about to die, or they were about to win anyway and Calculus wasn't specifically a necessary component.
>>44071005
Conditions are great but they aren't reliable damage. Conditions play a bigger function in trying to drain Momentum Points.
>>44071051
>Need to deal direct damage to finish a model off? Also can do.
Why not just use a stronger player to do that? What is Midas doing, masturbating in a corner? Why was Calculus of all fucking people loaded up like that when she's bottom of the barrel in damage on any team she's included in? Sounds like magical christmas land to me.
>>44071062
A Momentum used on clearing conditions is a 4 damage not healed. Unless you're killing something in one activation the Conditions are at minimum a net 4 damage even if they get cleared instantly, and given that Intensify and Katalyst's condition-based murderbuffs are things that exist they better fucking clear them instantly.
Also, if you do it as the last activation or when the opponent won't have a reasonable chance to clear them, Poison+Bleed is 5 damage to the face that doesn't trigger death-effects like Loved Creature, and that's assuming he only gets them on one player.
>>44071070
You do know that Midas is absolute shit for damage right? Midas should be a toolbox hub, not actually doing any real damage
>>44071107
Until he steals a damaging character play, which can reasonably happen like half the time. If he can't it probably means the Alchemists won the game of Midas-chicken and the opponent was too scared to put any players with good damage plays on the field.
>>44071057
No game is that simple. Models that you want to do damage get hit by CC and can't deliver, or get blocked out, blinded. You need a plan B in Guild Ball everyturn.
> Then she falls over and dies to retaliation.
If you use her to get rid of a model it's an even trade.
> Yeah, with Masons, a faction that can actually stick their nose into a cluster fight without getting bludgeoned into the dirt. If Alchemists are in a cluster like that it either means they've fucked up and are about to die, or they were about to win anyway and Calculus wasn't specifically a necessary component.
No, it entirely depends on the game and ball position. Guild ball is a fluid game.
>>44071070
Midas has a 2 damage playbook dude... His ability to deal damage is actually about on the same level as Hemlocke.
>>44071070
High value models get CC'd, and you may well not want to stick Midas in a position to be traded for. Calculus can be played with more risk.
>>44071107
>Pop Heroic play
>2 damage off 1 success, 6 TAC
>Can have a mountain of Influence
>Nevermind the possibility of Replicating a damage play when he triggers Guildball results on 1 and 3 successes
Yeah, totally shit, whatever you say champ.
>>44071160
So not only do you need momentum, you need to copy someone else's plays to make it work.
bravo. I'm glad that everything was so easy there champ.
>>44071158
>you may well not want to stick Midas in a position to be traded for.
The hypothetical Calculus-wrecks-shit scenario relies on a bunch of models ganging up on the target, how is Midas of all people getting blown up if he's in the middle of a big cluster of buddies?
>High value models get CC'd
Wait, are we seriously talking about a situation where Calculus is activating late in the turn, yet the Alchemist player is in a situation where punching is critically necessary and nobody better suited can do it? When the flying fuck does that happen? If you're in a punch-out she's almost invariably going to be one of the first two activation (with the first one almost always being Midas if he needs to do something immediately) so she can get Blind off when it still matters.
I deny this crazy attrition scenario where she does something other than Blind+Blast at the start of the turn.
>>44071180
A whopping 1 momentum, wooo, so hard. Surely his 4/7 Influence stat and the ability to trigger momentum on a single hit will have trouble with this. Assuming he starts with no momentum, and only gets ONE net hit on all six swings (assuming a charge), he still does 11 damage.
>you need to copy someone else's plays to make it work.
No, you don't. As I just showed, he puts out 11 damage almost without needing to roll dice. If he happens to have a damage play then it goes from ONLY murdering one person to potentially blowing the whole enemy team out at the drop of a hat.
>>44071250
Correction: 10 damage, my bad, the point stands.
>
The hypothetical Calculus-wrecks-shit scenario relies on a bunch of models ganging up on the target, how is Midas of all people getting blown up if he's in the middle of a big cluster of buddies?
That's a pretty simple answer, you get attacked by models with greater reach or pulled out by placement effects.
> Wait, are we seriously talking about a situation where Calculus is activating late in the turn, yet the Alchemist player is in a situation where punching is critically necessary and nobody better suited can do it? When the flying fuck does that happen? If you're in a punch-out she's almost invariably going to be one of the first two activation (with the first one almost always being Midas if he needs to do something immediately) so she can get Blind off when it still matters.
Yes. Games are fluid. Blind is not an everyturn skill. Sometimes raw damage to apply game pressure is a better use of your time. Sometimes the models you planned on using to deliver damage will get CC'd, Puppet Mastered out of ranged, blinded themselves even, and become combat ineffective.
> I deny this crazy attrition scenario where she does something other than Blind+Blast at the start of the turn.
If that's the mentality you're locked into I can fully appreciate why you would never touch Calculus over Hemlocke. However, when your opponents push you harder and cause more complications, being able to shift your game plan will become more apparently useful to you.
