Fighting the Bombshell matchup

[Emuchu]

(11-07-2012 01:20 PM)garcia1000 Wrote:  You can think of the Bombshell as like a timer. You get X amount of turns to win before the Bombshell clock ticks over and you are doomed. You can increase X by putting pressure on the Scallywags player. On large maps the timer is twice as long. That's how to think about it.

This is true. Many posts here complain how a Scallywags player is guaranteed a win against the other team once they have a Bombshell safely hiding behind a two-soldier-deep wall, or worse, once they have an army of Bombshells. And this is most probably true on small maps, but unless you're also playing Scallies and building a Bombshell wall of your own, there's absolutely no reason to sit around long enough to let such a structure be built in the first place.

One one hand, FTA plays a part, here: A Player 1 Scallywags can just turtle and defend, trying to build a Bombshell wall, and Player 2 is forced to attack at a Wit disadvantage (this is being patched in a week, though), so it's easy to blame losses on Scallies being broken, but on the other hand, with 150+ matches under my belt in Masters, I've never actually seen a match drag on long enough to see any of this stuff. If a Scallywags player is really building double-entrenched walls of Bombshells, and there's nothing you can do about it, then the match was decided a long time ago, and they're just being a jerk about it (that, or they genuinely don't realize they've already won).

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(11-06-2012 06:04 PM)CombatEX Wrote:  I appreciate the direction you have taken with this thread. It is far more constructive to attempt to overcome a weakness instead of simply trying to get that weakness artificially removed without putting in any significant prior effort. +rep

Well, despite the grumblings, there isn't really any concrete evidence that the Bombshells are overpowered. They don't dominate the Top 200 or anything like that. I think the issue is more the way they go about winning: when it comes to Mobi and Scrambler, they sort of pop out, do their business, and the game is decided quickly.

On the other hand, a Bombshell just sort of... sits there, festering in the mind if his opponent, because they wish so strongly to tackle the guy head-on. And it's not like Bombshell can just jump up and win, either, since they're so expensive to move around. So they just sit there. It's more psychological warfare than anything.

[garcia1000]

(11-07-2012 01:47 PM)Emuchu Wrote:  If a Scallywags player is really building double-entrenched walls of Bombshells, and there's nothing you can do about it, then the match was decided a long time ago, and they're just being a jerk about it (that, or they genuinely don't realize they've already won).

Hehe. Well, there is technique involved in minimizing your loss to a surprise counterattack, and it involves very cautious bombshell advance hex by hex. So it might seem to the other guy that I am being a jerk but actualie I am just playing to minimize counterplay. In Winning Chess Strategies this is the strategy advocated by Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan for when you are ahead. So I am just doing what a chess Grandmaster recommends.

[Emuchu]

(11-07-2012 03:23 PM)garcia1000 Wrote:  Hehe. Well, there is technique involved in minimizing your loss to a surprise counterattack, and it involves very cautious bombshell advance hex by hex. So it might seem to the other guy that I am being a jerk but actualie I am just playing to minimize counterplay. In Winning Chess Strategies this is the strategy advocated by Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan for when you are ahead. So I am just doing what a chess Grandmaster recommends.

True, true, haste doesn't win anything in Outwitters. I didn't mean to accuse players of jerkishness as blatantly as my post ended up reading! (;^_^)

I meant it more to heckle players who complain that they can't win because their opponent is already winning... they just haven't realized it, yet.

[Necrocat219]

I love applying chess logic to outwitters When your ahead press your advantage and when you're behind increase the chances of your opponent making a mistake (well, thats easier here than in chess thanks to the fog)

[AJaW96]

As a Feedback player, I find the best way to counter a Bombshell strategy is to consistently pressure the opponent with a scrambler. My favourite tactic is to assault the opponents wit space and take it, then leave a scrambler just in range of it. My opponents usually avoid taking it back as the scrambler can immediately brainwash their unit. I will post a replay as an example, I have a game in progress right now.

[Emuchu]

(11-08-2012 09:10 AM)AJaW96 Wrote:  As a Feedback player, I find the best way to counter a Bombshell strategy is to consistently pressure the opponent with a scrambler. My favourite tactic is to assault the opponents wit space and take it, then leave a scrambler just in range of it. My opponents usually avoid taking it back as the scrambler can immediately brainwash their unit. I will post a replay as an example, I have a game in progress right now.

So I take it you're maneuvering around the Bombshell, rather than tackling the thing directly?

[AJaW96]

(11-08-2012 03:52 PM)Emuchu Wrote:  

(11-08-2012 09:10 AM)AJaW96 Wrote:  As a Feedback player, I find the best way to counter a Bombshell strategy is to consistently pressure the opponent with a scrambler. My favourite tactic is to assault the opponents wit space and take it, then leave a scrambler just in range of it. My opponents usually avoid taking it back as the scrambler can immediately brainwash their unit. I will post a replay as an example, I have a game in progress right now.

So I take it you're maneuvering around the Bombshell, rather than tackling the thing directly?

Spot on, though the term "quick and the dead" applies 100%. You need to be controlling the space with a scrambler before the bombshell comes into the equation. In other words, be aggressive! A bombshell cannot attack the same turn it moves, so if you control the space then the opponent cannot advance into it without giving up the bombshell.

[AJaW96]

Hi all, I finally finished that match, see link below.

outwitters://viewgame?id=ag5vdXR3aXR0ZXJzZ2FtZXIRCxIIR2FtZVJvb20YwcbrAQw

Please note however that this game does not have Bombshells. Also note that I lose this match. However, it illustrates perfectly the concept of controlling space with the Scrambler.

Enjoy!

[Emuchu]

(11-11-2012 07:24 PM)AJaW96 Wrote:  Hi all, I finally finished that match, see link below.

outwitters://viewgame?id=ag5vdXR3aXR0ZXJzZ2FtZXIRCxIIR2FtZVJvb20YwcbrAQw

Please note however that this game does not have Bombshells. Also note that I lose this match. However, it illustrates perfectly the concept of controlling space with the Scrambler.

Enjoy!

That's a pretty interesting way to play Feedback! You probably could have pulled it off if you weren't as aggressive.

[AJaW96]

I made a big mistake with the runners, I was supposed to put the two health runner on his spawn space to tie it up for longer. It all went downhill from there. But I really enjoyed the match, will try and employ this strategy on other levels.