On this blog, I’ve often ignored SFG’s Organized Play Document (OPD) in favor of focusing on draft style formats. However, as vaccination efforts ramp up, we may (hopefully) see a return to in-person organized play at some point this year. I expect that this will lead to more games with the SFG 4 champion list format, as it is more user friendly for in-person gaming.
The SFG tournament format has each player bring a list of 3-4 champions for the entire tournament. The current OPD allows all champions except Helena and Maxen.
As an exercise, I drew up 4 quick lists of 4 and explained how they work. I tried to cover the spectrum between beatdown and control. I hope you enjoy them I encourage you to make your own!
1. Here’s a straight up control list:
Grimgut, Shayle, Raith, Mourneblade
This list will move you around, get in your way, keep you from moving, and teleport into your banners. Shayle can earthquake enemies either behind Grimgut’s slime wall or into the loving embrace of the Knightshades. Raith can move hexes far away from the fray where Moruneblade can claim on them without having to reposition. Raith and Shayle together create an absurd amount of board control; you’ll have fun gleefully using Tide and Earthquake to throw enemies back away from your flags all game long. This list is for sure dedicated to the banner game, but it actually is not terrible at scraping together a KO or two either. Most of the time, you’ll run Raith and Shayle together and then swap in Grimgut or Mournelade depending on the matchups. You could leave a shaper behind to go full obstructionist in scenarios like Quest which require champions to move across the board often.
2. Here’s a control list that can kind of fight:
Nia, Finvarr, Raith, Titus
This list can really do things with hexes. Nia can grow ‘em, Raith can move ‘em, and Finvarr can move banners across ‘em. Raith and Finvarr are both quite fast without help, but the Glory Seekers’ Roar of Battle can offer just a bit of extra movement to the list. This composition overall has great tools to protect banners and to crush them. Nia synergizes well with the boons and blights her partners can dole out. Finvarr’s speed, protection, and damage boons are all delicious Crystal Mirror targets. The list also has some sneaky fighting ability into other control lists. Titus has the tools to kill any follower and even some champions. Finvarr and Raith both pack a punch, and Nia can turn everyone’s offense up a notch with her combat support game.
3. Here’s a beatdown list that can kind of play control:
Halftusk, Sneaky Peet, Shayle, Rangosh
This list can still put out two slayers, but both of them are quite fast. Peet is an elite banner crusher, and Rangosh manages alright. Halftusk is a strong control piece who is also not afraid to fight. Shayle rounds out the list by bringing another high quality attack and, of course, earthquake. I imagine you’ll usually run Rangosh and Shayle while swapping Halftusk and Peet in depending on matchups and scenario. You’ll probably want to use Peet against control lists and in scenarios where there’s lots of movement called for and Halftusk against people who want to fight you and in situations where you’re more incentivized to lock down an area. Halftusk and Peet offer different types of banner denial; Peet crushes flags and Halftusk prevents them from ever being planted. Shayle’s role here is to clear the way for the slayers and to set up their targets with Earthquake, as well as to contribute a quality Boulder Bash or two.
4. Here’s a straight up beatdown list:
Rangosh, Keera, Raith’Marid, Jeen
The idea here is that you can play 2x slayers at all times. Rangosh and Keera are the backbone of this list, with an open third spot. This is essentially a pain train because there are two champions with crazy champion KO potential. There will be constant pressure on enemy champions all game long. Rangosh and Keera can both apply high damage attacks across large threat ranges, so there will likely be nowhere for opponents to hide. The third spot will usually be Raith because… Raith. He contributes banner denial par excellence and enough board control to keep followers from blocking off your heavy hitters. Sometimes, though, you’ll want to use Jeen to ensure that you can handle particular matchups. Grimgut specifically will give your slayers fits without a Maelstrom on the table to clear out the slime balls.
There’s 4 quick lists. Make your own!