Hobgoblins

A very brutal Bruiser team that revolved around the savage power of their Hulk Guard; the strongest non-giant in the game (second only to BuzzKill).

While some may think the Hobgoblins slightly better at ball handling than the standard goblins, having an extra dice and even strikers, their skill is abysmal - locking this team into the role of bashing bullies instead of adaptive players.

## Pros

* Have all three player types
* Most brutal and durable Guard in the game (3+ Strength with 6 dice on a slam!)
* Only Guard with *Trail Blazer*
* All players have Stench
* Starts with 2 Dice and 1 Card

## Cons

* Only one Guard with bad Speed
* Most expensive Guard in the game
* Hobgolins have average stats, and terrible Skill

## Tactics

### Single Guard

Your Guard is the most powerful in the game (with exception of Buzzkill), being able to Slam-Back with 5 dice at 3+ strength, and Slam with 6 dice. That doesn't even count the penalties you can make your victim suffer beforehand. Get two Hobgoblins on your Victim and have your Hulk demolish them. There is a good chance it will knock the victim out for 3+ rounds, and may even earn an achievement for the brutality!

### Secure the Ball

Just because you like to do damage and have terrible skill, doesn't mean you should ignore the ball. Try to get a Striker on the Ball and have them stay near their allies. Your allies Stench will make it harder for the enemy to steal or Slam the ball off you, letting you keep the game running longer.

### Keeper

Have a Jack in the middle of your 3-pt zone instead of your Hulk. Their smell alone will cause -1 penalty on any scoring player in the adjacent hexes. This leaves you Hulk free to smash faces.

## Player Progress

### Guards (S2)

With the amount of damage your Hulk does, its inevitable it will level up (potentially reaching lvl 3 by the end of its second game). Its max strength means rolling on the S2 chart gives a 33% chance of choosing the result. If given this option, grab *360-Vision* so you can Slam back any tackle attempt (and prevent people exploiting your vulnerable Dodge score).

Do not roll on the S1 Chart. You do NOT want your Hulk gaining Keeper (its skill is horrible).

### Jacks (S1)

While your Jacks are more clothes-lines for your Hulk, if one gains an XP (from Man-of-the-Match or an achievemnt) try to push them up to lvl 2. If given the choice, grab Speed+ to increase their mobility (to help pin your Hulk's victims easier).

### Strikers (S1)

Secure Skill 4+ while avoiding *Show Off*. Once you have this, aim for *A Safe Pair of Hands* to further improve your ball-handling.

#### Lvl 4 (S1X)

Have you pro Striker roll on the S1 Extra Coaching to gain some durability. 3+ Speed or any skill here will help in this.

## Team Progress

As an offense team, grabbing an Offense Assistant Coach early is certainly a good move to help your specialist:

* Give your Hulk 3 Actions to apply serious damage
* Giving you star Striker 3-Actions to secure the ball and keep the game lasting longer.

After that consider an extra Coaching Dice after each game to help your Strikers survive and secure the high points needed to extend the game.

## Replacements

Since you have only 1 reserve, you should be very cautious about letting any player die. Reviving cheap is your better option since you can loose a few stat points from a player and still have them cause issues on the pitch (even if its just from their *Stench*).

Should you Guard die (despite the odds against it) you will be forced to revive it on the cheap. Fortunately it can suffer a bit of this since it doesn't use Skill, and it won't use Speed once it learned *360 Vision*.

## How to Counter

The Hobgoblins rely heavily on their Hulk, and its low Speed makes it vulnerable from Slams from behind (at least until it gains *360 Vision*). If you can penalize it and take it out with a Sucker Punch, their team will be in trouble.