Welcome back, sportsfans

We hope you’re ready to roll logs, because today we’ve got chips, chops and a field matchup on the saw’s edge. The next cut of the Lumberjacks Guild reveal is here, and it’s crossing its way to you. 

We’ve already met Oak, Tinder, Bucker, and Itsa, catch up in last week’s blog with full skill cards. 

Every crew needs its rookies, its wildcards, and its structural pillar holding everything together, the mascot.

So lace your boots and clip your harnesses. It’s time to meet Cross, Cut, and Chipper.

The Lumberjacks are now fully revealed and ready for pre-order at the Steamforged store.

A quick chop through the highlights

• Meet the twins —Cross and Cut bring paired play, fast football, risky runs, and a surprising amount of utility.

• Bring them together — CrossCut unleashes their true potential. Six columns. TAC8. A playbook built to bite.

• Send in the beaver — Chipper is here to build a dam out of log piles, protect his den, and give the team some much needed support.

• Cards revealed — All remaining Lumberjacks stat cards are live. Check them out and plan your first roster.

A fine logging operation. The Lumberjacks are working overtime.

Cross, Cut, and the terrifying power of teamwork

“Tinder had even taken a hand in teaching the Cross and Cut during the main practice, assisting Flint. Mallet liked both of the twins immensely. Although still wet behind the ears, they were fine rookies and had the whole world at their fingertips—especially given how eager they were to listen and take instruction.”

Field threat. Utility pair. Momentum machines.

Introducing the twins Cross, and Cut. The Lumberjacks’ rookies are a matched pair, sharing influence, and the occasional sibling argument.

These twinning squaddies build momentum like they’re stockpiling firewood.

Here’s what the GBCP has to say about the playstyle of the Lumberjacks saw-toothed duo.

Similar to other matched pair models like Hook & Crook or Brainpan & Memory, Cross and Cut can be allocated 4 influence between them each turn. They have 9 HP and are DEF4 ARM0, so they go down as easily as a mascot to a dedicated attack, but like a mascot they are also only worth 1 VP. 

Working as a pair has its advantages, as they can pass between each other to generate a lot of momentum if needed, or dodge a long way around the pitch and threaten the enemy goal.

As there’s two of the twinning rookies here, they can apply Ganging Up bonuses for each other, so they are often TAC6 and a little more resistant to counter attacks than their base statlines would imply. With a momentous tackle on column 1, they have some strong footballing options, although their maximum 2 influence each means they often rely on teamwork to go on proper goal runs. 

Sibling Rivalry helps Cross & Cut get more done in their activation, giving them a way to charge for a tackle and still pass the ball afterwards, as Cross & Cut can’t move log piles around, you’ll need to make some tactical log placements with your other Lumberjacks before they activate.

If you don’t want to be going on goal runs and risking the lives of your Lumberjacks, you can sit back and buff the team — Steel Toecaps makes a goal scoring model safer against counter attacks or a ball holder safer, and Quick Foot can speed up your other goal threats or extend the range of a brawler like Oak or Bucker if the opponent is playing keep-away.

When you’re playing for the ball, you can use Thief to steal the ball without the risk of a counter attack or through Close Control, and Crumb Boss lets you make a big goal run if you have an enemy model to bounce off, or just generate a big pile of momentum.

Cross and Cut don’t have loads of damage, so even though they bring their own gangup they’re usually going to be aiming for the ball or providing valuable utility instead of fighting. In a team that wants to get stuck in with a punch up on occasion, wouldn’t it be nice if you could switch gears and do some damage sometimes, instead?

Cross Cut: two rookies against the grain

— Speaking of which, this is CrossCut. 

When the pair are working together, their profile has a few major changes.

Cross Cut has zero movement, so make sure the twins are in position before you Heroic to get them onto the target you want, and you’ll be relying on movement from teammates if Early Risers isn’t enough to get the pair into position since they don’t do anything to enemies not in their melee zone. If they do have targets in melee, though…

With a ‘double brewer’ playbook at TAC8 six columns, CrossCut do quite a lot of damage, with a flat 1 to 1 hits:damage ratio most of the time. Cross Cut don’t have any results that increase their playbook damage, so you won’t be getting explosive numbers if you wrap, but the base stats are already quite dangerous, especially with a KD in a reachable position and a 4KD if you have a bit of setup from teammates or are hitting a target even slightly below average defensively.

Cross Cut are chunkier in defense to match their 2VP value, although 2/2/18 is not an exceptionally tanky profile they do heal to full and shed conditions/effects when CrossCut arrives on the board.

The Bigger They Are is a dangerous character play, although sawing enemies in half is of variable strength depending how big those halves are. It’s most powerful against enemies with low defensive numbers and lots of HP — Windle is getting worried here. 

If you have already taken the 4KD result in order to reach column five, many models with average defenses won’t take more damage from the CUP result than the 5 damage result on the same column. It’’s also a little difficult to use The Bigger They Are to finish a model off and then disappear to safety by jumping to a log pile, because you need to wrap to another damage result to actually finish someone off for good.

Cross and Cut will come back as a pair rather than one model once taken out, which is probably for the best when CrossCut has a zero inch jog and would be stranded at the table edge otherwise.

They can make some very non-linear plays and do some interesting stuff with their paired mechanics and CrossCut’s tricks, with some fun options for contributing to both a football game and a takeout plan - I’m looking forward to seeing CrossCut on the pitch.

Chipper: a beaver with a plan, a log, and absolutely no fear

Every Guild Ball team needs a mascot. Most teams settle for something sensible. The Lumberjacks chose a more practical approach to choosing their furry friend (Smells like free labour to me).

The lumber-loving beaver Chipper expands the team’s control over log piles while giving them much needed condition support and momentum tools.

From the ever-wise GBCP:

Introducing Chipper, the mascot for the new Lumberjacks’ guild. Chipper is a beaver, and while she mostly plays a supporting role in the team, she does have teeth.

A little slower than Marbles or Wrecker, but comparably tough, with Loved Creature she can get stuck in in a fight to back teammates up without being too worried about being taken out, but is still a mascot defensives, so watch out for damage landing towards the end of the turn - Lumberjacks have several brawlers who will appreciate the TAC increase.

Hunker Down is the tool the Lumberjacks have to directly help against enemy condition play, which has historically been a weakness of the Masons and carries over into their minor guild.

A free Encourage is more versatile than a free condition clear like Digger has - since you can use it to heal instead — but it’s also not as good at dealing with actual conditions, because it locks you out of another Encourage later in the turn and can’t be used on someone who’s already been Encouraged. Needing to be within 1” of a logpile is also something to keep in mind, but Chipper is going to want to be spending a lot of time in that position.

Between Dam Builder and Den Protector, Chipper can begin her activation near a logpile, move it away towards an enemy model, then charge for free. Chipper is only TAC4 and won’t be getting many takeouts with that charge, but even into a target with cover Chipper threatens to KD them if they don’t use defensive stance, generates MP and pushes reliably, and might wrap for double MP if a KD isn’t needed. If chipper is already engaged, you can also use Dam Builder to dodge Chipper out of melee and then charge straight back in.

Chipper also has a two die kick — Marbles and Wrecker both only have one, and while Chipper isn’t likely to be scoring too many goals with 4” kick distance, it’s always nice to be able to use a mascot to retrieve the ball on turn one with good odds of generating some momentum from a pass back.

Overall Chipper is a mascot who helps the momentum race well, whether by generating MP, forcing the opponent to defensive stance, giving allies cover to make enemies use Bonus Time, or by helping the team out with free Encourages.

Masons crossovers: prepare for a smashing match

Lumberjacks, in their strict profession need a hearty diet to sustain themselves through strenuous labour. Ol' Bucker here was on a temporary diet, hence the 30mm base. He'll be back on the pork & beans in no time. And a 40mm base.

The Lumberjacks x Masons crossover pack features Tinder and Bucker, both reimagined in the disciplined, crafted style of the Masons Guild. And, of course, both will be fully playable in a Masons team.

Crafted by Masons, tempered by timber. Pre-order the Lumberjacks × Masons crossover pack today.

Lumberjacks Crossovers: Swinging both ways

Looks like a couple of Masons also fancied a change of scenery! 

Like the Lumberjacks crossover models, Flint and Mallet have traded marble for mulch, swapped bricks for birch, and are learning that a hard day’s work in the real outdoors leaves you with sawdust in your hair and a pinecone where it shouldn’t be.

Flint & Mallet’s crossover sculpts capture the hearty nature of the Lumberjacks: all teamwork, hard graft, and a touch of tree-sap.

You have the Mason’s hammers, chisels, and my axe. The Masons x Lumberjacks crossover pack is wedged in for pre-order now.

Your first swing at Guild Ball starts here

If you’ve never played Guild Ball, now’s the perfect time to draft your dream team for the pitch.

Net yourself FREE digital Starter Set STLs, including members of the Masons Guild, allies of the upcoming Lumberjacks — and everything you need to start playing, two guilds, 16 miniatures and an 8-piece terrain set.

Download the starter set and free rules and cards, and get back on the pitch.

Grab your plaid flannel and lace your boots

The Lumberjacks Guild is now fully revealed.

Every model. Every stat card. Every log pile.

Whether you’re planning a bruiser lineup, a flexible 2:2 plan, or sprinting downfield with Cross and Cut, this crew is ready to make their mark on the pitch.

Make the cut — pre-order your Lumberjacks today.

Until next time, stay sharp, stay sturdy, and absolutely…

Stay choppy.