Since I’ve gotten the question a couple times, I wanted to summarize what is so far officially known about how the Lumberjacks actually play ingame.
This is purely summarized from the first SFG blog post about Jacks, no other info added, and I include the full text from their blogpost below.
- Flexibility
Like the Masons, the Lumberjacks have plenty of flexibility to go for goals or takeouts. They are overall durable like Masons, but shift a little more towards offence than their Major Guild friends. - Masons Playbooks
Momentous results on the first columns, and non-momentous stronger results towards the top.
Makes them benefit a lot from walking in and buying attacks rather than charging. - Logpiles
As part of setup, the Lumberjacks place 2 logpile markers (40mm bases) that act as obstruction terrain. They grant Cover to friend and foe within 1″ just like normal terrain.
Lumberjacks can move them around and use them for various effects, but these two markers will always stay on the pitch, so the opponent can’t get rid of them.
On a personal note, I think they look and seem really awesome, and I am SO looking forward to getting my hands on the physical models and seeing the meta evolve around them.
From the SFG blogpost
The Lumberjacks, minor guild to the Masons Guild, are tough and rugged folks who understand that to get a job done right, each member of the crew has a job to do — and when those trees start falling, everyone needs to look out for one another.
On the pitch, the Lumberjacks adhere to the strong ethos of the Masons; teamwork and flexibility. Each player on the pitch has a role to play, whether that’s finding and setting up the best logs (or unfortunate opposing squaddies) to chop down, taking the swing, or hauling them around afterwards.
The Lumberjacks have access to the characteristic “Mason’s playbook”, including multiple useful momentous results on the first several columns, as well as stronger non-momentous results towards the top end. This provides them with many options to choose from, as well as plenty of flexibility in how they approach the game and respond to what’s happening on the pitch.
Additionally, while Lumberjacks retain some of the Mason’s durability, they sacrifice some defensive ability for greater offensive output.
The Lumberjacks Guild introduces a new and unique mechanic to Guild Ball: log piles. As long as Lumberjacks stay close to their log piles, they get multiple benefits: More damage, improved mobility, influence efficiency, and durability. Opposing teams will be wise to try to avoid log piles, or risk being felled themselves by axe and saw.
However, the job of a Lumberjack doesn’t end with felling trees. There’s plenty more cutting, hoisting, and hauling to do to get those logs to where they need to go! The Lumberjacks have multiple options for repositioning their log piles right to where the match is and where they’re needed.
The playstyle of the guild focuses on positioning your models and log piles in ways that force the opposing guild into specific areas of the pitch where the Lumberbacks can create favorable engagements, score opportunistic goals, and take out key models.
Then, once things have shifted to another area of the pitch, Lumberjacks will need to use their abilities to reposition themselves and their log piles to new locations in their opponent’s actions.
Let’s take a look at this guild rule in a little more detail.
Log pile markers represent a novel and unique application of existing Guild Ball mechanics. Unlike other markers in the game, such as trap and harvest markers, log piles are 40mm markers that function as obstructions – granting cover to any nearby models (friendly and enemy).
After the kickoff, the Lumberjacks player will place two log pile markers on the friendly half of the pitch, and at least 4” apart from one another. These markers remain on the pitch throughout the game, and can be repositioned using various plays and traits.
In addition to granting cover, log pile markers provide the Lumberjacks with additional mobility, efficiency, and offensive or defensive benefits. As there can only ever be two friendly Log pile markers on the pitch at a time, positioning and repositioning Log piles is critically important to the overall Lumberjack’s gameplan.
