This article analyses the rise to championship glory in the three years of the PAIN Corp franchise. PAIN Corp have produced an incredible undefeated streak that incorporated victory in the 2007 Blood Bowl championship. Their entry into the league in 2005 suggested nothing of their future progress yet they are now considered one of the finest teams in the league, and are feared by every opponent.
Coming into what was the Northern Conference without any previous experience, PAIN Corp were an unknown quantity and matched up against more highly rated sides such as the Revenue Stealers and the high expectation Gadfathers. While The Gadfathers proved to be a terrible side, the Stealers ran away with the Conference title that year going through the season undefeated and reaching the semi finals. PAIN Corp were nowhere to be seen - a mere 7 points from the 8 games included just a single victory. What that record masked was a tenacious ability to keep games close. Pain only lost three times during 2007, and of these two were to the massively more experienced Scarbringer Savages and Fabienettes while the third was the season opener against the Stealers.
Pain were at a significant disadvantage through the 2005 season thanks to the death of Leydon Ezra in their debut game. Ezra had been tabbed as the team's primary ball carrier and so was expected to be a key part of the offence. Without the High Elf in the lineup, the side were somewhat impotent going forward, only registering 6 TDs. On the flip side, a decent defensive effort meant the team only conceeded 9 on the season. Despite the lack of over success, Pain were making strides in 2005. Having lost the main ball carrier, they posted a league high 43 fumbles as they struggled to hold and keep the ball but they were third across the league in total blocks with an impressive 360.
Lacking the skill players featuring in the rest of the ADF North, Pain became a more dedicated and specialised side and focussed on the physical strength advantages key players such as Leonora Snugglebum and Gha'rosh Bloodfist enjoyed. Knowing that it would be impossible to out-manouever opponents, the team pretty much ignored the passing game and honed their tactics for the brawling style that would become their trademark. What mattered most about the 2005 season for Pain Corp was that they were able to learn and develop their skills and tactics to the point that they were able to get that first victory in the very last match of the season.
Being a rookie team, the off-season was inevitably one of building and the 2006 Krush proved very fruitful. An intense internal debate had raged within the Corp with Taliona Raven and Anaat Stonefang both being strongly considered. The team were anxious not to disrupt their strategy of acquiring players with a reputation for toughness and brute strength but Raven offered just what they needed - a franchise ball-handler who could lead the team on scoring drives and allow the rest of the side to focus on what they do best, damage. The second round pick was another positional acquisition with Dobbin Ruud being tabbed as the team's safety to counter some of the receiving threat posed by the quality passing attacks elsewhere in the ADF North. The basic squad itself had not improved greatly from the opening, indeed most pundits felt the team was worse-off as it was without Leydon Ezra. Only two players managed double figure SPPs in that first season, Leonora Snugglebum and Granite Sheetkicker the main blocker and ball-handler respectively for the majority of the season. With only a couple of veterans in Casius Slay and The Big Boss Man to add a little depth, it was not especially a feared squad at the start of the 2006 season despite Raven's arrival.
Indeed, the 2006 power rankings offered little hope with the team positioned in 11th and way behind some of the expected contenders. Despite their relatively unheralded status, the Corp produced very impressively that season. Starting off steadily, with a draw at home to the Stealers and with a narrow win against bottom feeder Boxer Rebellion, Pain were only held once further in the year - away to the Stealers. Cross-conference wins over newcomer and eventual wooden-spoonist Picklebury Panthers and ADA East side The Darkstalkers gave the team the distance it needed to claim the ADF North championship. The team had been transformed in just a year, through 2006 6 players reached double figure SPPs including the league's top scorer Taliona Raven who achieved 11 TDs. The focus on damage yielded 21 Casualties, good for 5th league-wide and 4th in total blocks with 368. The most notable stat was that PAIN Corp players were knocked down only 99 teams through the 8 games, showing just how far they had cornered their comparative advantage in the blocking game over the aerial bombardments offered up by teams such as the Stealers and Bomb Squad.
What had changed was that the Corp were able to move the ball effectively. No longer merely content to stand and trade blocks, the team had developed a running game under the leadership of Taliona Raven. Producing a very respectable 280 rushing yards (4th total that year) and with a punishing run defence that yielded up only 160 (2nd best), the Corp had developed into a side capable of controlling both the ball on the ground and the time on the clock. The team was also more willing to take chances, dodging 56 times.
The tactic that produced the offensive change was known as the Corridor of Pain. The Corridor is a patient, slow-growing tactic that reduces the ball-carrier's exposure to hits. Being perfectly happy to hold onto possession without moving the ball for periods of time, the Corridor stretches typically down a targeted flank to allow a resolute wedge of blockers to grind a path for the ball-carrier to hide within. The tactic requires a complete dedication to one area of the field and leaves open the possibility of a resilient defensive line holding ground and preventing any forward progress at all. Should something go wrong at the point of attack, the overload of players allows for others to make up the distance and either re-secure the ball or reformulate the front line without too much difficulty. Should the opposition be able to move the ball some great distance, it is difficult for the Corridor to recover but this was not something that opponents were able to do at all during 2006.
Despite the clear progress, not all went perfectly for PAIN in 2006. Popular Zombie Lineman Henry "Bottom" Lee was killed during the year, removing the centrepiece of the line of scrimmage defence from the team. The post-season was close but just not quite enough to be deemed a success. A victory over the same Savages side that had pummelled the Corp in 2005 showed just how far the team had come, taking on one of the finest accumulations of player talent in the league and outlasting them just. The semi-final was closer, it went to overtime against the Tempo Ray Mutineers after regulation had finished one apiece. The Mutineers put up a stout defence against the Corridor of Pain but even they were unable to prevent a last gasp effort from Taliona Raven who could not be taken down before the equaliser. The overtime toss went the way of the Mutineers and the Corp could not hold out. The team also lost another player in Jeff "Suave" Jorge during the game.
As with the 2005 off-season, that following the 2006 season was another year of growth for the squad. They had come so close to reaching the final and were now regarded as one of the finest teams in the league. The main acquisition in the Krush was Oinky Tonk, a highly durable line of scrimmage player to take the place of Henry Lee. The team were now ranked 5th in the power rankings reflecting their climb into the league elite. Still, it was not a great start to 2007 with the first fixture being a narrow win over the Bomb Squad that included the death of yet another player - this time it was safetyman Dobbin Ruud. Ruud's loss took out a key piece of the defence, the blindsiding Outlaw was intended to take down the highly skilled receivers of the Stealers and other agile sides and his loss looked to be a significant one.
With draws against the Stealers and Hacks to follow, Pain were already beginning to lag behind the ADF North title race. Doubts began to grow with the Corp regarded as perhaps being too immobile to keep up with high scoring opposition. Those fears appeared confirmed when the Stealers went through the season unbeaten, taking the Conference title on the way. The difference between the two sides was just TD difference, highlighting the struggle that the slower Corp faced. On the plus side, Taliona Raven had become the league's most explosive player. Raven secured the Player of the Year title, matching her 11 TD production from 2006. The team focussed on Raven's scoring prowess to such an extent that only Granite Sheetkicker also managed to trouble the scorers throughout the 2007 season.
Having not won the Conference, PAIN entered the post-season as the no 13 seed. A trip to expansion Agincourt Saluters in the Wildcard Round looked like a welcome match-up on paper but the Saluters were no push-over even for the might Corp blocking unit. The Saluters took a narrow loss and the life of Norbert Norrington, stealing a solid part of Pain's depth. Having moved past the Saluters, it was Revengers' Tragedy in the way. Tragedy had just put up record breaking numbers for scoring and are one of the most agile and flexible of all teams in the league. Tragedy also specialise in being able to break up attacks with tackles of the ball carrier. Neither of these threats challenged Pain's march. Brushing aside the threat including injuring star opposing Ogre Landok, the Corp controlled the clock steadily on the way to another 2-1 win and a semi-final.
The semi-final opposition again was the Tempo Ray Mutineers. The two teams were evenly matched, with the Corridor of Pain and the Funeral March tactics both bearing similarities but the Corridor's greater focus on damage rather than position marked the key difference. Pain began to whittle their opponents down but could not do enough to put the Mutineers away and regulation ended in a draw. With the Mutineers again winning the overtime toss, it looked like the end of the road but Pain still had the best player on the field in Taliona Raven. In what may have been her finest moment, Raven single-handedly turned over the Mutineers ball and resisted multiple attempts to strip her of it before leaping into the end zone for the winning score.
With the momentum of the win and her own great play, Raven was extraordinary in the final against old enemies Revenue Stealers. Racking up another two scores, an interception, and a tackle, Raven put the game out of the Stealers reach while the remainder of the team mopped up solidly. The championship game was the most one-sided seen so far and the Stealers vaunted scoring attack was unable to get close. Raven was clearly the difference maker and close to unplayable from the overtime of the semi-finals onwards.
Pain had marched their way from 2005 expansion team, overmatched and struggling to compete within the Conference to championship conquerors within three years. They had not had an easy ride, four deaths in the period, limited opportunity to build, and with a single-minded focus on a physical running game that could not keep up with more potent offences. Still, there was no doubting the deserved nature of their victory - the Saluters, Tragedy, Mutineers, and Stealers were all credible post-season opposition and were swatted away.
The future looks likely to remain tough for PAIN Corp. Taliona Raven's retirement highlights the greatest risk in having a superstar player - they do not stick around forever. Raven was arguably the best player in the league for two years and by the end of her reign was as unplayable as any player we have seen. The team will need to rebuild without her, and also veteran Casius Slay against threats such as a resurgent Bomb Squad and the ever-present Stealers but they were able to build a powerhouse side within a couple of seasons and the 2007 title will not be the last we hear of this franchise.