I have been saying this for years, ...............the main point of having a baseline standard, ..........but,......... one could always move up.
I also want to point out that leagues are a different animal all together than tournaments, ............ it only makes sense to offer a division that is baseline standard which has an easy less expensive way to make a team for competition for tournaments. With leagues, you have more time for inspection and many like to add their home "flava"
At BuzzBall BuzzFest we have had a standard no weight division and a custom weighted division. Between these two divisions, all forms are covered................as I have stated previously the standard no weight division is by far the most popular. by a ratio of almost 10:1.
As a new guy posting, I see and understand your apprehensiveness and confusion, which is making you hesitant to build a team or two.
If we as a group, have a baseline standard, it would alleviate much confusion AND lower the cost of being competitive immediately.
but when playing with custom figures and customized bases,
read "adding weight and frankensteining" the cost of entry and being competitive rises enormously, along with the learning curve it takes, read
"time", to become competitive.
New guys don't want to field a team and get their butts handed to them all season long, .................and I think it sends the wrong message when they are getting beat and they think they must have some brown bases (scarce) and/or custom figures ($$$) to become competitive.
I recommend these things to all newbies:
#1 Learn to tweak your bases: You could have dog turds on them, but if they perform well, people will like your team, and some will look for their own dog turds to put on their bases!
Base tweaking is a skill that requires practice, but it is the art of tweaking that has catapulted this hobby to its current state. I ran an off tackle with my Barry Sanders the other night with a potential new league mate watching, and my figure bounced it outside toward the sideline, turned up field and ran 70 yards up the sideline for a score, ..............his jaw dropped,
I think we may get in our college league for the spring! ( for those that want to know, Barry was on a customized BuzzBall figure on a Gray Speed Diamond Base)
#2 Learn to paint and detail your own squads., .........sure your first one or two teams won't be masterpieces, however with time you will improve, and they will be YOUR team.
With Beenuts decals, anyone can paint an great looking team.
#3 It's okay to make mistakes, ............in the process of tweaking you will kill a few bases, and in painting you will make some bad strokes, ............but, you can always touch up your figure and make it right!