Dwarf Troll Slayers

Blood Bowl Dwarf Troll Slayer
Dwarf Troll Slayer Overview:

For a bashing team that has no ST4 or 5 players like the other teams, Dwarf Troll Slayers make up for this somewhat with their Dauntless ability to stand toe to toe with stronger players. They also have the benefit over the stronger players because they start with Block like most other Dwarfs. Their Frenzy ability also gives them a higher success rate of knocking players over and can make space to advance a cage, or push opposing players into the crowd. This means they tend to do a lot of the hitting on the team and help get numerical advantage to help negate the slowness of the team.

The downsides to them though is that they have average AV8 compared to AV9 like most of their team mates. This alone makes them a target for the opponents to hit and their damage causing abilities makes this even more desirable for the opposing team. You will find they tend to get picked on a fair amount if there is a choice of players for the opposition to hit. This is tempered somewhat by the fact their AG3 team mates will also draw some attention in order to hinder the ball handling ability of your team. Frenzy and Dauntless can also lead to trouble, you have to be careful that your second Frenzy hit is in your favour as much as the first, or at least not to the opposing teams favour. When doing this against stronger players as well, failing Dauntless can leave you doing a block at a disadvantage, it pays to cover this by having assists to provide a one die block if you fail.

With their low agility, Troll Slayers aren’t likely to be dodging around and handling the ball all that much, so you can concentrate on building them to hurt the other team. This frees up some of that responsibility from your Blitzers who may be doing some ball handling. When taking skills on them it pays to pay attention to the opponents you are likely to take. If you are in a Dodge heavy league for example, you will want Tackle at some point even though a lot of your players already have it.

Damage Causing Troll Slayer:

You want to start off with Mighty Blow, I don’t recommend this for many players but you already have Block and Dwarfs can do with getting numerical advantage. It will also help him get SPP quicker to get more skills. After that you have a lot to choose from, Tackle in Dodge heavy leagues, otherwise I’d not bother with it, Frenzy can compensate somewhat by getting two hits on Dodge players. Also if you start pushing them towards the side of the pitch they might elect to not use Dodge anyway to avoid getting put into the crowd. Stand Firm is good for ensuring you stay next to players to get hits in on them and stops you getting put into the crowd yourself if you pushed someone else in there. They are fairly slow so often can’t move away from the side if you blitzed over there, or their low agility means you don’t really want to try and dodge away if you end up in a tackle zone. Piling On is an option if you want to cause more hurt, though it does slow down your already slow team and leaves them open to fouls. Guard is always useful, especially on your lower strength hitting style team. Pro is also a very good choice for Troll Slayers, there aren’t many players I advocate Pro on usually, but these guys can use it on failed Dauntless rolls, you can try and reroll double pushes on block dice. It can come in very handy for these spots where you don’t want to use a reroll.

Doubles you have two main choices, Dodge if you want to keep him upright more and opens up a bit more times when you may need to dodge someone. Bear in mind your team will be Dodge light so anyone who takes it can be easily singled out by opposing Tackle players. The other option is Side Step, though don’t take it if you already have Stand Firm. Side Step is fantastic for Frenzy players and anything that helps you on the movement side is handy to have. Otherwise I’d probably stick to normal skills. The only stat increase that I would take is +ST, it makes Dauntless vs ST5/6 players easier and means you don’t have to worry about it against ST4 players. It also makes him harder to hit helping against the lower armour. While more agility can be useful for a Dwarf team it doesn’t really aid his role in the team too much and +MA can be good, but early on taking skills is going to help you far more.

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26 thoughts on “Dwarf Troll Slayers”

  1. Doubles consider jump-up, this makes piling on more effective and attack adjacent players for 2+ instead of a blitz.  I have a mighty blow, piling on, jump up slayer that is an absolute killer.

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  2. While it’s true the Jump Up roll is less than desirable at 3+ just the speed advantage alone for a Piling On hitter who blitzes nearly every turn can be worth having the skill.  For the pure bash Troll Slayer I like Mighty Blow/Piling On/Jump Up/Stand Firm for skill choices.

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  3. I’m considering the Mutiple Block skill for my troll-slayers. With Dauntless and an assist, I can easily match the Strenght + 2 of the other players, espacialy with my Strenght 4 Slayer. Any Thoughts on the idea?

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    • Wouldn’t have thought hitting things was something of a problem for Dwarf teams, it also negates his Frenzy (iirc can’t check right now) which helps you get your target over. Also failing the Dauntless could leave you in a sticky spot. Personally I would probably prefer Break Tackle or Juggernaut.

      When asking about a specific player as in this case, please create a post on the forum and list your whole team and also give some idea about the teams you commonly face. That tends to have a bigger bearing on what I choose rather than just that specific player in isolation.

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  4. While you CAN take Multiple Block on Frenzy players (unlike Grab) you can’t use them both in the same turn (the only way there is to “turn Frenzy off” as it were). Makes it a bit of a bad deal for Troll Slayers.

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  5. Not necessarily, there are times you may want to avoid using Frenzy, usually against a team that is stronger and / or with lots of Guard. It could help you avoid doing a second Frenzy block that would be in favour of the other team. That being said, two Multiple Block hits isn’t always going to be easy, but with either skill you can get two blocks in, but with Multiple Block you can hit two opponents rather than just one.

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  6. Im curious why you wouldn’t consider an AV increase on a troll slayer.

    Wouldn’t this counter their lower armour and make them much tougher to hurt?

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  7. would break tackle be a decent choice? it makes it easier for them to move around and get to the player you really want to bock down, instead of just taking the easier target?

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    • It’s not really a great choice as they are only ST3, turning the dodge roll into a 3+ from a 4+. It is a far more common option on ST4 players as it gives them a 2+ dodge roll (assuming all dodges are into the open). If you use good positioning of your whole team, you should be able to block them free with a team mate if you wanted to use your Troll Slayer to go after a specific target. Introducing risky 3+ dodges to your game can lead to more turnovers and you also used a skill slot up to do it.

      In the long run over a game you are better off just turning your Troll Slayers into players that are good at removing the opposing players from the pitch. The larger numerical advantage you have the less likely they will get tied up and the easier the game becomes for your team too. You will also find that players designed to hurt against some teams they would rather avoid marking them in the first place! That’s not to say Break Tackle is really a bad choice, there are just better alternatives when you consider a game as a whole rather than a turn by turn basis. If there is a specific target you need to go after, perhaps your AG3 Blitzers will be better suited to the job.

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  8. I’m not quite sure if this would work, but perhaps multiple block? Would that work with dauntless, and could you use it with frenzy, perhaps giving you a theoretical 4 blocks in one turn?

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    • Multiple Block does work with Dauntless, however it doesn’t work with Frenzy, you have to elect to use one or the other as per the Multiple Block rules.

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  9. Just started playing. Leveled up my ts and rolled a ten with doubles. Curious what to pick. Debating between mighty blow, dodge, and the +1 AV

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    • I’d go with Dodge or Side Step as mentioned in the article. Dodge offers protection and keeps him on his feet more often which gives you more Block opportunities. Though if your league is Tackle heavy you may want to ignore Dodge entirely and just get Side Step. I personally think +AV isn’t something I’d consider and I’d even rather have the movement but for the first upgrade I’d get a skill. As your team progresses if you have more skill choice questions you will be better off posting on the forum and putting your whole team roster there and your common opposing races for more accurate suggestions.

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  10. I’m joining a 5 player mini league almost entirely made of elves and skaven. I’m guessing tackle would be advisable as a second skill for my troll slayers but would it make a better first pick? I’m aware of the need to get a numerical advantage so mighty blow still seems a logical option.

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    • Well with Frenzy you kind of get a built in reroll anyway giving you better odds of getting that knock down. I’d probably still go with Mighty Blow as not all the opponents are going to get Dodge. Also you’ve lots of other Tackle players so you should with careful positioning be able to use one of those instead if it’s crucial to knock the target over. Mighty Blow should also get you to the second skill quicker than Tackle would so you can always take it then, while the other way around it will take you longer.

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  11. Also wouldn’t side step be a more reliable skill for a crowd pusher than stand firm as it would avoid the issue of opponents with dauntless and allow better positioning for another crowd push after your first?

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  12. Hi coach! What do you think of +MA as a first skill for a Crowd Surfing Troll Slayer? I understand it is not essential to a Damage Causing Troll Slayer but wouldn’t the extra range help to push players out of the pitch without needing to roll GFI and to move safely away from the sideline after the blitz? Or would you prioritise core skills and maybe consider the +MA later?

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    • I’ve never really been much of a fan of movement increases on the whole, I prefer to rely on positioning my players well. Extra movement on a Dwarf team could be useful, generally I find people are fairly careful when it comes to being near the sideline. So it might help a bit from a crowd pushing standpoint but I would probably take a skill instead.

      As a late skill choice though I would probably give more consideration to movement. That’s not to say taking movement would be a poor choice, it just isn’t my personal preference.

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  13. I’ve never found Troll slayers particularly useful beyond a low TV value. They can be OK at taking on rookie S4 players but once you have enough Guard, relying on Dauntless for 1 die blocks is less of an issue. Having Frenzy on a S3 player can often be a liability and their lower armour for higher speed is not worth the trade off as they get targeted. Once you get a S4 blocker or blitzer they become a much better candidate for Frenzy. It’s a shame because slayers are iconic Dwarf fluff but when any blocker can be turned into a better, tougher version in 16 SSPs they lose their appeal.

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