[Tactics] Question about dodging away

[jawe]

Hey,

maybe this is bit stupid question but I really want to understand different dynamics.

As I wrote in other post I just started playing BB again(I played 10+ years ago with the "old" rules) so everything is still a bit new.

After playing almost 40 games with Orcs I switched to DE with some success so far.

I realised that dodging away from base to base contact is a proper way to keep you players on the pitch. Took me some games to realise that

But now I have a bit of a general math problem here.

Let's say I have a Blitzer LVL 1, so AG4 and Block and this guy is standing beside a single ST3 player. If I dodge away I will go down 1/6 of the time but If I block I will also go down 1/6 of the time and have the chance to knock him down.

So assuming I don't need the blitzer somewhere else(or pinning the other player is enough) wouldn't it be better to block him? Or is the fact, that he because of his higher AV will more likely survive the hit and then hit me back next turn and on the long run he will get the advantage here because of my lower AV.

I am not sure how the dynamic of rehitting or possible assists from a second player in the following changes the math here.

[Murkglow]

If you have the block advantage then sure you don't really fear a one dice block from an enemy, at least not too much. And if you don't need him anywhere then dodging isn't exactly necessary. At the same time blocking does have a chance of back firing so if you don't need the guy knocked down then doing a one dice back isn't necessarily good either. If you really don't need him anywhere the safest method to keep your man standing is to simply do nothing. Well kinda...

On the other hand if you do leave him there then you're giving your enemy someone they could hit without Blitzing. And since they only get one Blitz a turn you're basicly doubling his chance to hurt you. All he needs to do is send one more guy to assist and he's got a two dice block on you.

So in the end I recommend dodging away if you can. Of course waiting until the end of the turn when it doesn't matter as much if you fail is the best time so that a turn over doesn't screw you up.

[otzenpunk]

You can't say for sure, which is better. This depends on the situation and on the skills your opponent has. You don't want your opponent to hit you next turn (without blitzing) and the way to do this, is not staying base to base. Whether you do this by dodging away or pushing your opponent doesn't matter, and when you knock him over or maybe even hurt him—so much for the better.

But watch out for skills on the other side. If your opponent can Block, for example, he will stay beside you on Both Down result and can hit you back next turn. If he's got damaging skills like MB or Claw, then the odds of going down stay the same, but the chance of getting seriosly damaged increases.

And if he has Side Step or Stand Firm, you 'll have to really knock him down, because otherwise he'd keep standing in place or dancing around you and maintains contact. In this case your chance of reaching your goal—leaving his tackle zone—by blocking him decreases from 83% to 50%, or even down to 17%, depending if he has Block and/or Dodge or not and manages to stay on his feet.

Of course there are other skills like Diving Tackle, which do make blocking the better solution than dodging.

[Coach]

Straight up in the situation you described then yes blocking would be better. This only really the case for newish teams though before more skills come into play.

Just cause you did block, doesn't mean you have to follow up afterwards either, so they can't just hit you back.

Blocking also can give SPP while passing a dodge doesn't.

[simonslays]

I'm going to look at dark elf dodging in general rather than just in that specific example. I'd say it depends on a few things (and assuming you just stood up or whatever or else I'd suggest just blocking the player in your own turn)-

You've gotta assume that if you leave your guy next to an opposing player the opponent will be moving to get a 2 dice block him in his own turn (with the possible exception of a stunty team).

Assuming you have block but not dodge, you have a 1/6 chance of failing to dodge away, a 2/3 that his 2-d block will put you down, a 1/36 chance his block will put him down if he has block and a 4/36 chance if he doesn't. Against a team with no rerolls and assuming the opposing player doesn't have nasty hurty skills like mighty blow or piling on, it may be worth the risk to leave the guy in (but probably not)

If your elf has block and dodge, the chances of failing the dodge away fall to 1/36 but also his chances of downing you with 2-d fall to 4/36 (both assuming opponent doesn't have tackle, if he does, see above example). If your elf has side step, the opponents block may indeed move your player to a better position, eg. maybe in a position to crowd surf him next turn if close to sideline.

In any case, it also depends on what actions your opponent is going to have to take that turn. eg, if you have a breakaway ball carrier that he's going to need to put a risky blitz on, it may be worth tempting him into an "easy" block that he may fail and leave you with a clear run in for a touchdown. If he prioritises the blitz, there's a good chance he may fail at that and not get to throw the block anyway, both depend heavily on whether his players have the useful skills and whether he has team rerolls left.

For the record, if it's certain to be a 1-d block, I'd pretty much always leave my guy in. The 1/6 chance of a fail (2/6 if he doesn't have block) and the chance to burn rerolls or cause a turnover is too good to pass up.