[Norse] Varyags of Miklagaard

[dfly]

Hey guys, I've got a Norse team that is around 2000 TV, and plays in Sturm von Stahl, a perpetual, private league in BB:LE. A zerker just rolled a 6/4 on a skill-up. My team is as follows

#1- Norse WW- block/MB/dodge
#2- Norse WW-block
#3- Zerker- MB/PO/tackle/guard, niggling injury, pending skill-up
#4- Zerker- MB/PO/tackle/guard/juggernaut
#5-thower- sure hands/ kick-off return
#6- runner- guard
#7- runner- dodge/diving tackle/ side step, -MA
#8- yhetee- MB/guard/juggs
#9- lineman- dirty player/fend/dauntless
#10-linman- dirty player
#11-14- unskilled linemen, 1 with -AG, 1 with -AV
3 RR's, Apo, 10 FF, 2 assistant coaches, 2 cheerleaders. 100k banked

What would you guys recommend for the zerker with the pending 6/4 skill up? The + MA would make him better at chasing players down, while the + AV would help him stay on the pitch longer. If I were to take a skill, juggs again, or maybe stand firm or strip ball would be my only real choices, but none of those really stand out to me. What do you guys have to say?

Also, as much as I'd like to drop the 3-skilled lineman, I'm tight on money, and don't want to just throw it away so easily, so you don't need to point that out .

[Netsmurf]

I would go with +MA, speed kills in my book

[danton]

+Ma is a good choice and I would normally take that. The niggling injury does make a case for the +Av all the same, as he's very fragile with Av 7 and the nigg.

You could go either way really - I'd probably lean more towards the armour in this case, even though I rarely if ever give +Av to any of my players! What tips it for me is that having Av 8 will mean you get more out of Guard on him, as you will probably be more likely to park him in traffic to get the assists from Guard with Av 8 than without it!

[Narly Bird]

I echo Danton’s call on going for +AV. It will help negate the niggling somewhat when he is fouled or knocked down. Also, after watching your replay vs Orcs in MD5 of OCC it seems you could do with all the armour you can get! Particularly painful was when his killer Blitzer killed your killer Wight. Your luck in that game was atrocious! You having better luck with your Norse?

[dfly]

Those Undead have been cursed for the past 2.5 seasons, I swear. Last game I lost a new +AG ghoul to a 2 die block when I blitzed- . Broke my own armor, injured myself, and smashed my own collar bone. I make about 25% of their regen rolls. They're getting retired in lieu of ogres for next season. It's that bad.

Anyhow, this isn't the place to whine about those sorry bums. My Norse have had a so-so season this time around, but as I'm in D1 of SvS, and have won both prior divisions, and had fantastic luck for all but the last 2 games of the previous season in regards to injuries, I really can't complain. I knew those injuries were going to catch up to me some day. Right now, more than anything, I'm struggling with money, since I'm into the second tier of spiraling expenses, and I never apo anyone without S access unless it's T16, so I've lost more than a few players. I initially planned to run a 14 man roster (where I'm out now), but wound up hiring a 15th, just to account for the frequent MNG'd lineman, and keep at 14 people who are actually able to play. As time went by and I was able to keep everyone healthy for a while, that 15th man let me REALLY lay in with the fouls, which was even better. I lost one, and am unsure whether I want to buy another one at the beginning of the next season, or just keep my TV lower and save for when someone I care about dies.

[ghmongo]

I'd go with +MA. The way I see it, a 'zerk's job isn't to take hits, it's to give them, and +AV doesn't help him deliver those hits any more effectively.

[Mico Selva]

Usually I alwys get +MA on a 6+4 roll, but I'd go with +AV here. The increase from 7 to 8 is a lot more than from 8 to 9 or 9 to 10, especially against Mighty Blow. And this guy is a brawler, who will take more than a few hits, so I'd say it's worth it.

[dfly]

So after some deaths, etc, the roster has changed around. My one berserker has MB/PO/tackle/guard/jugger and a -AV. He just rolled a 5/5 for his last skill. I'm tempted to take dodge, to make him harder to knock down. I'm not keen on giving away 30 TV just to get him back to where he was prior to his injury. My newer zerker who has only MB just rolled doubles as well. I'm inclined to give him PO, as right now, I feel that the extra blocking power is more important than anything else. CAS's win games for Norse, and PO helps with that immensely. Lasly, my yhetee with MB/guard/jugger/block just skilled up (a 5/6, but I'm skipping the + AG(. I'm not sure which way I want to take him. Multi-block would help spread the pain around a little more, and could negate frenzy. Stand firm helps him stay in a TZ (if I want him too) for more 2+ rolls without having to blitz. Thick skull would help keep him on the pitch more (this is a distant 3rd, but it's still floating around). Lastly, there is always good old PO, but I'm hesitant to give him that, as I really, really don't want him one the ground, both for wasting rolls on wild animal, and as he would be total foul bait, and ST 5 just isn't scary when it's laying on the pitch. With that said, the option to reroll key blocks (especially stuns) does have its' merit. What do you guys think?

[Nikolai II]

Everything seems to make sense, although I might be inclined to go the SF route with the Yette. Both multi-block and thick skull seem like skills that will rarely come into play, and PO like you say is less ideal on a WA.

[Netsmurf]

I would take PO, he is a killer machine and you might as well optimise his ability, Claw, mighty-blow and PO is the best killer combo to get and you get it for free