Black Orc Trained Troll

Black Orc Trained Troll Development Overview

The Trolls on a Black Orc team aren’t your usual run of the mill Troll, they have been trained to a level where they are now just unreliable rather than really unreliable. The slight advantage they have is that they can use team rerolls slightly easier than is typical of most Loner players. Most of the time I don’t feel this makes that much difference as I would still probably try and avoid using rerolls with them.

Despite the fact they are unreliable and need a team mate next to them to help negate being Really Stupid, I still think they have a place on most, if not all, Black Orc teams. The way the team plays you are usually going to be bunched up, so you shouldn’t find them being isolated too often. Having the Troll on the pitch will also typically mean that you’ve got one less low strength and somewhat vulnerable Goblin. The addition of Projectile Vomit might also come in handy against low armour players with Dodge and as it doesn’t cause a turnover you can even attempt it if faced with stronger opponents.

Having a Troll also offers you a chance of scoring in one turn using the Throw Team Mate ability. It’s not without risks though as the first time I tried it, my Troll ate my Strip Ball Goblin, who he was trying to throw into range of the opponents ball carrier. Their high strength also means you can set them up for lower risk three dice block, especially as you get more Guard on the team as a whole.

The only reason I could see for not having one would be that you want players that are more reliable and having a Goblin instead also keeps your team value lower if you are trying to get Bribes or other inducements.

General Utility Troll

• Primary: Guard, Strong Arm / Stand Firm, Brawler
• Secondary: Block / Pro
• Stat Increase: None
• Random: Strength

Due to their unreliable nature and that you want to try and get Star Player Points on your Black Orcs, I recommend a more passive approach when it comes to your Trolls. The team benefits from having lots of Guard, especially as it now helps when fouling, so I feel that’s the obvious first choice unless saving up for Block or Pro.

After that you can go a number of ways, either lean into the passive road block build and get Stand Firm, or try and increase your Throw Team Mate success by taking Strong Arm. As an accurate throw can also generate Star Player Points that can also slowly aid them in getting further development.

Brawler is another option to consider, especially if you find you are more active with them. Whilst it might take a while to save up the required points, getting one or both of Block and Pro could pay off. Block makes them better at hitting and less likely for them to get knocked over by the other team as well. Pro will help avoid going stupid, improve blocking reliability and help with throwing team mates as well.

If you find yourself in the situation where you’ve not got many games left to play and won’t be bringing the team back then saving up for secondary skills becomes less worthwhile. You might want to then consider taking random skills instead. As they only have primary access to strength skills then that’s they way I would go. On the whole most of them have some utility on the Troll but getting Pile Driver would be a bit annoying.

Trained Troll Development Summary

There’s not really a lot to consider for Trained Trolls. They don’t have a wide range of skill access and they are also slow to develop, especially if you are trying to minimise the variance that comes with using an unreliable player in an active fashion. I personally don’t see much merit in not taking one, or with over thinking their skill choices.