Dark Elf Blitzers

Blood Bowl Dark Elf Blitzer
Dark Elf Blitzer Overview:

Dark Elves are very good at the running game, partly because they don’t have recognised Throwers and Catches like the other Elf teams, but because they are the only one that has access to four Blitzers. Given the changes to Fan Factor in the current rules it is also quite easy to start with all four in your starting line up. This is something I encourage as Block is really good early on, AV8 stands up better than the AV7 players.  Also with expensive players you won’t initially be able to afford many rerolls, so Block will cut down on turnovers.

As they are fairly speedy and come with decent armour and Block they will be doing a lot of the leg work on the team. The fact you have four of them as well means it is quite easy to build them all up in slightly different ways to perform different roles. There will be some overlap but you can specialise individual Blitzers in order to take on different types of opposing players. As they start with Block you can get there quicker than your elven counterparts who also need to take Block or Wrestle in addition to further skills. Having four as well means you can cover practically any where on the pitch with them, especially as they are mobile.

Dark Elf teams are also quite a bit slower than other Elves so scoring quickly isn’t as easily done and you tend to play more in a mobile cage using strategic hits. Somewhat of a cross between the standard Elven tactics and a traditional caging team. Having four Blitzers let you screen off other players well and once you have the ball secured or screened off in the other half you should have a number of players who you can use to score with.

Strip Ball Blitzer:

This build is most useful early on when most teams aren’t going to have a Sure Hands ball carrier, I start all Blitzers off with Dodge as you are light on Rerolls, they will be dodging a lot and it makes them even harder to knock over. Strip Ball next up to get the ball off any non Sure Hands Ball carrier, it is even worth attempting this most of the time if you are doing a two dice block in their favour. (Wrestle and Strip Ball is also good on a Lineman but they usually will take longer to skill up.) You may also consider taking Strip Ball first before more players get Sure Hands. Tackle follows on to deal with Dodge players if you are light on Tackle and there are lots of Dodge Players. Leap lets you get at the Ball Carrier and you may consider taking this before Tackle if you already have another Blitzer with Tackle/Leap. Jump Up can be useful to keep your movement and get extra blocks in. Diving Tackle will tie up players you don’t want getting away, though it is more useful if you have Side Step already.

For Doubles Guard is probably the best choice as you have no players on the team with strength skill access and with Block and Dodge keeping them upright and their higher armour means they are the best equipped to have Guard. Mighty Blow is also worth considering but I would say Guard will be far more useful all around. As usual +ST is brilliant as is +AG and +MV can also be a great asset.

Tackle Blitzer:

I would look to build two this way and they are useful for both going after the ball carrier or marking receivers or blocking running lanes. As usual Dodge first, though if you are in a Dodge heavy league, Tackle might be more useful first and then Dodge. Side Step for greater positioning (especially near the side lines where your Witch Elves threaten) and staying next to players you are marking. Diving Tackle will also tie up players you were unable to knock over. Doubles and stat increases are also fairly standard.

Leaping Blitzer:

I still start with Dodge first as I find it more useful all around than Leap. Take Leap next, then take Tackle for blitzing Dodge players. Jump Up is probably more useful than Diving Tackle as you don’t have Side Step and helps after you failed a Leap. Doubles and stats as before.

Dark Elf Blitzer Summary:

Depending on which Blitzers roll stat increases or doubles you can see that they do share a lot of skills in common. If you are in a Dodge heavy environment make sure to get some Tackle in and prioritise it above Dodge (you will get more Dodge when you buy Witch Elves). If you are in a Dodge Light league though, you can take it yourself, especially as other teams will probably have less Tackle themselves. I really don’t like using Leap but it does offer fantastic freedom of movement and sometimes the threat of it is more useful than the skill itself. Your Blitzers are rather versatile and each one can be specified to deal with certain situations, while still being somewhat of an all round useful player in the games their specific skills may not come into play. Their skills may look primarily for defence but a lot of them are also useful for running the ball on offence.

23 thoughts on “Dark Elf Blitzers”

  1. You will want to take dauntless on one of them. DE have no big guys and are not that fast for elves. This means, you’ll eventually will have to muscle your way through.

    Dauntless is better on a blitzer than on a witch elf IMO, as it is more reliable.

    Having 4 blitzers gives you room for a lot of different customization. I also like the following (sort of safety build): shadowing – tackle – side step – diving tackle – jump-up.

    Catch is also an option. It eases ball transmission and gives a pass option play.

    Reply
  2. Catch is worth having on one blitzer just to allow you to better use your dump-off.
    Runners come with it standard, so you may as well be getting use out of it.

    Reply
  3. One with catch is very very helpful. Particularly if you are trying to get value out of dump-off on your runners (and the extra SPP your runner gets this way)

    Reply
  4. Thanatos, my guess  would be strip ball on one blitzer and side step on the others  so you can get better positioning.  Unless of course you roll a double where I would take guard.  [However I’m somewhat new myself so take of it what you will.]
    Coach, on the tackle blitzer wouldn’t it make sense to take jump up as he has diving tackle?  Wouldn’t jump up allow him to negate the movement penalty of getting up off the ground?
    Both the strip ball and leaping blitzer have leap recommended, but your witch elves already have leap.  With leap possibly on 3 to 4 players isn’t that too much leap?

    Reply
  5. Edit to the above:  Seems I got witch elves confused with wardancers…  So while witch elves don’t start with leap you recommend taking it.  Which means 1 to 4 players possibly with leap, not the 3 to 4 mentioned earlier.

    Reply
  6. Depends on the rest of your team and the races you commonly face. Post your whole team in a thread on the forum and give an idea of the league you play in as well.

    Reply
    • Generally you will pretty much always want to take the strength increase. If you have any questions about further choices for your players then create a thread in the forum and post your whole team. A Dark Elf Blitzer with ST4 though is a very good player, I wouldn’t even think about taking anything else instead. Good Luck!

      Reply
  7. Increasingly I’m starting to like taking Sidestep early on at least one Dark Elf blitzer, potentially even as their first skill depending on what teams are in your division.

    Sticking such a player on scrimmage, where they can stuff up the middle even if they get knocked down, really stiffens the center of your defense.

    Reply
  8. Would you ever consider Grab on a Blitzer? Dark Elves are very good at sideline control with witch elves and all the Sidestep they end up spamming. Being able to cancel sidestep would give them even more control, and Witches can’t take it. Plus Juggs and MB are better for Witches anyway. Maybe as the 2nd double after you get Guard?

    Reply
    • While Grab has it’s uses, Guard is going to be so much more useful more often. With your entire team needing doubles to get Guard I’d have a hard time taking anything else on the first double. I’d also say the same thing for Mighty Blow. You should be able to control the sidelines fairly well generally, having lots of Guard will make it easier, especially against other teams with Guard and or Stronger players. Teams that are going to have plenty of Side Step are generally going to have lower armour and this is where Mighty Blow will help get their players off the pitch where ever they are. That being said, I can see a case for Grab and it has some merit and I wouldn’t look down on anyone giving it a try.

      Reply
  9. First level-up for a Blitzer and I rolled 10 (no doubles). Does it make sense to give him AV9?
    I expect my Blitzers to be always in the thick of things, so reducing his chances to get hurt might help him in the long run (hopefully). Any comments/suggestions?

    Reply
    • Mighty Blow is valuable if you don’t have any in your team. Otherwise Guard will help you much more in rough situations (and you might still want to choose this instead of Mighty Blow).

      Reply
      • As I said… I rolled a 10, but no doubles. ‘Guard’ would be an excellent choice for a Blitzer, I agree. But not this time, not yet. 😉
        This is a starting team, so I still got every option in which direction I want to build it.
        A Blitzer has AV8, so armour is broken on 10/36 rolls (not calculating modifiers as ‘Mighty Blow’).
        To reduce this probability down to 6/36 seems a good option for me, as Blitzers are usually at the centre of any fight. However, I’d be ‘losing’ a skill (like ‘Dodge’) to start with. So the choice is: Shall I give the Blitzer some passive protection to lengthen his Blood Bowl career or some skill which will immediately make him a better player. Choices! 🙂

        Reply
        • I gave all four of my blitzers dodge then sidestep (didn’t roll any doubles) and they were amazing. It’s not flashy but they’re just really annoying to play against. Four blodgesteppers can just gum up a cage or provide a flexible screen, while the witches do the hard hitting. Plus every single one can do a great job of running the ball if need be and sidestep + frenzy witches mean you rule the sidelines.

          Reply
  10. Dodge is a much better choice – not only does it reduce his chances of being knocked down at all, but it means he can much more safely run out of tackle zones and get into position to score.

    Reply
  11. I’m interested in a TV1000 with 4 blitzers, 7 linos and 2rr. I’ve tried Runners in the past and don’t really rate them. Is there a case for converting a blitzer into your primary ball-carrier in this case? Maybe Sure Hands or something similar first. Thoughts?

    Reply
    • It’s certainly doable though I would only bother if you are facing some very mobile Strip Ball players. If you’re careful about doing pick up rolls then you don’t really need Sure Hands most of the time. That will give you more flexibility with who picks the ball up and spread those SPP around a bit more as well. The advantage of the Elf races are that any of the players can be a good ball handler (except a Treeman).

      Reply
  12. I rolled another double for my mighty blow Blitzer. Now I’m considering to take Piling on instead of Guard (another Blitzer have Guard) What do you think?

    Reply
    • Hi Frank. Personally I would take Guard. I’ve never been a fan of Piling On though. Guard will be more useful more often and PO will put a massive foul target on the ground… If you think Pulling On will be more fun then go for that.

      Reply

Leave a Reply to BoBliness Cancel reply

css.php
Represent BBTactics in the BB3 (PC) Blood Bowl World Championship by signing up to play in the Big Crunch League