Versatile Blitzing Elf Catcher:
- Normal: Block, Dodge, Side Step, Tackle / Diving Tackle / Shadowing / Pass Block, Sure Feet / Fend / Pro / Dauntless / Jump Up
- Doubles: Guard, Mighty Blow / Juggernaut
- Stat Increase: +ST +AG +MA
I would develop the other two Catchers on the team, still as Blitzers though with a bit more versatility to them. They can also be great at marking players, passing defence / interceptors and perhaps better receivers. This time start off with Block, mostly for protection and staying upright (this is why they are better receivers as Wrestle can take you prone more often) and more reliable blocking. Dodge, again for protection, staying upright and manoeuvrability and follow it up for Side Step for better marking ability and helping with one turn chain pushes. Few choices to take next, take Tackle if facing a lot of Dodge and you don’t have much. Diving Tackle makes them excellent markers as does Shadowing. I prefer Diving Tackle first though Shadowing works really well with their high movement.
Pass Block is also an interesting choice, with being able to intercept on a 5+ with a reroll (55.5% success) even in tackle zones, you will really make the other team think twice about passing near them. You will be able to mark the opposing passer or receiver to make their life harder and still be at your full potential to possibly get hold of the ball. Pass Block will also let you loosely mark more than one player as you get to move to where you will be most effective after you know the target of the pass. It does lose some value against teams that don’t pass but you can often force teams that don’t normally pass into it by not leaving them many turns to score in. After that you have the same skill choices and logic for picking them as the previous build.
For doubles again I can’t see past Guard and it may be preferable for this build as Block will keep you upright more than Wrestle. Whichever ones you do get Guard on though, they should be working with whoever you intend to blitz with to give you the best possible chance of a favourable block. Even if that means cancelling out the opposing Guard players to give you a one die shot at the ball carrier. If you get a second double then either probably get Mighty Blow to try and get more opponents off the pitch, or go for Juggernaut. It combos well with Block to let you target the Wrestle opponents. Stat increases follow the same logic as before and again if you get an agility increase, then look to get Leap.
Scoring Elf Catcher:
- Normal: Sure Feet, Sprint, Dodge, Side Step, Leap
- Doubles:
- Stat Increase: +ST +AG +MV
As I’ve mentioned I have no time for this build on any team that I would be coaching. They can end up hogging all the SPP, don’t have much protection and offer very little help on defence. You could go a bit more rounded taking Block first and then Dodge before concentrating on getting to the end zone as fast as possible. I still feel though that Elf Catchers are good enough as rookies to not need help with that and you are weakening your defence needlessly. If you are going ahead though then Sure Feet for easier go for its gives you more reliable extra movement and follow it up with Sprint for that potential extra square.
I would get Dodge to get those rerolls for trying to go past players. Side Step will help for chain pushing when you need it (you need two movement increases along with Sprint to one turn score without them). Leap can also be good to just jump over a defence that is going to be harder to dodge through. As you already have Nerves of Steel there isn’t really a double choice that helps out. A strength increase can let you blitz your way through a defence easier. Agility will let you run through tackle zones with greater ease and movement obviously gives you that greater range. Hopefully though from reading through this whole artical you can see the folly in this development route. There may be some better choices for this build, but I’ll be honest and admit I’ve not put a great deal of consideration into it. I feel that strongly about this point!
Elf Catcher Summary:
As the Catchers are more than likely the stars on your team and the ones that will cause the most problems for the opposing side, you can be sure that they are going to get targetted a lot. Both from being blitzed and it is also very likely that if they go prone, you are going to see an opposing player run in for the foul. I would imagine that the Apothecary on an Elf team will a lot of the time be saved for the Catchers. The Linemen on the team are the cheapest AG4 player in the game and can develop fast if you wanted. A lot of them probably suffer injuries that could have been avoided (especially early in games) as the team Apothecary was saved for their more glamorous team mates.
This is probably quite a sensible thing to do though which is why I’m pointing it out. That doesn’t mean that you should be afraid of getting stuck in with them when you need to. Protecting them can be detrimental to your chances to win and even if one does die, there probably isn’t a player in the game who can develop as quickly.
Some other skills you could consider at some point are Frenzy, especially if you get a strength increase. It can be troublesome for Elven teams as most opposing sides are going to have either more Guard than you, more strength or even both, so be careful with it. If you already have quite a lot of Guard and want to skip it, then Mighty Blow could be a good first pick, with the hopes to get Piling On on a further double to get your own unlikely killer build. Whatever you do select though, in my opinion these Catchers are destined to be doing most of the blitzing on the team.
Regarding the ‘apothecary being saved for catchers’ comment, back in the bad old days of LRB4, I tended to prefer to keep it for the blitzers – merely because catchers, even rookie ones, are remarkably easy to skill up.
I have always been a huge fan of Dump Off on Elf Catchers on the roll of a double. Keeping a spare Catcher nearby if you need to make a break the ability to shift the ball on a 2+ and have it caught on a re-rollable 2+ has your opponant yanking out his hair in frustration.
I just rolled doubles on both my catchers in the Cyanide game, going to give double Nerves of Steel/Dump-Off a try!
It is true, I always go with Dump-Off as the first double on all my catchers, thank you three-die-block!
Dump Off is a poor choice, it offers no protection and only works if when that player both has the ball and you are letting them get hit. It doesn’t help you with hitting anyone, when being hit, or moving around. All of which you will do far more often.
If I was ever going to take it the earliest I would ever do so would be after Block and Dodge, though chances are then you aren’t likely to be knocked over so wouldn’t really want to use Dump Off.
All of that means I can’t justify taking it as a skill. You are far better off in terms of winning to take skills that help you on defence. An Elf team offence isn’t something that you would usually be struggling with.
The problem with Dump Off is that it only works if the guy with the ball gets thumped.
The other problem with the Elfs is that pretty much all of the positions are mis-named, with most positionals changing roles with every skill. Guard is the better choice as it allows you to mix it up a little with the opposition, the whole point of the Nerves.
The problem with Dump Off is that it only works if the guy with the ball gets thumped.
The other problem with the Elfs is that pretty much all of the positions are mis-named, with most positionals changing roles with every skill they gain. Guard is the better choice as it helps when you mix it up a little with the opposition, which is the whole point of having the Nerves skill. It is all about the “in your face” aspect of the Elf team.
I was wondering… how about juggernaut on a double? With this ability even if caged by 4 opponents you may blitz your way out (with a push result) 2 out of 3 times (rolling 2 dices under), then dodge away (hopefully 2+ with dodge). Comboed with nerves of steel means that, even caged, you may catch 2+ blitz 2/3 out and dodge your way to the scoring even without block. What do you think?
I would rather have Guard as it is going to be useful in a lot more situations. It also then means he will assist a team mate who is coming in to blitz him free from the markers. Admittedly Juggernaut is useful to have on someone on your team so you can also target Wrestle players on the opposing team, so if you do already have a fair amount of Guard players I can see sense in picking Juggernaut on someone.
Not a fan of wrestle, it invites fouls and I don’t want my catchers lying all over the pitch.
That is a down side, but how do you deal with Block, Dodge, Sure Hand ball carriers on the opposing team without it?
I can’t see ever taking Dump Off on a Catcher. If you want to go that route get it on a Thrower — they already have Pass and can get Dump Off and Nerves (or just Accurate) without doubles.
I can see some use for it, as an option to push your offense behind a screen instead of always going for 2-3 turn passing TDs, or after scrums where you’ve retrieved the ball but were for some reason unable to score immediately. I’d still go the normal deep passer route on my main Thrower though.
Honestly, Pro Elf catchers are designed for scoring touchdowns and also developing a good defensive anti elf style game. What this means is that due to the catch/nerves of steel starting skills you can often dictate the throwing game of your opponent when you’re in defense by marking receivers or getting in intercept range. Of course you’re going to have to position yourself correctly and you’ll need quite a bit of experience to get this right every single time.
I main pro elves and I’ve found that the standard blodge works in their favor I am not a fan at all of wrestle for these guys they are simply not designed to take hits or to be laying on the ground like a $2 dollar whore just waiting to get F****D!! Especially vs foul heavy teams. I mean what’s the trade for a 100k catcher say vs a 40k zombie or goblin. Not worth the risk.
All pro elf catchers are natural touch down scorers so their focus should be on defense. Block – Dodge – Fend – Passblock – Side Step.
Doubles definitely take AGI + if you can and if you’re very lucky you could use that combined with Guard if you happened to roll doubles again but in saying that I’ve passed up doubles on the first skill just because I know how crucial blodge is for these guys early on.
In defense these guys stop the opponents throwing game and with their defensive skills as stated above they are natural support defenders and are usually standing behind the blitzers and looking for a mistake or to maximize field position i.e – your standard 2 by 2 square defense (that’s 2 squares in between each defending mark and a support player behind). The fend is crucial to avoid follow ups from bashy units and that horrendous piling on can be a real game changer.
The bottom line is Pro Elves are fantastic defenders and have a naturally gifted offense which is unmatched by any other team in my humble opinion. So many coaches make the mistake of trying to break a bash cage out of desperation wishing they had dauntless and guard to do it well if you want your blitzers to take that route go for it I think it’s a great idea too but for me scoring in defense is not necessary unless you’re losing.
Do your job and defend correctly, wait for a mistake, if one is not made utilize the MA to starve your opponent of field position and play the drive out!!
I think it’s essential to have a wrestle piece on a Prelf team — you simply will not get the ball above 1500tv otherwise, when the blodging AG4 (maybe surehands) carrier gets it. As for the other three, I firmly favour blodge over wrodge — if you want to score, Block is way better than Wrestle; and it’s usually good on offence, if not amazing.
My favoured advancement would be Block > Dodge > Sidestep > Fend. Then on defence you can use your 4(!) catchers to mark the ball carrier after blitzing away the cage corner with your Blitzer, with reasonable surety he will be marked and stay marked. Of course if you roll doubles for Guard that’s all to the better. I’d favour SS over fend for that reason, once you have blodge and marking up the carrier it makes it a real annoyance for the opponent to shake 2+ markers.
Is there any room for a frenzy player on the elf lineup? I’m thinking a tactical chain push option would be great but can’t see where it might go, perhaps a wrestle catcher or a blitzer?
It’s generally always handy to have a Frenzy player, though if your playing environment has mostly stronger teams with lots of Guard then you might find it gets you intro trouble.