Tactics Skill Allocation Advice VII

[patbou73]

Pro on a wardancer is a bad idea.
If a leap fails it is a turnover same with a skull on a 1D block or a dodge when opponent has tackle.
Pro is good on Big guys due to loner and vamps as using pro on a bite or gaze doesn't matter when it fails.

Sidestep on both is reasonable as the dancer will get another skill before next season anyway.
However if that next skill is a double or stat then you will be tackleless.
So I would take tackle anyway even though you won't be using it much this season.

I would also buy the dancer to get SPP on her before you move up to a tougher division.

Is it too far stretched to buy a dancer, take SS on both players, and focus on leveling up the two dancers to get Tackle on one of them before season is over?

 

[patbou73]

What about Dauntless on the Catcher to make him an extra Blitzer?

 

[2muchBallfondlinginBB]

I would skip and take Block or Wrestle. Or Tackle if you don't have it yet and will play Elves or Stunties next. I doubt Dodge will be as useful as a good combat skill, on a MA5 player. Enhance your aggressivity.

It’s 3 competitions, 1 league, 1 knockout tournament and 1 tournament with a group and knockout stage. There’s a “fly” fling team that we all play with to make it up to 8 teams. A snotling team but no elves (I’ll be looking at bringing a pro elf team in next season for balance) so I can wait for tackle, I have 2 blitzers with MB so they are both prime tackle candidates.

I was thinking dodge does offer some further robustness on the LOS which apart from fouling and assisting is all the lineorcs do really but your right I think wrestle or guard(followed by block) would be a better option despite having 2 guard blitzers and a guard bob already (2 with block and 4th bob yet to get a skill but will be guard first so I have 2 S4 guard cage corner options with the guard blitzers usually caging the ball further downfield.

this would also leave me with a good balance for the 3 lineorcs, with the endgame being 2 wrestle/DP (unlikely to ever earn enough SPP for 3rd advancement which is great) and the 3rd looking to gain enough SPP for a 3rd advancement Guard first because I’ve rolled a double, followed by Block then see what Nuffle has in store for his 3rd advancement.

 

[2muchBallfondlinginBB]

I'd just take guard on the lineorc and Kick off Return on the thrower.

Guard because you can never have too much and KoR as the biggest problem orcs have against AG teams is getting the ball caged before the elves get into your backfield.

I have considered KOR, no elves in my league but there are some mean wrodge and S4 Blodge ghouls and enough humans to pose a threat to a deep kick once they have the skill. I was just put off by some of coaches comments on KOR and other skills that only get used once or twice a game... I do wonder whether this is more mathbowl than tabletop tho because your right, collecting the ball and initially getting it caged is when my team is most vulnerable so KOR should be a great option

 

[patbou73]

Do you have a Kicker?

 

[2muchBallfondlinginBB]

Do you have a Kicker?

I just can’t find space for a kick lineorc, my lineup is;

kicking
3lineorcs on LOS
4 BOBs 2 with block in wide zone
4 blitzers 2 with MB (and eventually tackle in wide zones, if these boys roll a double it will be diving tackle for sure)

receiving
Swap out 2 lineorcs for thrower and gobbo

 

[2muchBallfondlinginBB]

Do you have a Kicker?

the 4 bobs just make too good of a defensive line to want to put one on the LOS.

 

[2muchBallfondlinginBB]

the 4 bobs just make too good of a defensive line to want to put one on the LOS.

it is worth considering having a cheap player to put special balls in and potentially be sent off (I’m playing tabletop) a goblin with kick and a lineorc with kick cost exactly the same so if anyone is going to be on the roster to specifically kick a squig it would be a lineorc... one to consider

 

[danton]

Doubles for line Orcs should nearly always be Guard in my experience. I have an Orc team in a Private League with 9 Guard players and the objective is 11. Guard gets better and better the more of it you have and you can never have too much!

 

[patbou73]

This is my new Dark Elf team in CCL-Ranked (currently 6-1-0, thus why I keep on, even though I've lost 340k value in 2 matches, after 3 deaths : a skilled Lineman, a brand new Witch Elf and an AG5 Blitzer ; all were very unlucky, and not due to bad positioning... gee, Witch died suffering a 1 dice block from a player without Block, while marking him... but her sacrifice paid off, as I would otherwise have lost that match).

Runner just rolled 5+5. Should I again take +MA to get a one-turner and a Gutter insane reach? Skip and take Dodge to protect this precious and fragile player? Or take Guard?

Guard is very tempting, but I fear I'll just be putting a fragile player in a dangerous position to get any benefit from the skill...

 

[BallztotheWalla]

Take the Ma, a 9347 player is amazing and when it’s the 1 player on the team that should be protected at all times dodge can wait.

 

[burning_phoneix]

Managed to survive my encounter with @stephB relatively unscathed. The thrower got MV bust but that's not too bad on a AG5 Accurate thrower. My lineman rolled doubles and the catcher rolled regular level up. Wat do?

 

[patbou73]

Managed to survive my encounter with @stephB relatively unscathed. The thrower got MV bust but that's not too bad on a AG5 Accurate thrower. My lineman rolled doubles and the catcher rolled regular level up. Wat do?

I’d take Guard on Lineman. You’ll have Journeymen and other Linemen to put on LoS, so he should be safe elsewhere.

Your Catcher needs either Block or Wrestle. You most probably blitz with the MB Catcher, and would do well to continue doing so. I think if you give him Wrestle, you can have a very effective sacker (with eventually Tackle and Leap or Strip Ball). ST4 means you’ll be able to throw 2 dice most of the time!

That way, you’ll have a killer and a sacker...

Taking Block would also be ok. When you can’t blitz with 2 dice with MB, then this one can punch holes in a screen.

But I prefer Wrestle. He should be a prime target to your opponent, and occasionally wrestling down a player to the ground is very good with MA8.

 

[patbou73]

Take the Ma, a 9347 player is amazing and when it’s the 1 player on the team that should be protected at all times dodge can wait.

Thanks for the advice. I’m now at 7-1-0 with this team, and I can say MA 9 really helps getting away with a ball!

 

[Silfuin]

I had a fantastic game and got some skill to decide.
No doubles sadly.

For Butcher I am thinking Tackle, as the team has none, then next skill will be probably dodge.
Sentinel could get kick, dodge or wrestle. I like kick, but am not sure if it's effective with darkies as for woodies. Wrestle only if witch doesn't get it.
Agony could get wrestle or block.
I know that at low TV block is favoured, but wrestle synergize well with jump up, and could later develope in tackle and/or Juggs.
Finally Iceflash could get block ... but I am leaning towards pass.
Reason is i think I would like to open the passing play, and it synergizes better with dump off, whereas although block protects the runner it doesn't really protect the ball if you dump off.

 

[patbou73]

Tackle on Blitzer, because you need it in some matchups. I took it as first skill on first Blitzer to level up in my Dark Elf team in CCL Ranked (7-1-0 so far), and never regret it.

Kick on Lineman. A well placed kick could mean the opponent just can’t score in 8 turns, or even you score a defensive TD. It’s worth gold, and always first skill I take on a Lineman.

Block on the Witch. She’s most likely to become your main blitzer. You want her on her feet, and you want to roll armor when she gets Both Down against an unskilled target. Worse, you may opt to push to avoid wrestling to the ground, and this may lead you to roll worst dice on the follow up, burning a reroll in the process or even turning over. Wrestle synergies well with Jump Up, but also with opposing Dirty Players. I prefer to train a Lineman with the ball sacking skills, than a fragile Witch (Wrestle, Tackle, Strip Ball).

Runner is tricky. I totally understand the appeal of the passing play, as it opens up opportunities. But you have no Catchers to make that a « safe » bet. It makes more sense, however, to use a reroll on the catch (than on the pass). Nerves of Steel may be a better choice. If you get blitzed with an assist, that’s a 4+ quick pass that will fail 9 in 36 of the time with the Pass skill. But it’s a 2+ roll that will only fail 6 in 36 with NoS. So you’re 50% more likely to fail with Pass than NoS.

Nerves of Steel also opens up some possibilities, as the Runner can give an assist before doing a pass. This frees up a player to do something else, and you may have a better offense. And since your Runner already has Dodge, he can get a hand off in tackle zones and run away with the ball. Given Dump Off, I think NoS is better as next skill than Pass. You’ll get it next.

 

[Silfuin]

Any other opinion?
@danton and @tys123, what do you say?
Sorry to tag you but I'd really like to hear your take, particularly on the runner.

 

[patbou73]

I understand why you want other opinions. Dark Elf Runners are the trickiest players to level up, IMHO.

 

[danton]

Is this in a private league?

I would only take Tackle on the blitzer if I knew I had to face a lot of Dodge in my next couple of matches. Otherwise just take Dodge.

I don’t value Kick so much for Dark Elves. I prefer Dodge on linemen as first skill at low tv. At high tv I like Wrestle first.

I like one witch with Block and one with Wrestle. Normally Block on the first one, unless you will face a lot of Blodgers in your next games.

For the Runner you could go either way. Nothing wrong with just taking Block now in order to have another Blodger and I quite like that at low tv. If you want to build him as a thrower, then I would take Pass and then Accurate. I normally build Runners like that at high tv, when you can bench them when defending. At low tv it’s harder to protect them.

 

[Ravers]

What Danton said.

I don't usually use Runners, but if I did I would rather blodge, makes him useful on defence instead of a player you have to hide.

re the witch(es) yeah 1 block, 1 wrestle. A wrackle leap witch can really change the game in your favour.