Sorta Fast Sorta Furious (Orc) 0 - 1 Drakenhof High (Necromantic)
A lot of slow, dependable play and good RNG went into Drakenhof's first win in the Little Crunch, it wasn't what I would call an exciting game, but after a highly chaotic and frankly, ridiculous last game in Season 1 versus Chaylor Swift (a game I didn't bother writing a summary for because it would consist entirely of me asking myself what I was thinking and then noting how yet another turn, both for me and for Martin, ended in a turnover on the very first action) I wasn't planning on playing it risky.
First Half - First Drive (0 - 0)
I win the coin toss and elect to kick. I've come to prefer kicking on the first drive because it gives you a better opportunity to see how your opponent likes to play. In Mynimo's case, that turns out to be quite aggressively. I set up with wide, deep screens, and Mynimo responds with a strong side-heavy formation. The intent there was to smash through with overwhelming force and thus clear a path to the end zone. I stalled going to war for as long as possible (it helps that most of Necro's players are perfectly happy to take block after block after block) until Myni brought over his whole team to the scrap happening at the sidelines and it was no longer possible to screen him off.
What followed was a big, confusing fight, but basically: SFSF's players were packed into a tight square, while Drakenhof were lined up in front and to one side of them. After many blocks, Drakenhof managed to get a Flesh Golem into the cage, and then, another one got in. This was a worst-case scenario for SFSF, because a large number of players were tied up in knocking them down, and although they did manage to consistently down the two Franks, Stand Firm ensured that they couldn't be removed. Drakenhof also had ample opportunity to chain push players in and out of wherever they pleased. The Orcs were doing a great job knocking the Necros down, but they weren't getting through.
With time being against them, SFSF took advantage of the lone Ghoul now guarding the sidelines on his own (a mistake on my part) to punch a hole through the defence and squeeze a blitzer through, carrying the ball. He was alone and undefended, and although Drakenhof was comprehensively tied up, a few dodges and a blitz secured the ball for Drakenhof.
Myni makes a solid attempt at recapturing the ball by making a few dodges and blocking a couple Wights, but by the time he rolls for the pickup, his luck has run out, and so have his rerolls. Drakenhof successfully halted the Orcs' drive.
Second Half - First Drive (0 - 0)
Seeing that Sorta Fast Sorta Furious like to get stuck in, the plan for the drive was to outmanoeuvre them: The slow and tough players would try and mark as many Orcs as possible, while the fast players would run around the tied-up opposition. The front lines of both teams wobbled back and forth for a while, whenever the ball carrier was in danger he simply danced away to the other side of the pitch, but nothing really happened until turn 13, when all of Myni's screens on his right side ended their turn in contact with my players. I seized on the opportunity and threw Zombies and Flesh Golems at his players until they were all marked, save for 1 player who was too far away to do anything, and another who would have to make it through a screen alone. Myni saw what happened and tried to free his players, but a number of poor block dice (lots of push/push) prevented him from doing so effectively.
A small number of Drakenhof's players made it through a gap at the sidelines, whilst others acted as a roadblock against any Orcs that wanted to go help the outnumbered defenders. SFSF puts together a screen but without enough available players to do that, all it takes is a two dice-block and two GFIs to get to the endzone.
Second Half - Second Drive (0 - 1)
The Orcs have precisely two turns to score and once again set up side-heavy to force a breakthrough, but a favourable kick-off event allows the Necros to re-position their defenders in response. Basically: the ball lands deep, and the one Orc who did get in scoring range on turn 15 gets mauled by a Werewolf.
Final Score (0 - 1)
This was a good game for Drakenhof, although once again, the Werewolf didn't manage to contribute much, although that might have something to do with the fact that it gets targeted in every game. Two players levelled-up: a Zombie and the Ghoul, and I saved up enough money to get a second Werewolf, which should hopefully make the Wolves a harder problem to deal with. GG Myni, and good luck with the rest of the games in the season!
