Viva Vampire!

Which Vamp team makes it to the hallowed halls of the OCC?


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20phoenix

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Well I didnt manage to cut out the mistakes. This week was Tsarcastics Chaos who look a bit bedraggled after a stint in tier 1 with the squad nursing multiple armour breaks and only 12 players. I was put in to receive and aided by a quick snap the ball was quickly fed to Jasmine who had no trouble running it in in turn 2 for a TD and a level. The Chaos meatheads set about the vampire LOS but didnt do much lasting damage however they did leave their only tackler who also happened to be their only clawpomber and also AV7 in the open. Joe punched him in the face and his game was done. The vamps were pressuring the cage quite well and the following turn the noose was tightened when Horace and Rene marked the carrier. This was enough to force the Chaos carrier into attempting to throw a pass to a free beastman once his teammates had removed the markers but he fluffed the pass. The vamps used some gazing antics to get their hands on the ball but I was unable to clear it as I went a bit 1 crazy. The pickup was failed so I didnt want to risk a pass and I didnt want to GFI either which left me close to the sidelines. That was all the invitation his mino needed and the vamp was surfed with the ball thrown helpfully to the feet of the only Chaos player who hadnt moved buuuut he failed the pickup. Horace had an opportunity to frenzy blitz a warrior onto the ball but a necessary attempt to gaze by Joe failed when he snake eyed a dodge. He then got to his feet the following turn to chase the ball that the Chaos had by now snaffled, rolled a 1 on lust, reroll passed then another 1 on the first GFI. Facepalm. This failure got Horace surfed but although there were only four vamp players on the pitch by now one was in reach of wherever the carrier could go so there was a score on turn 7. My attempt to one turn was setup better this week but I only managed one push before the dice gave out so I fouled a beast off instead.

Second half and I had a one man advantage. A beautiful kick with an offset LOS meant his big hitters were out of the action unless he took some risks which he did but then having done the hard bit he opted to bring the carrier forward into a loose cage which the vamps took apart in two gazes (three if you count the failed one ;)). This allowed Joe to stun the carrier, screen off most of the Chaos from the action while Doris grabbed the ball. He then had a bit of a golden turn as he managed to get the pow to knock the carrier down, pick up, pass, catch and double GFI the ball down the other end of the pitch. It wasnt far enough though and Jerry quickly KO'd the offending beastmen and caught the ball on the bounce. No chance to get the ball for the Chaos that turn but I did my best to give him a chance back into the game the following turn where first action I frenzied Horace into a 1d block AFTER he had lusted so i was punished for my insolence with a skull rerolled to skull and a ST5 vamp heading for the bench. Idiot. However this did help to bring the Chaos forward which gave me space to run round their flank and get the ball to the endzone for a turn 15 score. No one turner attempt so the vamps take a 2-1 win.

Lost my strip ball/wrestle thrall and have two MNG thralls next week so will be light on thralls - good job i'm playing high elves then! 11 man high elves with 310 inducements and a team full of blodge/wrodge. Good clean family fun. Which brings me to Jasmine. Anyone keeping tabs on my teams in the last day may have noticed a trend and apparently The Stake House are no different. Express Delivery have their gutter runner who has rolled 3 +ST in his first 3 rolls, Panic Tomb now have a ST4 blitz ra to go with their ST6 Tomb Guardian and Stake House now have Jasmine to go with Horace. Two ST5 blodgers should be a nuisance for most teams....
 

20phoenix

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This weeks game was Willpowers High Elves who took Eldril and a babe to help them on their way. Willpower won the toss and put the vamps in to receive. I decided to scrap my normal plan of scoring fast and often in favour of a slow drive and it was helped by the kick scattering out of bounds for me to put into the safe hands of Jasmine. The opening blocks KO'd a sidestepper but a lust KO'd a thrall too to level the numbers. The elf blitz didnt do much and the following turn Joe got to work, badly hurting the guard lino who was apo'd. Once again the vamps removed one of their own to even up the numbers again. The vamps were in no rush to move forward and were satisfied to snipe at the elves with Joe. When the elves began to pile up on the left the vamps switched right and began to move into the elf half. An elf injured himself out after failing a GFI and as the half neared its conclusion the elves got more and more aggressive. The vamps dodged the early pressure and managed to claim a big scalp as the MA9 AG5 catcher was injured off by Joe. With a turn left on the clock the elves pushed two markers onto Jasmine, one of them with tackle. I tried to gaze Joe free to deal with the tackler but the DT elf marking him wasnt falling for it. A wrestle thrall blitzed the elf away to free Joe up to gaze the tackle elf (I had no rerolls) The gaze was successful so it was just a 2+ dodge with reroll to open the scoring. Except thanks to Cyanides crappy coding it wasnt and we fell victim to the hypno tackle bug as Jasmine rolled a 1 on the dodge and the gazed tackle elf cancelled out her dodge. Freaking Cyanide :(

Neither of my KOs returned so it was 10 vamps v 11 elves to start the second half. The elves didnt do much off the LOS blocks and looked set to try and stall out the half. Horace pushed forward to put on some pressure and the following turn a failed blitz on Horace pushed him the necessary square closer to be able to surf the thrower elf off the back of the pitch. The ball was tossed back out to the sideline and the sideline throw threw it into my half where Doris retrieved it. Elves couldn't get to the ball so blitzed Horace who stayed on his feet. Doris pushed down the left with most of the vamps for company while Horace extricated himself from the sidelines with a risky 1d block. Elves closed on Doris' position but there was plenty of space for the vamps to work in. Or would have been if they hadnt got a bad case of the munchies and were unable to move forward at all after three vamps in a row lusted. This also left a chance of a carrier blitz for the elves with Eldril opening up a path round the rear of the vamp cage. Doris was wrestled to the floor but elves couldnt retrieve it. My attempt to gaze the ball marker failed so Jasmine had to jump in and grab it from a tackle zone.Elves got some heavy pressure on Jasmine and attempted a blitz which failed but the vamps were unable to extricate themselves as the attempted blitz to break through by Jasmine ran into a lust which prevented her going forward. This left her in a slightly precarious position and some decent elf positioning earned a 2d on Jasmine which burnt the final elf reroll. Jasmine hit the deck and the blitzing elf caught it on the full. Final turn and I needed a miracle to win but at least I couldnt lose. A 1d block on the carrier failed so I went for an elaborate chain push blitz from Horace to push the carrier next to another vamp who could get a 2d. It took the final reroll to do it but the ball was popped loose and conveniently scattered out the back. Doris evaded the DT elf to grab the ball, run around the rear of the ruck with a 3+ pass and catch combo to a free thrall needed to win the game. We never got to find out as Eldril burst away from the scrum to make the interception.

Don't see many 0-0 draws with vamps and although there was still a chance to fail it I do feel a bit robbed by the bug. Despite a mediocre start to the season the promotion race isn't out of reach yet - if either of the top two drop points we'll still be within a win of them. Joe had an excellent game with 3 casualties and Filet Mignon, our wrestle leader thrall got the MVP for the second game in a row which takes him to level 4. He's rolled a double so i'm thinking dodge to give him some protection for his niggle.
 
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20phoenix

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MD5 was Scarons Khemri. He put in 100k for a bribe, I won the toss and chose to kick. Scaron didnt get much joy against the LOS although he did down Jasmine and was preparing for a foul but a failed pickup prevented him from following through. Joe tried to push a thro-ra onto the ball to try and scatter it back towards him but with no success. The khemri got the ball at the second time of asking and rushed it into the vampire half, trying to cut off half the vamps who were the other side of the ball. However Doris' range was enough to get a gaze on an obstructing thro-ra which opened up a blitz opportunity for Jasmine to double pow the carrier. A nice scatter rolled the ball out of the back of the Khemri huddle into one skelly TZ. It was also next to a downed Rene who got to his feet, made the 3+ dodge, ate a reroll picking up the ball but got it in the end. He handed the ball of to Joe who disappeared into the Khemri half. Scaron made some GFI's to get a 1d on Joe but after rerolling a Gfi the blitz came up skull so Joe ran in the opener on turn 4. The Khemri's second attempt was slowed down by the thro-ra flubbing the deep kick again and by the time he got the ball Doris was in range to haul him down. Doris was surfed to KO for her trouble and the Khemri recovered the ball but the manpower that was sent back to retrieve it was needed on the front lines where the two possible scorers were trying to fend off the attentions of Rene and Horace. They had the sniff of a chance but a 1d block was rerolled to a skull and the scoring opp was over there.

Second half and the Stake House were down to 4 vamps, Joe getting hurt on the second drive and Doris still sleeping from the KO. Sir Loin fielded the kick (I think he's caught the kick off every game this season!) but the vamps made little headway into the Khemri half. The Khemri put the squeeze on, taking down Jasmine and fouling her for a niggle. The apo came out and downgraded it to a MNG but regen kicked in and kept her available for next week. The final action for the Khemri was for a TG to try and 4+ BT to slap Sir Loin but he failed and the vamp forces pushed into the Khemri half. A screen was made for Rene and Sir Loin completed the screen before passing the ball to him but a hero blitz from the freakish blitz-ra (2 GFIs and a 1d) took him down and the ball was double marked. A couple of risky 1ds cleared a path for Horace to try and gaze off the final marker from the ball but he snake eyed his dodge. The vamps were in real trouble now as they had no one on their feet and the ball was in a thro-ras hands. A hero blitz of my own with Horace knocked the ball loose at the expense of Horace himself (he lusted but i didnt reroll as I needed to make dodges to make the blitz). The Khemri then failed the next pick up but I had little to offer other than to surround the ball markers. The remaining Stakers were easily pushed off and the thro-ra made the pickup this time and ran out of reach. Still time for Sir Loin to be fouled out BH before the equalising score was run in.

Not much to comment on about the game itself - if i'd have made that second score the game would have been over but I didn't so it wasnt :p A couple of MNG thralls next week but other than that nothing serious. No winnings again this week so I remain rooted to 380k and my promo chances are all but gone - 1-3-1 not exactly promotion form. I get the feeling i'm going to grow old and die in 2A ;)
 

crimsonsun

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I am sure you will get your season of glory sooner or later don't worry! That Khemri side makes me green with envy so getting any result against them is a good thing. Also 1-3-1 is far from the worst season ever so I would be less critical in you assessment of the season, especially since two of those games were against Elves who are considered a difficult game for vampires I believe.

crimsonsun
 

20phoenix

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MD6 was Skunks undead. Undead are normally a nice matchup for vamps but I was a bit wary of going into a game with a fouling side when I was two thralls down. With his inducements Skunk hired Ramtut and as always the vamps chose to kick. I wasn't given much to aim at in the first couple of turns so the team basically milled about until an opening appeared and it came in turn 3. The carrier ghoul had been flushed out of his cage with both Horace and Jasmine menacing the cage but could only get to a position where it would take GFIs to get to him. Doris made the GFIs and floored the ghoul with Rene able to make some dodges and a GFI to grab the loose ball. The undead couldnt take him down but shoved him out of scoring range then blocked his path. I wanted to go back and switch flanks but a nicely positioned wight prevented that and the attempted blitz to move him only got a push. I was going to run him forward and away from the cluster of undead players but a snake eyed lust roll forced me back again to bite the only thrall he could reach. This put him right in the middle of the scrum again and he was taken down and the ball recovered. My attempts to take down the ghoul failed miserably through a combination of bad gazing and failed knockdowns to clear the path. The ghoul broke down the right flank and got a screen but a gaze opened a small opportunity to 1d the carrier but Doris failed the first GFI. My one turn attempt failed - i'd like to blame it on the failed handoff to Doris but to be honest i was struggling to come up with a way to get the final push I needed.

Second half the vamps set up for a quick score. Doris was sent forward with a thrall for company but the screen that was being constructed for Rene had to be hastily reassembled around Sir Loin as Rene refused to catch the pass and it scattered back to Sir Loin who caught it. Problem was he was part of the screen so was exposed and a mummy deposited him on his arse. The undead couldnt get to the loose ball so tied up what they could. The vamps went to work on the right flank of the formation, freeing up Blue Cheese Sauce to catch a pass from Rene who had evaded the attentions of a wight to make the pick up. Blue Cheese Sauce then ran out of blitzing range tight to the sideline while Horace ran interference. The undead got one ghoul marking the thrall but couldnt get a second after a ghoul failed his dodge and it was easy enough for Rene to gaze Filet Mignon free to blitz off the ghoul and run in the score.

The second undead offence was a total mess for the vamps as they went lust crazy, the first three vamps I moved all failed KOing Filet Mignon and Sir Loin, my two best thralls and stunning a third. The undead brought the ball forward and for the most part it was fairly well protected. It looked like it might be over here but a couple of gazes opened up the undead screen in turn 13 and Doris was able to get a 2d on the carrier but 4 pushes was not what I needed! It was enough to spook the undead into scoring though so the vamps had two turns to level it up.

Sir Loin returned to the pitch and got under the kick but failed the catch. The vamps followed the same plan as the previous drive but this time Rene caught it and ran behind the screen. Undead bodies piled in front of him to block his path but there was a chance. Horace tried to gaze a hole in the top of a column but failed however his assist was enough for Filet Mignon to 1d pow a ghoul down. This allowed Rene to blitz the rear of the column which got the push he needed to get through. He failed the dodge away from the ghoul but the reroll saved him leaving him to make 2 naked GFIs to tie the game. Undead didnt try to one turn so the game finished 2-2.

Interesting game - I had a couple of chances to turn it into a win but the dice weren't particularly co-operative. Skunk positioned well and generally made things tough too.

Post game the big news is the death of Jasmine, the junior ST5 vamp. Dead apo dead fail regen is pretty conclusive :p We will also be missing the services of two rookie thralls for Davo's chorfs next week so i'm not sure that I will replace the vamp straight away. Running 6 vamps, 8 thralls against a bash side seems ike its asking for trouble. The other post game news is that both Rene and Jerry leveled. Jerry rolled 6+4 so we have our second +MA vamp but the tougher decision is Rene who rolled 5+5! He's currently blodge/DT so this poses a problem as if he takes the MA then he wont get SF/tackle until legendary which is what he really needs to make that combo work so i'm a bit undecided on this one. I have a week to mull it over though
 

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Skilled Vamp's biggest problem is that they're slow - out of +MA and DT I reckon +MA is more useful in the long run.
 

Nikolai II

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Most vampire coaches seem to say "all the stats, all the time" when it comes to vampires.
 

20phoenix

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After a lengthy period of soul searching I took stand firm on the marker. Davo stacked up on players so I was receiving 190k inducements but down a vamp and two thralls. I replaced the vamp and bought a merc thrall to give me 15 players against all that MB.

I was put in to receive first so i set up for a quick score. Davo's kick was right on the LOS on the opposite flank to my setup but a high kick got Sir Loin underneath for the catch. Doris pushed forward into the chorf half, Sir Loin passed the ball to Jerry who ran to screen Doris while handing the ball off to her. Joe's blitz on a killer chorf knocked him over but didnt do much else. Chorfs piled players in the way but no damage on the blitz. It looked like I might I have to backtrack but I sent the rookie vamp Prudence in to see if she could gaze a bull in a TZ. She could. Big future for this one. I blocked anything I could but rolled a double skulls on one. Still had to make lust and a GFI for Doris to score. Balls. Risked it anyway. 1-0 Stake House.

Vamps set up in standard formation. Chorfs punch thralls. Thralls take their beating well and no one leaves the pitch. First time for everything. The ball is retrieved by a hob but there's a possible path through. Two gazes later and a hole has been opened. Horace races through and concusses the AG4 hob. Apo'd to niggle or MNG - cant remember which then double GFI's and picks up. Not abusing the D6 at all. Doris goes through the gap as well but snake eyes the one GFi she needed to tie up the chorf right flank. That right flank takes down Horace and stuns him but cant retrieve ball.Its in two chorf TZs so Jerry tries to dodge to gaze off one. Snake eyes. Half the vamps are on the floor and the defence looks in tatters. AG4 bull picks up the ball and runs into a heavy cage. There's a weak corner where the mino is so Horace gazes him while Rene marks up the assisting hob. Doris has a 1d on the bull and rolls a push. After some lengthy thinking I reroll to a stumble. Ball is loose but I can't reach it. I can pollute the pick up area though and prevent chorfs picking it up. Chorfs return the favour and crowd the ball too. Next turn I frenzy a bull onto the ball and clear off one of the TZs. A gaze removes another. Joe grabs it from under the bulls nose and runs away. Chorfs cant knock anything over let alone hurt anything so can only mark Joe with a single hob. Horace gazes him off and Joe scores a second to make it 2-0. Chorfs have two turns to pull one back but forget the kicker who places it in the most awkward spot. Chorfs dont break the vamp line but theres still time to injure another hob with Doris.

Second half and its still 11v11 although vamps bench has now gone. Chorfs start to KO players. My attempts to halt the cage progress are feeble and leave a gaping hole right in the centre for the chorf cage to run through. Chance for Rene to put his new stand firm to use but he gets hungry and the chance to mark the carrier is lost. Only two vamps stand in the way of the entire chorf cage. Two vamps fail to stop the score. 2-1 at the top of the 12th.

Some KOs come back but its now 11v9 in the Chorf favour with our rookie vamp taking a snooze. Horace sits in the middle ready to play a deep lying stalling game if necessary. Beautiful chorf kick hits the endzone corner. Sir Lins KOR helps as he is able to grab the ball and pass it to Horace who stays put. Chorf mino is stunned on LOS. Chorfs push onto the vamp line but dont injure anything. Both bulls are on the left flank so I push everything right. Another vamp is KO'd on the chorf turn as their forces are pulled back to the right. Decision time - push forward with a minimum of two players maybe more if I make some rolls or drop back and defend the ball with more. I push forward preferring to lose the ball in the chorf half than my own. Sir Loin makes a one man screen for horace to stand on sidelines but fail rolls to get more players there, lust forcing one vamp back, a failed dodge KOing the other potential screener. Chorfs trap Horace against the sidelines but one of the markers is a defenceless hob. Before I try anything the only scoring threat, the AG4 bull is gazed to make a TD unlikely. Horace uphill blitzes the hob and knocks him down but is still trapped against sidelinel. Dodges can get him free but no reroll so decide to stay put. Chorfs get all pushy and fail to knock him down guaranteeing a vamp win. Horace has another uphill blitz to try and score. This time rolls a skull on the 1d followup but passes the reroll. Fails the dodge to get away though so game ends 2-1.

Amazing gaze rolls and good early armour rolls were big here. Keeping players on the pitch for long enough to turn the ball over is ket to Chorf games and thats what happened here.

Stake House get their fifth ever superstar as Doris scored a TD and a casualty and takes sidestep. Positional skills on all 5 skilled vamps now. A dead thrall gets replaced and finally for the first time in a while we will be fielding 16 of our own players next week. Huzzah!
 

20phoenix

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Nice one 20, beat them chorfs! I have to say that an AGI 4 Bull is screaming for a bounty. Someone should tell Bob.

My vamp game plan against chorfs tend to be "balls out from the off before casualties catch up with me". Worked this time
 

20phoenix

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Because i've been a good little boy an everything I got a second dose of killy chorfs this week, this time at the hands of Magus. Full team was available and enoough inducements for a babe. Noice.

Vamps were told to kick so they did. A perfect defence saved one or two beatings and we still had a full team by our first turn. Unexpected. Faffed around a bit as the ball looked a risky proposition before using my blitz on a chain push to free a downed thrall except the target had stand firm. Doh. Chorfs stayed hovering around the LOS and screwed myself out of a BC blitz by putting Horace in the wrong square. Niggly mistakes. Magus made his own niggly mistake the following turn, forgetting to un gaze the chorf that Horace was staring at and this directly led to Horace blitzing down the ball carrier although he needed a reroll to do it. Ball carrier was KO'd as a brucie bonus, I couldnt get my hands on it but I could pollute the pick up area. Chorfs cleared it out as well as possible but a vamp was still marking the ball. Super hob (he's nothing special but i'm giving him this name for this game) dives in and picks the ball up anyway while blitzing the vamp away at the same time. Vamps knock the carrier down again but still cant get the ball and slowly but surely attrition was beginning to take its toll. A vamp had KO'd itself trying to dodge, another got a fractured skull from a block which the apo healed up so when the chorfs picked up the ball again half my team was floored and I was well out of position. When a vamp lusted on a blitz first action I just let him go, giving up on defending the TD in favour of keeping players available. Nothing much happened in my turn 8 so went into half time 1-0 down.

Second half and a rock nobbled a level 5 blocker which was handy and the vamps secured the ball easily enough but uncharacteristically I didnt commit men forward for a quick score. The chorfs got themselves in the way and with both bulls on the left flank I pushed right. At least i tried to. A vamp gazed one blocker to open up a gap but the block required to open it wide enough to send the thralls through too lusted then failed to knock down the blocker on the block. A wrestle thrall eventually did the business and 4-5 Stakers poured through the gap and in range of a score. There was little the Chorfs could do to stop the scoring run the following turn so they had to sit back and hope i failed something. I didnt so the game was tied up in turn 11 at 1-1.

Another perfect defence helped protect the players again although I did lose a thrall this time. When I also lost a vamp on the blitz as well things took a bit of a turn for the worse. However there was a possibility at opening up the chorf defence with a couple of gazes. Took a few vamps to do it but the chorf defence was opened up and the carrier blitzed down, again needing a reroll to do it. With all the players committed to getting the ball I had no one to retrieve it but it slowed the chorf offence down at least. Chorfs were unable to remove the marker from the ball but super hob dived into the TZ again and retrieved the ball once more - this time adding a dodge on the end. There was no where particularly safe to go though and he found himself on the floor again the following turn. The ball scattered into chorf TZs so i settled for cramming players around but the chorf plan for retrieval failed when super hob failed a GFI and injured himself off. Wasnt sad to see the back of him. That failure gave me a chance to grab the ball but the DT bull was marking the ball. I tried to gaze him but failed so Doris blitzed him down from a standing start then clearly having watched the hob earlier, hopped into two TZs, grabbed the ball, dodged away and double GFI'd to get as far away as possible. Things looked dire for the chorfs as the only player in range was the tackle less MA8 bull who had no help so a 1d pow was required. It took a reroll to do it but the bull did it and then heroically picked the ball up as well. Damn. I tried my own 1d blitz but couldnt get the bull down with reroll and the following turn he dashed into the vamp half with his eyes on a late winner. Vamps had enough players available to make it damn difficult for him and an early failure in the turn ended the game 1-1.

Pretty interesting game all in all. Managed to knock the ball loose on multiple occasions in both defensive drives but was unable to capitalise. Came close to the win at the end but it wasnt to be. No level ups to speak of or injuries for that matter and a nice 70k winnings roll means i'm making some profit this MD to help top up the coffers. Promotion is over but I will be fighting for my 4th consecutive top half finish in tier 2 next week. We're nothing if not consistent.
 

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2A this season stacks up like this:

AndyDavo - That's Bull$hit - Chaos Dwarf -

I know Davo's going to be keen on this one after my vamps edged the dice last season in this fixture. The team looks increasingly horrid - an AG4 MA7 bull fixes chorfs biggest weakness while three clawpombing blockers and another claw/mb on top of that make this a pretty nasty fixture. Predict a chorf win here.

Magus - Hashut's Chosen - Chaos Dwarf -

This team is not too dissimilar from Davo's - an MA8 bull which at least doesnt have the AG boosts of Davo's. 2 clawpombers instead of three with a ST4 claw/MB as backup. Team is carrying a few injuries but most of them are meaningless (AG busted blockers anyone?)
20phoenix - The Stake House - Vampire -

Back once again for the renegade vampire

Geiger - Gods and Hero's - Lizardman -

This team has seen better days. Currently at 1550 TV (1650 with MNG) with two skillups pending and missing a Krox. The real danger here is the DT skinks. Only a few players of note - an AG4 skink superstar and an MA9 skink with a punchy frenzosauarus for some hitting power. Would expect at least a draw from this especially since thats the results of our previous two meetings :p

willpower68 - Veni vidi vici (OCC) - High Elf -

Tricksy elves up next who can boas three AG5 players and a ST4 player in their 2260 TV roster. Lots of blodge and wrodge - the key question here as with most elf games is can i get my hands on the ball before i've eaten half my team. Should be an interesting game

Zulu501 - Chakalaka - Khemri -

Ah Khemri. A race that always makes a vampire coaches eyes light up. 1850 TV (1890 with MNG) and without the mass grab and block that makes Scarons Khemri so difficult. MA7 ST4 thro-ra and AG3 thro-ra are the biggest threats on the team. Neutralise those and a result should be on the cards.

Waleed - Waleed's Specialists - Dark Elf -

From one of my favourite to one of my least favourite. This one is a bit different though as they really dont have a lot to show for 1920 TV. Only one stat up, a ST4 MB superstar blitzer but other than that there really isnt much else. However elves with a bench and inducements can be troublesome and the coach is no slouch so this will be a tricky game.

Patros - Dark and Edgy Team - Undead -

Never played against an MA4 ST7 block tackle mummy before. Looks like i will this season! Both mummies have block and one of the wights is ST4 blodge. A niggled level 5 ghoul does the ball handling but other than those its a pretty routine undead team. Certainly beatable.

Pidpad - Turf Torpedoes - Underworld -

Excited about the prospect of playing the torpedos. The lack of clawpomb is pleasing and the team is also light on tackle too. Gosta Gravling will be vampire enemy #1 with his claw/mb/tackle/dauntless combo. If I can take him out the game my chances of winning improve drastically. If not it could be decided by how close I can get to the ball and whether the crazier plays that are in any underworld coaches locker come off.

Antonlunau - Ghouls Gone Wild - Undead -

Just 6 leveled players on this squad, with most of the levels on a legend MA7 AG4 wight and a superstar MA8 ST4 ghoul. We've won our only run in with this team before and it will be interesting to see how Anton fares without his obligatory frenzy ghoul. Could be a tough season for this team but if anyone can perform miracles with them its Anton.

Looks like a pretty nice division this season - certainly one of the better chances i've had to get that promotion i've been chasing
 

20phoenix

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Season started with one of my highlighted "crunch" games - Willpowers High Elves.

Vamps started with the ball and shoved some folk around at the LOS while Joe KO'd a guard lino. Sir Loin did his thang, grabbing the ball to pass it to the rookie vamp, Prudence who dashed forward into a cage. Willpower shoved Joe around for a bit before failing something allowing the vamps to run it in uncontested in turn 2.

Next kick off the elves managed a double skulls in their first turn but recovered. Problem was this left them with no reroll for the pickup which was flubbed leaving the ball fairly accessible for the vamps. Stakers swamped the ball, cleared off the marking elf and the ball was gathered and again passed to Prudence. Elves piled left to get in the way and not fancying trying to get through there the vamps went backwards to offload the ball to Joe who was able to pass it off to Jerry in a classic switch play. The rest of the team ran interference but it wasnt quite good enough as jerry was taken down but sidestepped next to Joe to keep the ball in his TZ. This was enough to keep the ball loose as the elf pickup failed. Elves were cleared from the area and a cage set up next to the ball for Doris to run into as she retrieved the ball. Willpowers first move was to fail a GFI so the vamps were free to move the ball next to the endzone and pass it off to Prudence. A brave elf tried to gatecrash the cage but Prudence was not to be denied and the vamps went two up.

Willpowers day went from bad to worse as a blitz on the kickoff in a just in range spot meant the elves started their turn staring at Doris holding the ball. She was wrestled down though and the loose ball was gathered and sent into the hands of the MA9 AG5 catcher who disappeared off to the brink of the endzone. This wasnt quite far enough as the only vamp in range was Jerry who had to double GFI to get there but stunned the catcher when he got there and Horace was able to double mark the ball with him to ensure no score from the elves before HT.

Second half, second blitz event. This was much worse, close to the LOS and in space for the vamps to protect the area well with Jerry fielding the catch. Elves couldnt touch Jerry so settled for marking everything up. I couldnt see a way to get anywhere so managed to create a sideline pocket for Jerry which was soon swarming with elves. Horace was also killed on a blitz on this turn :eek: but the apo downgraded it to a niggle :( however regen cleaned the slate :D This forced me backwards again as this time the ball was entrusted to a thrall for another switch play but I messed up a bit in movement priority meaning the thrall wasnt screened properly and the thrall found himself on his backside. The elf catcher couldnt secure the loose ball though but I had to abandon any wild hopes of trying to nab the ball as all the vamps were on the wrong side of the pitch. A blitz from Jerry left the MA9 AG5 catcher with a broken jaw which bought the vamps another turn to try and retrieve the ball which was critical as the elves managed to recover the ball but not get it out of their half. They survived a few blocks from the vamps but a blitz knocked the ball loose and the ball was recovered by Joe who hugged the sideline as a hastily constructed screen tried to block access to him. Elves could only get two markers on him an the blitz failed to remove either so he had to take a rather more circuitous route to the endzone but he made it safely to put the vamps three up.

Two more turns for the elves to score a consolation but having failed to knock down doris on the blitz they decided against trying to dodge anyone through the vamp lines so no one was in range for the score. 3-0 to the Stake House.

Vamps could do no wrong today whereas Willpower kept failing crucial things which the vamps capitalised on. No lasting injuries, a skill on the rookie Prudence and some cash in the bank made this a good day at the office.
 

20phoenix

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Patros' undead blew through my armour first half to have almost all vamps off pitch by turn 5. I kept trying and succeeding to knock the ball loose but my one chance to keep the ball was messed up by a thrall who couldnt GFI. Ended the half with one thrall on the pitch :eek:

Second half the third blitz event of the game had 4 undead surrounding the ball but a chainpush and a gaze made it one TZ which was just too few to prevent me grabbing the ball and running off with it. A wizard and a wight had successive turns to get it back but Jerry ran over to tie the game. The final drive was crazy with both teams failing simple rolling sequences to win. Undead had two GFIs and a handoff, failing at the handoff, I had a handoff to Sir Loin who passed it to a thrall who caught it but snake eyed the solitary GFI into the endzone.

One rookie thrall MNG is the only permanent damage I sustained (apo saving Jerry from a niggle) so nearly a full team for the game against Pidpads underworld next week. His MB/claw/tackle blitzer is MNG so the real threat is that nasty thrower of his, Gosta. Block, MB, Claw, Tackle, Dauntless. Joe's priority target....
 
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20phoenix

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MD2 and MD3 were against people that write match reports so of course i'm going to save myself some work by copy and paste work :p

First up is Patros Undead - he of the MA4 ST7 block tackle mummy fame :eek:

MD2 : vs The Stake House, Vamps

Vamp Teams are such a rarity, I am not used to HypnoGaze.
Every time i play vamps, all my thralls die in the first half, so I am wary of a coach who managed to get his team through a lot of seasons and still keep a decent stock of some amazing thralls.
4 of his 5 vamps are really good, all those good ones have blodge.

Spoiler
(not accurate, MD3 has been played already)

I picked up the wiz, 1 bribe, and 2 babes.
I won the toss, chose to receive to maybe kill some thralls, allthough with 5 thralls on the sidelines even if every single one would be lost, phoenix still has enough to fill for a 2nd half.
I load the LOS with MB to maybe get a few hits in, 3 ghouls in the back this time with Guardo behind the line.
The kick-off comes right next to a backfield ghoul, and the one time i dont put up flank guards, it is BLITZ time :Bananas:

Of course he immediately swarms my side!
He bases Ball Man and my 2 players behind the LOS.
He doesn't get a blitz in, though.
The ball scatters away from the 2 Vamps that were next to the drop, so that's a plus.
Now, to my turn 1. Hooray.

Apparently, The Legend does not like to be hypno'd, so it works its magic and :zzKO: 's the +str vamp. Noice.
Other blocks break armor as well, but no major results.
I manage to dodge out Ball Man, it does its job, and I form up next to my my mummies with a few players covering the 3 vamps behind me in at least one TZ.
Alas, there is Gaze, and a vamp manages to down the Ball, but fails the pickup (was in a TZ).

Death BHs the newbie vamp, who fails his regen. :zzCAS: I wrestle the MV Vamp, and the loose ball is picked up by Guardo.
I form a cage again, but 2 vamps remain standing and free to roam.
Gaze doesn't work and then does, his MB vamp stuns Guardo, but :zzKO: 's a thrall in the process (he had to dodge into a TZ, but who cares about those, right? :D )
The loose ball is caught by, who would have guessed, the SPP Whore on a 6.

Ultra :zzKO: 's the MB vamps into the bells on a blitz, a hand off gives the ball to the Ball Ghoul again.
But hey, he is seperated from it again by the MV vamp... I should really learn how to deal with those crazy eyes.
This time, the vamp picks it up, but a thrall trips on a gfi, :zzKO: 'ing himself and leaving an opening.
Ultra uses this, and hurts the mv vamp, but regen works this time.
Then it is Death's turn to hurt a vamp, but the apo is used to keep this one in the game.
The nasty sucker steps on the ball, though, which scatter into the hands of a noob thrall. Meh. Google%20Eyes.png
The thrall is sandwiched by 2 guys instantly, the remaining (downed) vamp is covered by 3 guys, 1 has tackle.

Sounds good, right? Nope.
Vamp dodges out 2 times and the thrall manages to perform an inaccurate long pass, which lands next to the vamp, who has stand firm btw. I guess vamps are elfy enough to trigger my elf-curse :ham:
I surf the thrall as punishment (nothing happens), but the good wight knocks down the last vamp.
Utility comes in with the boot, and it actually works for once! :zzKO:
I can pick up the ball, and stroll down the pitch now, a fodder zombie gets sent off for kicking the leader thrall :zzKO: .
I score on turn 8

1-0 :zzTD:

All the vamps manage on their turn is to :zzKO: a fodder zombie, who comes back for the 2nd half.
The strong vamp and the SF, DT vamp as well as the leader thrall stay out.

I set up behind the LOS in a typical pyramid formation, putting Des on the line this time to deter any bashing.
And now, I get to blitz! Silly game :clown:
I put 4 TZs on the ball, but blitz and gaze only leave 1, which the agi thrall ignores.
He then passes it the the MV vamp, who runs past my line, covered by a screen of thralls (who all roll 5s on their dodges).

Well then, wizard time!
It works, but the vamp's armor holds, and Ball Ghoul fails the pickup (after a :zzKO: on a thrall), leaving it in just 1 TZ, which is proven to do nothing.
As usual, the blitz by the MV vamp clears the ball, and he picks it up.

At this point, I cannot knock the ball loose, and sure enough pheonix scores on turn 11.

1-1 :zzTD:

His DT vamp wakes up together with the leader.
I set up with flank guards this time, but now the weather changes from normal to sunny.
Kick is right in the middle, i form an extended cage of 2 layers now.
After losing 1 fodder to a BH :zzCAS: , I form a rough sideline cage in hopes of scoring the win.
I fuck it up though, which means Wrestle gets surfed.
Luckily, the crowd is timid today.
Also, MVP gets BH'd, but regens.

Desperate, i dodge out MASTABLASTA, do both GFIs, do another 2 GFIs with EzIo and try to hand off, but finally it fails, leaving the ball next to the 2 Ghouls and to the sideline.
Queue the vamps moving up, but failing to clear the ball for once, :zzCAS:ing a thrall in the process.
At last a thrall gets MNG'ed by Des, but i cannot clear the 2 vamps off the ball.
Pheonix then blitzes, pushing the ball out of bounds.
The scatter then flies... right into the hands of the blitzer :clown:
A thrall is moved down my half.
I manage to base him, but i forget about the free AGI Thrall, and Pain fails a GFI to cover the scoring threat.
The vamp is freed by a blitz, hands off to the AGI thrower, who only has to do a short pass. Uhoh :Gutted:
The thrall moves.
The drums start rolling.
He does the first GFI.
He does the 2nd.
1.
Reroll.
1.

THANK YOU, NUFFLE! :saint:


I spend the last turn doing leftover blocks.
Then it is EzIo's turn.
:zAD: :zAD: ...
Broken Neck.
:RIP:

SCREW YOU, NUFFLE! :angry:

Conclusion: Vamps are nasty.
Elven category nasty.
Must improve.

So close to a win.....

And for MD3 Pidpads Underworld - was looking forward to this one.

Md3 vs The Stake House

Inducements: Wizard, Whuut (tackle blitzer), 2x babes

I win the toss and opt to kick.
On T2 a vampire fails a gfi (with re-roll) to score. Harry Hamster picks up the ball, passes Cateater John who scampers downfield, survives the blitz dodges away and makes a gfi to score on T3. Justice.
The crowd goes wild and riots a bit. The clock gets moved back. Vampires score in two turns. Meh.

Our attack is foiled, but then lightning strikes (yes, wizard attacking drive) and Porkchop can finally score on T6.
The vampires yet again score in two turns. Do they think they're elves?

We go for the 1TTD, the vampire kicker has strayed out on a flank which surprisingly meant we could reach the ball. Everything goes according to plan and Traffic Light soars over the head of the defensive line and scores.
3-2 at half time. Crazy game.

The second half is less exciting as it's our drive (and I honestly hate receiving against vampires, you can't protect the ball carrier especially if he's a goblin) and it quickly becomes a mess. Traffic Light gets the bright idea to go flying again (had it worked it would have been a certain TD) but fails the landing (after using the re-roll on a hand-off). From that point things get wonky. The vampires eventually end up scoring on T14. So, two turns to score. Ought to do.
Perfect Defense. Arrgh!

We try the 1TTD anyway but fail spectacularly.

The vampires send a vampire and a thrall down a flank. We surround the vampire and Teargas shoves the thrall into the vampire who goes into the crowd. As a bonus the thrall gets hurt. This means the vampires can't score. We have a small chance to win the game still. Unfortunately it involves Gösta dodging, picking up, gfi-ing, handing-off among things. He fails the dodge predictably enough.

End result

TD: 3-3 (Cateater John (sitting at 75 spp), Porkchop (getting a skill), Traffic Light)
Cas: 2-2 (Whuut, Norbert 'Teargas' Nohope)
Passes: 3-5 (Harry Hamster (3))
MVP: Whuut (curses!)

Player of the match: Tough choice here but we'll go for Harry Hamster and his three passes.
Flop of the match: Baron Battery. On the pitch for a turn, didn't do anything.
Donk report: 15/15 really stupid. That's never going to happen again. That said he was rather inefficient with his blocking, rarely breaking armor and causing no damage.

Again so damn close to the win but this one was my fault. I should have put the thrall level with the vamp and a square away - would have been impossible to surf from that position but we live and learn. Made a few key errors that game which were probably the difference between a win and a draw. Hope that doesnt come back and bite me in the arse.
 

20phoenix

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Only just discovered that the best protected thrall in the OCC is MNG for MD4 :(

Cant remember the last time I had to use a vamp for backfield recovery.....

Next match just became huge since i'm two thralls down for the game v lizards
 

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After outsourcing my match reports to Germany and Sweden for the last two matchdays the job has been brought back to England where technical difficulties resulted in a 2/3 written match report being lost when my laptop overheated. In true English style I can't be bothered to write it a second time :p

The short version - leaving a skink alone in the backfield while you do GFI blitzes at the other end is bad. 1-0 vamps. Having a Krox as the only receiver in range in turn 8 is bad. 2-0 vamps. Not having Sir Loin is bad - Doris rolled lust 1, reroll 1, pickup 1 when trying to retrieve the ball in turn 9. Recovered from the setback though. 3-0 vamps. Running out of players is bad. Spent the rest of the game scrabbling around just slowing down the lizards enough to cling on to a 3-2 win. We don't do dull games.

Next week a full squad take on Antons division leaders with a win putting the vamps into the top spot.
 

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Threw the kitchen sink at Anton but still lost 1-0. Game began to spiral when a string of lusts bit for casualties in the first half but popped the ball loose. Wizard recovered it before some desperation blitzing knocked the ball into the crowd only to see it get thrown straight to Antons other wight. He runs down with the ball and passes it back to the AG4 wight.Desperation blitz #2 also comes off and stuns the wight leaving no one able to score. 2 vamps stay KO'd and the leader was injured first half so now seems a good time for the chef to take 3 rerolls. Final reroll goes on my first block as I skull. Go through a couple of turns where I have chances to break away with the ball but lust stops me getting anywhere and the carrier eventually goes down and the ball is caught by the blitzer. Engineer an opening to blitz the carrier a turn later - lust again. One turn later another opening - lust again but this time i have food and the carrier goes down. Ball bounces to a mummy who catches it. FML. By now the few remaining players are out of position and one last effort to dislodge it on a -2D fails.

Not much I could do about that one. Felt like i was playing dark elves with dump off.

-MA on a guard thrall - fire or keep?
 
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