Human Lineman Overview:
Human Linemen fill in all the roles that you don’t want the rest of your team doing. Primarily this means getting hit by the stronger more dangerous players on the other team. They are your cheap fodder to some extent taking the hits that you don’t want your more expensive players to take.
So as well as putting them on the Line of Scrimmage to get hit, you can also move them to mark up players on the other team for the same reason in other areas of the pitch. Use them to screen off players to keep them safe from getting blitzed. Any time they are taking a hit instead of someone else on your team, you are usually tying up an opposing player who has more worth then the Lineman as well. If you can get the oppoising teams better players concentrating on your cheapest ones, this can usually be a key to winning.
This doesn’t always mean you need to put them in base to base contact though, obviously it best to avoid giving out free blocks if you can avoid it. Look to see if you can position the Lineman in they way of where the opposing team wants to go, if they get hit and injured afterwards, at least it wasn’t one of your more useful players. If you are getting around 4 or 5 turns into a half and have plenty of rerolls left, then you can also considering trying to dodge them away a square to avoid getting hit. AG3 has a fairly good chance of pulling this off, though early in the half you may not want to be wasting your rerolls. You can always still attempt it and let them go prone without using a reroll though. Just consider if the player is better off making the opponent hit him compared to falling over and letting the other team just move where they please instead.
Linemen are also good to use as assists. If you have one free who can get to help a team mate then it is worth doing. The Blitzers are better at blocking and getting a block in your favour with an assist is even better. They can also be used to cancel out assists from the other team as well (though watch out for Guard), anyone you move into opposing tackle zones for this reason is likely to get hit the next turn, so Linemen are a suitable choice for this job.
The other main roll for a Lineman on a Human team is as a kicker, often the first one to gain a skill will be given kick unless you roll a stat increase or a double. Kick is a great skill for the Human team as you have fast players who can take advantage and you can alter the first turn for the opposing team somewhat by kicking in an area they would least like it.
Kicker:
As mentioned the first lineman to get a normal skill roll on the team is recommended to give Kick to and turn him into the teams kicker. Following Kick you will want to keep him alive on the pitch so Block or Wrestle and after that Tackle can be useful as well in the backfield where the Kicker usually should be. On doubles Dodge is great for keeping him upright more often on hits and lets you dodge away from opponents who may be looking to get a block in. Only set him up on drives you are kicking in and try to avoid getting into opposing tackle zones as they will look to target him. You only need one Kicker on a team and I’d only look to building another one should the current one die.
Grunt:
These guys get hit the most so you can either go down the route of giving them Block or taking Wrestle which can also put down the other teams players as well. Personally I prefer Wrestle, though you can obviously go for a mix, read the skill articles for more in depth strategy for both. After that Tackle can be useful if your team doesn’t have it on many of the Blitzers or Fend can free them up from being stuck in opposing tackle zones. That will mean you don’t have to dodge away from them and can also slow their progress if caging down the pitch. Doubles you can either go Dodge to keep them on their feet and be able to move away from them, or take Guard and make it harder for the other team to block you as well as making it easier to get assists for yourself. I personally prefer Guard but either works.
Human Lineman Summary:
Those are the main purposes of a Lineman on the Human team though stat increases can alter this a bit. +ST is really handy for a grunt and you can hit more players without assists, as well as making it harder to get hit as well. I’d avoid sticking him on the Line of Scrimmage when kicking though as you don’t want the other team getting free hits on him straight off. Depending on injuries though this may not be avoided. +AG on either type gives you another player who can go get the ball or you can use them to move the ball around as well, not to mention they can escape opposing tackle zones easier. +MV will let them keep up with thier faster team mates if you need to cover them or +AV keeps them on the pitch more often after they take inevitable hits.
As always you want to tailor your skill selections with some bearing on the rest of your league and the rest of your team as well. Lineman fill any gaps that your team is lacking so look to use them as such and don’t be afraid of losing them as they are your cheapest guys to replace.
thanks for some advice about linemen! I usually play Human in the PC version.
great web you have here 🙂
I understand there are no hard and fast rules about picking up +MA or +AV. I have to wonder though, with a double 5 would you pass up the stat increase for Dodge/Guard? Would you pass up the +Ma/+AV altogether if it is the first level up? I’d assume + AV is better for the “getting hit” part of the lineman job, but the +MA is great for the “annoyance” part. I guess it will really depend on the progression of the lineman. Maybe +AV for wrestlers/tacklers and + MA for Blockers/Fenders? Do you have any “usual guidelines” when making the choice?
Nearly always I would take the double if rolling 5, 5 on practically any player. Movement is generally preferred to armour on most players if you are taking one.
I think the main consideration on if you are skipping the increase is the length of the league you are playing in. In a short league then you are more likely to skip it as it may be their only skill increase. If you are playing in a perpetual environment then taking the stat increase may work out better long term as they will have more time to get more skills. Though you should consider that the stat increase is worth more towards Team Value than a normal skill, so it depends on how lean you want your TV to be. You would be really min maxing for that to really be the basis of your decision though.
For your example though I think perhaps you have them the wrong way around, someone with Block + Fend will usually get the Line of Scrimmage duty. They are therefore going to get hit more often and would benefit more from the extra armour. Someone with Wrestle and Tackle is more likely to be used to try and take down ball carriers / Block + Dodge players. Therefore the extra movement will help them get to their target easier and make it harder to run away from them. Think of the role the player is built for and then decide which would make them more effective at that.
So I’ve got a Wrestle, Guard, Tackle Lineman in a fairly experienced team (about TV 1900). He’s just rolled a double and I am killing wondering what to take on him.
Dodge seems like the obvious choice but, due to the league structure, I’ll be facing lots of other highly developed teams and they are surely going to have enough tackle to target my dodge players in the scrum. Side step seems like a nice pick for a Guard player – except I don’t have the dodge to go with it so it loses it’s effectiveness quite a lot.
Diving Tackle has it’s attractions to allow him to go completely multi-role – either hunting down scoring threats or standing in the scrum trading blows. Stand Firm is a obvious selection as well.
I really wish I’d known as I was to roll a double on him when I picked Wrestle as I’d have totally taken Block instead. I love Wrestle but it does not have the synergie with Guard that Block does.
It looks like you have already identified the obvious choices, Dodge and Side Step. Even without Dodge, Side Step will work well with Guard, as would Stand Firm as you also picked out.
Ideally though for recommending skill choices you are better off using the forum and posting a better overview of your whole team roster. I think I would have originally gone with Dodge over Guard after taking Wrestle and with Tackle as well, Strip Ball may be an option. Ultimately though I probably would go with Dodge or Side Step.
I have a lineman with shadowing and tackle. A combination which can work remarkably well, but is highly situational. I wonder, though which team it’s best for. Wood Elves or Skaven, perhaps.
Highly recommend a DP lineman later on when you can get 12 or 13 players, if nothing else they become a blitz magnet