Orc Thrower Overview:
Most bashing teams don’t have access to Throwers, or players with passing access and this ability sets the Orcs apart. There are a couple of others that do but typically they have no real options for a target to pass the ball too. Khemri and Dwarfs spring to mind, Norse perhaps can but their low armour means they don’t usually like games of attrition. So Orc Throwers means you can play the team without just focusing solely on playing a hitting caging game (although that is what they are best at).
Orc Throwers have a few uses on an Orc team, firstly they add the Sure Hands and Pass skills which helps with both picking up the ball and moving it around the pitch. Both are rerolling skills so save on team rerolls as well and by using an Orc Thrower to pick up the ball, it frees up the Blitzers to do what they do best. They also have passing skill access and so can be built to move the ball around the pitch with greater ease and distance the more they develop (if you choose that route). This can stop the team from being one dimensional.
The downsides are that the Throwers are fairly slow at only MV5, which isn’t great for moving the ball around fast or covering the pitch while carrying the ball, but as they usually sit in a cage this shouldn’t be a big deal. The other issue is that Orc teams don’t have any recognised player to be the receiver, you can use Goblins or Blitzers to do the role but don’t expect amazing things from them. Throwers also have lower armour than their Orc team mates which does perhaps weaken the team’s ability to get a player advantage during a drive as the Thrower will get targeted for removal by opponents.
Ball Carrying Thrower:
- Normal: Block, Kick Off Return, Fend, Nerves of Steel
- Doubles: Dodge/Sure Feet
- Stat Increase: +ST +AG +MV
The obvious first choice for a player who will just pick the ball up and then sit in a cage is going to be Block, with also having Sure Hands this is the safest skill combination with regards to holding onto the ball. Kick off Return helps to get to the ball on a kick off, negating their slowness somewhat and helps get the ball somewhere safe. Fend will help with being able to keep moving as it will prevent players following up and getting your players bogged down (both the Thrower and his team mates). Nerves of Steel can help should you get stuck next to players and need to throw the ball away to a team mate. Doubles you have two main choices, Dodge will help keep him upright (great for a ball carrier) and obviously help dodging if it comes to that. Or Sure Feet as it will allow you that bit more range when moving making go for its less risky. Stats wise you don’t pass up +ST or +AG and +MV is obviously helpful for the extra range, far more useful than extra armour would be.
Deep Passing Thrower:
- Normal: Accurate, Safe Throw, Kick Off Return/Nerves Of Steel
- Doubles: Strong Arm, Sure Feet
- Stat Increase: +ST +AG +MV
I’m personally not a big fan of building an Orc Thrower in this method, I just don’t feel they are a good use of Team Value. They really need a double to get Strong Arm as they only have AG3 and are slow, nearly every other Thrower from other races is usually faster, more agile or even both and will have more options for team mates to pass the ball to. Ignoring all that though you will want to take Accurate first for the obvious reason to make passing easier. If you don’t get a double next then I guess Safe Throw is probably next to help against interceptions, as their low movement may make avoiding interception chances tricky. After that Kick Off Return could be useful, though Nerves Of Steel can let you get off a pass while marking someone on the opposition after you have got rid of the ball (this is kind of risky though). A second double I would look towards Sure Feet to aid movement. Stats wise +ST isn’t great for this build but it is hard to not take it, early on you can look to build them differently or later on perhaps use the double instead. +AG is obviously very helpful and so is +MV.
More Orc Thrower Builds on the next Page…
Really enjoying these articles. I’m playing an orc team right now in the cyanide pc version of the game and I pretty much made a thrower that is a combination of these different suggestions. He’s turning out pretty well and I have to say that I really like dump-off. It’s very rare that it is intercepted and it usually keeps me in possession of the ball. I try not to throw much if possible, and he does have kick off return so that he can always get the ball on the first turn it’s available. This is the first time I’ve played blood bowl and this is my first team, so I’m pretty happy that the skills I decided to go with were overall good choices.
Orc’s thrower is the only thing IMO that ORC team is better than Chaos team (Don’t count Throwing goblin due to throll’s stupidity)
It’s created diversity in game play, you can surprise the opponent who let your goblin sneak pass his line and stay near endzone.
If you decide not to make a pass it still make him worry a bit.
Hi,first of all great site coach, it gave me a lot of ideas for developing some of my players.
But now I’m a little bit unsure, what to do I have a new Orc team and my thrower got an Ag+ as his first skill and now I don’t really know where to go from there. Any Suggestions?
Thanks
+AG makes them more mobile and better at passing. I’d stick with the standard and go Block next and you can also use him on defence to pick up loose balls. Orcs don’t really have any proper receivers for a long passing game and I’m a fan of playing to your strengths. For more detailed ideas though you are better off signing up on the forum and asking. Likely to get more replies and won’t clutter up these articles with everyone asking about specific players. Thanks for compliment and glad you find it useful!
Very informative. This article was instrumental in making me realize that Orcs were more than just a one-dimensional bashing team and that they could have some kind of passing game, even if it’s not as good as the pantywaist Elves or scurrying Skaven. I’m now using both of the permitted Throwers to force my opponents to defend against a pass, even if I’ll end up running the ball most of the time.
Looking forward to the Orc Blitzers article whenever it comes out.
I don’t build orc throwers for long passing as it’s not going to be often enough that it’s needed. I’m pleased with an orc thrower I’m developing at the moment though, he’s got doubles twice so I gave him Dodge followed by +AG. If I can get a third skill and get Block on him he should be a total pain in the backside for opponents to deal with. I really like the flexibility that an orc thrower gives you. Even if you plan to run it up the gut just moving a blitzer out to one flank should make the opponent respect the possibility of you throwing it and stretch themselves out a little.
Just to clarify, you need to roll 11 to get +AG, not a double. Not sure if you are playing it wrong or you just typed it out wrong.
Ah, no that was my bad on the typing. First one I rolled doubles, for the +AG it was just the high roll of 11.
I’m having a hard time making myself get a thrower. On other teams (like say humans) it’s really a no brainer as the thrower is simply better then a lineman in every way for only 20k. For the orcs however the thrower got hit with a -AV penalty and lacks any real targets to throw at (unless you get a goblin but then goblins have their own problems). I find myself saying, “Why don’t I just skill a Lineman/Blitzer in Sure Hands to hold the ball?” That way I don’t have a more fragile player on the field to be targeted and I’m getting the same running ability or better (though no passing “bluffs” it’s true).
I like to put leader as a second skill on one of my throwers, especially if they have not rolled doubles. Its nice to get the extra re-roll especially early on and doesn’t increase your team value as much. Also can’t be stolen by a master chef.
On doubles, I take strong arm. You should always grab strong arm if you can, no exceptions. IMO, Anything else is a waste. I like to fire throwers and hire new throwers until one of them gets strong arm.
As long as you have re-rolls available, catching with blitzers is decently reliable (88%). With accurate, your opponent has to respect the danger of a pass. It’s like a poker bluff, you can win free yards in your running game with the implied threat. With strong arm + accurate, its not really a bluff anymore 😀
Remember that agile teams tend to dodge away from your hitters to avoid injuries. When you have a thrower that can actually throw, you force them to manmark your blitzers, so throwing builds help you get more injuries in a round about way.
The Thrower is an ideal wild card for an orc team; which can be used to force your opponents to plan against the fact a throw CAN be done. It always makes me shake my head over the fact all strats seem to say NEVER pass with your thrower. Yes, they have a poor movement and average agility but I’ve been using them to add much needed speed to a game; as long as you have a team reroll they are as reliable as throwing the ball around as humans.
Bash, cage and 2:1 grind – that is the orc way, but take a thrower on your drives and you have far more options; people defend well against a cage and without a few lucky stuns or KOs it can often become a trap, a handoff to a thrower who passes to the other flank and you can gain more than what could be achieved by brute force alone and forces him to split his defence.
My orc team is renouned for their passing ability (10 games, 13 completions for my orc passer – chosen skill: accurate) so people who have played me before have the choice of deploying deeper or taking a risk that I could go for a pass and push to the endzone. Having Guard, block and good strength AND a passing game is something which orcs can bring which makes them standout without the need to invest in fragile goblins.