Positionals Heavy Elf Starting Roster:
| Quantity | Player / Item | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Linemen | 240k |
| 2 | Throwers | 140k |
| 3 | Catchers | 300k |
| 2 | Blitzers | 220k |
| 2 | Rerolls | 100k |
| Total | 1Mil |
This roster trades out a reroll to go really heavy on the position players from the get go. It maximises the amount of starting skills you get, though I question how much better this team will perform with one less reroll. Also with the majority of the team being the more expensive players and no Apothecary, you are really running the risk of one taking an injury and hampering your team early on. It is much harder to protect them the more you have, especially as you are sacrificing your sacrificial Linemen to do so.
Rerolls Heavy Elf Starting Roster:
| Quantity | Player / Item | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | Linemen | 540k |
| 2 | Blitzers | 220k |
| 4 | Rerolls | 200k |
| Total | 960k |
This is another option that I’m a fan of going with. Starting with four rerolls lets you be a bit more liberal with them and makes every Elf more of a threat while you still have some remaining. However it does mean you lose the scoring potential of the Catchers but good play can go some way to compensate for that early on. It will also force you to score with either the Linemen or the Blitzers and that you won’t have Catchers hogging all the SPP. By the time you get around to saving up for Catchers you should have a nice rounded squad of players with skills. The extra saving of all those positional players also means you can bank 40k and you are guaranteed having enough for an Apothecary after your first match, even if you rolled a 1.
The trade off this roster brings is that you are paying for nine Linemen and that means you are probably paying for players that have no place on your team long term. However with a low armour team you will probably find that you will pick up injuries on players anyway. So it can be nice to have some you don’t mind getting injured early on while the team lacks in skills to better protect themselves. It is easier to protect the expensive Catchers on a more developed team than a starting one. Of course though it means longer until the Catchers are both purchased and then skilled up, like most things in Blood Bowl, little is clear cut about what the best option is.
A couple of variants off this roster would be to take an Apothecary in exchange for a reroll, though as the team is mostly Linemen I’d take the risk of waiting. You may also choose to start with a Thrower for only a 10k upgrade and most of the time you will still be able to afford the Apothecary after the first match. Starting with so many Rerolls also means you can concentrate on building a great offensive Thrower as you aren’t likely going to need to take Leader.
Elf Starting Roster Summary:
As you can see there are a few ways that players like to start an Elf side, I personally think the standard well rounded option is probably going to be the best for most players. I would advise against going heavy on the positional players from the start as it will only take a couple of injuries to really set you back. Not only do you have to save up to replace them, but you also probably only started with two rerolls and those now have doubled in price! My style of play would dictate that you start with at least three rerolls, though I wouldn’t blink twice if taking the longer term view of selecting the four reroll option.
Another option is 8 Linemen, 2 Blitzers and 2 Catchers and 2 rerolls. The bonus of this line-up is that you start with a12th man, although no Thrower.
I recently went with an Elf team in a league starting with all positionals and one reroll
my thinking was the catchers and blitzers are so expensive, they take time to afford (assuming you arent replacing players)
it doesn’t make the team any weaker, but does make them alot faster, I was actually surprised with their speed.
If any positionals are missing a game you get a journeyman anyways (which is what you would have with any other build)
after starting, apothecary, 12th player and rerolls were the priority. The positional heavy focus has helped win games which has helped the cashflow
i believe this is the only elf team where you can afford
I would go like this for a TD scoring team
4 Catchers
2 throwers
6 linemen
2 RR
It also gives you an extra elf because there is usually going to be someone KO’d or Casualtied, Although you could consider switching the extra elf for an apothecary
I certainly would always take an Apothecary over a Lineman if the money works out. It can save a more expensive player or turn a KO into a stun to keep an extra player on the pitch. That substitute may not even get a chance to come on in some games if the injury happens on the final drive.
My ideal start would be
4 linemen, 2 blitzers, 4 catchers, 1 thrower, 1 reroll, +20k towards the apoth
I totally agree that blitzers are too valuable not to start with both, they are the key players on the team in my opinion. particularly early on without a lot of block.
I
Personal fav is 3 catchers 1 thrower 2 blitzers 5 linemen an 2 rrs alotta mobility an most of ur positionals an when u lose a line man u have another catcher plus 10k towarss apoth
1 Thrower
2 Catchers
8 Lineman
4 Rerolls
1 Apothecary
This is a risky roster, only for experienced players. The offense is still powerful, and the lack of block and dodge is compensated with 4 rerolls. You start with an apothecary to save only the positionals. Your first purchases should be blitzers first, and then more catchers. Use journeyman for lineman casualties, and consider only to buy them if they win some SPP, like the MVP.
What about this roster?
2 Blitzers
1 Thrower
8 Line Elves
3 Re-rolls/4 Re-rolls
1 Apothecary/ 0 Apothecary
30k Cash
With 4 rerolls this allows you to purchase the apothecary almost guaranteed after game 1, but you could argue starting with the apo.
With no catchers, this forces the SPP to be put on your blitzers or linemen if you have to throw. I do understand that they are the best catchers in the game, but they are also spp hogs, so sharing the wealth makes it a little better when you start the score spree with them.
I wouldn’t do this in a small league but in a larger or open league, getting the catchers and the last thrower later seems like a good idea. especially since you’re going to be replacing those line elves eventually anyway.
I’d start with the extra reroll over the Apothecary. While the Catchers would be useful to have when facing more developed teams, if you are only going to be facing teams around the same value then I see no reason why you couldn’t make this work.
I have to disagree with you there coach, starting without apoth is just silly with 4 expensive positionals (2 catchers 2 blitzers) it could be devastating to suffer a perm injury or a death in the first game and not just from blocks but from fouls too or rocks been thrown,possible surfing you just never know. At least with av8 you might feel a little safer but it’s the catchers I’d be most worried about. They are red hot targets and you can’t always protect them despite the MA so taking the apoth is the smarter thing to do.