Bull centaurs first advance....a different route

[sann0638]

I like this idea with my ogres - I tend to go down the side as snots don't tend to get crowd pushed, and a crowd pushing ogre beast could pick off anyone who gets in the way. Not sure I would use a double to take frenzy though!

[mattgslater]

If you're worried about your opponent man-marking your BCs, your best options are Break Tackle, Frenzy, Mighty Blow and Block. Break Tackle lets you get away, and anything that increases your chance of injury or knockdown makes your opponent pay for that mark. Frankly, if you're up against, say, Wood Elves, then for them to mark your BC with a lineman should be to sacrifice a lineman in the first half. That's a good outcome for you. If you expect to face a lot of those teams, go Block on the Frenzy guys.

OTOH, against bashier/stronger teams, you want Break Tackle, as that'll help you get clear and move into key positions when the time comes.

Me, I'd get Block: get better at what matters. Your team needs to hit-squad any Wrestle players anyway, so the predictability downside to Block is minimal (as a Dwarf-based team, you're born, live, and die in that trap, so get over it).

If you want an alternative to Block, look not to Wrestle, but to MB. With ST4, Frenzy, MB, you can provide a bigger threat and make your opponent take a more convoluted approach to shutting this guy down. Then go Juggy or Pro later (or give in and take Block).

Another alternative: Stand Firm.

[mattgslater]

1) The Minotaur can already do that without any skill ups, in fact that is pretty much all he can do. He is otherwise useless (I've sacked mine).

IMO, the Minotaur is good for four things: 1) owning the sidelines, 2) redirecting a low-ST opponent, 3) hunting key players, and 4) getting you to the Magic Number Nine, where nine of your players all demand special effort or a bit of luck to blitz. This makes it easy to give your opponent nowhere to go! Orcs do it better, but Chaos Dwarfs can pull it off.

Put your Mino in at middle linebacker or safety, and you can stuff most opponents on defense most of the time (though this can be a tad risky). On offense, he's a great addition to a fast-moving cage, as you can set him up to throw a diagonal Block on the line from strong side tackle (a risky plan with an Ogre or Troll, but the Mino keeps his TZ if he goes wild).

Especially against ST3 opponents, a Minotaur and two Chaos Dwarfs can provide extremely rugged protection for a Hobgoblin or Bull Centaur with the ball, or, with one backer, can totally shut down a running lane (it takes an extra guy -- any guy -- if you need to redirect a Leaper, so you might drop him back to safety if that's your problem). You can use him next to your wide zone (opposite a stacked BC/Hob one in from the sidelines, with a CD with Stand Firm and/or Guard on his inside) to sew up one side entirely, or you can put him in the middle to force a deep receiving game and (with accompanying pass rush) punish elf teams for trying to throw with a lino. As if that weren't enough, he's great for running down Leapers, as he doesn't need any support for a ST2 one and is solid on a Wardancer with just one assist. In that case, BC linebackers function as "shock absorbers" (strong side) or threats (weak side).

Against heavier teams, a Minotaur can work as a Big Guy removal service or provide a third (and best) anti-Blitzer mechanism. Solid enough, if you ask me. The Loner thing really puts 'em through the ringer, but they tend to take late-turn actions anyway, and you rarely end your turn on a Mino even if he does sometimes disappoint. Just don't put him where he'll be irrelevant if he loses his action, and don't do anything stupid with him.

Does he make his value? Not really. Does he make his inducement value as a hired rookie? Yeah. He's terribly expensive and you've got 70k re-rolls, so don't start him.