AG 4 orc Lineman

[DeeTee]

Hi,

I've rolled +1 AG for my Orc Lineman. It's his first skill.

I thinking of taking it to develop him as a ball carrier. I currently use my Thrower for this - with Sure Hands to pick the ball up and passing skill to Quick Pass it away if he's in danger.

I use my Blitzers to protect him and generally harass the oppositions defences or take up positions in the cage.

Is an AG4 Orc Lineman worth it or should I just take a normal skill?

Cheers

Danny

[Magictobe]

Always take agility. It is a good ball carrier, it is a mobile blitzer, he will stay longer on it's feet, it is a good retriever when ball is loose, ...

This is a non brainer.

[Digger Goreman]

A slow elf with armor 9... a-yep.... Never refuse the cheese!

[fire olli]

Take the AG. Stick him in the back field and give him the ball for the slow grind up field. Once he gets another skill you have yourself a slow blitzer with a slight threat of the AG

[Fassbinder75]

Orcs don't have to be played conservatively. On offense an AG4 Lineman makes a good "carrot" if he's 5-7 squares away from the end zone, he can be used as a diversion at the very least forcing your opponent to mark him - even then he can dodge away with relative ease. As well as being a ball retreiver he can use his AG to get into a better support position for a blitz. AG+ is great for anybody who starts with a base of 3.

[DoubleSkulls]

I'd probably try and feed him TDs to get to the 2nd skill quickly.

Then you need to decide how to develop him. AG4 is nice, but with only MA5 and G access where to go next is a big question. I'd be tempted by the backfield sweeper role - wrestle & tackle. But dedicated ball carrier works well too - Block, pro etc.

[mattgslater]

I second Ian, but I'd add to that:

Chuck to him with guys who need the 1SPP. The 2+ Catch means that even a BOB can PU/QP to him on a 2/3 chance (95/144, to be precise) if you have a TRR. If said BOB has an MVP, that's a 2/3 chance of a skill. By comparison, even if you had an automatic knockdown, a roll against AV8 has less than a 10% chance of getting 2 SPP.

[Craigtw]

I second Ian, but I'd add to that:

Chuck to him with guys who need the 1SPP. The 2+ Catch means that even a BOB can PU/QP to him on a 2/3 chance (95/144, to be precise) if you have a TRR. If said BOB has an MVP, that's a 2/3 chance of a skill. By comparison, even if you had an automatic knockdown, a roll against AV8 has less than a 10% chance of getting 2 SPP.

So by this math then, it is better for Black Orcs to be throwers than blockers!

[Smeborg]

I second Ian, but I'd add to that:

Chuck to him with guys who need the 1SPP. The 2+ Catch means that even a BOB can PU/QP to him on a 2/3 chance (95/144, to be precise) if you have a TRR. If said BOB has an MVP, that's a 2/3 chance of a skill. By comparison, even if you had an automatic knockdown, a roll against AV8 has less than a 10% chance of getting 2 SPP.

Sounds nice, but you have to get the ball to the BOB first. Assuming you do that with a hand-off or pick-up on the previous turn, that's a 3/4 chance (with Re-roll). And then 3/4 times 95/144 comes to 285/576, or very slightly below 50%. Doesn't sound very attractive to me...

[mattgslater]

If the game's in hand (or out of hand), that half an SPP is the best bet around, if success will get you an improvement on a BOB. Development wins championships.

[DeeTee]

Cool, I went for the +1 AG and I'm glad. I had already considered a few of the ideas suggested here, especially the idea of throwing QP's to him for extra SPP's here and there.

I've played one game with him and the AG was worth it. I managed to get a Blitzer loose with the ball deep into the opponents half. The AG 4 Lineorc dodged away from a marking Flesh Golem and lent an invaluable assist. Because of this I was able to stall for an extra turn before I scored. This prevented an equaliser and won me the game.

Thanks to all for your time and thoughts!

Danny