6+4 on elf catcher

[narg]

How many are you fielding

You mean how many players? I've got 13 now, I took 18 casualties over the last seven games but I got only two linemen killed so I was quite lucky. I've got seven linemen, two throwers, two blitzers and two catchers. One thrower has AG5 and the other has nothing and is just there to get leader - he's on the long list of players who have to make backfield comps to skill up. I now have enough cash to buy a third catcher.

, are you playing offence defence?

I'm not quite sure what you mean by that but when I'm defending I try to get the ball off the opponent, which is what I do with any race anyway.

[mattgslater]

Side Step saves more injuries than Block against opposition that has to prioritize its Block skill placement. It's different for Dwarfs and such, but pretty much any team with more than a couple non-Block players won't care about this guy's Block skill.

[narg]

Side Step saves more injuries than Block against opposition that has to prioritize its Block skill placement. It's different for Dwarfs and such, but pretty much any team with more than a couple non-Block players won't care about this guy's Block skill.

So basically you don't take block because you assume that most opponents don't have block and therefore won't choose a "both down". I kinda see the logic. However my team's TV is already at 1,710 after seven games, that's nearly the same TV as my orc team that played twice as many games and that has full block (well apart from one lineman). At that TV I think it's very dangerous to expect the opponent not to have block.

[Carnis]

Side Step saves more injuries than Block against opposition that has to prioritize its Block skill placement. It's different for Dwarfs and such, but pretty much any team with more than a couple non-Block players won't care about this guy's Block skill.

makes

no

sense

at

all

.

How does sidestep prevent injuries against non-frenzy teams, who get to try infinite 75% chances of KD against your non-block, all SS team.. The answer - it doesnt.

While SS can be useful when fighting cages & threatening ballcarriers, its only AFTER block&dodge in that application as well.

[mattgslater]

Near-infinite? The whole point of Side Step is that it's one hit, just one. It lets you keep him out of contact, and makes it easier to keep assists off of him, so blocks on him tend to be 1d or 1/2d off the line. On the line, you're not giving up any secondary blocks. 1/3 of all hits are pushes, so against opponents without Block it's a much bigger benefit. Also, you want your noseguard to have positioning skills to keep him from getting Grabbed into a gang-foul, and to maintain the integrity on your net.

I wouldn't put that guy on the D-line against bash. Investment in the DL is what you do when you know you can win on the DL. Pro Elves should focus on With Pro Elves, I like facing bash teams with oblique fronts, and there's always room for a Guard/SS/ST4 player in the off-side alignment. Make your opponent commit to either blitzing valuable/fragile guys by splitting the blitzers off the formation, or to try to hold the entire width of the field against your pass rush, by stringing all the way out off the LOS. Those teams tend to be slow, and for, say, an Orc coach, drawing men off the cage on a quixotic PO attempt or building the cage away from the LOS sphere of influence isn't something to do lightly. This guy's death on the LOS against other elves, especially if they don't have any Guard. Get a 101 formation going, and your opponent can't 2db without burning actions. But you need a SS noseguard if you want to be reasonably assured of maintaining integrity (the key to beating elves with elves).

If you're still not convinced about Side Step, Dodge is more likely to be applicable, and to remove more knockdown perms from a smaller pool, than Block. The mobility advantage of Dodge (or SS) is also worth a lot more than the affirmative blocking advantage of Block (you have other guys for that). That might be a better #3. Guard/Dodge is a fun combo, ST4/Dodge is a fun combo.

[Smurf]

Narg

Nice thrower. Safe Throw next...
The other thrower, give him kick and then some skills to help get the ball.

The wrest of the line need dodge and wrestle quickly... good luck on trying to skill them up.

Two catchers should have passblock, along with the rest of the trappings such as dodge and sidestep.

The new ma 9 catcher should have passblock and shadowing and tackle (ideally) but you'll need dodge and sidestep to make him stick like glue to the target.

I think you're going to have a mean team.

[Carnis]

Matt, I know your style well enough to not even try argue against you using SS. You won't admit anything is wrong with picking it first skill for every player . I'm trying simply to argue against others taking SS firstpick for all their players .

Suffice to say, don't listen to Matt when he says "take SS" - because he will come up with infinite reasons to take it. I personally do find dead non-block/dodge but SS-wielding players next to my Block/MB/PO'er amusing, but I still would rather see these kind of builds not recommended as a be-all-catch-all solution to any teambuild ;P.

All-SS works somewhat, but it doesnt *protect* the player. It gives you a very annoying, pitch-controlling, but shortlived team.

[mattgslater]

All-SS works somewhat, but it doesnt *protect* the player. It gives you a very annoying, pitch-controlling, but shortlived team.

My experience has been that SS is better for reducing your body count than Block is, particularly on the DLOS. Generally, a push or "nothing" result means getting hit again, and two hits on a skilled player is worse than one hit on a rook.

A lot of it depends on the format. If you're in an young season, Block has a lot less defensive power than if you're well into the process. I'm used to scheduled seasons, where in the early going you tend to face other early teams that haven't cheezed out their killer squads. By the time you have to worry about MB/PO, you should have a fair amount of counters and blocking skills spread about. I certainly don't advocate SS as a first skill for everybody, but it has a high spam value, and Pro Elves start with a 2-skill jump on that spam.

Yeah, though, the more I think about it, the more I think Dodge is the skill for this guy at 31. Maximize survival odds on individual blocks, use him to protect the SS guys who protect your formations. Block is probably a better option here too than it normally is on elves (yes, I am calling Block/Wrestle second-rate linefodder skills, because it just ensures the player will be hit by a schmoe rather than a Block player). That means you only get six positionals on the pitch at a time, at least on defense, unless you take Kick on a positional. But it's probably worth it.

[Smurf]

Block is overated for many elves. Wrestle is better and dodge but SS is really useful.

[TuernRedvenom]

Matt, I know your style well enough to not even try argue against you using SS. You won't admit anything is wrong with picking it first skill for every player . I'm trying simply to argue against others taking SS firstpick for all their players .

Suffice to say, don't listen to Matt when he says "take SS" - because he will come up with infinite reasons to take it. I personally do find dead non-block/dodge but SS-wielding players next to my Block/MB/PO'er amusing, but I still would rather see these kind of builds not recommended as a be-all-catch-all solution to any teambuild ;P.

All-SS works somewhat, but it doesnt *protect* the player. It gives you a very annoying, pitch-controlling, but shortlived team.

It does protect your player, but Block/Wrestle and Dodge are just better at it.