How to take on a Dwarf Deathroller.

[mattgslater]

I don't think you can build for handicap without building a lesser team or changing team race, and in the big picture it's better to have more stuff than to give up less handicap, or to receive more handicap (with a very few exceptions in the latter case). I do think you can maneuver in the tight spaces, shedding or holding, picking up or passing on the nice-but-not-necessary stuff depending on your coming opponent. If you know his TV before you have to make your roster decisions, you can move to deny him particular combinations or particular inducements (in this case a bribe). I also think you should be reasonable in avoiding bloat, taking just enough RRs, and not investing more than about 150-210k on your bench (which in your case is not a concern).

[Jural]

...and not investing more than about 150-210k on your bench (which in your case is not a concern).

Do you mean in raw player value (unskilled cost) or actual cost (additions for skills and stats counted)?

I ask because I always keep 14 players unless I am a Stunty team, a dwarf team, or an orc team. But with elves, it would require always having three unskilled players! I can't cut players fast enough to support this... but I sure wish I had the power. Nothing is worse for TV management than all the single skills you pick up on your bench!

[mattgslater]

250k... whatever: I think the hard GC value of the optimal bench will vary from team to team and league to league. Maybe it's more like "one alternate plus 100-160k" or something, as some teams develop their first alternate and bench their returner/QB when on D. I think teams with expensive linos should make a point of keeping a couple guys unskilled just so they don't over-invest in bench.

[Craigtw]

Not at all... that's what they're there for.... And, in spite of that awesome BT/St 7, it's still a roll on a loner that he might Ace-out on! When you have a chance to dance with Slim and None... dance with Slim!

Only Loner if they've moved to experimental.

But even still - the way to play the game is to force as many rolls on your opponent as possible. Even if he only fails on a one and can use the reroll, it is still a roll that could fail.

And remember, he can only use Break Tackle once per turn!

[Jural]

250k... whatever: I think the hard GC value of the optimal bench will vary from team to team and league to league. Maybe it's more like "one alternate plus 100-160k" or something, as some teams develop their first alternate and bench their returner/QB when on D. I think teams with expensive linos should make a point of keeping a couple guys unskilled just so they don't over-invest in bench.

Unskilled elves are awesome. If I could hire-on journeymen up to 14 instead of 11 players, I'd probably never lose a league match. It's not the extra subs that helps, it's that they are sooooo expendable. Sometimes expendability is more useful than block, dodge, or side step!

[Lictor]

250k... whatever: I think the hard GC value of the optimal bench will vary from team to team and league to league. Maybe it's more like "one alternate plus 100-160k" or something, as some teams develop their first alternate and bench their returner/QB when on D. I think teams with expensive linos should make a point of keeping a couple guys unskilled just so they don't over-invest in bench.

Unskilled elves are awesome. If I could hire-on journeymen up to 14 instead of 11 players, I'd probably never lose a league match. It's not the extra subs that helps, it's that they are sooooo expendable. Sometimes expendability is more useful than block, dodge, or side step!

Let's hope that's the case for Saturday then.

[Setomidor]

So... how did it go?

[Lictor]

It was a damn near dream start, in 4 turns I Cas'd 3 Dwarfs and KO'd 2.

For some stupid reason I cannot comprehend I decided to walk over the line instead of stall, if I had stalled one more turn he would not have been able to equalise.

Needless to say, bribe worked, Wizard worked, he won 2-1, 4-3.

I am still fuming that I walked over and I cannot for the life of me work out why, he had no one near me and as much as I hate delaying the clock it was a strategy I required to win this game.

It was a damn fantastic game, Babs actually called it as one of his favourite games of all time.

I've only played Babs twice, but in both games I have held early control only for him to reel it back in.

But back to the game, in the second half I had an opportunity to smack his ball carrier, have my Ag 4 Ghoul scoop it up and runaway with very little chance of him even getting near me and would've probably lead to Victory. Both Down's not being good enough I re-rolled into Double Skull territory and then it all fell down, in one turn he KO'd 4 players, then Cas'D 2 others in 2 more turns and that was game over basically.

In saying that though, in the first half he opened me up and also had a shot on my ball carrier and experienced the same thing, RR'd D/Skulls, got KO'd and I just went on to dominate very damn quickly.

http://corsairs.freehostia.com/viewtopic.php?t=2510 this is Babs write up of it.

[Lictor]

P.S.

Death Roller is over rated. Only did two things in the entire game and one of those was my fault as I thought with RR's to spare, my Wight had a lone crack at it, Babs chose Skulls (I couldn't convince him to take the BD on his Blockless contraption or the Pow otherwise) and as I basically wrapped up his breakaway runner who was chargin to equalise, my WW just covered him with 2 GFI's, my Ghoul came in for the 2 die Blitz, failed the 2nd GFI (of course) and then the Deathroller makes 2 freaking GFI's to sit on my WW for the runner to Blitz himself free into the endzone.

[Setomidor]

Thanks for the report I'm soon up against a roller myself with my Skaven, so let's hope I manage to get more than 11 players on my roster until then...