High Elf blitzer skill up help

[Smurf]

That's how I use one of my dancers.

MB helps in armour breaking... a lot!

[RogueThirteen]

Hitonogashi raises a good point I hadn't really considered with the utility of MB being in an extra stun and not necessarily a KO or CAS.

Still, I feel like I wouldn't take MB on an High Elf, given how many other great and seemingly more-useful skills there are for the 'blitzing types' of players.

[Smurf]

The ability to stun players helps. I don't get why Blitzers get guard, I understand guard but Blitzers are a striking piece not a support piece but nevermind people go for it.

Couple of MB Tacklers on any Elf team would not go a miss.

[RogueThirteen]

The ability to stun players helps. I don't get why Blitzers get guard, I understand guard but Blitzers are a striking piece not a support piece but nevermind people go for it.

I don't see that much of a difference between striking and supporting pieces when it comes to HE Blitzers and Linemen. The Linemen can quickly get Block and the Blitzers have "only" one more movement. Blitzers are great, but it's the HE Catchers who become your strikers. They're 8MA and only 7AV, so given their increased mobility, ease of leveling up, and generally low AV, I let them make the hit-and-run strikes. The AV8 Blitzers are really just slightly faster Linemen that start with Block, and tend to fall into the support role when I'm coaching 'em.


But heck, just to be clear, I'd give my HE Catchers Guard on doubles too, so I don't think I see the problem.

[Hitonagashi]

Rogue: Number of skills.

Sure, the linos can get block easily...but a good elven blitzer has tackle, mighty blow at least.

If you take that on a lino, he will get squashed, st 3, av 8. If you take it on a blitzer, you can go block/dodge/tackle/mighty blow and at 31 spp you've got a durable reliable player. That's 51 spp for the lino...and that's not even counting the extra movement!

It gets even more fun if you want to add other skills, sidestep/diving tackle/frenzy...there are an absolute ton of good skills for the hitter, so a blitzer starting with one skill and 1ma for "free" (spp wise) is a massive plus.

[RogueThirteen]

Rogue: Number of skills.

Sure, the linos can get block easily...but a good elven blitzer has tackle, mighty blow at least.

If you take that on a lino, he will get squashed, st 3, av 8. If you take it on a blitzer, you can go block/dodge/tackle/mighty blow and at 31 spp you've got a durable reliable player. That's 51 spp for the lino...and that's not even counting the extra movement!

It gets even more fun if you want to add other skills, sidestep/diving tackle/frenzy...there are an absolute ton of good skills for the hitter, so a blitzer starting with one skill and 1ma for "free" (spp wise) is a massive plus.

No doubt; everything you say is true. Nevertheless, at 31spp you can have a MA8 Wrestle/Dodge/Tackle Catcher (after ten games I had two Catchers built this way and one with "just" Wrestle/Dodge, and the team didn't start with any). For my play style, they make the superior "Striker" pieces on a HE team, given the 8MA and their squishier armor which make them like a surgical knife when it comes to putting down annoying enemy pieces or ball-carriers, though you might still want to pull them off after the hit. Since most teams' developed ball-carriers will have Block (as well as most of their players, typically), I prefer my striking elven hitters to have Wrestle. This makes the Blitzers less suited for the role, since they've got Block.

I've got no qualms throwing a Blitzer (with Dodge and likely Tackle or Side Step) in the way of pieces or flat-out marking pieces (within reason), the same as I do with my HE linemen (who even with just Block or Blodge) are formidable enough roadblocks. Sure, they'll always be one movement and one skill behind a Blitzer --so the Blitzers are obviously much better-- but at the end of the day they're filling the same overall support role on the team as the Blitzers (except for the one that takes Kick, of course!), assuming you'll mostly be blitzing with a MA8 Wrestle/Tackle catcher.

[Smurf]

Linos are better with wrestle/dodge. creates gaps in defence, upsets offence. ++

I don't get the Catcher thing either, I just imagine of kicking the crap out of the poxy AV7 (I play WE so I know abot poxy AV7). And throwing an expensive piece like a Catcher to the ground, doesn't invite the fouler to come up and kick it?

It's what people do, it appears to work.

Give a Thrower Kick, the defence Thrower. Eventually you will need to put him on some offence to get some more points but after your offence thrower is awesome!

[RogueThirteen]

I don't get the Catcher thing either, I just imagine of kicking the crap out of the poxy AV7 (I play WE so I know abot poxy AV7). And throwing an expensive piece like a Catcher to the ground, doesn't invite the fouler to come up and kick it?

It's what people do, it appears to work.

I've found with my HE Catchers they don't get fouled terribly often. While my experience is limited to table-top leagues (though there's never been an aversion or stigma to laying a good foul!), on offense my Catchers never get knocked down (opponent doesn't get a shot at them, typically). On defense, even if they wrestle themselves to the ground I usually find most opponents are far more worried about trying to recover the lost/stolen ball or filling in the now gaping hole(s) in their defensive formation. I play very aggressive defense (at least with fast teams), and the opponent usually seems more concerned with mitigating the threats I've created in my turn than with throwing a boot. It does happen sometimes, but it's a risk I'm often willing to take given the expected payoff. I've got 4 Catchers and only need about six or seven players to still score.

And with Tackle, it's not all that often they need to end up wrestling to the ground anyhow, but it is nice to increase the chances of a take down on each die by ~%16 and it's great on defense when their blitzing player with Block ends up getting pulled down.

[Smeborg]

I am of the school that will always take Guard, not M-Blow.

I also believe that on this team the Blitzers are really Blockers. It is the Catchers who are the (ball hunting) Blitzers, going Dodge, Wrestle, Tackle etc. This works outstandingly well in practice.

All the best.

[Ullis]

I am of the school that will always take Guard, not M-Blow.

I also believe that on this team the Blitzers are really Blockers. It is the Catchers who are the (ball hunting) Blitzers, going Dodge, Wrestle, Tackle etc. This works outstandingly well in practice.

All the best.

You get one blitz action per turn. In addition to that you get los blocks at the start of drives and sometimes your elves start in contact with the opponent.

The important thing about having a MB, Block blitzer is that you'll use him every turn when you're not making a play for the ball. Obviously you'll use that Wrestle, Tackle catchers in those situations but nobody's making those surgical strikes every turn. The more you hit the opponent with that MB, the more he'll hurt. Those surgical strikes with your Wrestle, Tackle catchers become much more effective when there's less opposing players out there.

Also, most opponents have some key player you'd rather have out. Elves are not an ideal team for fouling and in those cases MB adds a lot to the chances of removing a player.

[Smeborg]

The important thing about having a MB, Block blitzer is that you'll use him every turn when you're not making a play for the ball.

Such turns are few and far between except on offense, when scoring is so easy that you don't need M-Blow to help. On defense, you will be attacking the ball every turn except occasionally. Thus, the way I play HE and PE teams, the M-Blow will be rarely used in practice. I might take it as a second double, though.

All the best.

[RogueThirteen]

The important thing about having a MB, Block blitzer is that you'll use him every turn when you're not making a play for the ball.

Such turns are few and far between except on offense, when scoring is so easy that you don't need M-Blow to help. On defense, you will be attacking the ball every turn except occasionally. Thus, the way I play HE and PE teams, the M-Blow will be rarely used in practice. I might take it as a second double, though.

All the best.

This is exactly how I play HEs as well. On defense, I want to put the target of the blitz on his back (either because he has the ball or because it allows me to really threaten my opponent's defensive position. While the Blitzers start out throwing the team's blitz, it's a role that quickly falls to the Wrestle/Tackle catchers for me (because most blitz-worthy targets will have Block, and lots will have Blodge).

[Smeborg]

Rogue - I agree entirely with your posts on this thread - this style of development and play works particularly well for me.

All the best.

[Smurf]

Off the top of my head:

Elves, Wood Elves, High Elves, Dark Elves, Humans, Skaven and Necromantic (maybe missed out a few).

These teams are all capable of a 2 turn touch down. Some with more finese than others.

In defence the HE is going to get one strike before a TD... or people do not play like that?

[Hitonagashi]

You all don't elf-stall?

Interesting.

I wouldn't dream of giving a basher 2 shots at a grind TD if I can avoid it...it costs players to stop a good basher.

When I'm on defense with elves, I'm not trying to sack every turn. Elves need to keep players free to capitalise on a sack, and unless your opponent is poor enough to give you an easy hit, then it's going to be risky. If you fail it, then all those players that are waiting for the sack are out of position, and again, against a basher, probably at least a few in tacklezones waiting to get the smackdown pain.

With my defense, I block him off and wait. Put a wall in the way, force him to maneuver around it and pick the turn for my sack carefully. It usually takes me 2-3 turns to get a good enough opportunity (unless it's a backfield blitz sack attempt)...and if it fails, a turn or two to regroup for another attempt.

Usually, my MB is hitting 2 turns in 3 on defense, the third being the sack. Against top level bashing players, it could be 4-5 turns before I can draw them into a weak enough position to make it worthwhile.