Orc ball carrier in tourney - Thrower or Blitzer?

Jeremiah Kool · Post by **Jeremiah Kool** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 12:36 am

Who would you choose to carry the ball in an Orc team in a TR 100 tournament? The slow Thrower with Sure Hands who can pass the ball if needed? Or the faster, tougher Blitzer who has to get Sure Hands to be reliable?

And if you go with the Blitzer should a Thrower not be taken for the team? When he does no ballhandling heÂ´s a liability with AV8.

Lamoron · Post by **Lamoron** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 5:57 am

For a long time I would have said Thrower, but after actually playing without one, I'm a convert for sure... Blitzer ballcarrier all the way!

"Faster" scoring with the extra movement, harder to knock down with Block, Sure hands can be his first skill anyway. The chance to play with 4 BOBs, 4 Blitzers & 3 Lineorcs means you can avoid putting anything but lineorcs on the line on defence, so twice the gain for the price of one AV8 orc...

honeycomb kid · Post by **honeycomb kid** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 8:38 pm

Go thrower. Orcs hardly ever move the cage 6 squares so dont worry about movement. Also orcs love to eat rerolls early in each half and the thrower is cheaper than one for picking up the ball.
But also go 4 Blitzers, 4 BOBs.

Joemanji · Post by **Joemanji** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 8:50 pm

Goblin.

No seriously, it is an option. Same movement as a Blitzer, but Dodge & Stunty means that you can wriggle out of a hole if you need to try something desperate. If the gobbo is protected in a cage, then his ST2 should not matter. I know that people can try crazy dodges to get in to Blitz him ... but that should play into your hands, even if the gobbo does go down.

Urb · Post by **Urb** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 9:02 pm

I'd take the thrower myself. With a orc team I'd rather save the rr's for blocks. A goblin is a funny option and really not that bad. Stunty and dodge can let you do alot of crazy plays.

Podfrey · Post by **Podfrey** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 9:27 pm

Listen to Nazgit the Wise.

Or use a Blitzer cos they can always get themselves out of trouble.

To be honest I wouldn't bother with Sure Hands either. Just take your time with your drive or be prepared to burn a team RR on the pick up if need be. Better to get the ball handling Blitzer a double (if the tournie allows) such as Stand Firm or Dodge.

besters · Post by **besters** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 9:47 pm

I have to admit to going with the Thrower, but then in one game at the Spikey club tournament I failed for three turns ( 6 dice rolls ) to pick up the ball, with luck like that I need all the help going.

If you are confident in picking up the ball the Blitzer is the better option, get out those lucky dice...........

I have to admit that using a goblin is not something I would have thought of, but when you are in trouble they can surprise you with what they can do, or is that my dice rolls just being better (luckier)?

Besters

Joemanji · Post by **Joemanji** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 10:04 pm

I would never rely on a Goblin making a bunch of dodges ... but it is something he can pull off fairly often if absolutely necessary.

The added bonus is, by just having him as your ball carrier, you force your opponent to think twice about how he defends. I always think of a gobbo ball carrier more as a psychological weapon than anything else.

Here are the stats though:

Chances of a Goblin making three 3+ dodges (a typical number needed to break through a good defence):

Normally = 59%
With a reroll backup = 73%

Those are numbers that will force your opponent to think.

dkbonnes · Post by **dkbonnes** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 8:45 am

Nazgit is kinda right, I have played a cage whit a thrower inside and a goblin inside lots of times. The cage whit the gobo seemd to make my opponents nurves and make them do desperate things, while whit the cage whit the thrower inside they just slowed it down and made accepable risks trying to break the cage down.

And what make's them even more jumpy is a cage whit a gobo ball carrier and a troll, 7 squares from the end-zone, on turn 8

P.S, that makes me jumpy as well, knowing that the gobo needs to go for it or let the troll toss the little guy up the field

Jeremiah Kool · Post by **Jeremiah Kool** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 9:58 pm

A Goblin as the ball carrier is interesting. But somehow I find it too risky. Great fun, but reliable? I donÂ´t know. If someone has penetrated the cage STR2 doesnÂ´t cut it (even with dodge), IMO.

What I like about a Blitzer vs. Thrower is the better movement. IÂ´ve played a lot of games with Dwarves lately and if somehow a MA 5 Blitzer got the ball (on defense) it was a hassle to get him near the opponents end zone because of his lower MA.

And the Orc Blitzer is more suited to blitz/block himself out of trouble it itÂ´s needed.

Sharky2k · Post by **Sharky2k** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 7:05 am

gobbo for the win.
its really nice to give him the ball.
if not the gobbo then give the ball to a blitzer

Post by **DoubleSkulls** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 1:35 am

My classic TR100 Orc roster (4 BOBs, 3 Blitzers, 1 Thrower, 2 Line, 2 Gobbo, 3 RR, 1FF) I'd use the thrower as the primary ball carrier. However on offence I'd always set up the thrower and a gobbo in the back field and whichever was closer normally made the pickup attempt. The gobbos have the pinch more speed an low risk dodges which compensates a lot for S2. Also having the gobbo in the cage means he can't be targetted for elimination.

The advantage of the thrower is two fold. First if the cage stalls you've got the option to pass which some chance of success - this can make a huge difference. Secondly against strip ball starting with SHands really helps - particularly since taking it on a Blitzer feels like a waste to me (BTW if you'd take Block on a thrower then take blitzers instead and give one SHands, Dodge or Stand Firm).

Deathwing · Post by **Deathwing** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 2:31 am

Ian's Strip Ball point is valid. I've used my apo before on a KO'd Thrower when faced with 2 SBall WDers and won the game because of it. AV8 isn't so much of a problem on one player, I think the AV8 and 20K trade off for Sure Hands and Pass is probably worth it on balance.