Talk Fantasy Football

Hi,

I know that there are already several threads on advice for Orcs in Tourneys but I still have some specific questions:

- is the thrower worth it? I was thinking that a Blitzer with Sure Hands might be doing a better job due to higher Movement and Armour. Also a tougher nut to crack for leaping StripBall-Wardancer that you encounter in every tourney.

- if you do take a thrower would you consider Kickoff-Return over Block? He could cover the whole backfield alone helping against fast teams with Kick. But then he wouldn't have Block and it would be easier to knock him down inside Da Cage.

- How much Guard and on which players? Are 2 Guarders enough (2 is minimum for me)? Black Orcs and Trolls are hard to remove due to their high Strength but they don't have Block and are SLOW . Maybe it's good to have at least one Blitzer with Guard?

Thanks in advance for feedback

Tante Käthe

The Thrower is a toss-up. My last tourney with Orcs I didn't bring one, but gave Sure Hands to a Blitzer. It worked-out pretty good. That was with LRB4 though.

Don't underestimate the Leader skill. I'd probably take a thrower just to give him Leader. If there are lots of fast teams at the tourney, then KickOff Return is worth it as well.

I wouldn't bring a Troll to a TV100 tourney. TV110, maybe.

As for skills, do you have an idea of what kind of teams will be at the tourney? If lots of dodgy types, get Tackle on one or two Blitzers. If lots of bashers, then block or guard on the Black Orcs. I prefer to start-out with Block on the Black Orcs, but that's just my preference.

Hi Cramy,

thanks for your reply. The next tourny I'll be attending is still quite a long time away (it will be in May ) but I will be making some test- and practise game with friends and my brother so I already started thinking about the set-up.

The tourney will be TV110 and 5 skills from the beginning (no other additional skills over the tourney). So buying Rerolls ain't a problem and at TV110 I'll definately take troll. I've been thinking about

A) 1 Troll, 4 BO, 4 Blitzers, 1 Thrower, 1 Linorc, 1 Goblin, 3 RR, 1 FF. KO-Return on the thrower, Tackle on one Blitzer and 3x Guard (on whom? ).

B) 1 Troll, 4 BO, 4 Blitzers, 2 Linorcs, 1 Goblin, 3 RR, 1 FF, 1 AC, 1 CL. Sure Hands on Blitzer, Tackle on one Blitzer and 3x Guard (on whom? ).

So, who to give Guard? I think it may be worthwhile to have one guarding Blitzer as it will help having a Guarder in the right place. Is 3xGuard Overkill and is it maybe better to take Block on the BOs?

And yes, with the given Tourny-Rules I'll be expecting lots of Elven-Teams that will have Kick, Leap and StripBall. And the Bashy-Teams will be having a few Guarders.

Best regards

Tante Käthe

I really think a Block & Surehands ball carrier is what you're after. So I'd ditch Kick Off Return for Block on your thrower.

As for the Guard, I don't think three is overkill. And one of these should be on a blitzer, slightly more mobile (AG3) and not going to get left behind (MA6) the cage.

It's always a little bit of mental tug'o'war between lots of Block or lots of Guard with an Orc side. Plus, I'm never sure about a Troll. Just off the top of my head, I might run with:

4 Black Orcs, 4 Blitzers, 2 Linemen, 1 Thrower, 1 Goblin and 4 Rerolls.
Skills: Tackle on a Blitzer, Block on the Thrower, Guard on a Blitzer and then either 2 Black Orcs with Block or Guard.

Maybe not an increase in Block but an extra reroll will help you though those double Both Downs...

When I play my orcs in leagues, my strategy was a slow moving cage with guard on the blitzers and nothing on the BOB's in this formation

Blitzer 1, Space, BOB 1
Space, Ball Carrier, Space
BOB 2, Space, Blitzer 2

Having the guard on the blitzers made them just as annoying as the ST4 BOB when it came to the opponent busting the cage.

Thought about it a bit.

I'd also drop the Troll and go with a roster that is similar to PubBowler. I'd also consider trading a LineOrc for an extra Goblin. It's amazing what these Gobbos can do.

I would not give any skills to the thrower. But keep him in the roster in case you need to try a two turn score. It gives you a passing option, but only if you are desperate. Thrower passing to a Gobbo or Blitzer depending on the situation.

A thrower with block or a blitzer with Sure Hands? I'd go the Blitzer option. MV6 and AV9 are much better than MV5 and AV8. MV6 makes a huge difference when playing Orcs, trust me.

As for Block vs. Guard. I'd probably go with guard on one Blitzer, and block no two BoBs.

Blitzer : Sure Hands
Blitzer : Tackle
Blitzer : Guard
BoB x 2: Block

4 BoBs, 4 Blitzers, 1 Thrower, 1 LineOrc, 2 Goblins, 4 RRs, 1CL, 1AC

First of all, thanks again fo your comments !

Cramy wrote:I'd also drop the Troll and go with a roster that is similar to PubBowler. I'd also consider trading a LineOrc for an extra Goblin. It's amazing what these Gobbos can do.

Dropping the Troll is not an option for me. At TV110 he's affordable and I think he does add value to the team. Put him as a roadblock in front of an opposing cage he can take a beating with ST5, AV9 and Regeneration and he'll help slowing that cage down. And together with a Goblin he gives me the option for TTM for that slim chance to make that potentially deciding OTT at the end of the halves. Moreover, I absolutely LOVE my troll mini and I definately want to take her to the tourney . And I know how to handle Gobos and Trolls, all of my torneys over the last years have been with Goblin- and Ogre-Teams .

So I think I'll try giving the Blitzers Sure Hands, Tackle and Guard and two BOs with Guard. With three Guarders I can let the Blitzers do all the blocking and only block with BOs and the Troll at the end of the turn or if I have plenty of Rerolls left. Let's see how this works out .

Cheers

Tante Käthe

At TV110 I'd take the troll too.

I think both the lineups are fine - I'd probably choose A (with a thrower).

Skills - I'd not bother with KO return. Tackle on one blitzer for definite. Then I'd be tempted by at least 3 guard. The 5th skill would probably be either another tackle (blitzer), dirty player (line orc) or guard.

I've tried guard on blitzers & guard on BOBs and IMO guard is much much better on the BOBs. With the guarding BOB you walk him up to 2 opponents. Hit one with the blitzer (who's got block already so less chance of falling over -and more chance of knocking down). Then the other is left next to a Guard S4 player (as hopefully is the the prone player too). This means against most teams you can use your extra strength to tie down multiple opposition players and the guard players are harder for them to push away (S3 guards get knocked around).

With that lineup I'd be tempted to give the troll guard as well. Then you really do use him as a big fat road block - who now helps out all the supporting players. He really doesn't need to move or block - just stand there and give assists and be a real pain for your opponent.

I think the real choice for Orcs in tournaments is more on how you skill up the BOBs - Block or Guard. Both can work well and I'm tempted to experiment with giving them block and see how well it compares.

@ianwilliams
Thanks for your input Ian ! So, you wouldn't take Sure Hands on a blitzer? I thought it would be crucial to have one Block/Sure Hands player against Strip Ballers (GR or WD). Furthermore, what do you think about giving Guard to one Blitzer too. He could be helpfull to protect the ballcarrier when the cage got stuck and you have to make a desperate dash out of the cage and into the endzone (I'm afraid that tells a lot about my skill to keep Da Cage rolling ).

Cheers

Tante Käthe

In general try to develop multi-layered cages against war dancers etc so even if they do get to the ball carrier getting the ball out again is difficult.

Its also a good reason to have a DP so when they do get knocked over you maximise your chances of removing them from the game.

Normally I rely on Guard & the thrower to minimise the 1 dice opportunties and 2 dice against doesn't worry me too much. The MA6 Block Sure Hands ball carrier is better - but since I don't give the thrower any extra skills it means I've got another guard on the pitch to protect him - and ensure the cage doesn't get bogged down in the 1st place. The only real advantage the thrower offers has is that in extremis you can pass the ball more reliably - often vital for those 3 turn TDs.

In practice I think the difference is very slight so you can do well either way and its a matter of choosing what suits your personal style best (BTW against teams other than Skavs/Woodies I'll happily use a gobbo as a ball carrier too).