Talk Fantasy Football

Thinking of this team:

6 Linos

1 ST

2 Ulfs

1 Berserker

1 Thrower

2RR

1FF

1 APO

Im up against Humans, Undead, Wood Elfs and Orcs. We play each other twice, top 2 in final match.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

I wouldn't start a Snow Troll given that league. I'd want to get one quickly, but I wouldn't start one. I think Runners are more important than Berserkers, and I would start with an Apoth so you can just buy the Snow Troll as soon as you can afford him and not worry about it.

2 Runners
2 Ulfs
7 Linemen
3 RR
Apoth
2 FF or 20k in Treasury (NOT AC/CL, as you want to save for a Snow Troll unless you take FF to try and get cash).

What about the thrower? Wouldnt he add an extra dimension to my offense? As well as leader?

Thx very much for the input.

If you like. That's another alternative. I'm kind of down on the Norse Thrower, but you probably will want to end up with one, and no time like the present. In that case, that's the 2 points of treasury and a lino, leaving you with 6 linos, 1 Thrower, 2 Ulfs, 2 Runners, 1 Apo, 3 RR. That's pretty solid. You'll have to wait about half a game longer on the Snow Troll in that case, but it does let you start developing a specialist early. I'm not sold, though. If you paid only 10k extra for a Thrower (like Pro Elves) or if he had something besides Pass (like Humans or even Orcs), it'd be a no-brainer. As is, it's a matter of taste. I guess he's a good candidate for Leader, and if he becomes your SH player he gives you a nice little bump...

Yeah, you know what? That's an ok idea, actually. Develop a passing dimension, and you've got a well-rounded game.

Could you plz explain why you choose the runners instead of berserkers?

Thomsen wrote:Could you plz explain why you choose the runners instead of berserkers?

Runners are better


Berserkers can end up in a 2db against you when the team is new and have little to none Guard.

Berserkers have two skills which are good a la carte and develop well in conjunction with a single skill... but they don't actually mesh well together. Runners have +MA, and are the only guys who can have it without a 1/12 roll that also competes with AV and maybe doubles skills. MA7 lets you score in 2 turns from off-the-line without a GFI, important against bash teams especially if you have some KOs to recover. Their Dauntless means that with two Runners and two Ulfs, you can match any opponent save the bashiest of Orcs strength-for-strength. The Snow Troll, when you get him, will become overkill. That Runner does it all. He also has A access so you can get him Side Step and Dodge... once he's got those you can shut down the outside lanes on defense and force everybody to get through your Ulfs.

What do Berserkers bring to the table? The same profile as everybody else, a tricky skill you can get on three more players, Jump Up and S access. Only the latter is of any meaningful value, the extra two skills just making the difference to start justifying the price. They're an ok pick when you've bought the other big positionals.

Great input slater, thx a lot, ive never played norse so this helps a lot.

How would you suggest lining up on defense and offense? I know it depends on the opposition, but do you have some ground rules?

Poke around this forum for ideas... there's sort of a little Norse trend going on this week for some reason. I have some posts for a developing team on one of them. I also have an article coming out in TriplePow! (I think -- Aerofool hasn't got back to me) about shallow defenses, which is important.

Some basic guidelines:

Against Wood Elves, you'll want to play deeper. There's no keeping them out.

Norse like to shut guys up in the other half of the field. You've got great line-holding and cage-breaking potential, but your ball skills are mediocre, so you need to be able to turn a recovery into a score reliably. Keeping everything in the opponent's half is a good way to do that.

You have both A and S access, so you can get Dodge or Side Step on the Runners and Stand Firm on the Berserkers or Ulfs (it's a good 1st skill on 'Zerks, and a 2nd on Ulfs after Block). This makes it very hard to punch holes in a short period of time. On the other hand, your low AV means that long drives will tend to go against you, especially against Orcs. Set up shallow to turn over fast in that case: this is a major element of the case for Runners: their extra MA makes two-turn offenses AND defenses quite plausible. This carries the added bennie that you get more SPP.

That's all for now. Take care!

If you like living on the edge, here's a TV100 roster that's absolutely maximal, even if it is a tad risky. Take the one I posted above, and trade the re-roll and 20k/Thrower upgrade for two Blitzer upgrades. This maximizes medium-term potential in exchange for essentially a 60k loan down the line and a little ball security for the first couple games. You're ready right away to hire a Snow Troll, though you'll need to get a Sure Hands player quickly.

2 Ulfs. Block, then Stand Firm or Break Tackle. Mighty Blow is a good third selection.

2 Berserks. Get Stand Firm first, then Guard. These guys are vehicles for S skills: there's no other great reason to start with them.

2 Runners. Unless you get Side Stepping Linos, it's them. Otherwise, Dodge, Tackle... these guys are actually good candidates for Shadowing on 51 SPP after SS or Dodge, Tackle and Diving Tackle. It's rare that you get a good application for that skill, except on a Wardancer.

5 Linos. On normal skills, the first gets Sure Hands, the second Kick. For the rest, or for second normal results, it's hard to go wrong with Tackle.

1 Apothecary. Use on Ulf if -ST/-AV/NI/killed or Runner if any stat loss or killed; let linos and bersekers die unless they have skills, but if you suffer any BH early in well-matched game, Apoth it to keep your numbers up (at least until you get a reserve). The real reason for having him is that he lets you get a Snow Troll without fear.

2 Re-Rolls. This is askin' for it, but once you get a SH guy it's not so bad. You can afford to bumble your way through your first two or three games, but then you'll jump up real fast as you get the Snow Troll and the Sure Hands at about the same time as your first Ulf gets Block, and your Re-Roll deficit doesn't look so glaring. God bless the Journeyman rule: this roster would be vastly inferior to a 3RR roster without it.

Great, absolutely great advice.. taking it all in.