Double as first skill on a HE Catcher in newbie team

Spiky · Post by **Spiky** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 11:10 am

Hi,

As the topic says, I played my second game with a high elf team last night, and rolled a double as my first skill improvement on a catcher

No other skills in the team yet, I now have 3 catchers, 2 blitzers, thrower and 6 linemen, apoth with 2 rerolls.

I'm loath to pass up the double in favour of dodge or block, but understand that these skills will be more beneficial for the next few matches.

Guard could be interesting, but leaves my AV7 catcher standing in tacklezones a lot...

Mighty Blow would again be nice, but it's not great until I get at least block.

I'd take leader, but It's more TV efficient to take in on the thower...

Should I ignore the double for a standard skill?

Regards,
Spiky

Aliboon · Post by **Aliboon** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 10:13 pm

Maybe NOS?

Otherwise guard, I think the point of HE's (and Pro Elves) if you are playing in a long enough league is to make all the catchers and blitzers into utility players/wardancers...

MB is ok, but I'd have thought without block, you won't want to blitz with him too often. You could probably skill him up pretty easily though.

tenwit · Post by **tenwit** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 10:17 pm

Guard.

I guess Juggernaut with the intention of getting Frenzy next might benefit your team, in that it'll leave more spaces on the sidelines since your opponent will play differently. A crowdpusher with massive range is a fearsome thing..

mattgslater · Post by **mattgslater** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 10:41 pm

Either Guard or NOS. As a PE coach, I'm really glad to have NOS Catchers, and I'd be just about as happy if I had only one.

besters · Post by **besters** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 11:04 pm

Not sure any double is better than the standard options of block or dodge but Nos or Guard are the ones to consider.

Spiky · Post by **Spiky** » Thu Feb 12, 2009 4:24 pm

Thanks for the advice, the league is hopefully long term so I might try guard out as an option. I could see it being annoying if the catcher survives long enough to take dodge and sidestep

Andromidius · Post by **Andromidius** » Thu Feb 12, 2009 9:01 pm

I'd take Nerves of Steel. It's not like he'll struggle to get a second (or third) skill anyway.

~Andromidius

stashman · Post by **stashman** » Thu Feb 12, 2009 10:48 pm

Nerves of Steel

It's a catcher and a catchers scores and with NOS no problems to catch if you are in tacklezone(s)

Big A · Post by **Big A** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 4:11 am

I would confirm Nerves of Steel or at least that it would be my first choice.

In my current league that is the first skill I gave to a High Elf catcher it was a doubles roll), he went on to get 52SSP in a 9 game season. Which I think was the best for the league. He was a TD scoring machine.

Now waiting for next season he has Catch, NOS, Dodge, Block and Fend.

In hindsight I'm not sure Fend was a great last skill choice but time will tell. I'm hoping to keep him alive for a while.

dr. evil · Post by **dr. evil** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 5:50 am

Take NOS. It will work well with pass block if you take it later.

katadder · Post by **katadder** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 4:47 pm

yep turn him into a pro-elf catcher

then my khemri dont have to worry about him dodging away from them.

Andromidius · Post by **Andromidius** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:59 pm

Oh, he'll still dodge away. He'll just do it after he catches the ball (which has many advantages).

I must admit, I'm half tempted by Pro or High Elves myself. But I just love bashing too much.

~Andromidius

Spiky · Post by **Spiky** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 9:13 am

Ok.

I'll try out Nerves of Steel on this catcher, as I'm not very familliar with using this skill and hopefully it'll help me appreciate it

TuernRedvenom · Post by **TuernRedvenom** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 12:39 pm

I can't believe so many people have suggested NoS.

NoS is good to help you score your td's more easily. But the thing is, with elves, you are already scoring touchdown very easily. You don't need NoS, good positioning and a bit of practice will make any elf team a scoring machine.
Ok, NoS is a good skill on Pro Elf catchers. But they have the skill built into their statline for a measly 10k TV. Taking it on a double it will cost you 30k! IMO it's not worth it.
You need skills that help you on Defence, because that's where you win or lose games. Sure it helps making interceptions but:
a) opposing teams will rarely pass vs high elf teams anyway
b) opposing teams will only very rarely pass over a player with catch anyway (unless they're in deep sh*t) because the odds of a interception are too big (yes, giving your opponent 2 chances to intercept on a 6+ is already very dangerous).

I would either take Guard or Mighty Blow (HE catchers make great blitzers!). Or even just skip the doubles and take Dodge or Block.

Oh, another reason why taking NoS is a bad thing is posted above, a High Elf catcher that becomes the top spp earner in the league. This is bad because it means you're probably not spreading around the spp's in your team, which is vital for elf teams in the long run. Also, it will probably make your offence patterns dependant on a single player. If he gets killed...

zephard · Post by **zephard** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 1:44 pm

I was waiting for TuernRedvenom to post, just knew he would point out that elves are offensive machines and need to work on the defense.

Though playing a lot of high elf, I have to agree with him.

NOS is great, and wonderful to have, but you need defense, because very quickly your TV gets high, and the bashy teams are building up protective skills to keep you form stopping them, its the points you score on defense that win you the game.

Guard would be the skill I would go with, perfer it on a lineman or Blitzer.

MB would be good to have to stop lighter targets if your league got several AG teams.