Allies: What are the best for your team?

Covenant · Post by **Covenant** » Mon Oct 28, 2002 10:13 pm

I want to hear ( or read) with which allies you made the best (or the most wicked) experience.

I will start with a story about my Humanteam: Cause I had allways problems with my catchers (only ST2) I've started hiring Highelf Catchers because they are the only catchers (asw I know) with a ST 3 and allowed to play for human teams.

Longshot · Post by **Longshot** » Mon Oct 28, 2002 10:29 pm

Dont take allies...

Khrage · Post by **Khrage** » Mon Oct 28, 2002 10:39 pm

Best experience is my gutrunner ally on my Chaos team. Took him most of the season and two niggles but he became a one turn terror. The looks of consternation on the faces of the other coaches when they try to set up a defence against a team that can both bash and score is very enjoyable.

I also have an orc team that relys on a couple Beastmen as scorers. I personally see the beastmen as some of the best possible allys to have.

Darkson · Post by **Darkson** » Mon Oct 28, 2002 10:51 pm

the best ally my Norse have is their beer barrel.

Mumster · Post by **Mumster** » Mon Oct 28, 2002 10:53 pm

In our ally system a person would be crazy not to have a Dark Elf Blitzer on an Undead team. But as was proven in my last game, not having an apothecary can really hurt. OUCH!

Khrage · Post by **Khrage** » Mon Oct 28, 2002 11:22 pm

Ok guys, this is obviously an ally thread, so if you really dont use/like/respect/care for allies then why bother posting? You dont use them, cool. I have no problem with that. Some of us do. But why bother posting on thread asking about what allies you use?

Darkson · Post by **Darkson** » Mon Oct 28, 2002 11:43 pm

No honestly, my Norse played better on the beer. If i said at the start of the game they were all having a drink or 5 then I won, if I forgot they lost. I know it was all in my head, but I came to rely on it (and I forgot to say it at the start of our semi's, and yes, I lost).

It's the same with my Barbarian in Quest. I was crap with him and decided to play another character type so I declared he was on a death quest and started hunting the biggest monsters I could find to go out in a blaze of glory. Now he's level 4 and laughs at monsters smaller than grater daemons, but I know if I ever rub Deathquest off his sheet he's gonna die.

Zombie · Post by **Zombie** » Tue Oct 29, 2002 3:39 am

The best ally is a dead ally. Allies break the game. Don't use them, and don't play in any league foolish enough to allow them.

Anthony_TBBF · Post by **Anthony_TBBF** » Tue Oct 29, 2002 4:38 am

and don't play in any league foolish enough to allow them.

Just because you don't like allies doesn't mean it's wrong. I don't like them either but who cares if another league is using them? I sure don't.

AgentRTC · Post by **AgentRTC** » Tue Oct 29, 2002 5:03 am

My league allows allies, but we have some limitations to prevent abuse. First off, players were allowed to hire anyone, from any team. This lead to people creating uber teams of the best of every world, breaking the game. So, we mandated that for every ally, you must have 4 regular members of the team... that and then Bloodbowl loses some of the "spirt of teams"

So, with the max of 16 people per team, you could only have 3 allies, assuming you could aford a full team.

Nevertheless, I gave my Amazons a Human Catcher, and a Human Thrower. I like sure hands, and I'm also a big fan of the 2 additional movement.

Then again by league doesn't have a limit to the number of big guys either... that causes some hampering. Perhaps I should have said this under house rules.

Zombie · Post by **Zombie** » Tue Oct 29, 2002 6:26 am

Allies make the game boring by compensating for the weakness of a given race instead of letting the coach learn to adapt, play to his team's strength and avoid their weaknesses.

Covenant · Post by **Covenant** » Tue Oct 29, 2002 8:23 am

Zombie wrote:Allies make the game boring by compensating for the weakness of a given race instead of letting the coach learn to adapt, play to his team's strength and avoid their weaknesses.

Basicly I agree with your opinion and for "new" coaches it may be better to start playing without allies, learning to play with the potential their teams have.
But I have a problem to define an allie (I haven't found so much information about allies).
I will describe it: I see lots of Orcteams playing with Gobos. Aren't they allies too. And what's about Snots and Ogres in Orcteams?

Post by **voyagers_uk** » Tue Oct 29, 2002 12:50 pm

The best ally my Dwarf team has is Darkson's beer barrel.

psst no-one tell him we pinched it.

Khrage · Post by **Khrage** » Tue Oct 29, 2002 3:57 pm

If allies compesate for the weakness of a given team, then isn't the league that much more difficult to win? Saying that a weak team is harder to coach and thereby more fulfilling might be all well and good, but is it really more competative? In reality gridiron teams don't pigen hole themselves as only runners or only passers if they can help it. A team that is feared for its running game will try to pick up a good passing game as well. Does that make the NFL less exiting or competative?

Allies bring more tactics to each team that they play for, thereby making the opposing coach's job harder. Now instead of knowing that against a Chaos team you have to dodge away and blitz to break the cage, as an opposing coach, you might be confronted with many different styles of offensive play.

Or say you are an orc coach going up against the dwarf team. You might be ready for the slow march up the middle of the field, but are you ready for the human catcher sprinting up the sidelines?

Many tactics are the same for ally teams as for standard teams, but with allies many other tactics are opened up that would normally be closed. A passing game for Chaos, or a bruising game for elves for example.

It is different yes, but I can't see it as boring. I think everyone being forced to play a certain way because of their chosen race is a little on the boring side myself.

Balrog · Post by **Balrog** » Tue Oct 29, 2002 4:32 pm

I can't really answer because I don't know your ally rules, but any team that can take a wardancer or gutter runner should do so without question.

After that, any high AG and/or high MA player is usually the best pick. Chaos Warriors are also an en excellent choice for any team.

-Balrog