First skill for Norse Werewolf (rolled a double 3)

[burglarboycie]

Evening all
Sorry, I've moved this post here after accidently posting in the wrong place at first!
After my first game with my new Norse team, one of my Werewolves has gained a skill.
I rolled a double but am still tempted to take Block. I am also tempted by Leader as I only have 2 re-rolls so a third one would be very useful. Although I can also see that Dodge would be a bonus, I play a lot of Dwarf teams so Tackle would almost make choosing Dodge a waste.
What do people recommend?
Thanks
James

[The Golden Arrow]

I'm stupid... (and hate the new name for ulweners...)

[Porkus_Maximus]

This is a thread about Ulfwerener, who don't have claws and have strength access on a regular roll.

How confident are you of getting your Ulfwerener to 16spp? If you think getting him to 16spp quickly is viable, then I'd go for side-step as my doubles choice and then take block at 16spp.

[Joemanji]

Good call. Next skill Block then Guard when he eventually gets to 31SPPs.

Dodge is another possibility, but you'd like Break Tackle to really make it work and that would have to wait for 31SPPs.

[burglarboycie]

I'm not a very good coach and don't play many games so would take a long time to get a load more SPP's. Thats why I was tempted by Block as it would make him more useful straight away and in the long term.
James

[solarflare]

Do not take leader on a positional. (Maybe a thrower...)

As an inexperienced coach, you might be best served to ignore the doubles and go with block. But sidestep would be tempting.

[Carnis]

Block: Feeling conservative, this will reduce incoming turnovers.
Dodge: Building for the long haul, this will make your Ulf/Were a star after 76 SPP.
MB: Buidling for the short term, this will make your Ulf/Were skill to 16-31 SPP faster.

[mattgslater]

Block or Side Step. Side Step, for my money. It's a little harder to use, but people will be terrified to block him in a scrum. Also, using SS a lot, and really thinking about it, is one of the best coaching aids you can have.

[Drool_bucket]

sidestep, sidestep, sidestep.

impact right away, makes use of the doubles. Get him to 16 SPP ASAP.

[GreedySmurf]

Go Dodge.

It's good in its own right, in helping to stop him get knocked over. Down the track it'll produce a wonderful synergy with Break Tackle.

I wouldn't waste a double on Side Step. While SS is slighitly better than Stand Firm, for me it's not that much of a difference that I wouldn't just take Stand Firm later on, with a normal roll anyway.

[Ullis]

I wouldn't waste a double on Side Step. While SS is slighitly better than Stand Firm, for me it's not that much of a difference that I wouldn't just take Stand Firm later on, with a normal roll anyway.

I'd say that Side Step is much better on an ulfwerener due to Frenzy and S4. Just in terms of not getting surfed after surfing someone yourself they're pretty equal. But SS will generate and threaten surfing opportunities much easier than Stand Firm ever would as near the sidelines an opponent often needs to knock him down or position so as to deny him stepping into a space where he can surf someone. And if you ever get him to 31 spp's (Block at 16), then Side Step and Guard are a wonderful combination and much better than Guard and Stand Firm. Granted, SS won't help him get those spp's any easier but neither will Dodge.

I think Dodge is a bad pick that will just be a drag on the team for a long time as you'll really start to pick up the benefits only when you get to 31 spp's. You'd need to concentrate on skilling the ulfie to 16 spp's as soon as possible which would mean scoring with him. That would mean frustration over ball handling with AG2 and more pressure on your S3 players when you can only commit the other ulfwerener to a scrum. With Side Step, Block or MB you can let the ulfwerener carry on doing his stuff, hitting and getting hit.

[Jimmy Fantastic]

Block or guard, no need to take doubles ever really. Sidestep is indeed good on a strength 4 frenzy man, but so is jump up if you plan on getting mighty blow and piling on.

[mattgslater]

... SS is slighitly better than Stand Firm ....

How slight depends on how he's used. For wide zone defense or cagebreaking, Side Step is many times better. For caging, it's not quite as good. For line duty, it's better for AV7 and not as good for AV9. Since this is an expensive MA6/ST4/AV8 piece on a ST3 team, it's WZ defense and cagebreaking that make the difference, and in that case SS is more than worth the 10k difference. For me, Stand Firm is a #2/#3 skill for an Ulf (after Block, competes w/Mighty Blow). So a superior version of Stand Firm is a clear #1 double.

I'm not a huge fan of Dodge. At 16 SPP, he'll be about as good as he'd have been with Block and Stand Firm (on AG2/ST4, Dodge is an anti-blocking skill only). At 31, he'll be able to take BT or SF over Mighty Blow, and he'll be a little better for having Dodge in lieu of MB. By contrast, if you open with Side Step, not only is he better now, he's better at 16 SPP. At 31, it's either Block/SS/MB or Block/Dodge/(SF/BT). I couldn't tell you which is more valuable. That's why SS beats Dodge, in my book.