[Orc] The Black Fiends

[Tsicafrou]

Hello,

I'm creating this thread to hopefully get some great advices from you experienced Blood Bowl coaches .

I'm playing a rookie Orc team in a semi-perpetual league (one season at a time).
This season, I'm in a division with 5 other teams between 1000 and 1500TV.

My team is as follows :
4 Black Orcs
4 Blitzers
2 Linemen
1 Thrower
3 Rerolls
990k

Extremely standard.

I'm planning to buy next an apothecary, a troll and that's it (no 2nd thrower, no goblins).

Here's my development plan for this team :
BoB x4 - Block, Guard, SF, MB, [no double], [+St]
Blitzer x2 - (Block), MB, PO, Frenzy, SF, Tackle, [Jump Up, Dodge], [+St, +Ag, +Mv]
Blitzer - (Block), MB, SF, Guard, [Dodge], [+St, +Ag, +Mv]
Blitzer - (Block), Kick, MB, SF, Guard, [Dodge], [+St, +Ag, +Mv]
Thrower - (Sure Hands, Pass), Kick-Off Return, Block, Accurate, Leader, [Dodge, Strong Arm], [+St, +Ag, +Mv]
Troll - (Loner, MB, Really Stupid, Regen), Guard, SF, [Block, Pro], [no stats]
Lineman x2 - Block, Tackle, Fend, [Dodge], [+St, +Ag, +Mv]

The reasoning behind this :
- Bobs are rocks, providing immovable guards. I think 5 guards is enough with the Bobs and troll, so it's not a priority skill for the blitzers.
- Blitzers are here to hurt the opposition and get a numerical advantage.
- I'm giving kick to a blitzer as I don't see it on another player (linemen will be on the los) and it doesn't seem to hamper the team too much to take a blitzer skill. I'm giving it to the 4th blitzer who gets to lvl 2 (MB first for the 3 other ones).
- The thrower is primarily a ball carrier inside a cage, but I'd like to have a credible pass option eventually. KOR first before block to counter low mv, and he shouldn't be hit too often.
- The troll is a road block.
- The linemen provide tackle (complemented somewhat by frenzy on blitzers) and fill the los with the troll


My preferred defense formation as a rookie team is currently as follows :

----|--LmTrLm--|----
--Bl-|-Bo---Bo-|-Bl--
-Bo--|Bl-----Bl|--Bo-

The reasoning is to force my opponent to blitz a BoB if he wants to create a gap (or to get rid of the los).


Well, that's it for now.
I'll post later with the roster of my first opponent (~1350TV undead) and my plan for inducements.

[Tsicafrou]

So, the teams in my division are : Undead (1370), Chaos (1490), Norse (1000), Skavens (1130), Lizardmen (1450).

My first match is against the undeads :

Ghoul Block
Ghoul Wrestle
Mummy Guard
Mummy Block
Wight +1St
Wight MB
Skeleton Block
Skeleton Kick
Skeleton
Zombie x3

I've 380k of inducements.
I'm thinking 1 bribe (even with regeneration..), 1 wizard and either a second bribe or a tackle lineman to deal with ghouls and provide some bench..

[Tsicafrou]

Ok, so this first match against undeads was very tough, as planned.

I've induced a wizard, a bribe and a lineman with tackle to deal with ghouls.

The lineman has been mng on the first block of the match by a mummy.
The bribe was mainly unused as I haven't got a lot of opportunities to foul : I was dominated by mummies (with one guard) et a str4 wight, and without any block on my black orcs, I struggled to get the upper hand in the melee.

He received first and scored turn 5, then got a "blitz" result and scored again turn 7.

Around turn 11, I used a fireball with great success to allow an escape of my black orc carrier (who picked up the ball by accident) and... deconnexion of my opponent...

It was too late to re-play the match, so final result IG is 4-2. For the division, the score'll be 2-0 or 2-1, so I'm still the loser, but I've got plenty of spps !

Two level-ups : one black orc (6+4) and one blitzer (4+4).

I'm pretty sure I'm getting block on the black orc, but I'm still thinking about the blitzer.
On a simple, I was going for mighty blow, but I could use the double for jump up (killer build, and useful somehow to counter orc low mobility) or dodge (especially as the teams in the division are still young and probably lack some tackle)...

My next match is against skaven (TV ~ 1300), I'll post his roster later.


Edit : about gold, I've enough now to buy an apothecary. After that, my next (and only) recruitment is going to be a troll.

[Tsicafrou]

So, still undecided about my blitzer's next skill.

But anyway, here's my next opponent :

Skaven (1280TV)
Rat Ogre Juggernaut
Thrower Accurate
Gutter Runner Block
Gutter Runner Block/Catch
Lineman Wrestle x2
Lineman x4
Storm Vermin x2
(12 players)

If I buy an apothecary before this match and lvlups my two players, my TV'll be 1090 or 1100 if I use the double : I'll have 180k or 190k inducements.
I'm considering buying a bribe to foul him each turn, especially the rat ogre as he's the one susceptible to annoy me.
I won't be able to capitalize on a lost ball with a wizard anyhow, so a bribe and a babe or perhaps a lineman mercenary seems to be a good option.


As a side note, an MB blitzer will probably be a great asset against his team.

[van der vaart]

Hmm that doubles choice sure is tricky! I suppose it depends on what you want your team to do. You could go the dodge for preservation and what not, or you could go the jump up with the idea of making a block, mighty blow, pile on, jump up blitzer who murders everyone. Another thing to consider is side step. Could make it really annoying for an opponent if you have a blitzer around their cage that you control no matter what. Good luck against the skaven, theyre a tough team to play if used right!