Developing a team built around intercepting

[ScottyBoneman]

IMO, safe throw at 2+ is simply too good at shutting down interceptions.
Why try to base a whole team on interceptions when it can be shut down by one skill on one player.

Still, we had a TBB poll on this, and I know I'm minority on this.
Oh well,
Martin

Well, i agree on that, but if you are the only team in your league that builds for intercepting, how many throwers will get safethrow?
W

I take it often anyway, both Safe Throw and Pass Block. Safe Throw doesn't negate PassBlock at all, it mean that an actually interception becomes even more difficult but doesn't stop you from getting a TZ on the receiver or thrower and making the completion harder. If you have PassBlock and Tackle together you can make catching half the issue as well.

[DoubleSkulls]

but if you are the only team in your league that builds for intercepting, how many throwers will get safethrow?

All the ones that want to pass. I'd take Safe Throw as a 2nd or 3rd skill on my primary thrower.

The main issue is that many teams just don't have any need or desire to pass the ball at all. In that case PB is a wasted skill slot. Take too many too early on and it weakens the team.

[Dave]

playing a team that exploits PB at least a little I van say that when playing PB well (and obviously having other skills around it) it is relatively easy to force your opponent into a pass. I 've done that quite often with changing succes..

[Skummy]

What kind of tactics do you use to force a running team into passing the ball? Talking Chaos, C. Dwarf, Dwarf and Orc mostly, here. How do you funnel them to the passing game?

[Dave]

I need to say some mistakes on the other side helped as well.

I kicked deep and ran several (3 or 4) PB players into enemy teritory. These guys tried to harras the guy who picked up the ball enough as to force him into a pass.

I need to say that (quite) some opponents hadn't played a team having Pass Block before and thus were still learning how to cope.

having Wardancers with PB and / or B-ers with leap / block / dodge is quite good as they are nice blitzers as well and thus a threat to the ball handler.

A decently placed cage is not stopable with this tactic though

[Scipio_Publius]

Yes, I use kick skill to get it deep in the back field (so a lot depends on the bounce). Most of the time nobody wants a long throw so they will hold on to but move closer to throw.

If its back far enough Dancers leap over the line into the backfield while one side is blitzed to make room for an additional catchers then make the 3 or so dodges to get the other catcher in the back field.

Their options are

to throw and face 2-3 pass blockers.

Make a blitz but I have block, dodge and side step.

Dodge through some TZ's for hand off. (I am thinking 4th skill on my pass blockers will be shadow to help this out)

Safe Throw is nice but it doesn't stop the negatives generated by TZ's and it becoems a quick target for my Dirty Player. So far is there is only one team in the league who has a safe thrower. Pass Block was my second or 3rd advance on my players so the strategy was not apparent at first.

[Skummy]

So the pass-block team relies heavily on the Kicker, who presumably is only on the field on defence and somewhat protected.

After a game or two of this, don't the bashy teams catch on and set up to cage in their own territory, like Khemri often have to do?

[Xeterog]

One way I successfully forced the other team to throw near my passblocker was this..

My turn 7, I got the ball with the passblocker..then threw it to an empty square that deep down field that only his passer could get to..My passblocker was close to the middle of the pitch and all the other opposingn players were on the other side of the pitch..not able to get to my passblocker.

With the score tied, my opponent could only win the game if he got to the ball and passed, then ran and handed off for a typical elf/skaven TD..Well, his only pass lanes were within my passblocker's range (GR, Agil 5, VLL, Catch, Passblock). I got the INT and was able to run in (exactly 10 squares from the EZ) for the winning TD.

[DoubleSkulls]

If you are playing a slow bashy team and you are up against fast team with kick you ought to expect them to flood the backfield - so cage up deep in your own half and work forwards.

Obviously if you haven't got long to score then this can be a problem but you'd expect that from any decently skilled team.

[Dave]

you could expect that indeed .. but not everyone obeys to that rule

[Scipio_Publius]

So the pass-block team relies heavily on the Kicker, who presumably is only on the field on defence and somewhat protected.

After a game or two of this, don't the bashy teams catch on and set up to cage in their own territory, like Khemri often have to do?

Yes, the scatter of the kick is the key for this strategy to work.

I have not seen this successfully pulled off (caging on your own side of the field). There is a lot of interference with WD's and catchers all over midfield. It doesn't make it easy to keep an effective structure of the cage and I imagine if it was pulled off that it just makes it that much further away to score.

I had a chaos team basically set up 4 guys in the backfield to get the ball and this seemed to keep him from having to pass but he still had difficulty setting up a descent cage without making too many silly dodge rolls.

I'm sure it can be pulled off though.

Also, I think its worthy to note that most bashy teams (I think) believe "Hey, I might not have to pass it cause the kick will go my way." and this happens a lot. I've gone games without using Pass Block because the kick never went my way and my opponent refrained from needing to pass. Its not like this play presents itself everytime but I think of it this way "I only need one interception to make a TD and deny him one to pull ahead usually." In other words this strategy doesn't have to work all the time to be effective. If it works once in a game then it becomes an uphill battle for them.

Having Pass Block as a threat makes your opponent play differently anyway. With 4 on the field coaches tend to try their hardest not to throw which slows down thier drive and gives me time to turn over the ball a different way.

[Skummy]

I had a chaos team basically set up 4 guys in the backfield to get the ball and this seemed to keep him from having to pass but he still had difficulty setting up a descent cage without making too many silly dodge rolls.

Actually, that's how I play my Chaos all the time. I let the Elves score in 2 turns, while hurting them as much as possible. I can score in 6, hurting and caging all the while. 8 more turns of stalling in the 2nd half, and it's a 2-1 win.

[ScottyBoneman]

I had a chaos team basically set up 4 guys in the backfield to get the ball and this seemed to keep him from having to pass but he still had difficulty setting up a descent cage without making too many silly dodge rolls.

Actually, that's how I play my Chaos all the time. I let the Elves score in 2 turns, while hurting them as much as possible. I can score in 6, hurting and caging all the while. 8 more turns of stalling in the 2nd half, and it's a 2-1 win.

An Elven team developed for passblock or not has a problem against this. If elven teams are not rolling the doubles to invest in Guard and Dauntless well built Chaos team will give them issues.

[Xtreme]

Well built chaos teams will give everyone problems.

Against bashy teams I usually 'accidently' allow one or two players to break free into the 'open' field then slow the cage down untill they get to the point where they are preasured to score a lot of times they well have to pass or feel like they do anyway the logical choice are the freed up players but of course the PBers are hanging around them.

[Skummy]

Ah, the art of the cage takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master.

BTW, I really like the "Xtreme's tournament history" thingy. So please consider my near identical copy a form of flattery. Thanks!