Wood Elf tactics

dwarfrunner · Post by **dwarfrunner** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 6:19 pm

I want to play a Wood Elf team in my next league, I have played before and was moderately successful. I just find it really annoying how flimsy they are, and difficult to keep alive.

I do the usual run away tactic most of the time, but as soon as anyone hits me they get hurt. I win most of my games touchdown wise, but it makes it difficult to keep 11 players on the team.

Is there an advanced Wood elf tactic article or someone have a great deal of knowledge on this team. I would like to keep my players alive long enough to gets skills. Or do I just accept the fact the I will never have 11 players at any given moment, and just keep scoring TD's and getting killed?

falconeyed · Post by **falconeyed** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 7:53 pm

Accept that most of your players will die violently, particularly the wardancer if he ever goes down. I've been playing pro elves for the last two seasons and I've resigned myself to the fact that they die horribly, although not as often as halflings or thralls.

There's really no other viable tactic other than dodge like mad, play the ball at all costs and don't hit anyone unless it's necessary. I've deviated from this a couple of times and I feel like I've dodged the bullet, as my only deaths have been on linemen.

Keeping them alive basically comes from not leaving any elf in any opponent's tackle zones unless it's absolutely imperative (which I've found is almost never ... basically covering some other catcher type). I had a +AV -MA elf that I used for marking opponents that were likely to cause a lot of destruction (mighty blow, tackle, piling on types), but guess what? He died ... violently.

Fronko · Post by **Fronko** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 7:57 pm

This is the link to WesleyTJs wood elves guide. I found it to be invaluable, when I started playing the green folks. This guy knows, what hes talking about.

Wood Elf Guide

To sum it up: Well, there is not much you can do about losing players, at least not at the start. If you can survive the first few games without heavy losses, it gets a little easier, as linemen start getting block, dodge and other protective skills.

Always dodge players away from the opponent, try to play with as little contact as possible. Use your movement to avoid the more homicidal players.

BTW: Wesley, where is that missing 5th section?

dwarfrunner · Post by **dwarfrunner** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 9:06 pm

Website helped, thanks.

I will try some different starting team formations, maybe that will help me out a bit.

I always hate starting with so many lineman, but everyone does, and they seem to do better.

Fronko · Post by **Fronko** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 10:51 am

Linemen are the backbone of the team. Starting with them means, they skill up. Positionals added later will catch up quickly with SPPs, but having a base distribution of skills among the linos will help you very much. Even if your opponents takes out a wardancer and a catcher or two, you can still keep up with your block/dodge/guard/any-other-skill-you-picked linemen.

It really helps. Even after the positionals are in, try scoring with linemen. It is not too difficult and definitely improves your team more, than that solitary five-skill wardancer...

Khaunshar · Post by **Khaunshar** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 3:53 pm

Have to confirm that "develop Linemen" thing.

Also as wood elf, dont automatically give all linemen Block/Dodge/Tackle or similar. Instead, I found it invaluable to have one or two with Catch and/or NoS when lucky, to give me an alternative to the (usually marked) Catchers.

wesleytj · Post by **wesleytj** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 5:31 pm

thx for the kudos lads. i will add one further note that the wood elf guide is currently written with lrb 4 rules in mind. with lrb 5, most of the core advice would stay the same, but certainly i'd recommend fend on some line elves. i'd also suggest getting dauntless asap on at least one wardancer if you have any number of ST teams in your league. it's a somewhat weaker skill, but at the same time it doesn't require doubles anymore so it's high on a wardancer's wish list.

i haven't played lrb5 with wood elves much yet, so i don't really have enough experience to recommend some of the other new skills or not, but i would have to think that grab would be a good cage-breaker skill, and that wrestle would have some definite use in the hands of some elves too, although placing yourself prone is a pretty heavy risk.

another thing with lrb5 is that ff isn't as important anymore, so you may be able to start with 2 wardancers. i'd like to play around with it for a while before i state that as fact though.

may not matter depending on what rules you're using at the moment, but i just thought i'd throw it out there.

wesleytj · Post by **wesleytj** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 5:37 pm

Fronko wrote: BTW: Wesley, where is that missing 5th section?

Well, as I said in the original notes, it's been quite some time since i've actually played wood elves in a tourney, so I've been waiting to get some more up-to-date experience to draw from before writing that section.

My skaven team is much better painted than my wood elves, so I've been using them lately. However, I'm working on a cool conversion WE team that uses WHFB Glade Guard, and some mail-order only Wardancers that are literally in mid-leap, well off the ground.

Point is, as soon as they are done, I'll get them into a tourney, and then after that, I'll post that section 5. I'd just rather put that up after I feel somewhat confident that I have at least some clue what I'm actually talking about.

wesleytj · Post by **wesleytj** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 6:12 pm

Khaunshar wrote:Have to confirm that "develop Linemen" thing.

Also as wood elf, dont automatically give all linemen Block/Dodge/Tackle or similar. Instead, I found it invaluable to have one or two with Catch and/or NoS when lucky, to give me an alternative to the (usually marked) Catchers.

While I agree that making some line elves specialized is good, I tend not to give catch. They're already AG4, they make good enough "backup" catchers already. What I would recommend for non-standard skills would be things like kick, dirty player, and sidestep. for lrb leagues, i'd also recommend fend and dauntless. on doubles go with guard.

If you really want to do some unusual line elf skills, things like passblock and jumpup can also be fun. don't expect jumpup to help too often though when you're just av7. the change to jumpup in lrb5 doesn't affect wood elves that much, esp line elves, since they are likely not trying to make a block anyway, just get up and get away.

matkov · Post by **matkov** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 5:56 am

More players said, that you should dodge always. Well that's not true. If you have lineman with block than 1 dice block is the same as dodging into free zone except you can hurt opponent a bit, so block instead.

I agee with others sugestions.

Fronko · Post by **Fronko** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 6:09 am

Unless said block lineman is also in contact with a second opponent player, who can return the favor next turn.

In that case, still better dodge away.

Glorian Underhill · Post by **Glorian Underhill** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 7:41 am

[quote="falconeyed"]Accept that most of your players will die violently, particularly the wardancer if he ever goes down. I've been playing pro elves for the last two seasons and I've resigned myself to the fact that they die horribly, although not as often as halflings or thralls.

There's really no other viable tactic other than dodge like mad, play the ball at all costs and don't hit anyone unless it's necessary. I've deviated from this a couple of times and I feel like I've dodged the bullet, as my only deaths have been on linemen.

[quote]

Actually the contrary. I dont play these wood buggers but my brother is quite good at them. After playing his 10 games with a dwarf team he get the woodies again and almost made most Tds and Most Cas.

If you dodge you will fall on a 1. And your Re rolls are to precious for that. If you block, you will also fall on an 1, got one assist and it it two dice, and if you will lay down your opponennt next turn he can stand up and with move 7 you are on the other side of the field.

Play as mentioned above without contact to your opponent but try to Block before Dodge. And if you get to cause some Cas then the woodies are almost unstopable.

Winning with 11 Dwarfsa against 7 Elfes is hard for me. Winning with 7 warfs against 7 Elfes was impossible.

And with the new inducement rules you should get enough cannon fodder.

Get a treeman, and two block lineman. And you could make your 3 Receive Blocks without much trouble.

And a lineman with Block is better than a human Blitzer.

JumpingElf · Post by **JumpingElf** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 9:42 am

The main key is their high AG, dogde them away instead of making a block. Build a line one step away from your opponent, make the room small and use your wardancer wisely. Never forget a Treeman, not only 'cause his high ST ... he is able to occupy two or more normal opponents or can take care of another BigGuy without any effort. The rule is: If there no Elf to hit, you won't loose too much players of your team. I don't say you never have to block, but make sure you'll get the best chance to succeed. With an experienced team you can play a bit more aggresive. Like the other said: A Lineman with blodge is hard to break and a Wardancer with blodge, jump, strip ball and tackle drive other coaches really mad. I'm playing Woodelf now for several years, this season I have lost only 6 players through injury or death in more than 20 games and I have won most of my games.

Fronko · Post by **Fronko** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 11:47 am

There obviously tend to bee two variations on the general outlook of wood elves. Some favor an absolute "no contact game" with only the blitz and perhaps an opportune one or two blocks per turn (rest merely dodges) and the other faction being more aggressive, also playing for cas and thereby including more blocks on your turn.

I personally prefer the first version, I have tried to go for more blocks, but it has generally been a disaster, resulting in much more cas on my side than the opponents.

I don`t say, the second version is worse, it just doesnt work for me.

Markus · Post by **Markus** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 9:14 am

The most important thing is that you dont have your guys blocked on opponents turn. The opponent shall have his blitz and no blocks. So make sure (with the most likely successfull rolls) there is no base contact.

If i get a 2dblock on an opponent (w/o stand firm) with an unskilled lino i do the block. If dodge allows me a rr for the dodge i prefer to dodge. I wouldnt do the 1dblock with a blocker as long as the opponents player has block himself, as a bothdown-result means getting blocked on opponents turn. Always think before you move how to limit blocks on opponents turn, minimize movement for opponent and maximize your blocks. Its usually safer to make a 2dblock than a dodge, as chance for a failure is 1/9 instead of 1/6. But it all depends on the situation.