Orc Tactics needed

[Red Skullz]

Yes indeed...

Well my Viking Kommandos hasn`t really done all good in our league, in fact I would call it rather bad until now. I`ve played 4 games, scored 2 TD, 8(!) TDs against.
On a positive note I have inflicted a lot of casualities in return and I KO a lot of players.

My current Cockerel is approx something like this:
1 Thrower
3 Blitzers, 1 with mighty blow
2 Blorcs, 1 with stand firm
6 linemen
1 Troll

Apotechary

2 re-rolls
6 fan factor
120 Team Rating


Now at the problem at hand. Scoring...
I have no problem causing damage (other than some appaling dice throws that`s resulted in turn overs) but the only real tactic for scoring that`s worked for me is da Kage. I`ve tried sometimes to send a blitzer to receive and score but his low MA always gets him blitzed.

So what am I doing wrong here, are there some experinced orc players that can give me some helpfull plays so that I can get those TDs? Another note is that I bought the Troll just recently so I haven`t used him yet.

Oh and we play LRB 4 and my opponents are: 2 Norse, 1 HE, 2 Dwarfs and 1 humie team. I would not be surprised that in the near future 1-2 dwarf, 1 WE, 1 skaven and 1 chaos team will be added in the mix.

Thanks in advance!

talast,
Red

[DoubleSkulls]

Cage, cage, cage - plus a bit of "b*ll*cks, chuck it to a goblin/blitzer and pray"

Against fast teams kick to them. If you are lucky (or good) you can turn them over and score for 1-0 at the half then take your time for 2-0 at full time. If they score make sure they do it quickly (2-3 turns) so you've plenty of time to equalise.

Your team composition is pretty poor IMO - you want to start with lots of BOBs and the troll because then they'll skill up and get the MVPs they desperately need to become the backbone of your team. Block & Guard (order is personal preference) are the key skills for the BOBs.

[Red Skullz]

So I don`t got enough muscle?

Well the problem isn`t knocking them over it`s having the speed to be able to score when doing the cage. My last game against High Elves where a disaster. Even if I slaugthered them they still managed to win 2-0 with only 9 players left on the pitch...elves seemingly can`t be tied up, ya gotta take them down on first contact..

But wouldn`t it be a good idea if one or two of the blitzers had the catch skill? And how does the "throw a gobbo" tactic work when it comes to scoring?

[Pink Horror]

I think the trick to caging, and I may be wrong, is spreading it out when you can. You don't actually want to get boxed in to the classic cage except as a last resort. Orcs are agile enough for a loose cage. You also need to tie up opponents in the blocking game - get some use out of that armour. And the elves will fail a dodge eventually.

Also, I don't do this on purpose, but a loose cage that isn't so perfect will often let in a lone blitzer who seems to screw everything up for one turn, maybe even knocking the ball loose. However, this guy can get knocked down and fouled fairly easily because he's inside your cage. The ball can be recovered. And score with the blitzers!

Try watching the early games of a decent Orc coach on FUMBBL. I'm sure there's plenty of good coaches to choose from.

[wesleytj]

So I don`t got enough muscle?

Well the problem isn`t knocking them over it`s having the speed to be able to score when doing the cage. My last game against High Elves where a disaster. Even if I slaugthered them they still managed to win 2-0 with only 9 players left on the pitch...elves seemingly can`t be tied up, ya gotta take them down on first contact..

Well but your black orcs don't have any skills, except one with stand firm. and you only have 2 total. You may THINK that knocking them over isn't your problem, but if you find yourself using rerolls on it because you don't have enough block, or if you find yourself bringing line orcs over to give assists because most of your team is ST3, when those line orcs could be doing something better...

you should have started your roster with 4 black orcs. orc teams are cheap enough that you really can start an orc team with mostly position players, esp since fan factor isn't that important any more.

example:

4 blitzer 320
4 black orc 320
1 thrower 70
1 line orc 50
1 gobbo 40
3 rr 18
2 ff 2

that's a much stronger roster than you're fielding. if you don't like the idea of starting with the gobbo, switch him out for a line orc and one less ff. I personally find the gobbo much more useful than line orcs myself, but ymmv.

and 9 elves left at the end of the game is too many elves. that's not "slaughter".

But wouldn`t it be a good idea if one or two of the blitzers had the catch skill? And how does the "throw a gobbo" tactic work when it comes to scoring?

Actually, Catch would be a wasted doubles on a blitzer. You want to give them dodge instead. This helps keep them from getting knocked down, and gives them further mobility to get where they need to be in a timely manner. Catching on a 3+ is acceptable.

If you really want a player with Catch, get a gobbo. You'd be surprised just how useful they can be on an orc team, the dodge and stunty combo brings a facet to the orc game that's just not there otherwise. Just don't field him against dwarves or chaos dwarves, and don't get too carried away with it.

On non-doubles for blitzers, I highly recommend guard. Black orcs too after they have block. It REALLY makes you a tough nut to crack, both on offense and defense.

As for the throwing a gobbo tactic, don't. It's a REAL low odds play for actually scoring, you're better off with standard cageing.

[shagga]

I agree with pretty much everyone else here in that you should start with 4 blitzers and at least 3 black orcs in a team from the start. The troll isn't essential from the start as I find him to be a liability until you get block. The key to winning with orcs is to master the use of moving a cage, sometimes you need to roll a cage across the field and only move 1 or 2 squares but this patience means your opponent will often become desperate to try and break your cage and eventually will end up leaving himself with no cover back.

Once there is little cover left you can break the cage and stream 2 or 3 people through for a loose cage to score on the following turn. I suggest you head over to Fumbbl and start up a orc team and practice the cage tactics until you have mastered the art of scoring 7-8 times out of 10 driving. There will always be chances for a cage to fail but practice will make you a lot better at protecting the ball and you'll learn how to keep it moving even when your apparently tied up. My big tip for a cage is try to never leave any of the corners of your cage next to one of the oppositions players at the end of your turn as this often gives them chance to block that corner away then blitz your ball carrier.

[Buggrit]

I agree too... we started our league using LRB 5.0 and when I started up my team I took 4 Blitzers and 4 Black Orcs with 1 thrower and 3 linemen, okay so I only had one re-roll and a pityful fan factor, but when you can mash the other team into the ground/roll them off the pitch and injure them then you don't have to worry too much.
Currently my team has added two goblins and a troll (although I had my best goblin (AG4) killed in my last match... damn) never underestimate the power of 1 turn scoring with a gobbo and a troll. (If the troll doesn't eat the gobbo that is!!)

[Red Skullz]

Hmm..

I`ve now only got 1 spot left on my Cockerel that isn`t filled (yet) in the league I`m playing in. I`ll have to make an assesment on this if or rather when a lineman keels over.

As for tactics. I played agains a Norse team yesterday, who`s the top ranking team in our league as well.

I feel that I did my best game so far even if it ended up a draw. My thrower even made 3(!) completions which was a really big bonus.

I`ve now concluded that my line of scrimmage should be the two blorcs and the troll as a minimum. It really worked a treat. This forced him to pile in with people in the center leaving the wide zones open for getting the cage in place and scoring some valuable TD`s.
The best part of the game was when I equalised in turn 7 second half, I KOèd 6 of his 9 remaining players, stunned 2 and the last one was prone. Definitely my highlight of this game and overall in my 6 games of BB so far.

[matkov]

For me never understinmate power of saw when playing with Orcs. Depends on TR difference but I prefer saw to anything else - you have 1 more player and you can do much damage with it. If you can have bribes faul with it a lot.