Damn Wood Elves

[wesleytj]

Wood elves can only be stopped via long-term attrition. While it is really hard to stop an even remotely lucky wood elf team in a single game, if the entire league inflicts enough casualties on them, the eventually run out of players ... if the woodies start their games with 2 or 3 players less, you have a chance to beat them.

You can get them with short term attrition too though. Over the course of the game, that AV7 really adds up. A good elf coach can handle playing a few players short during the course of the game, but after more than a few, it's tough for anybody to deal with.

Stuns and KO's really matter during the course of the game against wood elves. Badly Hurts don't affect the long term health of the team either, but obviously they matter a lot for that individual game.

If they only have 4 or 5 elves that can act in a given turn, which can happen somewhat often no matter how good the wood elf coach is, there's not much anyone can do about that.

I shudder to count the number of times I've scored 2 or even 3 times in the first half, only to have the opponent come back and draw the game in the 2nd game because I simply lacked the elf-power to stop them.

So in short, I disagree with your basic premise. You can stop wood elves in a short term single game sense, just grind them into the dust. In LRB 5.0 rules, there's certainly no reason not to foul them regularly, too. Just accellerates that whole process. By halftime they'll be showing the effects, no doubt.

[GreedySmurf]

So in summary,

Barring some bad luck from the Woodie coach I'm not going to stop him scoring anyway. So I need to go for the grinding 2-1 win.

Fair enough.

I guess I've been a bit lucky in the past with the other Wood Elf coach that he doesn't use typical wood elf tactics. (I will not be enlightening him on that point for sure )

Thanks for all the comments suggestions.

[Fronko]

Occasionally I have seen a wood elf team deteriorate down to 4 or 5 players, but defeinitely not in general. Usually, they end up somwhere between 10 and 7 players, depending on their bench and the amount of luck of the opposing team tby aking out elves. I am not saying you are wrong, maybe you have seen more brutal/efficient player killers than I.

I find it difficult to disassemble a wood elf team in a single game...

[Munkey]

You should come and see my league then - My Woody team gets battered down to 4-5 players nearly every game.

I do only start the game with 11 (and two of them are Journeymen) but it's not been that hard for opponents to take a few more out.

One of the things i've not really seen mentioned here is take the Wardancers out. If you get a good shot at them try to take them down, that really helps. If there's one lying prone somewhere don't forget to give it a kick before your turn ends.

[JumpingElf]

Yep ... get his Wardancers (in most cases they will be the only player with strip ball) and every Woodelfplayer will become nervous, then try to smash his Thrower (Adios marvelous passing game). Don't overrate the Treeman and focus your power on him, your opponent will use it against you.

[DDogwood]

Don't overrate the Treeman and focus your power on him, your opponent will use it against you.

Agreed... with MA2, the Treeman is basically an obstacle in the middle of the field. It's usually too risky to GFI with him, so anything but a Mummy can outrun it pretty easily. The Treeman is only a slightly bigger obstacle to you than it is to the Woodies.

It should be interesting to watch the Wood Elves in LRB 5.0 - the addition of Journeymen makes them a much more viable team at low TRs, but spiralling expenses will make it much harder for them to field a full roster of 16, which should also reduce their ability to withstand a lot of hitting and fouling. If they do manage to get a heavy roster, Inducements should help other teams compensate.

Did anyone mention fouling? If you're not fouling the Wardancers every chance you get, then you're not playing to win. In almost every case, it's worth having a lineman sent off if he can take a Wardancer with him.

[wesleytj]

Yep, you'd be shocked how many ppl worry incessantly about the tree. the tree is there for one reason on my team; to be someone on the line who isn't st3 and av7. That's it. Once the play starts, he's irrelevant to the wood elf coach, yet you'll see teams lining up 4 or 5 guys on him to get 2dbs. the rest of the elves just HATE to see that.

I certainly pretend to be concerned about it.

[darren woodward]

They score once - you hold the ball and score twice. Easy

As i said - easy . 2 - 1 win against the WEs with Zons

Just don't roll a Riot on the KOT when you've scored at the end of Turn 8 in the 1st half - he then threw for an easy 2 turn score

And do pick him off with a poxy interception a couple of places from your own goal line and hang on to it (just about) to score again and win

Ok, maybe i was lucky overall

[Warhammer]

Yep, you'd be shocked how many ppl worry incessantly about the tree. the tree is there for one reason on my team; to be someone on the line who isn't st3 and av7. That's it. Once the play starts, he's irrelevant to the wood elf coach, yet you'll see teams lining up 4 or 5 guys on him to get 2dbs. the rest of the elves just HATE to see that.

I certainly pretend to be concerned about it.

Exactly.

Heck, depending on the team, I don't even line the tree on the field when I receive the ball. On defense he is normally the anchor of the line, but otherwise he is one less elf on the field.

The tree serves these functions for the woodies:

1) It draws attention away from other elves.
2) It provides a center anchor on the line forcing teams to either commit tons of men to take him down (opening the way for the elves), or forces the other team to choose left or right down the field.
3) It draws attention away from other elves.
4) It provides a fouling target that is not an elf.
5) It draws attention away from other elves.
6) It gives you a nutcracker when going against bashy teams, opening the way for the elves on offense.

One last thing, it draws attention away from other elves.

I would go so far to say that a good elf team doesn't need the tree after 170+ TR. That may be a bit too far.

[NightDragon 2]

My Lizard team has lost twice recently to Woodies and both times because of the worst nightmare scenario. The b**tard has not 1 but 2 one turn scorers. Even though my team kicked ass in both games on the final turn with my limit used up he scored on his last turn!!! He has now only lost once in 19 games to an Orc team that did as the boys are suggesting. Let him score if he goes first and then grind baby. However as has also been said this does not mean they win Leagues as this particular team picked up too many draws. I just hope these one turn scorers get killed................permamently!!!! Death to all Woodies I say, kill them all!

[dwarfrunner]

Woodies are deffinently hard to slow down, but as mentioned before, stunned and Ko's cause havok for them, since there are less people on the field to worry about. I play dwarves, and the one coach with Wood Elves has yet to beat me in two games, mostly because of the tactics that were mentioned before. Both games went into OT, but by that time he only had 4 or 5 guys on the field (mostly KO'd, but off the field is off the field in my opinion).

As for the one turn scorer, there is nothing you can do. If you get the chance, kick the s@#$ out of him. If they ahve leap, you are royally screwed (gutterrunner with VLL, leap and sprint, COME ON, ARE YOU SERIOUS)

[Brokje]

Luckily in LRB 5 VLL does not give +1 MV any more...

Greets!
M

[method]

just play a deep 3-4-4 defense..... three on the LOS, a pair in each side zone, one behind another (two prevent blitz leaks) and two more pair in one behind another formation, two squares toward the center of the pitch. what this does is force the woodies toward the center of the board, where you can make them pay. on the sides, with you me lined up starting from a square away from the out of bounds line, it would take a elf 4 dodge rolls to break you line of defense..... when multiplied by 3-5 receivers..that's a lot of failed rolls. or the get funneled toward the center of the board, right where you want them.....


s s----------s s
s s----------s s
-------sss-------


get it?