Wrestling with Wrestle

[cyagen]

Hi,

I'm playing a high elf team and 2 players are getting a new skill and Wrestle is messing with my plan.

So far the team looks like that:

1 Catcher with Dodge
1 Blitzer w nothing
7 linos with nothing
1 lino (skill)
1 Blitzer (skill)

The Blitzer will get Dodge and I'm considering sending him the Side Step, Tackle, Jump up road.

For the Lino, I was planning giving him Block but after re-reading the Wrestle rule I though that it would not be a bad skill to give him. It would make him more of a blitzer that LOS guy.

But I am worried that Wrestle is less usefull than Block or Dodge on such an undevelopped team.

Any thoughs on that?

Thanks in advance.

[pelle]

I would always go for Dodge as the first skill on the lino. It will be a lot safer to move him around the board, and as long as your opponents don't have block, they need to roll a clear pow.
As the second skill, go for wrestle, and then you have a very annoying player for the LOS.

[DoubleSkulls]

Take kick 1st. Stopping cages forming is your best defence against running teams and kick is the best skill to make that happen.

The next ~3 linemen should get block or dodge - your preference, after that add a couple of wrestles.

The wrestlers want tackle and probably dodge too so you can go dodge, wrestle, tackle for development.

That frees up the blitzers to concentrate on more turnover skills (leap, strip ball etc).

[PubBowler]

I think you need linemen with Block before linemen with Wrestle.

Fend and Wrestle is a nice combo for slowing an opposing cage.

But watch out for Juggernaut...

[Grogmir]

I had a Wrestle player on my last DE team.
In over 10 games I used the skill once against Dwarves.
Up there with Diving Catch as the most useless skill IMO.

I would never take it over block, dodge or anything else really.

Grog

[GalakStarscraper]

My Sllann Blitzers use Wrestle instead of Block.

Mixes great since they have Jump Up. Wrestle + Strip Ball will knock the ball loose very reliably. Then the Sure Hands player comes in to grab the ball and run away with it.

I DEFINITELY have not found Wrestle a low powered skill. Combined with Strip Ball ... its awesome.

Galak

[stashman]

Wrestle is a great skill when you need a player down, sometimes to get the ball and sometimes to get a player down to have a player free from dodge. many good uses with wrestle in my opinon.

[Cramy]

First lino gets kick. Then the next few linos get dodge.

One of the dodge linos or the kick lino should get wrestle and strip ball. Once you have lots of dodge, spread block around liberally.

IMO, the key to high elves and dark elves (haven't played the other Elves yet) is maneuvrability, and being able to get the ball on defence and score. And you want to survive.

Elves get lots of SPPs. If you can protect them then your team will develop faster than most other teams. Dodge allows you to move away from dangerous blockers, and helps you stay on your feet. Your team rerolls can then be used for GFIs and ball handling. All 2+ rolls for the most part, so if you keep your team rerolls for such actions, then you will rarely miss.

[Jural]

Unless you play in a Dwarf or Chaos Dwarf heavy league, pick up dodge on every lineman before you pick up block or wrestle.

Your mobility is your best weapon for getting 2 die blocks, and forcing teams to negate it by picking up tackle creates team value bloat. Besides, you will skill up faster as an elf side, and every tackle player he has is one more advance away from block, guard, or mighty blow, the skills which will eventually make the LOS unpalatable for a Dark and or High Elf team.

Dodge, it's usually a better choice for low TV elf teams (unless the tackle teams are looming, then just pick up other skills first)

[stashman]

To wrestle the slow basher teams make you the faster one. Dodge helps a lot but with wrestle you can destroy movement on slow teams. Combination of dodge+wrestle+fend is awsome to protect players. I like Block and its good, but in the longrun when everybody has block, you rather wrestle your opponent then let him bash you next turn after a Both Down result. And if you get blocked, use wrestle and then run away in your turn making the opponent be prone.

Block is oldschool and wrestle is new and alot of players don't really test it, becuse Block is good. And then you have one player with wrestle and that don't make a big diffrence and you go back to block.

My skaven team has wrestle on as many linerats I can have it on, even one of my throwers (don't work as a thrower). I have a Frenzy+Wrestle lineman in my skaven team and thats two times to wrestle down your opponent.

Wrestle is better in the longrun. Juggernaut cancels out wrestle, but you can't blitz everybody and you shall keep Block on your ballcarriers.

[tenwit]

Block initially, wrestle later. On a low AG team, Wrestle rules (blocking with my skinks to allow my saurus get free of a TZ to blitz.. the element of surprise!), and in a Block-heavy league, Wrestle is king. But on such a new team, Block is better. If the lino won't be blocking but will be blocked, then Dodge is better, as it's the same +16% defense against blocks, and it also allows safer movement.

[atropabelladonna]

I also like wrestle on limited skill teams, like Vampires and Chaos. Wrestle works to reduce turnovers when blocking and is an okay alternative to tackle when ball hunting.

[mattgslater]

See, that's why I play Pro Elves. High Elves don't get to see Side Step at its full glory so easily because the entry cost is so steep. Pro Elves, OTOH, get to start halfway there. When you've got four Side-Steppers, you can put two at CB and two at ILB, and damn but your opponent can't go out either side. The ball never advances into your half, you score every other turn, and as a result even with AV7 you don't take much damage and build skills up the wazoo in a hurry. High Elves don't get the leg up on it, but with their superior lino AV, they'll do better with it once it starts working.

Then, once you've got two Catchers (C), a Kicker (K), and four Side-Steppers, this D gives most teams fits.

Code: Select all

- - - -|- - X X X - -|- - - -
- S - -|X S - - - S K|- - S -
- - C -|- - - - - - -|- C - -

Even with three Side Step players:

Code: Select all

- - - -|- - X S X - -|- - - -
- S - -|X X - - - X K|- - S -
- - C -|- - - - - - -|- C - -

But if you're going to do it, you have to start right away, or wait until much later. Having two guys both skill up at once lets you make it a symmetrical thing right from the get-go.

So I'd either give both Side Step, understanding that the other Blitzer and the third line-elf will do it too (you need a Kicker at some point), or abandon/postpone the plan, give the Blitzer Dodge, and give the Line-Elf Kick.

[DoubleSkulls]

Wrestle works to reduce turnovers when blocking and is an okay alternative to tackle when ball hunting.

Exactly. Its also a lot more annoying to play against than block players for the slow bashers since you generally don't want your Block, Guard BOB on the ground even if it doesn't result in a turnover.

[Jural]

I think ball carriers and heavy hitters (mighty blow, claw, piling on types, also those who advance mainly through casualties) benefit from block, as do guard players.

However, wrestle is best on everyone else. If you want to put a person on the LOS or in a blitzable position in a cage, wrestle is the better choice, as it knocks down the opponent's best (blitzing) player.

The only problem with wrestle is foulers.

I love that dynamic of LRB 5. Wrestle, Block, and Dirty Player add a huge component of decision making to the game... and it's richer because of it, in my view.