Dwarf team development

[Mephisto]

Hi!

I'm playing dwarves in the Magerit League in Madrid, where we have the special house rule that all the eleven beginning players get automatically 1 XP. This is my team (3 games played):

GUARDIANS OF AZAGHAL

1) Troll Slayer 3XP
2) Troll Slayer 3XP
3) Runner17XP Block, Normal Skill
4) Runner 9XP Block
5) Blitzer 12XP Guard
6) Blitzer 3XP
7) Blocker 5XP
Blocker 8XP Normal Skill
9) Blocker 5XP
10) Blocker 2XP
11) Blocker 3XP
12) Blocker 3XP

4 re-rolls
5 fan factor
1 Cheerleader
1 Assistan coach
1 Healer

I've also 110.000 gc in my treasury.

My opponents in the regular stage are: necomantics, wood elves and chaos

I've got the following questions:

1) What do I buy next?

A) Save for the Deathroller (need 50.000 gc more)
B) Buy a second reserve player (blocker)


2) What skills should I give to the runner and to the blocker?

My record is 2-1-0

J1) Skalator (Necromantics) Draw 1-1
J2) Rol (Wood Elves) Victory 2-1
J3) José María (Chaos) Victory 3-0
J4) Skalator (Necromantics) has to be played
J5) Rol (Wood Elves) has to be played
J6) José María (Chaos) has to be played

For the buyings I think I take the Deathroller, but I don't know how to develop the runners. I think that I should develop two different kind of them. Can you please help me? Thanks

[Leipziger]

Hey Mephisto, this kind of stuff needs to go in tactics and team development (I'm sure a kind mod will move it).

For skill choices, check out for advice:

viewtopic.php?t=3424

I haven't really played dwarves, but the Deathroller sounds like fun, and 50k is not too much to get.

Re: Runner - Strip ball might be a nice choice. You could develop one for knocking the ball loose and the other runner to get hold of the ball? Depends as it seems you are running a short league, so you may not get chance to develop both guys more.

[DDogwood]

1) What do I buy next?

A) Save for the Deathroller (need 50.000 gc more)
B) Buy a second reserve player (blocker)


2) What skills should I give to the runner and to the blocker?

The Deathroller is a lot of fun, but since it only plays for a single drive (without inducements, at least) you may find that it's not worth the 160k that it adds to your TV. I'd probably go the safe route and buy an additional blocker. This will help you stay competitive if you suffer a couple of unlucky blocks.

For skills, I'd look at Guard for the Blocker - it's boring, but Guard is really the bread and butter for Dwarf Blockers, whether you're looking at a short or a long league. As an alternative, Kick is a handy skill for Dwarfs, because you can put the ball near the line of scrimmage and take away some of the speed advantage from your opponents.

The Runner will probably do best with Kick-Off Return, which also helps to compensate for your slow speed. Tackle would be a good second choice, because it makes him a decent backfield safety on defense.

[Xeterog]

KOR for the runner
Guard or grab for the blocker (I'd lean heavily towards guard)

[Jural]

My two cents-

Rookie dwarf teams don't have a huge TV edge over their opponents, so picking up a 160k piece who may only play 2-3 turns (and things can easily go wrong for rookie dwarves.) is not a smart investment.

At high TV, the equation changes. You will have a more effective team for your TV than most comparable teams, and have the contingencies to overcome all but the worst of bad luck. Hence the Deathroller can stick around for longer more reliably.

I'd concentrate on getting to 13 men and being competitive with guard, mighty blow, and the appropriate blitzer/runner skills, THEN pick up the deathroller. If you have extra money, save it. You will take injuries like any other team... and likely when you just aren't prepared for them!

Murphy's Law and all.

[Mephisto]

So your advice would be to get a second reserve (13th player) and then the 5th re-roll?

It is going to be a very long league and due to the fact that the eleven starting players get a free XP, then I thought it would be ok to have the Deathroller from the beginning...

Kick off return seems to be a good choice.

In the spanish forum they told me not to clone the two runners. Could you give me some advice how to develop them? It's the first time I play with dwarves and they are very different to the teams I used to. Thanks

[Jural]

I wouldn't bother with the 5th re-roll, personally. No problem with it, I just rarely need it and don't like paying for it.

I'd just save the money. Once the team is more developed, I'd pop out the deathroller.

As for the runners, I think they should have different roles, and it all depends on how you want to play your team. A defensive runner might pick up Pass block and Wrestle, for example. Or you can make him a ball hunter with wrestle, tackle, etc.

Personally though, I develop one "runner" and one "passer" My runner gets Kick-Off Return, Block, Fend, Nerves of Steel. My passer gets Accurate, Dump-Off, Nerves of Steel, Pass, Hail Mary Pass. Doubles go to Dodge on both, Always take the +MA, +AG, and +STR.

[PubBowler]

I'd echo the request for a Mod to move this.

Guard for the Blocker.
KOR for the Runner.

Personally I wouldn't buy an extra reroll (5 is overkill I find) and I'm torn between a DR & an extra Blocker.
Normally I'd take the 13th Blocker mainly because I don't want to be giving away too much inducements.

I don't worry too much about having the same skills on both runners. It's a small pool of god skills and KOR is the only one with a dis-economy of scale (and even that's relative as you can choose which one moves).

So after Block, KOR, Fend (Surefeet/Sprint/Side Step on doubles) maybe Hail Mary Pass on one of them as a defensive measure.