Pro Elves at Open War 10

Mephiston · Post by **Mephiston** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 1:59 pm

Right I'm taking my Elves to my first ever tournament this Oct at Open War 10.

Its TR100 over 3 games with 2 skills assigned after the first and second game. 5 FF for free.

What do people think of this team?

2 Blitzers 220
3 Catchers 300
2 Throwers 140
4 Linemen 240
2 Re Rolls

Not sure about skills really. Any ideas?

PubBowler · Post by **PubBowler** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 2:12 pm

Team seems ok.

I'd take Frenzy on a Blitzer, Block on a Catcher & Leader on a Thrower.

Smeborg · Post by **Smeborg** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 1:54 am

I would prefer:

2 Blitzers
2 Catchers
1 Thrower
6 Linemen
3 Re-rolls

With just 4 skills, I would simply go for Dodge on the Blitzers and Catchers.

3 Re-rolls is important as you need to mount a violent and early counter-attack when defending (before your AV 7 team dies).

Hope this helps.

Smeborg

Mephiston · Post by **Mephiston** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 11:05 am

I've just noticed that star players are allowed at this tourney.

Are they worth the cost in tournament play?

PubBowler · Post by **PubBowler** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 11:55 am

Mephiston wrote:I've just noticed that star players are allowed at this tourney.

Are they worth the cost in tournament play?

Generally speaking, no.

Some of the chainsaws are wort a look but only for the cheaper teams that can get everything they want (Amazons, Elves, Orcs, Undead).

I wouldn't consider them for Elves.

Mephiston · Post by **Mephiston** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 2:51 pm

That's what I had decided but its nice to get some confirmation

Quadrasonic · Post by **Quadrasonic** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 3:34 pm

Unless they will have some new sort of inducement system, you would have to make some major cuts to get a star player. That would likely be suicide.

It is pretty well established that the only team that should cut their initial roster to less than 1M for the sole purpose of obtaining star players and other goodies is Halflings.

mattgslater · Post by **mattgslater** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 4:35 pm

I think you're best off with SS lino and Kick Catcher in week 1. 3 SS guys (1 on the nose) keeps opponents in their own half, and makes it easy to recover the ball.

skatingtortoise · Post by **skatingtortoise** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 10:41 pm

Smeborg wrote:I would prefer:

2 Blitzers
2 Catchers
1 Thrower
6 Linemen
3 Re-rolls

With just 4 skills, I would simply go for Dodge on the Blitzers and Catchers.

3 Re-rolls is important as you need to mount a violent and early counter-attack when defending (before your AV 7 team dies).

Hope this helps.

Smeborg

+1, solid lineup this. dodge on blitzers = awesome
the only thing i *might* change is bringing out the thrower and working in another catcher, but depends on you. of all the positions, thrower is the only one you can do ok without, as the catchers make fine throwers anyway.
SS on lino also sounds fun

mattgslater · Post by **mattgslater** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 3:35 am

I think having enough Catchers is critical.
2 Blitzers
3 Catchers
2 Throwers
4 Linemen
2 Re-Rolls

or

2 Blitzers
2 Catchers
1 Thrower
6 Linemen
2 Re-Rolls
1 Apothecary (110k blitz-absorbers, key 100k AV7 players)

As I said before, extra Side Step (or maybe a touch of Wrestle) on your Linemen will reduce the burden on your Blitzers. Dodge is also a way to do this.

3 RR is really nice, but not as nice as 2RR and an instance each of Pass and +2MA/Catch/NoS. Really. A PE lino needs to GFI twice to score from off the line in two turns, so going down to one Catcher early in the match is very very bad. The Apothecary is good because you can also use it in case a Blitzer gets hurt. One instance of Side Step is nice, but two is more than twice as effective: with three, you can pretty much shut out any opponent without Grab or Leap. In this format, that means Wood Elves and... ummm... ummm....

SillySod · Post by **SillySod** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 3:04 pm

With pro elves I really would make sure I had either an extra player or an apothecary, doing anything else is just asking to be smashed off the pitch. Likewise I wouldnt take sidestep as a skill for anyone because they are so frail.

I'd be careful about overloading on dodge. Take a look around after your first game and try to suss out how many dwarfs there are around. If there are none then feel free to stack up on dodge... if there are some though you ought not invest in too much dodge, probably just dodge up the catchers. Your blitzers dont really need dodge tbh with armour 8, block, and sidestep they are survivable enough (especially with an apoth on hand). A blitzing skill to turn the ball over is probably much more important and will be useful against all teams.

mattgslater · Post by **mattgslater** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 3:37 pm

SillySod wrote:Likewise I wouldnt take sidestep as a skill for anyone because they are so frail.

That's actually why I recommend Side Step. Put a Side Stepper on the d-line, and you know he won't get chain-blocked (better than Fend for that, actually). Your oppo gets one 56% or 75% shot at him (and Block or Wrestle just ensures that it's 56%), and then you're out of reach. With Block or Dodge you increase your odds of staying up, but you get hit again, and you can get knocked out of position. With SS, the only way you can get pushed out of the way is if you get KO'ed or Cas'ed. You can even get stunned and still be effective.

Wrestle is a credible alternative... if you squint. It does have some good applications on your turn, though, while SS is almost purely passive.

Mephiston · Post by **Mephiston** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 4:14 pm

SillySod wrote:With pro elves I really would make sure I had either an extra player or an apothecary, doing anything else is just asking to be smashed off the pitch. Likewise I wouldnt take sidestep as a skill for anyone because they are so frail.

I'd be careful about overloading on dodge. Take a look around after your first game and try to suss out how many dwarfs there are around. If there are none then feel free to stack up on dodge... if there are some though you ought not invest in too much dodge, probably just dodge up the catchers. Your blitzers dont really need dodge tbh with armour 8, block, and sidestep they are survivable enough (especially with an apoth on hand). A blitzing skill to turn the ball over is probably much more important and will be useful against all teams.

Skills have to be picked before play starts for both rounds so I'll have no idea what I'm facing.

At 100 I can't see a good way of getting 12 players with 2 rerolls. I really don't like the idea of going into a game with only one reroll.

mattgslater · Post by **mattgslater** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 5:10 pm

You can get 2 Catchers, 2 Blitzers, 8 linos, 2 Re-rolls, but I think taking a Thrower and Apoth instead of two linos is both more skillful, and in terms of player quality more resilient. It's 11 players, but you're highly likely to take a BH, so it's a lot like having a reserve (except it's cheaper and could be a Catcher or Blitzer).

Round 1, I'd go for a Line-Elf with Side Step and a Catcher with Kick. That way you have a guy who can fill in at cornerback if a Blitzer goes down and play nose until then, and Kick on the Catcher lets you put your Kicker at safety and you still only have two players to protect. Round 2, I'd take a Line-Elf with Wrestle and a Catcher with Leap or Dodge, to help turn the game over faster.