Elf Team in short league. What do I do with 100K

[duttydave]

I am currently playing an Elf team in a short LRB4 league.

http://www.fumbbl.com/teams/Ulthuan+Underclass.html

I am thinking of buying another Catcher so that I have 11 players for the next game. Is that wise? or do I buy another Re-Roll and start the game with 10 players?

Do any of you more experienced Elf Coaches have any advice?

[Jural]

How about some advice from a Dark Elf coach?

1) 2 re-rolls is enough, concentrate on getting your 12th player and 6 positionals before getting that third re-roll.

3) Since your cash counts towards TV, it's best to not save too much, even if you occassionally end up playing a few games without a blitzer.

2) Blitzers rock, catchers are really good. You should try to be maxxed out on both at all times.

So I would say buy the catcher. If you lose a blitzer though, he instantly becomes your highest priority to replace.

[AK_Dave]

And when you have the 12th player, all 6 positionals, plenty of Catchers and Blitzers, and you've tapped out your treasury to buy the 3rd reroll you can fully expect that in your VERY NEXT GAME you'll lose two or more players to death, dismemberment, permenant injury, or at the very least MNG.

[mattgslater]

* Get Side Step as a first skill on any lino who doesn't get Kick. This will make your defenses healthier by allowing you to survive a downed Blitzer (and eventually protecting your LOS by preventing chain-blocks). A broken defense on Pro Elves is usually followed by a broken face, while stuffing your opponent in the backfield allows you to score the moment you take the ball away. Side Step is the best real-estate skill in Blood Bowl (Block, Guard and Stand Firm can duke it out for a very distant second), and dominating the real estate game for just one or two turns at the start of each drive is the difference between a lovely 4-0 spanking and a horrid 1-2 bloodbath.

* Remember, scoring saves lives, earns SPP and wins games (in descending order of importance, but it does all three), so do it as much as possible. Master the 2-3 turn defensive score, and barring bad casualty-luck in your first three or four games, you will quickly rise to dominate the league.

* Catchers with Leap are a nightmare for opponents. Two players with Leap + Nerves of Steel + AG4 + MA8 = 2-turner every time the oppo doesn't cage up in one turn, and frequently when they do.

[PubBowler]

* Catchers with Leap are a nightmare for opponents. Two players with Leap + Nerves of Steel + AG4 + MA8 = 2-turner every time the oppo doesn't cage up in one turn, and frequently when they do.

In a short league I'd tend to go basic: Block etc over turnover making skills like Leap.

[SillySod]

* Get Side Step as a first skill on any lino who doesn't get Kick. This will make your defenses healthier by allowing you to survive a downed Blitzer (and eventually protecting your LOS by preventing chain-blocks). A broken defense on Pro Elves is usually followed by a broken face, while stuffing your opponent in the backfield allows you to score the moment you take the ball away. Side Step is the best real-estate skill in Blood Bowl (Block, Guard and Stand Firm can duke it out for a very distant second), and dominating the real estate game for just one or two turns at the start of each drive is the difference between a lovely 4-0 spanking and a horrid 1-2 bloodbath.

Since its a short league sidestep is probably going to be less effective than dodge (because dodge preserves the players as well as helps position). Also he only has one dwarf out of 7 opponents so I'd guess going for multiple dodgers probably wont backfire to a swathe of dawrfs either.

I agree that sidestep is a fantastic skill but in a league (especially a LRB4 league) keeping your team healthy makes a masive difference.

[duttydave]

Thanks for all the advice. I finally decided to buy a new Catcher.

[mattgslater]

@ Sod,

Side Step does keep them alive on the line by preventing chain-blocks, and lets them fill in for a Blitzer in the event of injury. This is key, as an Elf team that can't dominate the wide zones will get thrashed. You don't have the MA to win on your opponent's terms like Wood Elves or Skaven can, and you don't have the AV to hang in against a one-square-per-turn grind from the bash teams, so you have to hold the cage out at the line of scrimmage if you're to have your best hope for a quick recovery and score. For a shallow stall, Side Step is the best skill in the book by a mile.

[AK_Dave]

I realize Pelfs play quite different from Delfs, but with my Delfs I rarely attempt to hold a cage at the LOS. I rarely attempt to hold a cage in the first place. Knowing that I can score fast and quickly, I don't mind letting my opponent attempt to do the same, and then stand prepared to capitalize on his mistakes.

Fast scoring and clock management is the name of the game for *Elf teams, in my book.

The way I look at it, if my opponent can pull a 2TTD - more power to him/her. Go for it. Then I'll get the ball, do the same, and we'll end the half 2-2. I always kick, given the choice, as this gives me the second half with the ball to manage the clock. Against a fast-score team, I'm happy to see us both score more in the second half and then manage the clock for a 4-3 win with the last TD prolonged.

If my opponent is slow and plodding, like Dwarfs, then I'll just interfere but avoid getting pummelled to death. In the end, if you're scoring 3TTD or 4TTD and I'm scoring in 2, all I need to do is watch you make one mistake where I can snag the ball and the game is mine.

All this is assuming I've been able to preserve the bulk of my team on the field and upright. If my players are faceplanted, or worse, not only is it hard for me to capitalize on errors but I can't score either.

Thus, I'd recommend Dodge over Side Step as a FIRST skill. I think that the two together as a combo is awesome, but Dodge is my first choice for *Elf players. A Lino with Kick and another with Kick-Off Return, but everyone else should have Dodge first if they don't start with it.

[DoubleSkulls]

That's a very different style to what I see nowadays.

Bash teams generally aim for elf teams to score in 2 turns, then take 15 turns over scoring twice themselves. Why score quickly, when you can score slowly and reliably win?

As a countering strategy many faster teams go for slower TDs to reduce the time that the bash teams have to score, to put more pressure on them to move the ball, to increase their chances of either stopping it or turning over and going into the half 2-0 up.

[Jural]

My Dark Elf defense against bashy teams:

Step 1- Put pressure on in the backfield and try to section off the field (cut his half of the pitch in half.

Step 2- Overload the half with the ball and don't let him get the ball out.

Step 3- Turn him over or slow him down.

Step 4- Score or wait until it's mathematically impossible for him to score and back off.

If the strategy fails, you can take a pounding, however. It's important to score on defense if possible. A 2 TD lead often means you can score quite a bit more easily.

[AK_Dave]

Bash teams generally aim for elf teams to score in 2 turns, then take 15 turns over scoring twice themselves. Why score quickly, when you can score slowly and reliably win?

I like to kick because then my opponent sets the tone of the game based on how braindead and boring he wants to be, with my job being primarily to force a turnover if possible but if not then to just allow an easy score and preserve my team. If you're not going to make a mistake and give an opening for me to grab the ball from you and score a TD, I don't care to offer up my own team as a bloody sacrifice for a cage-driven steamroller.

The only time I care about stalling an opponent from scoring is if it is the second half, the game is tied OR I'm up by a single point, and my goal is to preserve a win/tie or to force a turnover so I can score and make a win out of a tie.

This, of course, is all league talk. Tournament talk is completely different.

In league play, I want to score as often as I can and don't begrudge my opponent's desire to do the same. TDs are SPPs.

[AK_Dave]

My Dark Elf defense against bashy teams:

Step 1- Put pressure on in the backfield and try to section off the field (cut his half of the pitch in half.

Step 2- Overload the half with the ball and don't let him get the ball out.

Step 3- Turn him over or slow him down.

Step 4- Score or wait until it's mathematically impossible for him to score and back off.

Thats about right, for me, except that in #2 I want to minimize the CAS potential to my own team. Depending on my opponent, and esp if this is an AG3 player w/o Catch, I'll allow a potential reciever to go only loosely screened in my backfield. Then as I pressure the ball, my opponent may take this as an invitation to pass. If I can intercept, fine. If not, and the pass is good, let him run it in for a TD.

I prefer games where there are at least 5 points total on the board. And at least 3 of them are mine.

Basically, it all comes down to this:
In my experience with Delfs, if I play a hard grinding defense I find that a Delf team is only good for about half a game. I find that the bashy teams that prefer a hard grinding game will outgrind an equivilant-TV Delf team quite handily. They're going to have Strength skills, better ST, and better AV. Minimizing my opponent's strength means minimizing the hurt while maximizing my ability to interfere. So I find it preferrable to play a loose, weak defense. Weak in the sense that I'm more concerned with preserving my team than preventing the score. If you think you have a shot to run or pass the ball down the field, take it. But screw up one die roll or screw up your movement in any way, I'll pounce and likely score in the same turn. Give me a shot at the ballcarrier and I'll take it, but cage up and prevent me from getting near it and I'll reciprocate by making it so that you need a Blitz to hit me.

I like Delf because they have the tools to pressure people into making mistakes, and the ability to make the use of those mistakes. But they don't stand up well to a wave of Mighty Blow w/ Piling On.

[mattgslater]

See, to me, the drive is won or lost on the opening kickoff every time. If I can takeaway and score in two turns, I'll do it, and I don't care if it's Orcs or Elves I'm doing it with or against. I have more faith in my D than in my O, and I know if I can get a two-turn D score on drive #1, I can probably do it again on drive #2. Not that I'd never stall (far from it), but if my bashy guys are up 1-0 after turn 2, and kicking again to an opponent on turn 3, that's a very hard place for an opponent to recover from: even if they score, they have to leave me time to come back, and if they don't, they're going into the second half down 2-0, which pretty much means the game is over.

Holding the cage up at the line is critical for speed teams: if the cage gets deep, then the oppo can play one-square-per-turn until he gets within breakaway range and he gets perhaps a recovery attempt if you pop the ball free. But if the cage goes up to the LOS and stalls out for a turn, you can break the ball out and score with no chance to recover, and if the turn goes badly you can perhaps recover without giving up the TD.

[SillySod]

Bash teams generally aim for elf teams to score in 2 turns, then take 15 turns over scoring twice themselves. Why score quickly, when you can score slowly and reliably win?

I like to kick because then my opponent sets the tone of the game based on how braindead and boring he wants to be, with my job being primarily to force a turnover if possible but if not then to just allow an easy score and preserve my team. If you're not going to make a mistake and give an opening for me to grab the ball from you and score a TD, I don't care to offer up my own team as a bloody sacrifice for a cage-driven steamroller.

Then you will be beaten nearly every time by a competant if "braindead" player. You have to have an answer to stalling other than to ignore it to save your team. Sometimes your team needs saving but you cant plan to do that every time... you have to win some games after all.

Give me a shot at the ballcarrier and I'll take it, but cage up and prevent me from getting near it and I'll reciprocate by making it so that you need a Blitz to hit me.

That would suit a staller fine. The point of stalling isnt to maim your team (although that can be happy by-product) but to score without giving you a chance to get at the ball or have time to respond.