Advice for a TR 178 Wood Elf team

Khrys_Antos · Post by **Khrys_Antos** » Tue Dec 31, 2002 3:00 pm

Well I've played a dozen or so games already, and I've even managed to win our leagues Far Albion Tournament.

So far I have this on my team;

2 Wardancer;
-One has ST4, tackle, strip ball, Jump Up
-Shadowing for nb 2.

One Passer;
-He has a niggling, but has accurate and strong arm, i'm torn between keeping him and droppin him.

2 Catchers;
-sadly none with 10 MA.
-One has diving catch, block, side step
-The other one has block, sprint, sure feet and pass block

7 linemen;
- One with 8 MA and 4 ST and dodge.
- One with Block.
- And one with a nig with nothing else.
- One has 5 AG and a nig.

I have 110k in my treasury.
4 FF (Low because I somehow manage to roll 1's every time)
2 RR

The other teams in the league include all the elf teams, the amazons and a seasoned Skaven team. I constantly lose players. Since the start of the league I've lost one per match on average sometimes more.

Any advice?

McSnaga · Post by **McSnaga** » Tue Dec 31, 2002 3:10 pm

I would replace the lineman with the niggle - make him an assistant coach. This will reduce your team rating, while improving (slightly) your team.

Or .. buy a re-roll

Don't get rid of your thrower - he is far too good to retire due to the niggling injury.

Hang on ... No apothecary ?

and you are complaining about loss of players !

harley_topper · Post by **harley_topper** » Tue Dec 31, 2002 3:25 pm

You really need an Apo. Your low AV7 is a pain and not yet an Apo, that you are loosing players is no surprise.
I think you should by an Apo, he costs only 50,000 gp.
Keep the thrower he is really good, I would suggest to hire a treeman ASAP, he will bann players of the opposing team and adds some strength to your team

Hamster · Post by **Hamster** » Tue Dec 31, 2002 3:33 pm

You team roster doesn't include an apothecary, this really should be the first purchase for any elf team.

As you say, you keep losing an elf each match, an apothecary should help.

A few of your team seem to be picking up all the SPP - especially your first wardancer (nice choise of skills for him though). You need to use the rest of the team for the activities which will gain you SPP. If its a choice between your star wardancer scoring and a line-elf, hand off to the line elf.

This should make your team more balanced in the league play, and less likely to suffer if your stars are killed.

You next purchase should be another thrower. I don't know what niggling injury your present thrower has, but only retire him if your team out points the other teams in your league. A line-elf can cover for him, but if you've got him use him. Besides, having two throwers gives your opponent two targets to try and catch.

At FF 4, it will be a while before you can boost the size of your team, and say get a treeman rookie.

As for skills, the line-elf with lots of SPP will make a good blitzer with block.

Giving another line-elf guard actually gives the wood elves a tough front line, always a surprise.

Side step is my favourite for WE catchers; because of their low ST and AV they really need to avoid the enemy and use the whole board, side-step allows them to do this without the problem of being pushed out into the crowd.

Khrys_Antos · Post by **Khrys_Antos** » Tue Dec 31, 2002 6:56 pm

Oops I forgot to include the apothecary.

I do have one on my team, I'm not that crazy.

I've never been a fan of having two throwers on one team, because it seems redundant. I'd like to hear some play ideas with two throwers which are effective.

I've tried to give my other linemen opportunities to gain SPP's but this has been difficult. I've had problems when I get into the 2nd half with only 6-7 players on average. These are usually my seasoned players who don't go towards the LOS. Linemen usually fill-up the dead and injured box by the end of the first half.

As for TR, I have the lowest TR in the league, although the handicap rolls have been of little value. I played five games in the last tournament and I won them all, including the final. However, I'm afraid that with the current trend of linemen corpses piling up, if my stars die or age, my team could collapse. The few linemen which have gained a level have met gruesome ends; including one with diving tackle, another with block and one with pass block.

I've also had a shortage on funds due to the low FF, everytime I get enough cash to buy an RR or a treemen, linemen die and I need to re-fill (as I call it) on linemen to get back up to 11. The money I have now is from winning the tournament.

Hamster · Post by **Hamster** » Tue Dec 31, 2002 9:05 pm

Sorry, your a wood elf player who doesn't favour 2 throwers?

WE don't have the AV not to max out on positional players when they get the chance.

I know that throwers are always high on my target list out things to bury in the casuality box when I play elves. HE and WE teams usually have 3 catchers (generally skilled for certain rolls), going after all of them takes time - taking out 1 thrower doesn't.

Besides, you can design your throwers for specific tasks. this normally falls down to defensive and attacking.

A defending thrower has skills like dodge, sure hands, dump off, side step, hail mary, etc. This player follows your wardancers, pick up the balls that get knocked-out of cages and gets them away. Dodge and side step (possibly block too) give him the chance of getting there; dump-off helps protect the ball if he cannot get a pass when he picks it up and hail mary allows him to pass with only 1 in 6 chance of fumbling (no matter how many tackle zones are on him- need to having someone else with diving catch though). A strength bonus can also be useful.

An attacking thrower is more normal. He gets accurate, safe throw, sure hands, etc. A thrower who gets an AG bonus is preferably developed thisway.

having both an attcking thrower and a defending thrower on the pitch at the same time is a great combination. The defender is positioned near the line of scrimmage , the attacker sits near the back of his side. If the kick goes deep the attacker picks up the ball and sits back waiting to pass to a catcher. The defender is there to cover if things don't go to plan, and the ball comes free in a mess of players. The defending thrower is also better suited to picking up the ball if the kick off drops it near the line of scrimmage. If he gets pressured he can dump-off to the atttacking thrower behind him.

Khrys_Antos · Post by **Khrys_Antos** » Wed Jan 01, 2003 12:01 am

I've never been a big fan of Hail Mary Pass, and my throwers usually stick to accurate and strong arm (especially for elves, I like to be able to make 4+ long bombs). Though I can see how having two throwers could work.

Throwers on all my teams have usually only two levels, because I don't do anything but pass with them.

I'll think about this, it could work for my team.

franck_le_grand · Post by **franck_le_grand** » Wed Jan 01, 2003 10:18 pm

What!!!

Get another thrower right away!!! In 1 out of 6 games your thrower will be missing! And trust me you'll need him.

I'm a big fan of WE and my best team so far is my WE team with nearly 300 TR. (we play long leagues and use the same teams)

You will need a second thrower. And for the rest of the money... well save them up and buy another RR.
You'll also need to replace the niggled lineman without ag5. Replace him before he gets any of your valuable MVP's.

BTW how is your W/L/D??

Kri · Post by **Kri** » Mon Jan 06, 2003 6:51 pm

I have two throwers offensively. One close to the LoS and the other one backfield.
After kick-off: If the ball is close to LoS the front thrower throws the ball back to the thrower that has gone deep. This way your ball-carrying thrower can´t be sacked. On the second turn the thrower runs forward and either throw a long pass to a reciever or hand offs it to the forward thrower that then runs and throw the ball.

Works great for me. Besides, more comps give more SPP´s and better throwers...

wardancer434 · Post by **wardancer434** » Mon Jan 06, 2003 11:34 pm

Defintly need the thrower, after all, its the position all woodelves want to grow and play

Asperon Thorn · Post by **Asperon Thorn** » Tue Jan 07, 2003 12:12 am

McSnaga wrote:I would replace the lineman with the niggle - make him an assistant coach. This will reduce your team rating, while improving (slightly) your team.

No need for that, your roster isn't full and this guy makes perfect LOS fodder; as well as, tying up Rat Ogres, lending assists, and putting tacklezone's on any player that may just turn around and slam you. Basically if it looks dangerous with little to no SPP gain, send him, If he dies, that will lower your TR.

At the development stage that your team is in, you really want to start filling in those positional players, so I wouldn't buy another line-elf. It is a little late for new linelves to join the fray. Get those positional players competitive, and then use thier skills to get SPP's to your line-elves. In the meantime, just use them to screen.

The reroll is a decent suggestion, but I tend to concur with the second thrower. Another Catcher is also a viable option, so you can start working on that second Pass Blocking catcher.

Asperon Thorn

wardancer434 · Post by **wardancer434** » Tue Jan 07, 2003 4:15 am

I would go for another catcher, after the thrower.

Post by **DoubleSkulls** » Tue Jan 07, 2003 9:36 am

A few points.

You don't have enough players. 12 is too few, I bet you are constantly fielding fewer than 11 players at the start of the drive. Buy more players - you'll probably need 14. I'd be tempted to buy another Line elf straight away and then save up for the 2nd thrower (or other way around).

Don't retire any of your niggles until you have more players. I wouldn't retire the thrower at all.

You are not getting enough SPPs on your line elves. Try to leave a line elf open to score TDs and maybe make the odd quick pass too. Block and Dodge should be priorities for them to help reduce the loses from bashing. Ideally you want at least 3 with block/dodge to sit on the Los and not get mashed.