Make a great beastman runner even better :)

quozl · Post by **quozl** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 10:01 am

Heya guys,

I have a ST4, block, sure-hands beastman on my chaos team. He's the runner in situations where my opponent has strip-ball, or players likely to leap into a cage and hit me.

Pretty much guaranteed to be a 1/2d block if they do that, thanks to S4, and a nearby guard.

He's skilled up again, and got a normal skill. Trying to figure out what to give him.
I guess the biggest worry is skaven, woodies, pro-elves, or other ball-hawk teams. They have a 1/9 chance of knocking him down if they 1/2d blitz him, pretty unlikely, but if the ball comes loose against those sort of teams, it's a world of pain.

Alternatively, they can get a push and shove him someplace more annoying. Not that there's usually any enemy standing nearby to push him beside.

So, to stop these minor enough risks, I could give him stand-firm?

Or, I could just accept that those are pretty minor risks, and give him guard. Because, more guard is always nice, and would help people knock any markers off him. Not that that's a big problem anyway with S4 blitzs and 5 guards.

Lastly, 2heads to dodge. But I'd usually either blitz something off him, or blitz with him, rather than dodge, as it's safer. Then again, if there's something i have trouble doing with chaos, it'd be scoring in a timely manner. So 2heads might be a good idea. I hate 2+ with a re-roll, with a passion - my dark elves and vamps have taught me that, but I'd only be doing it when i have to, I guess.

Fend is also a possibility. So if I'm standing after the blitz on me, I may not have to dodge. I think stand-firm is the better skill, and I'm happy enough blitzing somebody off him with a 2dice block, with the block skill, and a re-roll always available.

So, what would people suggest? Anything obvious I've missed? It'd be nice if I could make him a better runner, while improving him for other uses too, which makes me think stand-firm or guard.

Oh, forgot about extra arms, that could make sense tbh. Picking up the ball, either on offence or after knocking it lose on defence, is probably the riskiest bit of chaos's game.

flash · Post by **flash** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 11:06 am

I'll Think about 2 other Mutations actually:

Very Long Legs: Make him faster. Almost same reasons as two heads, though it didnt solve your "ball-hawk teams" Problem.

Big Hand: Get the ball with a 2+ wherever it is (after the 1/9 happen?). Really helpfull in desperate times. Combination with Sure Hands makes it more reliable. Go Two Heads on next skill, to get out of the tackle zone you get the ball from.

quozl · Post by **quozl** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 11:08 am

Thanks for the suggestions, Flash. My bad, but I completely forgot to mention, this is LRB5, with the 2008 rules review.

So VLL wouldn't work for him, big hand is a possibility, but I think extra arms is better, as it'll be better than big hand a lot of the time, the same some of the time, and worse less often than it's better imo.

Grumbledook · Post by **Grumbledook** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 12:35 pm

extra arms will work best in combination with his existing skills

stashman · Post by **stashman** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 3:48 pm

flash wrote:
Very Long Legs: Make him faster. Almost same reasons as two heads, though it didnt solve your "ball-hawk teams" Problem.

Must be playing LRB4

VLL only gives a better leap or interception chances.

stashman · Post by **stashman** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 3:51 pm

I picked Extra Arms

BUT I would take Juggernaut and then Grab so he always can get his running in motion! No one can stop him!

Warpstone · Post by **Warpstone** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 4:18 pm

Extra arms. Picking up on a 2+ with a skill reroll in hand is utter joy on a bashy team.

Duke Jan · Post by **Duke Jan** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 6:16 pm

Break tackle so he can get away from the guy that biltzed him.

Jural · Post by **Jural** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 6:50 pm

It comes down to what you want him to be better at. If you want help with securing the ball, I think Big Hand and Extra Arms are a virtual tie. Both good choices- Big Hand helps more on defense though, so I'd give it the nod.

If ball security isn't as much of you concern, you need to worry about breaking through another strength team's defense either to score or advance your cage. There are some great options, but I'd avoid Mighty Blow, Tackle, Tentacles, Prehensile Tail, Very Long Legs, in favor of guard or fend. On a fairly young team, go with guard, but as you become more established, go with Fend.

At high TV's, or with specific opponents, Grab or Juggernaut would be superior simply because of how well they deal with Side Step and Stand Firm. Those skills are annoying when they mark you... but unfortunately, neither one is a universal pick (and might be better served putting on some of your other beasts or Chaos Warriors anyway!)

EDIT: I'd vote Extra Arms over Big Hand... I forgot that it was changed to be +1 on pick ups. That makes it superior to Big Hands overall, even on defense. Still close I would say though.

Grumbledook · Post by **Grumbledook** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 7:47 pm

big hand only helps more than extra arms if trying to pick it up in more than 1 TZ

otherwise in 1TZ it is the same, or extra arms is better for the AG3 player

not to mention that it works for catching a pass or a hand off as well and is better in the rain

quozl · Post by **quozl** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 8:26 am

Extra-Arms it is, thanks a lot, guys.

I figure that's a god-send on offence and defence, and combos really nicely with what he already has.

Ullis · Post by **Ullis** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 9:36 am

Duke Jan wrote:Break tackle so he can get away from the guy that biltzed him.

2 heads on this guy would be better as it guarantees 2+ dodges all the time. If he has to dodge twice (say to break a mark and then dodge again later) then Break Tackle might have to be used on the first dodge making the second one 3+.

Tarp · Post by **Tarp** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 12:35 pm

ekstra arms is a waste, specialy on a player like this.
2 heads can come in handy.
but with no double roll to get him dodge I would have given him a skill that is always usefull, also on defense, like guard, tackle, Mighty blow stuff like that.
I just think taking a skill that might be used 1 or 2 times pr match is an utter waste of TV, and on Chaos (and nurgle) teams you need every bit of TV to realy carry its own weight

Talk Fantasy Football

Make a great beastman runner even better :)

What skill to give a S4, Sure-hands, Block beastman, who is my main runner

Make a great beastman runner even better :)