Non-Symetrical Defensive Formations

[Uldreg]

I really liked the opportunities this defense created for me, but need to change my approach.

I realize that i messed it up pretty bad. I still like the fleshy on the wing, but felt that i needed to support him better. My main problem was that i needed to put a were on my right wing i think, and cover up my AG +1 were with the unskilled wight. That way, if he didn't blitz my right side, i could have swept him left to support my attack, or had a frenzier already in place for a sirf and go... I kicked an onside kick (my right side) because my opponent set up thusly:



I can't remember his skills exactly 3 Saurus, one w/ BT, another with MB. Break Tackle and block on the Krox. 2 skinks w/ SS, another w/ DT, one w/ catch. I initially went right for a surf, my opponent did attack there. It allwed him to then sing around my left. I had guys in position, but he got a couple KO's on a zombie and my unskilled wight so i played down 2 untl he got a CAs on my Block WERE (thankfully he regened) and scored in turn 7.

Any critiques on setup changes or turn 1 ideas? I think i got greedy for the potential surf when i should have starting partioning him. The speed and dodginess of the skinks is what scared me off...

[mattgslater]

Move the left-hand winger (fleshy) in by one, or you create a gap in a blitz off the Zombie.

The goal in having a winger at L5-1 isn't necessarily to hedge out the left side; you can't unless you have even more positioning skills than just the two Flesh Golems. He will get two guys around. But he can't really do much with them, because he can't fling it, he has no speed without ST2, and there's nobody to blitz. Because the Fleshy is blocking off the 4-6 columns, he can only go in on the outside. because he's one square back, he can only take a maximum move with two wing players, and then only if he puts them on the LOS in the 6 and 7 columns, which is risky in the event of a Blitz roll.

[nazgob]

Actually, I like shallow kicks (with a symmetrical front) against agility teams. No, it probably doesn't matter, but if you kick deep, you have zero chance to mark/blitz the speedy carrier. If you kick shallow, you're still hoping for a failed PU, a fumbled QP/Catch, or a mistake, but if you get it you probably score.

Agreed - you never know when they might roll those snakes. but would you combine a shallow kick and the Non-Symetrical formation?

As for your set up, Uldreg, for me I think that you've weighted yourself to heavily on one side, which limits your options. Howsever, his counter set up was quite nice. Let's assume that you have four options to kick - short left or right and long left or right.

short left: You don't have players inplace to contest the ball or take advantage of an eaerly turnover. whereas he has three Str4+ pieces waiting to smack you. probably the worst option.

long left: you don' have the players in place to counter the ball. his skinks are fast enough that they will get to it. It would be possible to send the wolves and ghouls through to harass the stunties, but by being stunties, they could easily break away. close second to the short left. the trouble is that a weak bounce will gift him an easy cage.

as for how you could have done things differently, i would only suggest more support for your isolated fleshy. not because he can't take care of himself, but because a fast mover on the left flank would make a left sided kick much more tempting, and force your opponent to prepare for it.

long right: it'll be hard to punch a hole in the centre of his line to build a short cut for your central players to reach your opponent's backfield. as with the long left, you could have harassed the ball carriers, but there isn't much that you could have threatened.

short right: definitely the best option. the bashers on your left will be out of the action if the ball bounces close to the touchline, while those on the right are tied down by your LOS. with a good bounce, it will be hard for him to form a cage.

[mattgslater]

As far as short kicks vs. bash, if you're heavy and fast enough to set up asymmetric and kick shallow, then you have to look at the retriever and delivery mechanism. A KOR/SH Ghoul or Thrower is probably enough that you risk more by kicking deep, but a slow team without the ability to deliver into the cage is ripe for deep kicking.