Dark Elves vs Orcs

[TuernRedvenom]

So I'm playing dark elves in a certain league, round robin with 10 teams. Top 3 teams promote. Matchday 6 now and I'm third with 4-0-1 and playing orcs which are fourth with 3-0-2. If I win I take a very big step towards promotion. If I draw I'm still in a very good position. If I lose things will get dicey (then I'll need to win my 3 remaining games I reckon). The mission will be not to lose, at all costs. And win if at all possible.

My team:
Witch Elf Block, Side Step
Blitzer -MA, +AG
Blitzer Dodge
Blitzer
Blitzer
Lineman Dodge
Lineman Dodge
Lineman Wrestle
Lineman Wrestle
Lineman Guard
Lineman

3 x RR
Apo

Quite a balanced team, but my reserve lineman is missing the game.

His team:
Thrower Block
Thrower Block
Blitzer Mighty Blow
Blitzer Mighty Blow
Blitzer
Blitzer
Black Orc Mighty Blow
Black Orc
Black Orc
Black Orc
Lineman

2 x RR
Apo

Also 11 players. No Guard. No Tackle. Only 2 RR's. He has 200k inducements though so my guess is he'll take a wizard and a babe.

Overall I think my chances are pretty good, just a few things that I'm thinking about.
1) Kick or Receive. Normally I always kick. I prefer to play defence with a full squad and like receiving in the second half as this gives me the power to dictate the pace of the game when it matters most. But both teams only have 11 players and he has 3 MB players. Maybe it would be best to postpone those 3 free hits as long as possible. And should I get a lucky cas on the LoS when receiving he's already a player down for the rest of the game, which would make things a whole lot easier.
2) Who to put on the LoS besides the unskilled lino. In this game I think the Dodge players wil be of most use as I'll be setting up screens to slow his cage down and force them to the side lines. So the Wrestle players would go on the line.

Any tips for playing against a wizard would be great as well. With elves I just try to never leave my ball carrier somewhere by himself at the end of my turn. And run the ball with the blodge blitzer so in case he fireballs/bolts the screen he'll still need a pow on the blitz.

Any other toughts also welcome!

[garion]

Yes I would kick first for the reasons you posted. On the LoS I would put one Dodge one Wrestle and the unskilled lino.

I think you stand a good chance, the first thing that screams out to me is he has no tackle. So your 2 blodge players should stand a very good chance of staying on their feet all game.

Playing a against a wizard it is best not to make tight cages (by this is mean teh typcial X shaped 5 man cage) instead screen the ball carrier and form a lose cage around him so if your opponent uses a wizard he cant knock down any more than 3 players of yours. Also if you kick first and manage to get the ball off your opponent your opponent may panic and use the wizard in his half to avoid the touch back. You have more RR than him which is big advantage againt Orcs.

Also try and surf as his players as often as possible, as you say try and screen and force him down a widezone then use your witch elf to surf players at ever oppotunity. If you do this well you should be able to even the numbers out a little should his MB hit home.

[dines]

Agree with Garion, I would also try to kick and with a lucky kick you should try to pressure the ball. If that doesn't work, just screening him off with your dodge players while trying to surf some of his players should give him some problems.

I would have waited with the wrestle skills on the linos as they first really shine when opponents get mass block. But that doesn't really help you in this game ofcourse..

[TuernRedvenom]

I would have waited with the wrestle skills on the linos as they first really shine when opponents get mass block. But that doesn't really help you in this game ofcourse..

I'm actually very happy with the wrestle players. The league has teams that have a few players with Blodge to run the ball (no mass Dodge) and teams without Dodge at all (like these Orcs). In this case I didn't want to take Tackle this early as it's useless against some teams. And mildly usefull against the others. I've also used it to get Block players down on critical blitzes. Opponent has 6 block players anyway so I'm sure it will see some use.
Wrestle won me last game by wrestling down a Blodge Ghoul after which I could score.

[Glowworm]

Id probably recieve, (but I am rubbish) and try to score early, with only two R/R he has to think about every dice roll (block, pickup ect) and you have the pace to set up a couple of 2 dice hits early on.

however, my advice is usually wrong or just plain bad. and why would you want advice on D/E's ? I always look for YOUR advice before playing mine

[Carnis]

If you are playing to draw I'd receive first, and go for a 7 turn stall. The wizard kinda makes an 8 turn stall a bit risky, but if you can double-screen your ball then its np to stall full 8 turns either.

Just dont use a standard 3x3 cage, use a screen behind which your ball and try to keep a long distance between ball & his players even if some guys get wizard'd. That kind of defence makes wiz-use unlikely to work and thus makes it hard to decide when to use it.

[Rhyoth]

Personnally, i would receive first : his team seems to focus only on dealing damages, preferably early in the game (besides, you don't have a kicker, so kicking first could have unpredictable results).

Avoid hits, and try to score in 5-6 turns : he can't setup for a long bashy drive with only 3-4 turns left, and it will be easier to turn him over and score during his offence (he has to take more risk if he wants to equalize before half-time).
If you manage to lead 1-0 without too many injured players, at half-time, then it should be easy to get at least the draw (and if you're leading 2-0, you've almost won).
Then, just delay his offense as much as possible and avoid contact (by dodging and blocking) : then he shouldn't be able to score twice (well, at least not safely).

In this plan, your first offence is the key : stay focus, don't take unnecessary risks but keep several alternative available : if he manages to turn the ball over and score in your first drive, then may Nuffle have mercy on your soul.

[mattgslater]

Keep the Dodge Linos on BOBs and the Wrestlers on the Block players. When you can, use Blitzers to block BOBs, and don't let BOBs block non-Blodge Blitzers. That all should be fairly obvious.

Receive first. You have a Guard player, so you should be able to get 2d hits across the defensive line, even if he puts up BOBs. This gives you an early opportunity to do a little damage. Also, your opponent would receive if he won the toss, so you might as well play contrary.

Even a small numerical advantage in the first few turns will probably win you the game; though you don't want to sell out to hurt an orc, you can get some cheap licks in without violating your objectives or common sense. If you can take down a Thrower and make him spend both re-rolls, you can run a 5-turn drive. Otherwise, you're going to need to buy yourself 7 turns before scoring. The longer you hold off, the more likely you are to get Wizzed, so you need to be ready with a space-based keep-away strategy (screening alone is not enough if the opponent has a blitz and a Wizard) and a play that yields a surprise score.

If you can drive the action wide without getting partitioned, by maintaining a formation that extends from the wing out beyond the opponent's wrap-around range, you might be able to get some crowd-surfs. You have at least as much Block/Wrestle as he does, plus a Blodge/SS'er, and if you can get his BOBs to bite on the WZs and then outmaneuver/ditch them, you can pretty much get them out of the action.

Orcs are a good testing ground for asymmetric defenses. Ignore one wide zone, and run a 321 line on the other side. This forces the OL to overload on the side where the DL is, rather than the opening, leaving you two extra players to maintain your screens.

Alternately, you could pack the interior, only getting out to maybe the 3-column, just inside the hashmarks. Don't let him partition you up the middle, and try to entice him into breaking wide where you can limit his options and front him up with fewer men.

A kicker would have been nice. A deep kick means a deep cage.

When receiving, if the defender puts a lino on the nose, or otherwise some ST3 on the line, you can maybe engineer chainpushes with Frenzy. I'm not keen on trying that game with DE against Orcs, it's a little too aggro on the immovable object. However, if you can block a BOB off the line and follow, and then block another one into the right place, then you may be able to push the remaining guy into your own blocker, getting you a free assist on the midfield. That's not too hard and doesn't take undue line-stacking or crazy die rolls.

[juck101]

Yeah I agree with the recieve first and score on turn 7 idea

You can then pressure him for no more than a draw
That is what you wanted so this helps if you can waste time with the ball. I would also not be keen on taking 3mb hits on a Orc drive to start the game. He we presume needs to WIN so your patience and bottle should draw mistakes as the time ticks

I might even be tempted not too move much and really never give any blocks on any turn. I guess the ag threat should keep him honest and try to deploy this as a threat on his drive

If you have to kick I think you need the first turn or so to try and separate his team into. Cage and 6 fighting players. Try to keep 2 blodge blitzers near the cage at all times. When you think it's worth a shot zone each corner of his cage and make sure close team mates are zoned or can't get past the screen. It's a one turn play to bust him open and your blodge should scare him. Just don't engage much untill this moment arises on defence

[TuernRedvenom]

Brrr. Just played the game.
I elect to receive first half. Do what is written here, stall it out, keep distance, score on turn 7. Easily stop his 2 turn score attempt.
Then second half.
He bh's a lineman on the LoS and sends 2 players deep. I blitz down the first one, move guys in to postion. Try to dodge out a dodge lineman to mark the other deep receiver. 1 dodge reroll 1 -> badly hurt. Blitz pass, handoff and he scores in 2 turns. No problem I get to receive with lotsa turns on the clock. Perfect defence and I'm already 2 men down, yikes. Anyway, I still get an opprtunity on the right flank which is wide open if I can blitz down a blitzer. Witch elf frenzies and rolls all pushes. Keeping his wizard in mind I decide to wait another turn for the pass. Next turn, all I need to do is knock down his black orc to send a line-elf clean through for the score. Can't knock him down. In his turn he lightning bolts my ball carrier dead, ball bounces to the 1 place it really shouldn't, he blitzes free, picks it up, goes for it and 1-2 down. Meanwhile I've lost a few more elves (including the witch on a dodge). But I can still draw. Perfect defence yet again! Everything goes wrong now and I lose 1-3. Unbelievable but true!
Aaaargh. Just one of those games I suppose.

[juck101]

No worry them is the dice.

Ask yourself with the casualties you got would it on been easier to defend first? I actually expect it would not as they would grind down for a 1-0 and probably your chance to stall in the second half with 8 is very hard

[mattgslater]

Bummer.

[TuernRedvenom]

No worry them is the dice.

Ask yourself with the casualties you got would it on been easier to defend first? I actually expect it would not as they would grind down for a 1-0 and probably your chance to stall in the second half with 8 is very hard

The strategy was sound I think.
In the second half I probably made the mistake of being a bit too conservative on offence and waiting too long to make the pass because I couldn't get the receiver's marker down. Especially the black orc, should have made the pass: 2+ throw, 3+ catch, 2+ dodge and I would have been out of range. When the dice go against me I tend to start to play too conservatively on offence. Otoh, I made a dodge with the witch to protect my ball carrier instead and failed (and got injured) so the play would have failed anyway (was online game).

[mattgslater]

When the dice go against me I tend to start to play too conservatively on offence.

A common failing of good coaches, I've noticed.