Gutter Runners as ball retreivers

[TalonBay]

I'm developing a pair of GR specifically to go get the ball back, currently they both have Dodge/Wrestle. I'm planning Tackle/Strip Ball/Dauntless for them but wondered if there's a "best" order for these skills.

Strip Ball seems good early on as there's not much Sure Hands about, but I can see it becoming much less effective later on. I'm also left throw 2 die blocks uphill and hoping to avoid the skulls.

Tackle is great alongside wrestle as they're going down on half the dice rolls even if they have dodge and the ball is popping out, but the players they'll be going after generally don't have dodge so early and we still have the 2 die block uphill issue.

Dauntless gives me a good shot at an even strength block, but it does mean it's a while before I can take down dodgers and by the time I get strip ball it may be less effective.

Have I missed a skill that fits well in here?

So, I was thinking:

Dauntless/Tackle/Strip Ball with one of them.
Strip Ball/Dauntless/Tackle with the other.

That way one guy can target non-dodge, non-surehands players early on and the early dauntless guy gives me options vs ST3 blodgers. That sound sensible for these guys?

[nazgob]

You might even want to consider sure hands. After all, what are you going to do with the ball once its on the floor?

[Coachbalrog]

I would take Strip Ball on the first GR that skills up, then Tackle.

On the second GR that skills up, take Leap then Strip Ball (or Tackle if most of your opponents already have Sure Hands). A 1/2-die block with a RR is pretty reliable if all you are looking for is a pushback.

[Warpstone]

I've always operated on the presumption that GRs work in tandem: one knocks the ball out, the other is responsible for securing it and scoring. The upshot of this is that I wouldn't put skills like sure hands on the hitter.

I also find strip ball is only handy very early against bashers. It will do very little vs low tv teams that start with sure handed throwers and against bashers who quickly develop guard on their cages. So I'd recommed wrestle for two reasons:
1) it works on blodgers
2) it works to keep your hitting GR alive long enough to develop skill combos.

[Ullis]

They both seem to have Wrestle already.

I like your plan although Leap might be better instead of Tackle on at least one of them. Get Strip Ball for the one who skills up first. With a reroll a -2d block is only 1 in 9 chance of a turnover. And it will get balls loose on every 8 in 9.

[TalonBay]

Yeah, wrestle was the first skill for both players. It was how to build them after that I was considering.

[Urb]

One wrestle (rather had block), tackle, dauntless, frenzy
One Wrestle, stripball, dauntless, leap

I would've gone block, dauntless, tackle myself interchanging daunless and tackle depending on how much dodge there was out there.

Hope one of your gr's get sure hands for ball retrieval

[TalonBay]

I've got one with block and two with wrestle currently.

The two ball hawks are going with wrestle because most of the players they'll be trying to bring down will have block.

I was specifically looking for the wrestle/tackle/strip-ball combo because I want the biggest chance I can of the ball bouncing around loose after the blitz.

One block/tackle and one wrestle/stripball means that the chances of getting the ball out drop dramatically.

[B SIDE]

GR's are squishy. Building two identical players isn't a bad idea here. They will be targeted, injured, and killed with sufficient frequency to make redundancy a good thing.

I think the best skill progression here is Wrestle>Strip Ball>Dauntless>Leap. I'd forgo Tackle entirely here, since players with Dodge rarely have Sure Hands. If you face a build with both skills, foul him. In fact, when you've got a strip ball GR, foul anybody with Sure Hands.

[Urb]

since players with Dodge rarely have Sure Hands.

Not so sure about this one or perhaps it's just a style thing for you league. Dodge and sure hands is a popular option with the people I play with when obtainable. Elves and GR expecially since they play ball scoring tactics over cas. AG4, dodge, high mv, and sure hands make for a reliable ball retriever.

I think it's a luxury being able to build redundancy in your GRs. Most of use have to settle for one of each type. League length does play a large factor. Longer leagues allow for all 4 GR's to develop.

[B SIDE]

I suppose you're right on all counts here. Our league does have something of a lack of AG teams. And development is different in each league for sure. (I play in a perpetual league.) But even in a limited format GR's seem to skill up almost at will.