Norse 'Catchers', explain them to me

[pauli42]

Runner in the cage and linemen in the field.

Linemen in the cage and runner in the field.

Thrower in the cage, and runner in the field.

I'm thinking the last one is best.

I agree, but to be fair u have to add Catch on the runners if you play a thrower based system or you should have +2 RR saved for ball handling. The first "runner in the cage" system requires less dice rolling, only a Sure Handsl on the runners. But at least your are right, a throwing game has more options then a runnning game, but running is simpler with lower risks.

[Smurf]

With Diving Catch many AG3 teams now can get a 2+ catcher with a rerol on their side now.

Don't despair.

[mattgslater]

With Diving Catch many AG3 teams now can get a 2+ catcher with a rerol on their side now.

Don't despair.

Meh. I don't like spending skills on catching the ball unless I've got something else going on with the player or skill that makes sense out of it. +AG and Extra Arms are worth it because they let you do all sorts of stuff; catching accurate passes is just the tip of the iceberg.

I think the relative value of AG3 Catchers and catching skills depends on the type of passing game you run. For me, there are space-based passing games, and formation-based passing games.

Space-based games use passes and handoffs to move the ball quickly away from the action. It takes a very mobile team to play this game, and usually I only see it from Skaven and non-Dark Elves, sometimes Slann. Norse don't have the MA or AG to pull that off, no matter how many skills you waste. Humans can do it: MA8, ST2, Dodge to start... you're not wasting a lot by taking Diving Catch and using him along with your Accurate Thrower to play keep away, and deliver the ball out of range. He comes with the added upside that you can throw to him in garbage time with other guys and be reasonably certain that if it doesn't work, it's the passer's fault. That's a good way to earn SPP in garbage time, which is a nice consolation for not taking Side Step and trying for the 1TTD instead (or a nice bonus after Side Step, if you're doing it right). But you have to have a role for the player on defense already, or you have to be playing in a format that can handle a little bloat.

Formation-based passing games either advance the ball with a carrier and pass or handoff to a scorer at the end, or retrieve the ball and pass to a carrier on the following turn, after the cage forms, or both. Norse do this just fine. In that kind of game, you don't want a dedicated receiver. If you have a carrier, it's your pickup artist. If you have a passer who's not a carrier, then your objective is to choose your carrier by positioning, so the defense can't home in on just one guy. So, either don't think of your Catcher as a carrier, but as a Dauntless guy with MA7 and A access, or think of him as a runner instead, and get him Sure Hands. If you make it far enough, you'll get to do both: after all, Dodge/SS/Fend is great for carrying and space-eating alike!

Lots of American football fans fall into a trap here. In American football, if you're lined up on the fifty yard line, your receiver breaks open and takes a pass, and he makes it halfway to the end zone before six guys mob him, that's awesome! In Blood Bowl, the same event is a catastrophe. It usually only takes a couple games to learn that, but it's not so obvious to some people. Sometimes it can't be helped: maybe you don't have the manpower to protect the carrier, but if you race way downfield, only one guy will get to him, two with some lucky dodges, and then the oppo could fail the blitz or the pickup or a GFI... we've all been there before, but the truth is that lightning-quick downfield pass games are only good if you're going into a pre-formed downfield cage, or if you are in a position where scoring is a good thing (late in the half, with a lead, trailing by more than one, or with a bunch of KOs on your side).

[sunnyside]

I agree, but to be fair u have to add Catch on the runners if you play a thrower based system or you should have +2 RR saved for ball handling. The first "runner in the cage" system requires less dice rolling, only a Sure Handsl on the runners. But at least your are right, a throwing game has more options then a runnning game, but running is simpler with lower risks.

With Diving Catch many AG3 teams now can get a 2+ catcher with a rerol on their side now.

Don't despair.

I'm not advocating a "thrower based system" rather having a thrower based option, which additionally gives you another runner out there on the field, which I consider to provide significant value.

So I'd be reluctant to put catching skills on the runners. Especially since we only have two of them. Teams with four of 'em can probably get one open enough where you can form a nice cage around them and throw. But with only two that might be hard to set up. So I'd tend to rely on being able to throw to any lineman or zerker they leave unmarked or single marked.

Again I'm hoping to not have to pass at all, unless it's for the SPP and TD allocation. But if a drive is going bad I'd rather make a pass than dodge out of a breached cage or scramble and take my chances with their safety. And sometimes you're looking for the fast score. I find this comes up a lot when my defense is good enough to prevent them from running out the clock but doesn't outright stop them.