Kickoff or Receive First?

[mattgslater]

Well, man advantage means different things at different times.

* If I've got 12 men but only 3 rookies/one-skills, I might kick first so I know I don't have to put good players to the line.

* If one side is higher AV with reserves, that side is likely to field more players in the second half. 10-man Dwarf offense is troubled vs 11, but 10 on 7 is manageable no matter how slow you are. But a 7-man Skaven offense has fair odds to score if at least 2 of them are Runners.

* Some teams are really tough on defense when they have all their pieces. Well-run Khemri give my ST3 offenses a hard time. A full squad with 4 Guardians can make redirecting very difficult or dicey. But if they take too much damage, they fall apart pretty easy. So I'll kick first, let my reserves/fodder carry me through, try to nail a Guardian or several ST3 guys, or at worst hope for ejections.

But yeah, receiving first as a default is not a bad idea. Most of the time that's what I do.

[Aliboon]

Tactically it is better in most circumstances to kick.*

If you are a more agile team than your opos you have a full squad to try and steal the ball and score on your opo's drive. If they manage the 8 turn stall, you get two chances to get your KOs back and a chance at a one-turner when you (hopefully) have enough players to do it.

If you are more bashy, then you try to force your opos to score quickly, you have a 5-6 turn drive and they only have one lot of KO recovery rolls before you get an 8 turn stomp to the endzone.

In reality when I have chosen to kick, I have often rued it as my opos have a fantastic first turn, CAS out my LOS and then proceed to steamroller me for the rest of the game.....

* Not when you are gobbos (ever), not when you are equally bashy and those 4 blocks at the start of the game, to get numbers up can be crucial.

[celticgriffon]

In a league I usually play Orcs. But in my current league I am playing Chaos Dwarfs.

I almost always choose to kick first unless I feel I might lose my three players on the LOS.

I tend to play very defensively not allowing too many TD's against. If my opponents get a quick TD then I have the rest of the first half to tie the match. If I stop them I should be able to go 1-0 for the win.

[crimsonsun]

When I am playing well and to win with my Khemri teams I follow these basic parameters:

Always Kick Unless facing Halfings, Goblins, Norse, Khorne or Underworld. In a normal game as it provides you the strongest possible side to defend opposing drives and allows you to concentrate on causing some harm BUT....

IF playing a play off fixture that has extra time you always want to receive so if the game goes into injury time you receive the ball!!

[Aliboon]

IF playing a play off fixture that has extra time you always want to receive so if the game goes into injury time you receive the ball!!

You have to flip again at the start of OT to see who wants to receive - p15 of the CRP, 2nd paragraph.

[swilhelm73]

IF playing a play off fixture that has extra time you always want to receive so if the game goes into injury time you receive the ball!!

You have to flip again at the start of OT to see who wants to receive - p15 of the CRP, 2nd paragraph.

Cyanide has NOT implemented this rule correctly in their bloodbowl client.

When T16 ends play continues in overtime enabled games without stopping for a new kickoff.

So if you are playing cyanide you always want to receive in a playoff game.

[crimsonsun]

IF playing a play off fixture that has extra time you always want to receive so if the game goes into injury time you receive the ball!!

You have to flip again at the start of OT to see who wants to receive - p15 of the CRP, 2nd paragraph.

Cyanide has NOT implemented this rule correctly in their bloodbowl client.

When T16 ends play continues in overtime enabled games without stopping for a new kickoff.

So if you are playing cyanide you always want to receive in a playoff game.

Yeah this is where I play 99% of my bloodbowl so why its important and also why it was something I learned recently and had never been an issue in the past.. (I failed to put 2+2 together but oh well.)

[El_Jairo]

I used to receive by default but thinking about it helps, in my opinion. If I don't have a bench, I rather kick first because defending with 11 players is a lot easier than with less.
In my experience (mostly DE) BB games are won with a defense TD or by Grinding the opposition into submission.

Unless, the opposing team has a lot of MB and other sort of pain coming your way (Chainsaw, DP's). OR you have yourself a some players who can hurt the opposing team.
Then I would opt to receive and lure the opponent in the cage for battering their positionals.

The point about having 2 chances on KO rolls, it interesting but only has any statistical value if you have enough KO's inflicted on your team, which isn't the place you want your team to be :s. Many times I have watched crucial players sit in the KO box for a whole game even with 2-3 chances to get out. If you have the players to MiB, Foul en surf the opponent off the pitch, I would opt to go first. Unless vs undead, they regen back and if you have the speed, you can force them in a error with a kick player.

So for me, it is clear: there are many ifs and buts and context that has to be taken into account and half the time you don't even get to choose :mrgreen: