Human Playbook?

Biff · Post by **Biff** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 7:17 pm

Im about to try out my human team again. Humans are my favourite team to play but its also one of the hardest (in my experience).

Humans are probably the most versatile team in BB. Theyre fast (actually one of the fastest teams in the game), tough (4 blitzers + ogre) and skilled with the ball (good cathers and throwers)...But there are always other teams that can outdo them in any given area. Thats a obvious weakness but also a obvious strenght. The problem is that its impossible to improve all these areas. So, where to go from here? My plan:

Blitzers. Some of these guys need Guard and some need tackle/mighty blow. Some need stand firm (to shut down the wide zone). Ill probably make one of them a killing machine (tackle, mighty blow, dauntless and eventually frenzy). Ill probably make two of them guard/stand firm and the last gets strip ball, juggernaught, grab, tackle. Sounds ok?

Throwers. I probably need two of these guys. One with block and maybe NoS ant the other should get accurate, safe throw (well use LRB5b) and hopefully strong arm. Maybe Leader. Anything else?

Regarding the cathers Im thinking 2, maybe 3 if it doesnt blow the TV roof. Block, side step, fend, diving catch. I like NoS as well, and I might make one of them a safty with diving tackle, wrestle. Im not sure about that though.

Im tempted to go guard, break tackle with the ogre. Or maybe a cage breaker with frenzy?

Last, we have the linemen. Ill probably try wrestle on one of them. Kick is a must. Other than that Im thinking tackle and guard.

Does that sound like a plan? Did I miss anything? Can I use the humans any other way?

Grumbledook · Post by **Grumbledook** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 7:29 pm

fairly good base

throwers i'd not bother with NOS, its better for throwers who are far more likely to be marked when making a catch, than a thrower will be making a throw

I'd go accurate, strong arm, safe throw, block, surefeet on doubles

humans don't really need the leader reroll its a waste of a skill for you, the team has fairly cheap ones and built in rerolls for a lot of things

the ogre guard, break tackle, stand firm is probably best, use him passively as boneheading can be a right pain meaning ppl can just run off

catchers, i like block then sidestep as you mentioned, 2 you can make recievers with NOS, diving catch, the other 2 i'd go diving tackle, shadowing

linemen, one kicker, rest taking block, tackle/fend, guard on doubles

blitzers, guard, (dodge is useful on doubles), stripball/tackle, one with juggernaut, frenzy, tackle and spread some mighty blow in there as well

Biff · Post by **Biff** » Thu Nov 13, 2008 12:45 pm

Yes, with some Guard among the Linemen and some Mighty Blow among the Blitzers the humans can probably so some serious damage.

Sure Feet on the Thrower? Why?

Im sure I need a cather with Dauntless, as safety or deep downfield to protect the other cather(s). Should work quite well along with Diving Tackle and Block.

Grumbledook · Post by **Grumbledook** » Thu Nov 13, 2008 3:12 pm

extra movement on a thrower/ball retriever is great and sure feet gives you a more reliable gfi

lets you cover the back field at a greater distance (obviously) and the extra movement can mean the difference between getting in a cage or not

then on the other end of things, you can move the extra squares to get a pass down to the next band

you can also run for a touchdown on the last turn of a drive from further out on a more consistent basis

its not a skill i'd take over the passing skills but taking it after, before doubled was always taking strong arm, not sure if I'd grab it first skill on a doubles now tho

fire olli · Post by **fire olli** » Thu Nov 13, 2008 3:48 pm

I took humans to the Tritex tourny and did ok W3 D2 L1. I think the way to play them is not to get to bogged down, try and spread your team out a bit and always have 1 or 2 players in there back field just incase you the other team gives up the ball.

At the end of the 2nd day my team looked like this:

2 x Blitzer Guard
2 x Blizter Tackle
1 x Ogre Guard/Block
2 x Catcher Block
1 x Thrower Kick
1 x Thrower Block

Biff · Post by **Biff** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 5:36 pm

Ive played a couple of friendlies (before the actual league kicks off) and got ST on ine of my cathers. Now, does that mean that hes my safety (on defence)? In that case I just need Block and Diving Tackle and were ready to go. On the other hand, Ive got 4 blitzers, and the MB+Tackle combo is obvious (and great for a Safety).

The other option is of course to go Block, Side Step and Diving Catch and score (Fend and Jump up is handy as well).

What would you do with a ST3 cather?

mattgslater · Post by **mattgslater** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 6:06 pm

He looks like a safety to me, but you do have options. Obviously, he's not a lineman or an ILB, but I could see him at corner, OLB, or safety.

If you want to build him as a corner, AV7 isn't so bad once you've got ST3/Blodge/SS; don't just throw him out there as-is, or he'll die. I'd start by developing two Blitzers at the corners and two at the OLB. You should make a point of going for Guard on the OLBs first, and your choice of Tackle or SF on the corners (SS or Dodge on doubles, and he becomes a corner). If you start a corner with Tackle and go MB 2nd, then he's ready to move inside when/if your ST3 Catcher safety gets to his third skill (+ST/Block or Wrestle/SS) and migrates to the corner.

If he gets doubles, you can give him Guard and stick him in at OLB/nickel corner. You can also do that without Guard if you get an SS corner, and then drop him parallel to or behind the corner. This is good if you're scared to put AV7 on the edge even with Blodge. Wrestle/Tackle/DT (51 points!) will make him pretty deadly from that spot as an alternative to safety for mixup value.

If you do run him at safety, which is probably wisest, you can build a #2 Thrower as an OLB with Block and Leader, taking Guard on doubles over Strong Arm. Or you could build him as the other safety, with Kick and Leader, or forgo Leader and take Wrestle. I don't like that as much: the OLB Thrower route might be smarter, or maybe give him Block and trust him at ILB (he'll eventually die if you do). Or make your kicker an ILB; that's better. That means you want to score with your kicker, 'cause he needs Block or Wrestle badly.

You don't need to worry about building a MB/T Blitzer as a safety, as they make good corners, and if you build a lino at the corner and/or use an Ogre at OLB, you can make a Blitzer into an ILB, where he can get just about anywhere. Try to put him on the side with the Ogre if you build an Ogre OLB, as he won't get blitzed if you do that. Until he gets Blodge/SF; then you want him to get hit.

Decker_cky · Post by **Decker_cky** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 6:24 pm

I've played humans quite a bit, and I tend to hold off on catchers until I have 12-13 AV8/9 players. To start, I take an ogre, 4 blitzers, a thrower and 3 rerolls so that my team can do damage to most any team, or at least minimize incoming damage.

For linemen, tackle, kick and guard were what you'd take in LRB4, but there's more choice now. On doubles, I'd almost always take guard still, but block/fend linemen are one particularly good choice, and a little wrestle could work (depends on the league), but in general, block is the first skill. Dauntless is another solid choice for 1-2 linemen on your team.

Blitzers need guard, mighty blow and tackle still. Depending on the rest of the team, I'll take mighty blow or tackle second, but guard is always first. Guard is what sets humans as a medium bashy team, and having 4 blitzers and the ogre with guard is key.

Ogres get guard first, and after that take break tackle or multiblock. But in general, guard is important, and you hope for doubles after that.

Throwers can be developed offensively or defensively. Accurate and block is enough for a versatile thrower, but from there, you need to look at what rolls you get. Sometimes, I like block/tackle on them, for a nice safety. Other times, you roll a double and take the accurate/strong arm/safe throw path.

Catchers in LRB5b can become better scorers by taking diving catch, but I wouldn't develop them in that path. With MV8, catch and dodge, they're already great scorers. Give them block/side step/diving tackle/shadowing or whatever. I choose this way because I like to score with a variety of players. Catchers will skill up too quickly if you give them the ball every time they can score. This links back to building the backbone on the human team, where you don't always need to score if you can. Protect the ball and advance some potential scorers, avoid passing more than a quick pass and you can hold off against most teams. Sometimes you need to improvise, and humans have all the tools to do so.

Joemanji · Post by **Joemanji** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 9:07 am

Dauntless is a great skill on Catchers now. MA8 and the ability to block above ST2 can be very scary.

Decker_cky · Post by **Decker_cky** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 9:23 am

I dunno....dauntless on S2 is quite risky now. 2+ just to be on equal footing with S3 isn't bad, but 3+ to deal with S4 is a little more risky than is worth it.

Joemanji · Post by **Joemanji** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 10:51 am

You'll only be wanting to use Dauntless to sack ball carriers ... so a 2+ is usually all you'll need.

mattgslater · Post by **mattgslater** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 4:00 pm

With 4 MA7 Blitzers, you seldom need a ST2 Catcher to make the hit: an MA7 Blitzer at corner will be able to keep pace with an MA9 critter; if he GFIs twice, you may need a Catcher, but frankly, MA9 generally means ST2, so Dauntless would be of no help. You can't blitz deeper with an MA8 safety than you can with an MA7 linebacker, at least not on turn 1 (1 faster vs. 1 closer = same range), and either player can pull a 2TTD without a GFI. I think you're better off using Catchers on defense to cover breakaway receivers, or to provide a forward assist on the runner/QB when blitzing into the offensive backfield (say, to head off a cage, capitalize on a failed pickup, or take advantage of a Thrower who lacks the speed to drop back and can't/doesn't pass for some reason). Then make the hit with a Blitzer.

If I can build a strong side, and if it isn't based on an Ogre at "Will" (weak-side LB) then I like to make my weak-side guy a Thrower. I'm not sure what to give him on doubles: Dodge would let me put him on the strong side instead (esp. if I have a Side Step Blitzer), as would Guard + Block (with or without SS Blitzer). This way, I have a Catcher to run up and assist, a Blitzer to make the hit, and a Thrower to follow up, get the ball, and maybe pitch it off to one of the others.

Cramy · Post by **Cramy** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 4:34 pm

For the ST3 catcher, I'd be tempted to make him a safety / ball extractor. Wrestle would be my next pick. Strip Ball comes to mind after (depending on the amount of Sure Hands in your league). Frenzy and Side Step would be good on this guy as well.

The Blitzers can concentrate on Mighty Blow, Tackle and Guard.

mattgslater · Post by **mattgslater** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 5:10 pm

Cramy wrote:For the ST3 catcher, I'd be tempted to make him a safety / ball extractor. Wrestle would be my next pick. Strip Ball comes to mind after (depending on the amount of Sure Hands in your league). Frenzy and Side Step would be good on this guy as well.

The Blitzers can concentrate on Mighty Blow, Tackle and Guard.

For ST3 guy? Yeah, I agree that Wrestle isn't bad next, and you can use him to make the hit. I'm just saying that for a ST2 guy on Humans, Dauntless is a very poor substitute for +ST, as you don't ever really need to use a Catcher for blitzing on this team. Personally, I think he's better off with DT or Shadowing for a #3, unless you actively want to field him at weakside corner, in which case SS it is. But Block or Wrestle is next: Block if you want him to run up an assist and be ready to take the ball, or Wrestle if you'd rather hit with him than with a Blitzer. Wrestle's also a little better in coverage, as WDs and such will be hesitant to try to blitz you off of them, at least without finagling an assist (this is where DT comes in).

Joemanji · Post by **Joemanji** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 5:33 pm

Ah, but Catchers start with Dodge. There is a huge, huge difference between MA7 and MA8 + Dodge. Not to mention that your blitzers are often the guys on the line making holes for your Catchers to run through.

Dauntless on Catchers has many more uses than chasing down ball carriers. For example, if you leave them downfield your opponent has to mark them with two players or leave the one dice block. It also boosts the strength of a fast moving cage immensely.

How effective are the MA8 ST3 catchers on the elf teams? Stars of the show IIRC. Despite both teams having MA7 blitzers.

I'm not saying its a no brainer, there is strong competition from Side Step, Sure Feet and the new Diving Catch. But as a third choice pick it is good value. I've taken it second after Block on more than one occasion and not regretted it.