4+4 Muni with Block

[DocMaXX]

2. Skill mumi got 1. skill block rolld a 4+4
Dogde or Frenzy?

[mattgslater]

Either Dodge or Side Step. Side Step replaces a skill on his track, and might be a bit better for that reason.

[TuernRedvenom]

I'd go Tackle personally. Unless your league is very dodge light.
I wouldn't take frenzy because positioning is quite important for a mummy and frenzy would make it easy to pull him out of a cage corner for example.
I wouldn't take side step because not many things will be throwing blocks on mummies (you are tying up that big guy with a zombie right?). Because he has block half die blocks aren't a very good idea either so I would probably delay SF till very late (definately Guard before that, BT probably too).
Dodge is a good choice in a very bashy league.

[lesya]

I'd go Tackle personally. Unless your league is very dodge light.
I wouldn't take frenzy because positioning is quite important for a mummy and frenzy would make it easy to pull him out of a cage corner for example.
I wouldn't take side step because not many things will be throwing blocks on mummies (you are tying up that big guy with a zombie right?). Because he has block half die blocks aren't a very good idea either so I would probably delay SF till very late (definately Guard before that, BT probably too).
Dodge is a good choice in a very bashy league.

in general... +1

frenzy is dangerous for a mummy, and, more important, the mummy in most of case, must be where you decide and not walking around the field.
s.s., for most cases, i don't ever block a mummy with block, especially in an undead team... leater you probably go take stand firm for him, and having side step and stand firm is useless

for others choices many depends on your league.
if is very long, or really perpetual, dodge will be useless, there's too many tackle.
if is very long, or really perpetual, tackle will be too important and very usefull.

In a not long league maybe left the double, and take guard or stand firm

[mattgslater]

Side Step replaces Stand Firm. The others all delay all the skills on your track by one, or take him off his track.

Big Guys with Block are mostly immune to end-of-turn half-die hits "just because it's there" to take, but that's not what's important. If you put him on his own in a key position, he'll just get Wrestle-blitzed away, almost (almost) like a guy without Block. That's not what Stand Firm and Side Step are there to prevent, though that is a nice little ancillary benefit (once he has Side Step, even big guys will need a gut-check to hit him). The main advantage is so that you can leave him on the edge of an interior screen in a formation and be certain (barring a highly-improbable KO) that his side of the screen will hold. This is huge against Leap, as it lets you maintain a "bailey" in front of your X-cage: Leapers can get into the bailey, but have to get into the cage by some other means.

x – – m – – x
– x – – – x –
M is the SS/Block Mummy. The opponent is coming in through the top. Assuming the formation ends in a positioning skill, it could go on indefinitely, and you've saved a man from the conventional two-deep stack front. That's a free action somewhere on the field. And you can still be in the thick of it: the Mummy can play his game in base contact, because getting him down is not good enough!

You can also use him off the D-line this way. That's the one place where a ST5/Block player is likely to get 2d hit. But it lets him stagger or fall right in the way of the cage/maneuver, so all the opponent's gaming basically gets him nothing. Compensates well for MA3, too. He doesn't have to stand up and GFI to get back into position, and is much harder to drive away from his goals.

If you're of the "he won't get hit" camp rather than the "now I can build unbeatable formations" camp, I'd ignore the double altogether and take Guard. Tackle +MA3 is only hot when man-marked by a Wrodger (even then, Side Step is better for dealing with that), and against elves on the LOS. You can beat those guys with Grab just as well (preferably on the other Mummy, or as a prelude to Multiple Block). I can think of enough S skills that this guy can use that you'll never miss not having Tackle.

[TuernRedvenom]

If you put him on his own in a key position, he'll just get Wrestle-blitzed away, almost (almost) like a guy without Block. That's not what Stand Firm and Side Step are there to prevent, though that is a nice little ancillary benefit (once he has Side Step, even big guys will need a gut-check to hit him). The main advantage is so that you can leave him on the edge of an interior screen in a formation and be certain (barring a highly-improbable KO) that his side of the screen will hold. This is huge against Leap, as it lets you maintain a "bailey" in front of your X-cage: Leapers can get into the bailey, but have to get into the cage by some other means.

x – – m – – x
– x – – – x –
M is the SS/Block Mummy. The opponent is coming in through the top. Assuming the formation ends in a positioning skill, it could go on indefinitely, and you've saved a man from the conventional two-deep stack front. That's a free action somewhere on the field. And you can still be in the thick of it: the Mummy can play his game in base contact, because getting him down is not good enough!

I agree this is a neat formation. But the main reason for that is because the opponent will need a lot of resources to try to shift that mummy. Most team won't even try it, whether he has SS/SF or not. Besides that a knockdown for a lot of teams is good enough as that means just a single dodge in the clear to get through. Hardly mission impossible.
But again most teams will not try that. Elves will spread out and spread your screen thin and then pick on a weak spot. Bashy teams will man mark that mummy (hey if he has Guard it is doing nothing now, and there's no-one around to block the mummy free) and engage the lower strength front men with more favourable matchups.
It is a good setup though if:
1) you can set it up in the first place, not very evident for a team with not exactly great mobility
2) your opponent absolutely NEEDS to break through this turn (not very likely combined with 1)
3) opponent can't get a knockdown on the mummy and if he does get him down doesn't have a player that can dodge out of a TZ.

It's too situational to take a skill for this scenario IMO (theorybowl). A ghoul with SS is worse at it but much more likely to at least be in the right place.

You can also use him off the D-line this way. That's the one place where a ST5/Block player is likely to get 2d hit. But it lets him stagger or fall right in the way of the cage/maneuver, so all the opponent's gaming basically gets him nothing. Compensates well for MA3, too. He doesn't have to stand up and GFI to get back into position, and is much harder to drive away from his goals.

IMO there's rarely a good time for a mummy to be on the LOS. Possibly to prevent chainpushes for a oneturner or when the opposition is down on numbers badly. It is almost always a better idea to keep him back and move him where the play is developing IMO. SS has merit here as it can prevent a gang foul, but still... It gives your opponent the opportunity to man mark your best players with a chump from the start.

If you're of the "he won't get hit" camp rather than the "now I can build unbeatable formations" camp, I'd ignore the double altogether and take Guard.

I agree Guard is better short term. But doubles don't come along all that often.
There is no such thing as "unbeatable formations", there are too many "if"'s.

Tackle +MA3 is only hot when man-marked by a Wrodger (even then, Side Step is better for dealing with that), and against elves on the LOS.

I disagree.
Besides the points you already raised you need to consider the mummies need to be spearheading the cage. When any player screening is just 1 square away from your mummy, MA 3 is all you need. The front screen typically has dodge or fend (or both) to redeploy. The mummy can blitz and smack down the front screener (even if he's STR 4) without needing an assist (which a tackle wight/ghoul/zomb would need). Tackle gives you better odds of knocking him down. MB gives better odds of keeping him down. Furthermore when you do follow up and make contact with the second layer of the screen (make sure you move in enough bodies so no-one can get even a 1-die on the mummy) you gain the most yards and make it more difficult/risky for him to reposition because now his dodge is offset by a str 5 tackle player your opponent can't block off.
This is all assuming you have trouble with elves and other dodgies at higher TV. In my experience they certainly are a very tough nut to crack for undead because they reduce the undead's best players to lampposts (can't get a knockdown, dodge away easily).

[mattgslater]

Yeah, I see it. If you're gaming strictly for OSPT offense against elves, a Tackle Mummy means you don't need to get +ST/assist on a Wight/Ghoul/Zombie blitz. But cages are often amorphous things, and sometimes last turn's sidewall becomes next turn's forwards. Keeping your Mummy in the action, keeping him from getting pushed out of utility, is important. It's not all that hard, but when you get the guy in space he pretty much ceases to be a factor, and your opponent knows it. So while Tackle might be better than SS for offense against elves, it's not that much better. You can have a cow-catcher or a windshield.

Besides, there's more out there than offense against elves. And for most of it, Tackle is useless and Side Step is a power skill. Orcs hate SS Mummies. Block Mummies, they push around with impunity. Undead don't have enough support to prevent regular 2d hits.

[mattgslater]

I agree this is a neat formation. But the main reason for that is because the opponent will need a lot of resources to try to shift that mummy. Most team won't even try it, whether he has SS/SF or not. Besides that a knockdown for a lot of teams is good enough as that means just a single dodge in the clear to get through. Hardly mission impossible.
But again most teams will not try that.

With Wrestle vs. no SS, the odds of a push on a half-die are 4/9, and of a knockdown are 1/4. With Wrestle vs. SS, the odds of a push on a half-die are 0/9, and of a knockdown are 1/4. So that AG4 player has a 5/24 (5/6x1/4) chance of dodging through against the SS'er, but a (5/6x4/9+1/4) 67/108 chance, nearly 2/3, of dodging through against the non-SS'er. Throw in a TRR, and it becomes 265/864 (30.7%) against the SS'er, but a whopping 1705/1944 (87.7%) against the other guy. This doesn't include his chance of dodging through the fence created by a SS Mummy staggering straight back. That's dodges into 2, 1 and 0 TZs, which will deter most non-Leapers, barring Stunty/2H or AG5/Dodge.

[Blammaham]

I'd consider pro, though it probably isn't as good as Side step, I'd stay away from frenzy on a MA 3 piece. Jump up probably warrants some discussion, as if he is as I expect, your main hitter / blitzer he could then get piling on and be a historic and feared killer. Dodge is the safe bet especially if you want him to get Break Tackle like I usually do, for positioning reasons. my $.02 .S.