Okay well I haven’t checked this thread since the playbook was finished and posted on Plasmoids web site. So here are the answers to the two main points raised here -
1, Someone said that lizards should not try for the 2-1 grind against all opponents and should ramp up the score, especially against bashy races etc....
My answer to this is generally no you shouldn't you should try and win every game of Bloodbowl 2-1 2-0 or 1-0 no matter what the race and in that order. Obviously there are occasions when you can score more, and as said in the playbook you need to make these judgement calls your self as to when the opportunity arises. A playbook cannot possibly go into every possible scenario and this is just a guide to get the most out of your team. Even when I play with Skaven or Wood elves I try and always win 2-1, 2-0 or 1-0 albeit by very different means.
One of the main reasons not to ramp up the score is –
You should always kick first for the reasons explained in the playbook, if you get the ball and score early to try and ramp up the score then that means you are kicking again. Kicking is one of Lizardmen’s biggest weaknesses, and if you play against a knowledgeable opponent they will foul one of your Saurii every chance one becomes isolated which means one should get fouled every time you kick and when fouled properly the foul should be almost a certainty to break the armour. If you lose a few Saurii then you can find your self in a lot of trouble because you can no longer protect the ball carrier. So when you get the ball, keep a hold of it stall and score in the last turn that way you will not be kicking again until the last turn of the game if all goes to plan and your opponent will not foul you then so your Saurii should be safe.
Another point made by someone is you should especially ramp up the score against bashier races so you don’t get sucked into a bash war. Again I would have to say a big no to this. Against the bashier races again you really do not want to give your opponent 3 free blocks and a blitz on kick off because this can destroy your team and you should not be allowing them this many blocks a turn on you at any point in the game. This is especially true against teams with Claw, you have a far better chance of survival in the middle of the field than potentially letting a claw heavy team get 3 free blocks +blitz on your most important players.
The reason the person felt you should ramp up the score is because they felt Saurus cannot compete in terms of strength with Chaos, Khermi, Ogres etc... again this is wrong they can they just don’t operate in the same way, you are not blocking to hurt the opponent you are blocking to free up as many of your players as you can each turn to minimize the risk of your Saurii being hurt so they can protect the skinks.
2, Someone said I have under valued Break Tackle.
This is an interesting point and it is something I used to believe strongly in when I first started using them. Later on after hundreds of games - I found that they do not need it at all really (although one or two players with it obviously helps). I can see why initially it is an obvious choice for them because they appear so easy to tie up, while this is true in a way this all comes down to positioning. As you grow as a Lizardmen coach you learn how well they can support each other and how they can always free up space so that one or more Saurii can move freely if need be. This is very hard to show in diagrams and I showed you with zonal defending the basic principal behind it but how to keep your Saurii free is something that comes with practice and learning how to manoeuvre your opponents with your blocks, this is something I recommend you practice a lot and think two turns ahead with lizards all the time to maximise your potential for freeing up your players.
Below I have attached a team roster at the end of a season that I recently ran. As you can see there is only 1 player with break tackle and they was mainly there just to stop my Frenzy Saurus getting surfed. As you can see I was quite lucky with my Skinks so I didn’t need a Saurus ball carrier. But the wall of guard and Mighty blow made it very easy to break my opponent’s team down and limit them to very few blocks each turn which meant that I could very easily free my Saurus up with out having to rely on break tackle which although sometimes useful is not as useful as you would initially think and a dodge roll is something i don’t like to rely on because you only get 2 dice to roll a 2+ on with a re-roll with block dice you give 4 dice with a re-roll to roll a 2+ on, so it is a lot safer. If you have got the chance try and run a team without any break tackle for a season or two in your local league and I guarentee it will make you 10 times the lizard player you were
Saurus - Block, Mighty Blow, Guard
Saurus - Block, Mighty Blow, Tackle
Saurus - Frenzy, Block, Break Tackle
Saurus - Block
Saurus - Block, Mighty Blow, Guard
Saurus - Block, Mighty Blow, Guard, Stand Firm
Skink - Dodge, Stunty
Kroxigor - Loner, Bone-head, Mighty Blow, Prehensile Tail, Thick Skull, Guard, Stand Firm
Skink - Dodge, Stunty, +AG, Wrestle
Skink - Dodge, Stunty, +ST, Block, +ST, Side Step
Skink - Dodge, Stunty
Skink - Dodge, Stunty, Diving Tackle, +MA
Skink - Dodge, Stunty, Side Step
Skink - Dodge, Stunty, Side Step, +AG, Diving Tackle
any more questions let me know.
