Cyanide releases their Khorne Roster

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Re: Cyanide releases their Khorne Roster

Post by Fassbinder75 »

OK, so this argument essentially moot because BB has no regulatory body that can enact any sort of meaningful change. I would like to express sympathy with Martins viewpoint, although I think that empirical means are better than intuitive ones I don't believe that the 'mountains of data' are granular enough to draw meaningful conclusions. I will admit that I'm making this judgement sight unseen.

Here's a bunch of stats from an NFL QB. Looking at these numbers by themselves without any experience of watching EJ Manuel play, you'd probably surmise he is an average, to slightly mediocre player. Not a world beater, but not rubbish by any stretch.

Image

If you'd actually watched the games, you'd have a much different view - EJ Manuel has been horrible. Does Cyanide or FUMBBL track the minutiae of every game of Blood Bowl? There are so many variables in each match, unless you're tracking all of it, I don't think it is possible to generate meaningful analysis. How many times does a Herald/BT/Bloodletter use Juggernaut to push back or invalidate Stand Firm/Wrestle/Fend in a game. How many times do Necromantic Ghouls dodge vs Undead Ghouls? Do Necro sides with a SH Ghoul win more games than Necro teams without one. Does the number of games played have a correlation on win %?

If you can't measure the value of a team/build/player by the data you have then there's no choice but to resort to the 'eye test'. EJ Manuel doesn't pass the eye test and 90k for a Herald doesn't either :) because it is self evident that all skills are not created equally.

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Re: Cyanide releases their Khorne Roster

Post by dode74 »

Fassbinder - I kind of see your point, but in a discussion about balance it's the win% we are looking at (regardless of what other factors people think are relevant, since that is what the BBRC looked at). To that end the question is not "do teams of one race win more with build A than with build B?" but "how does the race perform overall?". The latter question encompasses all possible builds as opposed to looking at the specifics of the race to see if there is a problem with certain builds or players. To continue your NFL theme, regardless of how EJ Manuel is performing, are the Bills performing? If they are then there's no big problem, and what you get is that the Bills never (or very rarely) select him just like Dark Elves never (or very rarely) select as assassin. We don't see that here, though, either: I've not seen anyone not take a Herald unless they are running the high-risk Bloodthirster 1kTV lineup, and that's pretty rare in my limited experience. So, given that the team is performing by the win% standard, and that Heralds are not being dropped, where is the issue? The "eye test" fails not only because we have something more standardised in the guide, but also because the data shows that there is no issue. Just because we can't answer all questions with the data doesn't mean we can't answer any.

Your point about being unable to measure the actual value of skills based on data is entirely fair, but I don't think necessary in terms of looking at team performance. Even if we did attempt to measure that value, it would actually change from match to match as skillsets on teams can differ wildly.

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Re: Cyanide releases their Khorne Roster

Post by crimsonsun »

While I cannot comment on the strength of Khorne teams as while I've planned to experiment I've never really found time to do so but what I can comment on is Juggernaut which is a fantastic skill though not so much at 1750tv< but once you go over that its invaluable. I find advantage from juggernaut in pretty much every game I play with it and that is with only two juggs players that I build into all non agile/stunty teams I use. What it brings cannot be valued under the traditional sense since it counters skills and provides a slight edge allowing additional choice from block results.. BUT that choice leads to greater control and position and that is what wins bloodbowl games, its real strength is not what it does by its self but what it does with other skills. Countering wrestle allows you to hunt those ag5 leaping wrackle, sidestepping/fending sackers with impunity, it completely counteracts Elven stalling tactics and as a result column based defence, or for countering a strong line of stand firm + guarding blockers, especially when combined with strength 4+ and frenzy. On the other hand no killer is worth its sorts without Juggernaut, countering wrestle & fend means you can hunt stalling style players that are built to frustrate killers on 50% of die results. Maybe killings not your thing, instead you want something more like precise to extract the ball, tackle, juggernaut, strip ball... bang you can go 2die ur opponent chooses against a blodger/wrodger and the ball is odds on to come loose only a 16% chance of not getting the ball free.

Thats before looking at its benefits by providing a fifty % increase in the effect of block die rolled by a frenzy player before considering that it counters stand firm leading to at least one surf a season where an opponent over looks the skill combination, let alone the options it opens up for chain pushing and repositioning. Finally it cannot be overlooked that it is a skill that can be given to big guys that just wont roll doubles especially those with wild animal as it provides a 50% increase in blocking reliability when blitzing and with the loner skill that's worth far more than the 20k cost many times over.

So in my opinion Juggernaut is easily worth 20k and there are many players I would happily give it too at 30k (werewolves, wardancers & witch elves spring to mind) and while I may not be a great blood bowl coach, I am yet to meet a coach that understands the art of advanced blocking/blitzing techniques and positional placement for that purpose to a level where it clearly exceeds my own (that's not to say I do not make stupid mistakes, when I fail to see the obvious as I don't have my blood bowl eyes on), by which I mean that its been a very long time since I sat down after a game and thought wow I would have never have seen/thought to do that in terms of controlling that area of the game. so I am fully standing behind the statement that Juggernaut is a essential tool in a bashing or running play style at 1750+ tv.

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Re: Cyanide releases their Khorne Roster

Post by Jimmy Fantastic »

crimsonsun wrote: I am yet to meet a coach that understands the art of advanced blocking/blitzing techniques and positional placement for that purpose to a level where it exceeds my own - - - Juggernaut is a essential tool in a bashing or running play style at 1750+ tv.
LOL

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Re: Cyanide releases their Khorne Roster

Post by Fassbinder75 »

dode74 wrote:Fassbinder - I kind of see your point, but in a discussion about balance it's the win% we are looking at (regardless of what other factors people think are relevant, since that is what the BBRC looked at). To that end the question is not "do teams of one race win more with build A than with build B?" but "how does the race perform overall?". The latter question encompasses all possible builds as opposed to looking at the specifics of the race to see if there is a problem with certain builds or players. To continue your NFL theme, regardless of how EJ Manuel is performing, are the Bills performing? If they are then there's no big problem, and what you get is that the Bills never (or very rarely) select him just like Dark Elves never (or very rarely) select as assassin. We don't see that here, though, either: I've not seen anyone not take a Herald unless they are running the high-risk Bloodthirster 1kTV lineup, and that's pretty rare in my limited experience. So, given that the team is performing by the win% standard, and that Heralds are not being dropped, where is the issue? The "eye test" fails not only because we have something more standardised in the guide, but also because the data shows that there is no issue. Just because we can't answer all questions with the data doesn't mean we can't answer any.

Your point about being unable to measure the actual value of skills based on data is entirely fair, but I don't think necessary in terms of looking at team performance. Even if we did attempt to measure that value, it would actually change from match to match as skillsets on teams can differ wildly.
The thing is, Martin is trying to ask questions that the data he has can't provide answers to. He is tweaking at a player level with team level data, you can't really fault a 'suck it 'n see' attitude - which is the same method the BBRC used, evidently.

Out of interest (and I'm assuming you have a degree of familiarity with Cyanide people) could you get more granular data if you asked for it?

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Re: Cyanide releases their Khorne Roster

Post by Fassbinder75 »

crimsonsun wrote:While I cannot comment on the strength of Khorne teams as while I've planned to experiment I've never really found time to do so but what I can comment on is Juggernaut which is a fantastic skill though not so much at 1750tv< but once you go over that its invaluable.
And therein lies the rub. Khorne teams start out paying for a bunch of Juggernaut they won't see value from, which is fine in a sense but its not really a good comparison.

In my experience it isn't a great skill because blitz targets of sufficiently high value probably won't have Wrestle or Stand Firm, and only when there's nothing left to select will take Fend. Again, it is useless against Side Step, the granddaddy of this bunch.

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Re: Cyanide releases their Khorne Roster

Post by dode74 »

The thing is, Martin is trying to ask questions that the data he has can't provide answers to.
I don't think I agree on that. The basis of Martin's claim for a need for a change is that the team is underperforming, and the data we have most certainly can answer that question. Give that the team is performing in the middle of T1.5, and that the margins of error on the data we have means that we can't say the team is performing outside T1, his claim of underperformance is not backed up at all. In fact, it is rejected in favour of the null, which is that they are not outside the T1 range. To that end, the reason for his changes as a whole is suspect. Any tweaks made to a team will be at a lower level, certainly, but if the reason for the tweak is suspect, then...
you can't really fault a 'suck it 'n see' attitude - which is the same method the BBRC used, evidently.
I'm not faulting that attitude, I'm just asking that he not claim that his changes are based on any sort of data analysis if the data doesn't back up his conclusions. I'm also suggesting that this tweak, based on whatever reasoning, might not be for everyone. If it's to boost the team then that was not the intent of the team, the data doesn't suggest it is needed and several people have suggested that they don't want it. I'd suggest (and have suggested) that this tweak should be a house rule (yes, to a house-ruled team) rather than claiming the team "needs" it.
Out of interest (and I'm assuming you have a degree of familiarity with Cyanide people) could you get more granular data if you asked for it?
Match level data at best - i.e. TDs, cas, KOs, passes etc.

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Re: Cyanide releases their Khorne Roster

Post by sann0638 »

crimsonsun wrote: I am yet to meet a coach that understands the art of advanced blocking/blitzing techniques and positional placement for that purpose to a level where it exceeds my own - - - Juggernaut is a essential tool in a bashing or running play style at 1750+ tv.
Not lol, but more yikes. NAF name crimsonsun too?

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Re: Cyanide releases their Khorne Roster

Post by plasmoid »

Hi Dode,
If I were feeling a little less charitable I might suggest that it was dishonest.
Yes, you do like to throw that around. Doesn't bother me as much as it used to. But I like the way you manage to imply dishonesty while pretending you didn't. It certainly is a bit of a classic.
I should also note that the assumption that I'd claim that this house rule was supported by mathematically sound data is all yours.
If you want to "shrug off" results then you need to show there is a reason to do so.
You seem to have misread me. I did not wish to say that I could just ignore all existing Khorne data.
I was trying to say that I don't think using data for NTBB(2013) has convinced anyone of anything.
For example, the box data shows Amazons to perform outside of tier 1 in their entire lifetime. And that's a lot of data. A problem? No, it's just a box/meta thing.
So if jumping through hoops gets me nothing, then maybe to hell with the hoops.
If you can't say it is broken then you don't fix it. Imagine if you took your car for a checkup to a mechanic who said "I can't say that the gearbox is broken, but I'm going to fix it anyway."
Important distincion between 'if it ain't broken, don't fix it' and 'if you can't prove that it is broken then you shouldn't fix it'.
I'm not overly thrilled by your car mechanic analogy. Because we do have a hint that they perform very low in tier 1.

But imagine this then: A guy goes to the mechanic. His brakes make a suspicious noise. He can't prove that they are broken. Neither can his mechanic. So he drives on with the noise for 5 years. As it happens, the brakes fail, the car then careens off a Cliff, and he dies in the explosion. His widow takes the burned out car to the mechanic. He thinks a while before he says - we have proof your brakes are broken. :P
That doesn't mean you get to ignore it if you want to claim to have NTBB (or whatever) based on data.
I already stated that I am considering a house rule. Perhaps. For a the roster I'm currently house ruling into my League.
If I add the roster and the house rule to NTBB, then I've already stated that I'd list that particular rule as iffy - i.e. not on a solid statistical foundation.
Of course, you could just abandon all use of data at all and simply try to sell NTBB on opinion and anecdote alone. That's fine, but not particularly convincing for many people, and you want to convince as many as possible.
I trust I can make a clear distincion on the site between NTBB proper, and a particular house rule to a house ruled roster. We'll see, I suppose.
And I'm not sure I 'want to convince as many people as possible'. Those are definately your Words.
I've stated many times that I know these rules aren't for everyone.
I've also stated that I hope they will appeal to people who already see the game the same way as I do.
I think that chances of convincing anyone of anything is pretty slim.
I've given you plenty before. What more do you need?
Ideally, I'd like the things I listed in the very post you're quoting.
I'd be very interested to get the best possible information for my house rule.
But yes, I can track for TV bands with FOL data. I could for OCC with a bit of work, too.
I'd appriciate it. But since it is only any good to me, I can understand if you'd rather skip the extra work.
Coincidentally, in the NTBBL they are a touch below 45%, but maybe that's because most of our Khorne teams have only played around 6 games or so. Indeed the only one with a positive record is the one with the most games played.
[Oh, if you bother to check, we have a bug that on occasion assigns a tie that hasn't been played.]
Since Juggs is clearly a member of the set "all skills" and is not mentioned in the exceptions then it is quite clearly a 20k skill whether you like it or not.

Yes, and I remember how you described just how much careful consideration must have gone into the guide.
As it happens, there is a lot of retro-fitting in that document. Gems like VVL+Leap for 5K on a lineman isn't the result of careful analysis, but rather of Slann linemen being more expensive until player feedback killed that off.
I much prefer to think for myself.
When some of the least popular skills in the game like Pro and Pass Block get listed at 20K, (because they are members of the set "all skills" then I won't pretend it makes sense).
So you could reasonably within the guide reduce the cost of either the Heralds or the Letters, but not both.
Well, other than taking the guide with a grain of salt, I could take Letters down 10K.
Or Heralds an Rerolls 10K each (since the guide doesn't consider rerolls).
Or 10K off rerolls and Regen on the Heralds :orc:
On Cyanide it's official.
I thought you meant to imply the same thing with the word 'official' as everyone else here: GW official - i.e. officially part of Blood Bowl.
Coaches on Cyanide might wrongly think that it is GW official. But it isn't. It is Cyanide's very own house rule roster.

Cheers
Martin

PS - Crimsonsun: You've seem to get great mileage out of Juggernaut. Kudos! I wonder though - would you generally dedicate 140TV/7-skill-picks to it? I know I wouldn't - even if I have taken a jugger or two in the past :D

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Re: Cyanide releases their Khorne Roster

Post by dode74 »

Hi Martin

I say dishonest because I know you know better than that.
I'd claim that this house rule was supported by mathematically sound data is all yours.
Well the fact that it's not in the house rule section and the amount of times you've tried to use the win% as a justification suggests pretty strongly that it's not a house rule and you do intend to use the win% data as support for the change, so it's not exactly an unreasonable assumption. If I have the wrong end of that stick and you simply intend to house rule them for NTBB (or whatever) and don't intend to use data for supporting your changes then, as I've said already, you carry on!
So if jumping through hoops gets me nothing, then maybe to hell with the hoops.
Absolutely fine with me. Just don't pretend you are jumping through them. That means no use (or misuse) of data on the NTBB stuff.
Important distincion between 'if it ain't broken, don't fix it' and 'if you can't prove that it is broken then you shouldn't fix it'.
Not really. As far as the data is concerned, it ain't broken. You reject the hypothesis in favour of the null.
I'm not overly thrilled by your car mechanic analogy. Because we do have a hint that they perform very low in tier 1.
"Low Tier 1" is your own, made-up distinction. They either are or are not performing in Tier 1, and we cannot say that they are not.
But imagine this then: A guy goes to the mechanic. His brakes make a suspicious noise. He can't prove that they are broken. Neither can his mechanic. So he drives on with the noise for 5 years. As it happens, the brakes fail, the car then careens off a Cliff, and he dies in the explosion. His widow takes the burned out car to the mechanic. He thinks a while before he says - we have proof your brakes are broken.
Yeah, did you read the bit I wrote about taking analogies further than they are intended to go? It's easy fodder, which is why anyone actually interested in the issue at hand only takes the analogy as far as it is intended to go. If, instead, you simply want to dismiss the analogy because it says something you don't like then taking it beyond breaking point is easy to do. Well done with that high-school debating tactic which entirely fails to address the issue :roll:
I already stated that I am considering a house rule. Perhaps. For a the roster I'm currently house ruling into my League.
If I add the roster and the house rule to NTBB, then I've already stated that I'd list that particular rule as iffy - i.e. not on a solid statistical foundation.
Actually I don't recall you saying any of that. Possibly because we're doing this on different forums? Perhaps we could keep this to just the one forum to prevent confusion. If this is a house rule and you state it's iffy then crack on, as I have said. Want to move this discussion to the House Rules forum then?
I'm not sure I 'want to convince as many people as possible'. Those are definately your Words.
They are my words, but they nicely sum up the intention of a person who has made a website dedicated to their project and who spends plenty of time extolling its virtues here and elsewhere. Or do you not intend to convince anyone at all?
Ideally, I'd like the things I listed in the very post you're quoting.
So popularity and winstats. I'll take a look. Cyanide changed their database format so I need to make a converter for it, so could be a little while. You already have the OCC data gathering tool though, I believe.
in the NTBBL they are a touch below 45%
What's the range, i.e. the margin of error? The mean is meaningless without it.
I much prefer to think for myself.
When some of the least popular skills in the game like Pro and Pass Block get listed at 20K, (because they are members of the set "all skills" then I won't pretend it makes sense).
And there you were talking about objectivity before ;)
Either you're playing the game as designed or you are not, and that includes using the guide. Whether you agree with the design decisions are neither here nor there. If you're only talking about a house rule, though, then I have no issue with whatever you want to do.
Well, other than taking the guide with a grain of salt, I could take Letters down 10K.
Or Heralds an Rerolls 10K each (since the guide doesn't consider rerolls).
Or 10K off rerolls and Regen on the Heralds :orc:
All of which would be fine for a house rule. If, however, you think a tweak needs to be made for balance reasons (as stated in the guide) then I think it needs to be shown that there is a reason.

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Re: Cyanide releases their Khorne Roster

Post by Smeborg »

ONE OF MY JAMMIEST EVER TDS
------------------------------------------------------
My Khorne team appears to have peaked after just 20 games, the TV is bouncing around in the mid-170s, I seem to be losing a skilled player every couple of games or so, meaning that I am losing SPPs as fast as I gain them. Among other players lost recently have been a Bloodletter with Block, +AG, Dodge, a Pit Fighter with Sure Hands, Pass, and last night a Herald with Block, +ST (dead, Apoth'd to dead). Ouch.

On the plus side, this seems to be a very jammy team. Earlier in the season I was about to draw a game 0-0, having fallen over in the end zone, however, the ball bounced to my Bloodthirster in the end zone, who caught it (1 in 48 chance). But recently, I went one better:

I am losing 0-1 after having been turned over. I fail a pick-up for the nth time (near my own end zone), my opponent seizes the opportunity with a waiting Beastman (Extra Arms, 2-Heads), who pulls off a couple of dodges, picks the ball up, and requires only a 2+ dodge to the end zone to go 0-2 up. Naturally he fails the dodge, the ball scatters 22 squares upfield (via the sideline), a waiting Pit Fighter picks it up and goes-for-it to score. I end up winning the match 2-1.

Overall record is 13 wins, 4 draws, 3 losses [correction: 13 wins, 3 draws, 4 losses], and I have managed to go undefeated for the last 8 games [correction: 4 games]. But bear in mind that these results involve regular instances of jam such as those outlined above. Here is the team now (MVP is chosen):

Bloodthirster: M-Blow, Guard. S-Firm (37 SPPs)
Herald: Block (10)
Herald: - (0)
Bloodletter: S-Hands, +1MA, Dodge, Block (53)
Bloodletter: Block, Dodge, Guard (35)
Bloodletter: Block, Dodge, Guard (31)
Bloodletter: - (0)
Pit Fighter: Wrestle, Dauntless (18)
Pit Fighter: Leader (10)
Pit Fighter: Wrestle (8)
Pit Fighter: Wrestle (8)
Pit Fighter: - (0)
Pit Fighter: - (0)
2RR, 8FF, 1AC/1CL, Apoth, TV174

The team is much better rounded (and easier to play) following Guard on the 2 Bloodletters (they are outstanding and versatile players), and S-Firm on the Bloodthirster (I made a mistake giving him Guard as second skill, it would have been much better as third). The team's ability to surf players seems to get better and better. Although I have only 3 Guard, it is on players who are rather good at staying upright, hence the Guard is very valuable.

The Heralds are very quiet, even the poor chap with Block, +1ST did not set the world alight. The Pit Fighters with Wrestle (especially the one with D-Less) are very good. The Pit Fighter with Leader (and no Wrestle) continues to be a liability, he keeps getting himself into trouble (or causing turnovers). The Heralds do not take many blitzes (typically the Bloodthirster or one of the Bloodletters is preferred). Development of the Heralds and Pit Fighters seems to be largely blocked. The Bloodletters hog the SPPs, but this is no bad thing as they have a better survival rate than most other players. I would love to get 2 Heralds with Block, M-Blow, but that seems some way off. I am reaping the consequences of starting the team without Heralds (they started in games 4 and 6).

The MA7 Bloodletter has finally reached his 4th skill (Block to go with S-Hands, Dodge) and is very pleasing. His ability to move without GFIs is very important to the success of the team (I would not be able to afford the Re-rolls). I have decided that one S-Hands player on the team is enough, and it has to be a Bloodletter. Were he to get to a 5th skill, I would probably give K-Ret (to re-inforce his speed).

Note that the team has little by way of defensive skills, just 2 Dodge, although I guess you could say the 4 Wrestle make some contribution to player safety. Other teams in the league have reached a more killy state, the counter to that is judicious surfing, a maximum of knockdowns, and management of contact as far as I am able (which is not much). But largely I feel I have just been lucky, for example last night I was facing a Dwarf team with 7 or 8 M-Blow, I ended up winning the CAS 3-2 and got to the second half with 11 men against 8. Could (perhaps should) easily have gone the other way. The team seems often to be out-strengthed, but is very resourceful at gaining an advantage in one part (only) of the field (thanks to the raw blitz-power). This creates wild lop-sided games, but these seem to be going more Khorne's way as the team has become more developed (and rounded).

Only 2 regular games to go, alas, before the team retires into the sunset. I hope you are enjoying following their fortunes.

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Re: Cyanide releases their Khorne Roster

Post by Megr1m »

For comparison, this is my current Khorne team:

Bloodthirster - Break Tackle, Guard (28)
Herald - Mighty Blow (14)
Herald - Wrestle (10)
Bloodletter - Block, Dodge (24)
Bloodletter - Block, Dodge (35), a 5+5 skillup pending
Bloodletter - Block, Dodge (16)
Bloodletter - Block, Dodge (23)
Cultist - Kick [Smashed Knee] (7)
Cultist - Leader, +1AG, Dodge (41)
Cultist - Block (12)
Cultist - Block, Guard (16)
Cultist - (0)

x2 rr
x1 apo
x9 ff

1680 TV with 790,000 banked.

Record stands at 10 wins, 3 draws, 6 losses

On the whole, mine looks to be a lot more evenly developed than yours, with the standout being the AG-boosted Cultist. I am finding that while I don't have as much Guard as I'd like, the four Blodgers and 'thirster with Guard is enough to typically pick apart most teams who would otherwise overpower me with raw ST. Conversely, after I gave up on trying to level the Heralds (even the MB one is doing so only slowly), and simply taking Wrestle on the second one in order to make a safety, my lack of Tackle has not hurt me as hard as I suspected. This is also in part due to our league progressively becoming more and more bashy.

I prefer to keep my Cultists in the fight with Block, and find that often, even if no opportunities present themselves to crowdsurf (opponents have largely wised-up), I can break formations apart with a little Guard and Blodge repositioning. Overall, I am happy with the Cultists staying around level 1, because I feel that they will need to take skills which are not conductive to my style of play, if they level any further.

The Bloodthirster is really a key pivot player, as I use it and Break Tackle to bring Guard where it's needed, often while also hitting a key enemy piece with Claw. After that, I try to use the MB Herald to Blitz, but he has had poor dice so far.

Finally, the 5+5 on the Bloodletter is a bit of a bitch tbh, because I was really looking forward to giving him Guard. Now, i have first world problems.

I'm not sure if I will keep the team running for another season, but it is tempting to see how they develop at higher TV.

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Re: Cyanide releases their Khorne Roster

Post by Smeborg »

My team has finished on a high, with a narrow win 2-1 against Dwarfs (thanks to the Wizard). I believe this means they have won their small division (7 teams) by a narrow margin. Crucial in this were the Bloodthirster catching the ball in the end zone (1 in 48 chance) in their win over the second placed team, and one of my jammiest ever TDs in another match (see above). Definitely a "lucky" team. Here they are:

Bloodthirster: M-Blow, Guard, S-Firm (37 SPPs)
Herald: Block, Dodge (18)
Herald: - (0)
Bloodletter: Sure Hands, +1MA, Dodge, Block (56)
Bloodletter: Block, Dodge, Guard (35)
Bloodletter: Block, Dodge, Guard (31)
Bloodletter: - (0)
Pit Fighter: Wrestle, Dauntless (18)
Pit Fighter: Leader (10)
Pit Fighter: Wrestle (10)
Pit Fighter: Wrestle (10)
Pit Fighter: Wrestle (8)
Pit Fighter: - (0)
2RR, 9FF, 1AC/1CL, Apoth, TV178, 410,000 in Treasury

Overall record: 14 wins, 3 draws, 4 losses. TDs: 38-21. CAS: 62-52. Bear in mind I am the most experienced coach in our league, which is growing, and thus has a fair proportion of relatively inexperienced coaches. The team has been lucky on the CAS front, Regen rolls have tended to work on Deaths and Permanent Injuries. Only 4 skilled players have been lost (35, 16, 20 and 10 SPPs). "Actuarially" speaking, this might have been more.

As commented earlier, the team seems to work harmoniously now. I tend to put the 3 unskilled players (Herald, Blodletter, Pit Fighter) on the defensive LoS - although this feels odd, it works. I will comment on development and roster strategy separately.

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Smeborg the Fleshless
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Re: Cyanide releases their Khorne Roster

Post by Smeborg »

ROSTER STRATEGY AND DEVELOPMENT
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As regards the starting roster, you pays your money and you makes your choice, with the inevitable consequences that follow. I chose to start with a Bloodthirster and no Heralds, this meant that the Heralds were the last players to be bought and skilled up very late.

I chose to run with 13 players, 2 re-rolls and Leader. For most of the time, I felt I was 1 re-roll and 1 player short, although I felt this somewhat less once the team became developed (say TV170+). The team is expensive, there is no easy answer, I hate facing Wizards.

The one constant I would recommend for the starting roster is to take 4 Bloodletters. As the only "reliable" players (i.e. without Frenzy), they are the engine room of the team, especially when it comes to moving the ball and taking quiet blocks (e.g. on the LoS). This is especially the case early on.

BLOODTHIRSTER: I went M-Blow, Guard, S-Firm. This felt wrong. M-Blow is fine as first skill, but Guard as second skill seems wrong (Stand Firm would be better before Guard, it helps keep the Bloodthirster in contact, being a Wild Animal, he doesn't like standing in space). I did not try Break Tackle. The Bloodthirster was important at the beginning, he helped win a lot of close matches by maintaining parity of numbers (often just with Stuns and the odd KO), but he seemed increasingly feeble and irrelevant to the main play as time went on. I am veering towards jimmy's suggestion, which is to start with M-Blow, P-On. On the plus side, a Bloodthirster can be relied upon to skill up on his own.

HERALDS: I planned to go Block, M-Blow, but none got that far (Guard would be a contender for second skill). They took forever to skill up and were decidedly uncharismatic in practical play. However, even a rookie Herald is excellent for surfing (sadly I will not get to see the Block, Dodge Herald in action). A Block, +1ST Herald died soon after skilling up (following a mistake).

BLOODLETTERS: The heart and soul of the team in many ways. They hogged the SPPs, these 4 players earning exactly half of all the team's SPPs. Regen makes them surprisingly hardy, although it does not keep them out of the dugout. Once I got 2 Bloodletters to Block/Dodge/Guard, it transformed the team - this is a good development path for them. I had an AG4 Bloodletter for a time, he was rather good, but when he died the MA7 Bloodletter took over without a glitch. He now has the holy trinity (Block, Dodge, Sure Hands). The Bloodletters are the versatile players on the team, best at moving the ball, taking blocks reliably (because of no Frenzy), and repositioning (because of Dodge, especially if combined with Guard). Outside of the set piece, they quite often take the Blitz action (again because of no Frenzy, they don't have to follow up).

PIT FIGHTERS: The Pit Fighter with Leader and no Wrestle is a constant liability in practical play. I don't see an easy way to solve this problem, I think Leader is essential near the beginning. Wrestle is outstanding on Pit Fighters, I recommend it. It has enabled me to go without Tackle. More importantly, it takes "no result" blocks out of the equation, and helps avoid Frenzy traps, making the Pit Fighters safer and rather dynamic in their own turn (and sometimes handy in the opponent's). Wrestle + Dauntless is a great combo, I also recommend it, it means they can take on Chaos Warriors, Black Orcs, Saurus and their ilk with little fear. Since the Pit Fighters are often in contact, and often away from the main play, my aiim was to create players who could "look after themselves". Wrestle (followed by Dauntless) meets this aim. I would probably choose Fend next. The main drawback of the Pit Fighters is that they have been very slow to get to their second skill (although several are getting close, our league uses chosen MVP). [Edit: I retired a Pit Fighter with Sure Hands, Pass after he copped a Niggling Injury. I was barely using him. Another Wrestler would appear to be more effective. Bloodletters are better candidates for Sure Hands IMO.]

I hope that's of interest. Sadly the team now retires into the sunset. I hope you've enjoyed following their fortunes. All the best.

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Re: Cyanide releases their Khorne Roster

Post by Frenzy »

Just want to say this thread has been invaluable to me while developing my Khorne team. I'm going to go with Wrestle on my Pit Fighters even though everybody and their brother has told me Block would be better.

Keep the fantastic info coming and I'll be sure to let you know how my Khorne team progresses.

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