Fielding Orcs against Lizardmen

[Sword of Solkan]

I’m going to be playing against Lizardmen for the first time tomorrow. Any advice you can offer?

Looks as though Lizards are quite a tough match-up for Orcs. The Sauruses and Kroxigor bring at least as much punch as anything the Orcs can offer, and it’s going to be very difficult to keep MV8 Skinks from scoring.

We’re both new teams, and have both gone for the classic line-ups (he’s got a Krox, 6 Sauruses and 4 Skinks with 2 Rerolls; I’ve got 4 Blitzers, 4 Black Orcs, 2 Linemen and a Thrower with 3 Rerolls). I’ve got one skill (Dodge) on a Blitzer, but that’s it for advancement. The only weakness that really stands out is the Lizards looking a bit light on rerolls.

[dode74]

Make sure the kick is in so he can't hand the ball to a Saur. Use the BOBs and linemen to hold up the Saurs/Krox, as well as a Blitzer or two if needed. Remaing Blitzers should skink-hunt due to Block being effective against them. Force him to make 1d blocks or 2d vs your guys with block in order to burn up the rerolls.

[Jimmy Fantastic]

Brutal match up. If he is a bad coach you have a chance. Just play good BB and pray he has terrible dice and/or plays terribly.

[Sword of Solkan]

Thanks. Do I want to get stuck in against the Sauruses and Krox to burn his refills, or hold back so I'm only taking the one Blitz each turn?

[Jimmy Fantastic]

You're not going to have the choice. His 7 strong boys will dictate the play and you will just have to react however he lets you. You have to see where his Saurus will be able to block each other free and sometimes prevent that and you will need to know when to go after Skinks and when to try to win the blocking war.

[Sword of Solkan]

Hmm, this could be even tougher than I'd thought.

Where do you stand on fouling? Put a Skink down, then gang foul it with a lineman to try to take it off the pitch. Problem is that I've only got 11 players as well.

[Jimmy Fantastic]

Honestly I think Lizards are the hardest match up for Orcs at this kind of TV.
He shouldn't let you get in a position to make a foul worthwhile really, and if he does it means you are probably winning already.

[Chris]

Getting your blitzers, maybe the dodge blitzer, in to hit skinks is the best bet. 5/9 chance of taking one down, which isn't that hot. Try to tie up the good players with your linemen and black orcs, without mighty blow they should survive, maybe just feed the krox a lineman. Save the re-rolls for dodges getitng blitzers free to fit skinks?

[Sword of Solkan]

Thanks for the advice, chaps.

I managed a 1-1 draw (came close to winning 2-1, but couldn’t quite pull through at the end of the second half). No injuries on either side, so fairly light in terms of SPP.