New Albion Expatriates and BBLASD

Every team has a story. If you want to tell the BB world yours, then this is the place to do it.

Moderator: TFF Mods

User avatar
mattgslater
King of Comedy
Posts: 7758
Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2005 5:18 pm
Location: Far to the west, across the great desert, in the fabled Land of Comedy

New Albion Expatriates and BBLASD

Post by mattgslater »

A move, yet another meltdown and a guy who couldn't take a losing streak, and we're down to 5 coaches to start the inaugural season of BBLASD, the Blood Bowl League Association of San Diego (pronounced "Blast"). The troubles we've had getting started have tested my faith in humanity. I think these guys are pretty core, though. So I restructured the league to make it a little looser and let each coach build two teams. Now there is a mix of scheduled and pick-up games, and each coach is allowed to play three per month with each team. I'm a serious overdog (though coach A has beaten me a couple times), so feel free to root for whoever I'm playing against.

The other coaches and teams:

A) Necromantic and probably Chaos Dwarfs. I'd call him a seasoned rookie. He doesn't have a reputation as a genius, and he's frequently underrated: his blocking skills are solid and his risk management is good, but his strategy skills need help (part of why he's running Necromantic).

B) Pro Elves and Wood Elves. His Pro Elves are already scary, with an AG5 Thrower developed in the preseason. He's about as experienced as A, but in many ways he's the opposite. He is very good at finding ways to make it happen, but he frequently acts in the wrong order, doing hard stuff first even after using a Team Re-Roll. So far, he has only really paid for it once, and then he was pretty new, but it'll catch up to him.

C) Orcs. This is the most experienced of the other coaches, having played a couple seasons at Game Empire. He seriously can't play me (has yet to put up a fight), but his play development is far beyond any of the other coaches in the league, and his risk management is a little better than A (well above B or D).

D) Undead. This guy swears he's not a newbie. He owns 3 teams and a set so I'm inclined to believe him. But he's constantly making rookie mistakes (stacking the D-line against bash, leaving guys on the sideline, opening his turn with 1d blocks), and doesn't take advice. That's ok, by the end of the season he'll be as clever as A and as smart as B. He has a ST6 Mummy with Multiple Block.

I'm doing High Elves (the New Albion Expatriates) and Norse (the Oilsand Raiders, with Impact!'s Desert Dogs). This is Season 15 for me, but my first full season with either team (played lots of pickup games). The Expatriates were 2-0 in the preseason, and the Raiders were 1-0 (it's going to be weird talking of myself as the Raiders... go Chargers!).

The Expats are my primary team. They get 1.1M to build, and can take 3 of my preseason guys back. The Raiders are my secondary team, with 1M and one guy back. The returning Raider can be an Ulf with Block and 6 SPP (2TD!), or a Lineman with Sure Hands and 8 SPP. I'm thinking I might take the Block Ulf, the other Ulf, the ST, a single Runner, 7 linos and 3 TRRs. I could trade the rookie Ulf for a second Runner and 20k banked....

For the Expats, it'll be my ST4 Blitzer (9 SPP) and two of the following: Thrower with Accurate (7), Blitzer with Dodge (6), or Lineman with Sidestep (8), Block (6), Dodge (6), Wrestle (6) or Kick (7). I have to pay for the skills. I'm considering the SS and Kick guys, with 2 Catchers, 1 Thrower, the ST4 Blitzer and another Blitzer, plus 4 rookie linos, 2 TRRs and 20k in the bank. I could drop the other Blitzer and the SS Lino for the Block Lino and a rookie Lino, which would give me the cash for 3 TRRs. Not sure which, but I'm leaning toward 2 Blitzers and 2 TRRs. I've also been thinking about getting a third Catcher (just finished modeling him off an old Woodie Catcher) instead of the bank, but I don't want to stunt my linos' development.

If you want me to pass on advice, D could use some help. After his ST6/MultiBlock Mummy, he has lots and lots of choices, as there are a lot of Undead skill players on the "waiver wire", but he can only pick two players. He could have a Ghoul with Block, or even two, a Ghoul with Pass, a Ghoul with Block and Side Step, a Wight with Mighty Blow, or up to two Wights with Guard (there are three on the wire, but that doesn't help him). He gets 1.1M to build, but has to buy all improvements, including the 70k on the ST6/MultiBlock Mummy.

C could also use some advice. He's only got one skilled player to protect, a Thrower with Leader, but he can grab up to two of the other coaches' guys off the wire. Available are another Thrower with Leader, a Blitzer with AV8 and Pro, a Troll with Guard, a Blitzer with Frenzy who's close to improving, a Blitzer with Stand Firm and a Black Orc with Block.

A and B don't have a lot of decisions to make: A's Necros will have a full suite of positionals, 2 TRRs, and his protected players are a Were with Block, and FG with Block and a Zed with an MVP. He's not sure about the other team yet. B's Pro Elves will have an AG5 Thrower, a Leap Catcher with 15 SPP and a Lino with an MVP. His Wood Elves will have a Strip Ball Wardancer with 12 SPP.

First scrimmage night is this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm also scheduled to play A's Necromantics and C's Orcs with my High Elves this month: I'll try to schedule the Orc coach in a pick-up game before he plays me, but no such courtesy for the Necros.

Reason: ''
What is Nuffle's view? Through a window, two-by-three. He peers through snake eyes.
What is Nuffle's lawn? Inches, squares, and tackle zones: Reddened blades of grass.
What is Nuffle's tree? Risk its trunk, space the branches. Touchdowns are its fruit.
User avatar
mattgslater
King of Comedy
Posts: 7758
Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2005 5:18 pm
Location: Far to the west, across the great desert, in the fabled Land of Comedy

Post by mattgslater »

OK, so here are the Expatriates, draft 1. Roster number is keyed off of the second digit. The first digit identifies position. [edited numbers]
71 Jose Cañusi, Lineman (Kick)
52 Don Serle-Light, Lineman
63 Grant Stume, Lineman
54 Ellis Island, Lineman (Side Step)
65 Lando DeFreeh, Lineman
76 Homer the Brave, Lineman
29 "Uncle Slam", Blitzer (ST4)
30 Rush Moore, Blitzer
81 Rocky Redglare, Catcher
12 Rhett Wydenblut, Thrower (note Brady-to-Moss connection)
43 Lou Z. Anapurgis, Catcher
2 TRR, 20k bank

I'm still working on the Raiders. Haven't even cleaned the models (or for that matter bought them all), so it may take a bit. Still need Runner models: I've got my two Genies (Ulfs) and my Afrit (ST), plus the Dogs, who account for the Dervishes, Linemen and Thrower. The theme is Arabic-sounding puns of great Raiders: ultimately I hope to have them opposite the Sandy Ancient Rechargers (Undead with names like Rot-Knee Harrassin', LayDowninyer Tomblinson and Chunk Munchie). The "owner" model for the Oilsand Raiders is Ayatollah al-Davis, the Head Coach is Osama Bin-Madden, the first Runner is Omar Qu'sallan, the second is Badr Asomugha, the Block Genie is Djinn Ap-Shah, the Thrower is Djer'allah Moniqa, but now I'm running out of ideas. Turd al-Sands and Anwar Ansap come to mind... Bin-Romanowski? No. Help!

Edit: damn, I've already seen something I have to change. I can't have an Expatriate numbered 55 in San Diego: them's fightin' words. So #5 is now 75, and 4 is 54.

First game is tonight, vs. the Necromantics. He hasn't told me what exactly his build is, but we've been talking about this:
Were with Block: 140k
Were: 120k
FG with Block: 120k
FG: 100k
2x Wight: 180k
1x Ghoul: 70k
4x Zombie (one has an MVP): 160k
3x TRR: 210k

I showed him some of Digger's diagrams, and we talked strategy a bit. This guy has actually beaten me a couple times, but he's been on the wrong side of some of the worst debacles too. There's a good chance this will be a good game. His preseason Necros were 2-1, including two very close wins against Dark Elves and Pro Elves, and a horrible thrashing by my High Elves (it wasn't as bad as it looked on paper... he blew a good scoring opportunity and my last TD came on pure luck). I hope to do a repeat tonight.

Reason: ''
What is Nuffle's view? Through a window, two-by-three. He peers through snake eyes.
What is Nuffle's lawn? Inches, squares, and tackle zones: Reddened blades of grass.
What is Nuffle's tree? Risk its trunk, space the branches. Touchdowns are its fruit.
User avatar
mattgslater
King of Comedy
Posts: 7758
Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2005 5:18 pm
Location: Far to the west, across the great desert, in the fabled Land of Comedy

Post by mattgslater »

Match 1 Report
New Albion Expatriates (High Elf, 0-0) vs. the Unlucky Sevens (Necromantic, 0-0)

As the Sun came down on a glorious Saturday, the torches were lit, illuminating the pleasant October evening for the benefit of the fans in the stands. Perfect Blood Bowl Weather, as befitting the inaugural match of BBLASD! The two teams took the field before a modest-yet-unruly crowd of 11,000. Slightly more of the Sevens' black and gold could be seen in the stands, as the Expatriates won the coin toss and elected to kick.

The Expatriates, wary of the frenzied attacks of the Sevens' Werewolves, set up in an asymmetric pattern, with the corner nearest the line protected by the Side Stepping Lineman, Ellis Island, and a wide-zone gap on the far sideline. The Sevens lined up to beat on the Expats' line and placed their Weres to account for the gap. In what would be a recurring theme for the Expats this night, the kick went beautifully, as kicker José Cañusi dropped the ball deep into the corner of the end zone.

The Sevens' fans, obviously upset by the beautiful kick, took it upon themselves to invade the pitch, and in grand fashion no less: seven Expats were stunned, and none of the Sevens! The Sevens failed to capitalize on this: after a couple perfunctory free actions, a Zombie knocked himself down on an easy block (re-roll and all), leaving lineman Grant Stume and thrower Rhett Wydenblut to blow open a hole for the receiver, Rocky Redglare. Another turn of bad (but not quite so woeful) blocking by the Sevens, and a failed attempt to pick up the ball, and Rocky had just one man to beat. Expatriates 1-0.

The next drive, the Expats went with the same defense, only tweaking the line around and moving the backfield up a square when Perfect Defense was rolled. This time, the ball also got a funny lie, but the Sevens were still able to pull it in (comically, the Ghoul attempted to pass, but the Wight he was throwing to was butterfingered, and the ball bounced right back into the Ghoul's hands, in sort of an Immaculate Reception). The Expats did a pretty good job pressuring the cage, forcing an improbable pass attempt, which somehow succeeded, and put the ball out of blitzing range! A little pressure, and the Sevens scored in Turn 7, leaving two turns for the Expats' revenge. However, the crowd wasn't done, and another Pitch Invasion killed the Expats' drive, stunning a whopping six more elves (and two players on the Necromantic squad). Score 1-all, and 15 of 17 stuns in the half (no KOs or Casualties) were inflicted by the crowd.

The second half started again with the crowd, as the Sevens won Cheering Fans. Kicking off again, the ball went right along the weak-side sideline, and the Sevens' attempt to get it back into play failed. Despite the deafening crowd noise leading to a failed pass, Rocky Redglare still managed to bring in a three-turn TD for a 2-1 Expatriates lead. The next ball went right to the hands of the Sevens' Ghoul (well, counting the Quick Snap it did), and he got caged up nicely. A series of GFIs and a lucky blitz pushed the carrier out of the pocket, and in the ensuing scrum, Rocky Redglare got the ball and handed off to Catcher Lou Z. Anapurgis, who waltzed into the end zone. 3-1 Expatriates. In this drive, Blitzer Rush Moore got crowdpushed, but wasn't injured.

A riot ensued on the following kickoff, moving the turn marker back, so four turns remained in the half for the Expats, five for the Seven. This time, José Cañusi kicked an absolutely perfect ball, which bounced right into the far corner of the field. The Necromantics, knowing that their hope for overtime rode on the next play, burst a hole open and sent a few receivers downfield, using Zombies and a Werewolf to protect the ball-carrier, but the pass/handoff fell apart (funny enough, the poorly-engineered pass worked beautifully and the 8/9 handoff was a flub), and Lou Z. Anapurgis received a QP from lineman Ellis Island for the score. 4-1 Expatriates.

With 3 turns remaining, the Expats planted another deep kick, this one rolling right next to the endzone. The Seven smothered the ball, but couldn't pick it up, and a turn 8 chainpush put Lou Z. Anapurgis in easy reach of the score for a 5-1 lead at the end of the match. No, it wasn't an unbelievably competitive game to kick off the new league (4-TD differential, nobody got hurt, there was only one foul), but it looked very close in the first half and was more exciting than the scoreboard suggests.

For the Sevens, luck came in the form of the MVP, which went to the Ghoul who had racked up the completions (well, 2 comps in 4 attempts): he took Sure Hands, which makes sense to me, as the Wood Elves are next for them. The MVP on the Expats went to lineman Homer the Brave. Normally I don't try to score with Catchers, but in the first game it's a very good thing, as now both Lou Z. Anapurgis and Rocky Redglare have Dodge. Winnings were good all around: the Sevens are close to buying their second Ghoul, and the Expats picked up a new Catcher (including 20k in the bank).

So help me welcome the newest Expatriate, and help me pick his name.

Cal Forney-Driemann
or
Al Obama

Reason: ''
What is Nuffle's view? Through a window, two-by-three. He peers through snake eyes.
What is Nuffle's lawn? Inches, squares, and tackle zones: Reddened blades of grass.
What is Nuffle's tree? Risk its trunk, space the branches. Touchdowns are its fruit.
User avatar
mattgslater
King of Comedy
Posts: 7758
Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2005 5:18 pm
Location: Far to the west, across the great desert, in the fabled Land of Comedy

Post by mattgslater »

Settled on Cal Forney-Driemann. Manny Festestani will be Thrower #2, and Catcher #4 will be Al Obama. But first, I need my Apothecary. I'm looking for a better pun on the American healthcare system than Eachamps Oh. Daniel O'Covredge? Gotta do better.

Halfway into second game. Playing a challenge against a rookie Undead team. The Undead coach had been getting whopped all preseason, and when I saw I'd be giving up 120k handicap, I said "yeah, this guy needs a chainsaw." I think I've got his number, but I'm down to 10 guys and he's at full health, and he'll be receiving to start the half (vroom vroom). Score is 1-1, as my Thrower took an elf-roll on a GFI to get the ball in the first drive (taste of my own medicine; it scattered to the sideline), and the throw-in went his way. He's playing WAY better than the last time I played him: I think the games he's played have helped rid him of his bad habits.

Down two rookie linemen going into the second half (Don Serle-Light got ejected fouling the super-Ghoul, and Grant Stume is KO, and will be out at least the first drive), got 10 more players. I have 2 Blitzers (one has ST4), a Thrower, 3 Catchers (2 have Dodge), and 4 linos left (one has Kick, one has Side Step, one just got to 6 SPP this game and has yet to advance). 2 TRR. He's got 13 guys all told: 4 Zs, 2 Ss, 2 of each positional, and Hack. For skills he's got a ST6 Mummy with MultiBlock, a Ghoul with Block and Side Step (someone else developed, he inherited), and a Ghoul with Block, plus 3 TRRs. This should be fun. I'm going to show him an asymmetric front: Since I know he'll be loath to rush a score with Hack on the board, I'm considering skewing my line over to the right a bit (set them a space apart to force pushes to the outside from any multiblock attempts) with the SS'er on the nose. Then on the right side, leave only a token WZ presence to attempt to force him to go right, in the hopes that I can pin the ball down on the far side. If I'm letting him in, I can have a very well-covered midfield, effectively increasing the number of players I can protect.

Reason: ''
What is Nuffle's view? Through a window, two-by-three. He peers through snake eyes.
What is Nuffle's lawn? Inches, squares, and tackle zones: Reddened blades of grass.
What is Nuffle's tree? Risk its trunk, space the branches. Touchdowns are its fruit.
User avatar
mattgslater
King of Comedy
Posts: 7758
Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2005 5:18 pm
Location: Far to the west, across the great desert, in the fabled Land of Comedy

Post by mattgslater »

H. M. Odenhile? Pablo Coption?

Supposed to play 2nd half tonight. Only 10 men up against a chainsaw: I think I've figured out a plan to avoid any unnecessary sawing of my ST4 guy, and to encourage him to build a strong side so I can attack from the other direction. I just don't know if it'll work....

Got new name for Thrower #2: Mel Tinpot!

Reason: ''
What is Nuffle's view? Through a window, two-by-three. He peers through snake eyes.
What is Nuffle's lawn? Inches, squares, and tackle zones: Reddened blades of grass.
What is Nuffle's tree? Risk its trunk, space the branches. Touchdowns are its fruit.
User avatar
mattgslater
King of Comedy
Posts: 7758
Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2005 5:18 pm
Location: Far to the west, across the great desert, in the fabled Land of Comedy

Post by mattgslater »

Played the second half. I built my backfield strong on the right, so he could only break in on the left, and I spread my LOS out evenly with two squares in between to prevent multiple blocks. He didn't bite on the obvious weakside, and built a symmetrical O, with both Wights on the LOS and the ghouls deep to handle the ball. The kick went right to the sidelines! He knocked my guys down on the LOS, but didn't hurt them. He blitzed a guy but failed to make a hole, and his chainsaw ran up and stunned a guy, also covering a space to help him cage (I think his plan was to use Side Step... it didn't work, but as you'll see that was partly luck). He made a good backfield cage along the sideline with the ball, and got a Ghoul with the ball into the cage.

On my turn, Uncle Slam blitzed Hack Enslash, knocked him down in square, broke his armor, rolled a Cas, and then got a 68! Regeneration failed, and the ruined corpse of the former star corpse was carted away for good, sorta. Live by the saw.... I fronted up on his cage two-deep, man-marked his Wights, and screened off the LOS guys. I must have done a good job, as he started playing one-square from very deep in his backfield. A fairly dodgy blitz from Uncle Slam later, and the ball popped right into the hands of Rocky Redglare, who, still standing on my next turn (thank Nuffle), QP'ed to Rush Moore, who hauled it in for the TD.

Next drive, and Grant Stume still didn't recover from the KO bin. I set up the same defense, and this time, he built strong on the underdeveloped side. I kicked the other way, but the ball bounced very conveniently for him, and I ended up having to keep a front on his cage. I was having good luck with dodges, and his armor rolls weren't generally very good, so I fronted up on him all the way to turn 7, and his Block/SS Ghoul was still 10 squares away from the end zone (including a 4+/3+ dodge sequence, with no TRRs). He made the Dodges and the GFIs, and on my turn I set up to score off a recovery, put a Redglare on the Ghoul, crossed my fingers and blitzed with Lou Z. Anapurgis, getting an open pow! The ball scattered right back to Anapurgis, who got away from the Ghoul. He did his worst, but putting the Ghoul back on Anapurgis only got him BH'ed when Rocky Redglare knocked him off. After this, Anapurgis ran up a handoff to Rhett Wydenblut, and Wydenblut threw the winning Long Pass to Rush Moore, who ran in his second TD of the day. Final score: 3-1.

The MVP went to Ellis Island, and I couldn't agree more. He didn't accumulate a lot of stats, but his Side Step ensured that he was always in the right place to redirect action. Now he and Uncle Slam are both in easy range of another improvement. I got double twos on Homer the Brave, and a normal result on Rush Moore. I gave Moore Dodge, and Homer got Guard.

So now the Expats look like this.
New Albion Expatriates (2-0-0, TV 1.33M)
1 José Cañusí, Lineman (Kick, 6 SPP)
2 Don Serle-Light, Lineman
3 Grant Stume, Lineman
4 Ellis Island, Lineman (Side Step, 14 SPP)
5 Lando DeFreeh, Lineman
6 Homer the Brave, Lineman (Guard, 6 SPP)
9 Uncle Slam, Blitzer (ST4, 11 SPP)
10 Rush More, Blitzer (Dodge, 7 SPP)
11 Rocky Redglare, Catcher (Dodge, 9 SPP)
12 Rhett Wydenblut, Thrower (4 SPP)
13 Lou Z. Anapurgis, Catcher (Dodge, 9 SPP)
14 Cal Forney-Driemann, Catcher (3 SPP)
2 TRRs
Apothecary

Reason: ''
What is Nuffle's view? Through a window, two-by-three. He peers through snake eyes.
What is Nuffle's lawn? Inches, squares, and tackle zones: Reddened blades of grass.
What is Nuffle's tree? Risk its trunk, space the branches. Touchdowns are its fruit.
User avatar
mattgslater
King of Comedy
Posts: 7758
Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2005 5:18 pm
Location: Far to the west, across the great desert, in the fabled Land of Comedy

Post by mattgslater »

Next up: Orcs. I don't know much about this team, but he'll be built on 1.1M, and will play one or more games before he plays me (if he knows what's good for him). He has a Leader Thrower, and doesn't mind playing RR-light, so I should expect to see a Troll and probably either an Apoth, a bench or a full suite of positionals, probably with 2 TRRs. He'll probably have to pick through the Waiver Wire to round out his team, and will likely end up with a Frenzy Blitzer (who might have something else by then) and either a Block BOB or a Guard Troll (I'd take the BOB, but he's not me so I don't know). I don't expect to see any Tackle. I'll edit this post with a formation when it comes to me; I've got some variants on the "half-inverted" defense that I've been working out over the last two games to make use of a ST4 player and cope with particular challenges such as Frenzy and Chainsaws. Now I get to incorporate a Guard... heh heh heh.

Edit: Here's my first thought. I'm not in love with some of the concepts in context (he could get a crowd push off a Quick Snap and a Frenzy blitz, and he can get a guy to the sideline anyway, though it doesn't build him a pocket if he does), but I think this inverted line is really potent on the right-hand side, and the backfield will be hard to penetrate. I'm not sure if it's a better bargain to give up a 75% knockdown against a Lineman or a 31% (40% with 3d) knockdown against my Blodge Blitzer, but I do know that I want to put Lando DeFreeh someplace he can score from, as I want to keep developing my linemen and Lando did a great job last game. I also want to have scoring avenues for Uncle Slam, Cal Forney-Driemann and Ellis Island, as all three are close to improvement (Cal and Ellis would both go up with a TD). Ellis really needs either Block or Dodge to become a complete player: as-is, he's a pretty effective inside shunt on Turn 1, and sometimes even in going prone he can force the opponent to change plans or roll dice, but I'd feel much better about man-marking with him if he had some way to stay on his feet.

Code: Select all

-- -- -- --|-- -- 02 10 03 -- --|-- -- -- --
-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --
-- -- 05 --|-- 11 -- -- -- -- 06|-- -- 04 --
-- 09 -- --|01 -- -- -- -- 13 --|-- 14 -- --
What can I do better, particularly on the left side and the LOS? Should I leave my LOS bunched up in the middle, or should I do something else? Even with Blodge, is it tempting fate to put a 120k player on the nose? If so, how do I engineer some action with 02, 03 or 05?

This is stronger, maybe, but I don't like its SPP potential as much. I don't know how much that matters, given that I'm really looking to score off the right-hand wing, where #s 14 and 04 have 3 and 14 SPP, respectively.

Code: Select all

-- -- -- --|-- -- 05 03 02 -- --|-- -- -- --
-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --
-- -- 11 --|-- 10 -- -- -- -- 06|-- -- 04 --
-- 09 -- --|01 -- -- -- -- 13 --|-- 14 -- --

Reason: ''
What is Nuffle's view? Through a window, two-by-three. He peers through snake eyes.
What is Nuffle's lawn? Inches, squares, and tackle zones: Reddened blades of grass.
What is Nuffle's tree? Risk its trunk, space the branches. Touchdowns are its fruit.
User avatar
mattgslater
King of Comedy
Posts: 7758
Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2005 5:18 pm
Location: Far to the west, across the great desert, in the fabled Land of Comedy

Post by mattgslater »

Argh. The Orc coach got taken out of the rest of the month with a work trip, so we had to finesse the schedule a bit. Now my next opponent is the Pro Elves. They have a game against the Necromantics coming up, but they have a pretty good rookie team, with 3 Catchers (one has Leap and may have skilled again by then), a Thrower with +AG, two Blitzers, 5 linemen (one with an MVP), and 3 TRRs. I fully expect him to throttle the Necros, but I could be wrong. He might also want to play me first, as I remember him having a good experience with Moranion and he might try to repeat it against me (him: 1.1M, me: 1.33M) ... not that that's what I'd do or necessarily the way he'll think about it: he'll want to take me on after he's built some skills. He'll still probably have the inducement cash for an Apo or even a Wizard.

Instead of playing me, the Orcs played the Undead team I just beat, Beyond the Pale. Apparently it was a close 2-1 game (Beyond the Pale won), but the outcome wasn't at all close in the sense of who came out ahead. The Orcs suffered horrendous damage, and Beyond the Pale's second Mummy got a ST increase, so both Mummies are now ST6! He also got doubles on a Block Ghoul, and is trying to decide between Mighty Blow, Guard, and some kind of P skill. The Orc coach, getting no skills and with a very low TV, is considering rebuilding. It's only the first game, so it's not a huge issue. He's going to fall behind, though. I hope he likes inducements. He should play the Necros next. They're a good team to farm off of (except for the Werewolf part: Orcs don't like Claws). So far, both opponents to face my HEs have scored one or two Comps and one TD (haven't taken a Cas yet... only 2 games). One of them got an improvement. So those guys should play each other.

I'm regaling an old buddy with stories of this league, hoping to get him in. He'd instantly be the #2 guy in the league, given how new some of the other coaches are, but his skills are not dramatically above the Undead and Pro Elf coaches. Frankly, I'm kind of bummed how few people we have: the core coaches from the Empire league have all been lost to Cyanide, and my old league-mates are very emotionally invested in the old rules... it's very sad all 'round. I'm still optimistic that we will be able to build this to 8 coaches by February. We play some games in coffeehouses, and that seems to draw some interest; history says that it may or may not lead to new coaches.

So, Pro Elves are next. Beating them will be a matter of taking down key players and rushing the ball. I can put #6 on the line against them, though, and prevent them from getting any 2d blocks.

Reason: ''
What is Nuffle's view? Through a window, two-by-three. He peers through snake eyes.
What is Nuffle's lawn? Inches, squares, and tackle zones: Reddened blades of grass.
What is Nuffle's tree? Risk its trunk, space the branches. Touchdowns are its fruit.
User avatar
JaM
Legend
Legend
Posts: 2580
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2004 7:38 pm
Location: The Netherlands.

Post by JaM »

Matt, I will try that setup you posted, but somehow I always want everything to be in balance i.e. symetric.

And, I am reading your blog. Dont feel like you are talking to yourself in here :lol: . Someone is listening...

Reason: ''
Image
Mad Banker
Experienced
Experienced
Posts: 153
Joined: Sun Apr 04, 2004 2:47 pm
Location: Belgium

Post by Mad Banker »

JaM wrote:Matt, I will try that setup you posted, but somehow I always want everything to be in balance i.e. symetric.

And, I am reading your blog. Dont feel like you are talking to yourself in here :lol: . Someone is listening...
That makes the two of us so! :D

Reason: ''
Baduk
Veteran
Veteran
Posts: 214
Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2009 1:18 pm

Post by Baduk »

Lurker reporting in

Reason: ''
User avatar
mattgslater
King of Comedy
Posts: 7758
Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2005 5:18 pm
Location: Far to the west, across the great desert, in the fabled Land of Comedy

Post by mattgslater »

Well, I'm not responsible for 200 views, so I figured somebody else had to be reading it!

@JaM: I like symmetry too, but I don't have the personnel to do what I really want yet. The right wing of that setup, with #4 and 14, is keyed off of #4's Side Step skill (that's why I went SS first on him, rather than starting with Dodge or Block or something). Without it, he'll get crowd-pushed.

Reason: ''
What is Nuffle's view? Through a window, two-by-three. He peers through snake eyes.
What is Nuffle's lawn? Inches, squares, and tackle zones: Reddened blades of grass.
What is Nuffle's tree? Risk its trunk, space the branches. Touchdowns are its fruit.
User avatar
mattgslater
King of Comedy
Posts: 7758
Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2005 5:18 pm
Location: Far to the west, across the great desert, in the fabled Land of Comedy

Post by mattgslater »

If I want to play symmetrical, I can do this...

Code: Select all

-- -- -- --|-- -- 04 06 03 -- --|-- -- -- -- 
-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- 
-- -- 05 --|-- 11 -- -- -- 13 --|-- 12 -- -- 
-- 09 -- --|14 -- -- -- -- -- 01|-- -- 10--
Or this, so the Side Stepper falls the right way every time.

Code: Select all

-- -- -- --|-- -- 02 06 03 -- --|-- -- -- -- 
-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- 
-- -- 05 --|11 -- -- 04 -- -- 13|-- 14 -- -- 
-- 09 -- --|-- -- -- 01 -- -- --|-- -- 10--
Problem with that one is that it's a 2d blitz against a Dodge player to get in, which is 5/9. Back to drawing board, I guess.

Reason: ''
What is Nuffle's view? Through a window, two-by-three. He peers through snake eyes.
What is Nuffle's lawn? Inches, squares, and tackle zones: Reddened blades of grass.
What is Nuffle's tree? Risk its trunk, space the branches. Touchdowns are its fruit.
User avatar
mattgslater
King of Comedy
Posts: 7758
Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2005 5:18 pm
Location: Far to the west, across the great desert, in the fabled Land of Comedy

Post by mattgslater »

OK, my next opponent, the Pro Elf team, holds a 2-1 lead at halftime with his current opponent, the Necros.

Those Necros (the Unlucky Sevens, 0-2) have been a punching-bag early on (I warned him about advanced team races and rookie coaches...) but now they're starting to get good, with a full complement of positionals, 3 TRRs, and most of the skills you'd want on a Necro team (he's got one rookie Were, but the other one has Blodge already). What's more, the coach is developing solid risk-management skills: though he still misses a lot of opportunities, it's far better to do the fundamentals right than to make big plays (I'm talkin' to you, Norv Turner). He lacks a Kicker still, but this is such a speedy league that he's got other priorities. And everybody likes him, so he will get lots of games.

The other coach, the Pro Elves, is just the opposite. First, he's got a penchant for starting trouble, so he has a hard time getting games in. Second, he's a big gambler (which explains the Pro Elf thing). He's a solid coach for a newbie: his only real problems are a) he relies way too much on positionals, and b) he has only suffered one good flattening in six or seven games and he still thinks it's an outlier, so he doesn't play to avoid it. I guess those two issues are related, huh? He doesn't see the value in spreading the love, because he's never been head-slapped by the Hand of Nuffle.

So I anticipate that he'll have at least one more skill, and possibly two by the time he plays me. They're supposed to play the second half tomorrow: the Pro Elves are leading, but the Necros are receiving. There have been no injuries.

Reason: ''
What is Nuffle's view? Through a window, two-by-three. He peers through snake eyes.
What is Nuffle's lawn? Inches, squares, and tackle zones: Reddened blades of grass.
What is Nuffle's tree? Risk its trunk, space the branches. Touchdowns are its fruit.
User avatar
mattgslater
King of Comedy
Posts: 7758
Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2005 5:18 pm
Location: Far to the west, across the great desert, in the fabled Land of Comedy

Post by mattgslater »

Update: The Sevens fall to 0-3 with a 1-3 loss to EDIT the Mighty Smokers of Greenleaf. The Smokers get Dodge on their Leaping Catcher, but suffer -MA on another Catcher. There are no changes to the Unlucky Seven, but note that they have now allowed 11 TDs in 3 games. On the positive side, they have yet to be shut out, and they lead the league in Ints. I saw the third quarter: the elves were phenomenally lucky, continually attempting crazy-hard actions and rolling 5 or 6 almost on command, getting open pows on rookie 1d blocks against Ghouls (who takes 1d unskilled blocks against Dodge?). I don't know how Winnings came out, but there's an 8/9 that he has an Apothecary.

So I'm going to face the Smokers tomorrow morning (1800 GMT). Feel free to let me know which Inducements he should take and I'll pass your suggestions to him.

Opponent
Mighty Smokers of Greenleaf (1-0)
TV 1.09M or 1.14M, depending on whether he's got the Apoth.
Pro Elves
2x Blitzer
Catcher with Dodge, Leap
Catcher
Thrower with AG5
5x Lineman
Journeyman
Apothecary? (won, +1 FAME, should have one but I don't know)
FF1
3RR

Vs. me
New Albion Expatriates (2-0)
TV 1.33M
High Elves
Blitzer with ST4
Blitzer with Side Step (I want to show him how it's done, 'cause he doesn't get it yet).
2x Catcher with Dodge
Catcher
Thrower
Lineman with Guard
Lineman with Side Step
Lineman with Kick
3x Lineman
Apothecary
FF2
2x TRR

1.33-1.14 = 190k if he doesn't have his Apoth, or 240k if he does. He could also decline the Journeyman if he'd like and take Moranion, even with an Apothecary. What would you take? I'll be playing him a little over 16 hours from time of post.

Reason: ''
What is Nuffle's view? Through a window, two-by-three. He peers through snake eyes.
What is Nuffle's lawn? Inches, squares, and tackle zones: Reddened blades of grass.
What is Nuffle's tree? Risk its trunk, space the branches. Touchdowns are its fruit.
Post Reply