What is the secret being constantly succesful in tournaments

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Re: What is the secret being constantly succesful in tournam

Post by besters »

Arioso wrote: So maybe playing a lot of different coaches could be a good advice.

I don't think there is any maybe about it. Playing lots of games with many different people is one of the better (the best?) ways to improve.

Some of the things you are asking are very hard to think through and put into writing.

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Re: What is the secret being constantly succesful in tournam

Post by Smeborg »

"Will to win" is important in any tourney of this kind. You have to have the mentality that you will do the best to win each game, regardless of any reverses that happen at the table.

Planning to succeed helps too. I am amazed how often coaches (because they are not winning the drive) forget to put a receiver in scoring position, when doing so would make all the difference (should their fortune change on the following turn). If you don't plan to score, then of course you won't!

Hope that helps.

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Re: What is the secret being constantly succesful in tournam

Post by celticgriffon »

txapo wrote:never play with ogres. That's the secret! :smoking:
Eeek.. exactly. I always thought I was a decent BB coach but after my first 8 games with Ogres and a 1-2-5 record so far it is a tough, tough grind.

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Re: What is the secret being constantly succesful in tournam

Post by Vigfus »

Arioso wrote:After re - reading the thread with its numerous hidden tipps i stumbled upon some points i'd really like to dig in further again
There are also some who use tactical patterns to attack. They know what works, and work that way
Anybody likes to share some of these Patterns? I Know there is the obvious Lizardman-Side Step Skink Sideline Cage or that WD 2-Turn-TD, but i am interested in more of these plays. Do you really go into a match and think: "hey i got pro elf playing against undead, its best to put the blitzer on that part of the field and one of the catchers there?". If so, then should ppl should have some "data" that they may be willing to share which works better than other things? Do you setup all the same on a kick-off depending on opponent? For example when playing khemri do you setup the tomb guardians on LoS against elves? against Chaos? Patterns like this i was initially looking for (or maybe experiences)
A possible pattern I use when I play with dwarves is what I call The Hook. Basicly I set up my line and grind forward, more towards one sideline. I keep attention to keep at least one blitzer near the other end of the line (where it's weaker defended). I will use that blitzer to hook around the defensive line with one or two players in support.

I find that doing so requires the opponent to react and commit less players to the side I'm attacking on, and it generally leads to either one of two things: 1. I can force the issue with the blitzer has wrapped around or 2. the dwarf numbers on one side begin to tell so much that I am able to punch a hole in their line to have my ball carrier run through and score. In addition it allows the dwarfs to shorten the line and you get sort of like a hammer and anvil type of game.

In essence the pattern focuses on creating a situation where your team will play to it's strength's: For the dwarfs it's grinding through the opponent as you'll have a numbers advantage on one side of the pitch.

You can use this with most slower hitting teams, but I find it is really good with dwarfs, as your line has the stamina to hold and force the line forward. The above tactic is also the reason I don't like to get guard on my dwarf blitzers, because they can only use their guard in the thick of the fight and doing so just kills the described pattern.

There's other patterns, for example the setup skaven and Elves generally use where they defend with the aim to turn loose the ball, pass and handoff and score in a turn.
As that in general is nothing new, i am really interested if players do these things the same in all their matches (probably not). I.e. do you dodge away from a ST4 Opponent with AG3 and no Reroll if it doesnt matter to positioning? What if it fails, RR it? Is it more important to let the opponent do the block first and not risk the dodge (and hope for a turnover or a push?)
As you noted, a lot of this comes with practice, but I think you're focusing on the wrong details. I find one of the key aspects of the game really is the timing when you do certain things. Before you attack you generally defend, just in case something goes wrong. Once that is set up, I don't see no harm in trying to dodge away unless I want that high strength player pinned for whatever reason.

Lately I'm really enjoying playing vampires and one of the last tournaments it drove my opponents nuts that I dodged with thralls into tackle zones, and actually made it. My defense had been set up and my attack had succeeded in recuperating the ball. I had two thralls which I didn't want to move before because I didn't want to turn over. But when they were available I used them to further strengthen my position. If it would fail, worst would be to loose a thrall and I was still in a pretty good position. In fact I wasn't even planning on rerolling a failed dodge because there was no harm in failing.

Because of similar plays opponents have called my gameplay sambaplay, because they count statistics, but at that stage (when I had defense and had stolen the ball) there was nothing left to loose so why not take the risk, as the advantage far outweighed the potential harm. Besides the risk is much smaller than what the calcubowlers were counting on as the decision to adopt my offensive plan really was taken when there was only one or two dice rolls that needed to be made.

This is very similar to what Joe was referring to when he talked about calculated risks further above.

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Re: What is the secret being constantly succesful in tournam

Post by juck101 »

pipey wrote: That and putting all the basics together well - position, risk management, clock management.

Stepping up and down the risk-reward ladder is also key, just as Joemanji says.
Interesting. I think I very rarely step up or down gears. Im more prone to knowing the likely outcome of a drive and when things change I will change gear. Maybe I should give this a bit of a go to improve my game. I think its because I'm a control player and only shift up gears rather than down (I tend to play ag exclusively which might be a surprise for my mentality)

I certainly know against the best players that most games you wont get many mistakes, so even the slightest opportunity I would go for. I think a semi final I once played I had an opportunity which was a trap and I still had a go. I was baited for the ball and surfed on t2, but I typically would take that chance every day.

Edit - just to add, great post!

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Re: What is the secret being constantly succesful in tournam

Post by celticgriffon »

A few things which may also help you in a tournament (based on my one tournament experience with BB and many tournaments with MTG):

1. Get plenty of sleep the week before the event. You would be surprised how much you miss when you feel tired.

2. Eat or snack healthy food during the event. Have lots of water handy to keep you hydrated.

3. Visualize yourself getting TD's and playing well/smart.

4. Know your team. Have a clear roster and know the models inside out and backwards. This will give you more time to focus on the opponents figures/team. Think about the function each figure plays in your game plan. Make sure you keep a safety as often as possible and also someone who can get a TD if your opponent messes up.

Cheers,
Michael

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Re: What is the secret being constantly succesful in tournam

Post by Mike_Rushby »

Step 1) Listen to Joemanji and Pipey (if you're just starting reading this thread go back through and look at their responses).

In my (largely uninformed) opinion knowing when to change gears is the critical thing. People always talk about low risk moves first. Well, if the game is even or dominant fine - but if I'm behind in a tournament and picking the ball up / passing etc without skills is the difference between having a shot at tying up the game or losing then I'll happily not do anything with ANY risk in order to guarantee that I've got a re-roll where I need it to make a difference. What do you do if you've wasted your re-roll on preventing a turnover on a GFI to get containment in case you fail what you're trying to do? It doesn't matter whether you lose by a little or a lot in a tournament, so you might as well take your chances.

Also remember that Nuffle always wins so try hard to be a good sport about whatever happens. :D

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Re: What is the secret being constantly succesful in tournam

Post by SinisterDexter »

Play against the kind of people you are talking about. As you said before, you learn more from seeing it unfold, and you learn even more if you're observing the kind of player you want to become. I am not in that category (yet?) but I have learned heaps from playing and observing excellent coaches.

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