Where to go with TR 169 Dark Elves

ryani · Post by **ryani** » Wed Jun 25, 2003 1:25 am

I'm playing in a local league and my Dark Elves have been doing quite well (7-4 over two seasons)

Here's my roster:
Witch Elf: 6SPP 7347 Dodge, Frenzy, JU, Block
Thrower: 12SPP 6348 Pass, Sure Hands
Linemen (6348 unless noted):
11SPP / 6448 ST+
34SPP / Block, Dodge, Sidestep
25SPP / Guard, Block
8SPP / Dodge
21SPP / Block, Dodge
16SPP / Block, Guard
16SPP / Dodge, Guard
21SPP / Guard, Dauntless
12SPP / 6358 AG+

4RR 11FF 1 assistant coach 1 apoth $80k treasury
Promoter coach (gives +1 to cash rolls OR FanFactor roll at the end of the match).

Our league uses LRB plus a couple of house rules:
- Piling on before the die roll
- SPP for fouling and crowd casualties
- Stiff Arm (Agility skill): -1 ST to a blitzing defender, applied before horns and dauntless
- Perfect Spiral (Passing skill): Accurate passes by this thrower give a +1 to the catch roll.
- Special head coaches ($50k) and stadiums ($100k)

The positions in my roster are a little weird, I know--it's been the result of bad luck on cash rolls and injuries. (4+ on cash roll: 2/11. 4+ on casualty rolls against me: 10/12) We started with a long-term development plan with 3RR, 8FF, 11 linemen. I bought the thrower when I wanted a blitzer but was desperate for another player and $10k short, and when we finally could afford a blitzer and later a witch elf, the blitzer died and myapoth fizzled.

I'm looking for general direction on where to take them. My purchasing goals currently are Blitzer, Blitzer, Reroll, Blitzer, Witch Elf, and I think that's pretty solid. But I'm not sure where to take them skills-wise.

- Who should I concentrate on developing?
- With 4 Guard players, do I have enough clout to defend without a turnover specialist for a little while? I'd like to build up three Blodge/Sidestep line-elves for my LoS and build a blitzer or two towards the turnover-specialist route.
- What skills should I give to my players with stat mods?

Thanks for any thoughts!

-- ryan

wesleytj · Post by **wesleytj** » Wed Jun 25, 2003 1:36 am

having 4 guard line elves on a team that young has to be awesome. the main thing i notice that's missing is kick and dirty player. kick is really nice for slowing down opponent's cage formation, and hence makes defense a lot easier. dirty player, well, everybody knows what that's for.

other than that, looks real good...just keep buying blitzers and witches and building them up!

re: your house rules, stiff arm might be a good skill for a primary ballcarrier if one seems to develop, but i'd stay away from perfect spiral: great skill for an orc thrower, but your guys should mostly be catching on 2s anyway.

Skummy · Post by **Skummy** » Wed Jun 25, 2003 2:07 am

I'd get block for the 4 strength lineman, followed by tackle.

The 5 AG lineman needs block and leap, in whichever order you feel more comfortable with. He's a cage breaker.

Gorbad · Post by **Gorbad** » Wed Jun 25, 2003 7:05 am

- SPP for fouling and crowd casualties

Well... in that case some Dirty Player is in order. I don't like this particular house rule, but with SPP for fouling, your DP('s) will be the top Star(s) in your team in no time...

noodle · Post by **noodle** » Wed Jun 25, 2003 9:59 am

Your team is horrendously good "value for money" - it looks like a 200 rated team with no fat

I would consider leap stripball for the AG 5, and get leap on a guard player - nice cagebreaking....

You have a ST 4 elf - well done! He needs block, then maybe tackle - a catcher killer....

I agree with your purchases too.... You need more players - say 2 blitzers...

Hmm - just noticed I agree with Skummy

ryani · Post by **ryani** » Wed Jun 25, 2003 3:03 pm

wesleytj wrote:having 4 guard line elves on a team that young has to be awesome. the main thing i notice that's missing is kick and dirty player. kick is really nice for slowing down opponent's cage formation, and hence makes defense a lot easier. dirty player, well, everybody knows what that's for.

The two 16SPP line-elves both rolled a double 4 for their skill at the end of the same game, so I haven't had a chance to try them out with 4 guys with Guard. That's the main reason I made this post--I was planning on getting two more blodgers, or maybe a blodger and a DP--and suddenly I had four guys with Guard and I wasn't sure what to do next. My bad luck on cash and injuries at least has had an upside with good luck on skill rolls :)

I like the Kick skill--I can see that it's really powerful. But I don't seem to be able to use it very well. Should I set up differently on defense with it? Where should I kick the ball -- the close corner or the far corner or somewhere else?

So, to summarize:
- Give priority for TD's to my stat+ guys. My witch elf will pick up a couple TD's just from being a fast blodger, so she doesn't need me to TRY to give her TD's.
- AG5 guy gets leap/stripball (then dodge, then block? seems the best plan to maximize use of AG+)
- ST4 guy gets block/tackle
- 8SPP line-elf gets Dirty Player, Kick, then Block (if he lives to 51SPP)
- Buy more blitzers as soon as I can afford them.

What skills should I give to the witch elf? Sidestep, obviously, with the SPPs for crowd casualties, but what next?

Thanks :)

Gorbad · Post by **Gorbad** » Wed Jun 25, 2003 3:26 pm

I'm gonna go for the boring nonhelpful answer on Kick: It all depends

I'ts mainly useful because _you_ can control the pace and location (to a point) of the drive. We'll take your Dark Elves for example: You don't have the AV to get into a massive rumble in the middle with orcs or dwarves or the like, so against those teams you probably want to kick deep, send a few blodgers downfield to stand between the thrower and the line/receivers. Now your opponent has to pull off some nasty rolls to get the ball past you, as he can't defend that deep, and he will probably have to use his blitz against your deep players. When playing a zippy team however, you could consider kicking short, and generally make a mess of it all. Pray for a few tacklezones on the ball immediately, or atleast be in range of the ballcarrier from the get go. Mosty likely your opponent will have to pass backwards to protect it, meaning it won't be as easy to pass/handoff it forward again. (He'll have atleast a +1 on the pass, if you put your guys in the proper spots).

Now for slower teams kicking is a different story, kick short to force a LoS fight etc, kick long if there's only 3 turns left, etc. Heck.. with all that guard it might even be different for you. Just look at your opponents roster, see what his weakness is compared to your team, and make sure he will need to make more rolls to overcome that. You win games by scoring on your kick-off drives, and Kick helps to put you in the favourable position.

Oh and do remember: you get to choose to use Kick or not _after_ you see the scatter roll....

wesleytj · Post by **wesleytj** » Wed Jun 25, 2003 4:24 pm

for the witch elf you'd want sidestep as you mentioned. for the next skill i suggest tackle. gives you more control on those frenzy hits. Pro is also nice for that, for when you're out of rerolls for that turn.

another to consider is leap, depends on how much you trust leap on AG4, and how you use the witches exactly. you'd know how much you'd use that better than I would, but it is something to think about.

on doubles you'd want dauntless. if you're fortunate enough to ever get doubles on her again, you'll want mighty blow.

I agree with what was said previously about kick, so i'll leave it at that.

Odium Khan · Post by **Odium Khan** » Thu Jun 26, 2003 5:18 pm

I'd go for all four blitzers as soon as possible. And blodge/sidestep on the lineelves is the DE coach's wet dream. However, don't underestimate the power of dirty play!

Asperon Thorn · Post by **Asperon Thorn** » Thu Jun 26, 2003 5:22 pm

Odium Khan wrote:I'd go for all four blitzers as soon as possible. And blodge/sidestep on the lineelves is the DE coach's wet dream. However, don't underestimate the power of dirty play!

Actually those 4 linelves with Guard are more of the DE Coach's wet dream. Once those guys get Blodge. . . . . .

Asperon Thorn

Skummy · Post by **Skummy** » Thu Jun 26, 2003 7:57 pm

I thought a DE's wet dream involved a goblin, 3 feet of razor wire and a very pointy stick?

wesleytj · Post by **wesleytj** » Thu Jun 26, 2003 11:16 pm

you left off the drugged up / unconscious witch elf

ryani · Post by **ryani** » Thu Jul 17, 2003 8:27 pm

Had my next game against a wood elf team. Guard was amazing--I usually didn't field the guard/dauntless guy though, since they had no treeman. His offense never failed, but I was taking guys off the pitch like crazy. I had the game in the bag but didn't feel like it would be fun to stall, so I scored, failed to stop him again--even though I forced him to make a 4+ pass, and he rolled a blitz on my last drive and managed to score again. No big deal though, I'll take a 3-4 loss.

I gained skill for my passer and my two stat+ guys. The ST+ guy got a double 5 and I'm leaning towards making him another Guard, even though it puts me even further back on the "get Block, stupid!" trend. He aged, though, and got a niggle.

So, here's my current roster:
Witch Elf 7347 Blodge Frenzy JU
Thrower 6348 Pass, Sure Hands, skill
Blitzer 7348 Block

Linemen:
1) Blodge Sidestep
2) Blodge
3) Dodge
4) AG+ Leap

5) ST+ Guard
6) Block Guard
7) Block Guard
8) Dodge Guard
9) Dauntless Guard

For my thrower, I'm having trouble deciding between Block, Accurate, and Safe Throw. Suggestions?

Post by **DoubleSkulls** » Thu Jul 17, 2003 9:27 pm

Accurate - its the best skill to give you more of a passing game.

Asperon Thorn · Post by **Asperon Thorn** » Thu Jul 17, 2003 9:34 pm

ianwilliams wrote:Accurate - its the best skill to give you more of a passing game.

I have nothing further to add to that, other than I agree.

Asperon Thorn

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Where to go with TR 169 Dark Elves

Where to go with TR 169 Dark Elves

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