Norse: Ulfwerener as a Ball-Hunter?

[pauli42]

Thank you sunny!

But would you rather pick tackle or guard or something else?

* Ball Hunter Ulf1: Wrestle, Break Tacke, Tackle + [Dodge]
* Ball Hunter Ulf2: Wrestle, Break Tacke, Guard + [Dodge]

[sunnyside]

Thank you sunny!

But would you rather pick tackle or guard or something else?

* Ball Hunter Ulf1: Wrestle, Break Tacke, Tackle + [Dodge]
* Ball Hunter Ulf2: Wrestle, Break Tacke, Guard + [Dodge]

Well, you're talking about the third or fourth skill here, and that's going to depend on a lot of things.

If you're playing a few cyanide games every day, than it sounds like the optimum choice is to fire the bum. +Str or GTFO.

If you're playing a more typical game or two a week than we're talking about the third or fourth skill on an AG2 player that lacks block to say nothing of mighty blow or PO, who only has AV8, and spends their time getting totally surounded by opposing players before really annoying the other coach.

You can probalby wait to cross that bridge when you get closer to it.

It will also depend on how you've done rolling and developing the rest of your team and what the metagame you're in is like.

On that note, while it puts a higher demand on your risk management and rerolls, I've had a great experience with one team where I gave Ulfs break tackle first. This allows them to stay mobile on the field and thus I can get them the ball more often for TDs (a risky thing at AG2 but skilled ulfs can really pay off). It's also set up a few crowd pushes, prevented those annoying situations where an ulf gets wrapped up by some annoying cheap lineman, and allowed for immediate threats of cage punching early in the league when the other team may not yet have dodge or block on their ball carrier and the cage corners don't have guard.

Again, you don't have to actually do it, there is great benifit from making your opponent not want to stall, go near the sideline, or even consider sideline half cages. Or if they use their only guard player as a cage corner.

[nick_nameless]

If I were building 2 I would go:

1 Wrestle, Tackle, Strip Ball, Juggernaught - Best at getting the ball loose
1 Wrestle, Break Tackle, Tackle, Stand Firm - Best at marking the ball carrier when getting the ball loose is a tough task and you have time

[sunnyside]

1 Wrestle, Tackle, Strip Ball, Juggernaught - Best at getting the ball loose

That requires a clean shot on the ball carrier. Granted often a drive will grind down and somebody gets to take a shot, but it's hard to select who that is going to be so precisely, and it's pretty easy to mark any single given player, and without break tackle or anything it'll be hard to get the Ulf loose.

You could use him deep as a safety to get a ballcarrier that's making a desperate scramble, but I find the Ulfs are usually needed in the thick of things in order to create a situation where the ballcarrier needs to scramble in the first place.

[nick_nameless]

That requires a clean shot on the ball carrier. Granted often a drive will grind down and somebody gets to take a shot, but it's hard to select who that is going to be so precisely, and it's pretty easy to mark any single given player, and without break tackle or anything it'll be hard to get the Ulf loose.

It does require a clean shot, but IMO having 2 Break Tackle guys is a little bit of a waste. THere's more than one way to skin a cat. The break tackle route allows you to dodge into a cage, but dodging into 3 tackle zones using S4 is still a risky proposition, even if you get the dodge skill. If you have to dodge to get into the BC's tackle zone it's going to be a 3+ dodge at best and probably most commonly a 4+ dodge.

I would not throw too many eggs in that basket. I'd build it for sure, but I'd also want a ball sacker that works a little better with the 'can-opener' method, as in the rest of the team slowly pries open the can and then the Ulf knocks the ball loose at the right time. Neither Ulf is operating in a vacuum.

You can only blitz with one of them, so if they are both marked then the choice becomes a little easier. And you still have a Yeti and 2 Blitzers to bring to bear if you need another option. Frankly, if the other team wants to man up on my entire Norse team to save their BC from a blitz, then most of the time I am going to be happy with that opportunity.

[sunnyside]

, but IMO having 2 Break Tackle guys is a little bit of a waste.

Having two go that way right a way is. I think if you're looking at a longer list of skills it should show up on both. Having a mobile guard player is terribly useful for example.

as in the rest of the team slowly pries open the can and then the Ulf knocks the ball loose at the right time.

Well yes, more or less that's how it goes most of the time. You put pressure on, and at some point either you get in a spot where you get to take a shot, or their ball carrier is scrambling with little support and hoping that they can hang on to the ball after which they'll try and go for it into the endzone.

But I find Ulfs are need to pry open that can. The team is starved for strength positions, AV, and strength. They are too precious to use as a safety. Zerkers can fill the role well, I suppose runners could as well with diving tackle and being hard to block off a runner.

Heck, you could take tackle and strip ball on a lineman if you wanted to.


Break tackle and wrestle provide an all around useful player, that also happens to be great and dodging out of TZs and picking off a scrambing ball carrier or punching a cage.

[Hitonagashi]

If I were building 2 I would go:

1 Wrestle, Tackle, Strip Ball, Juggernaught - Best at getting the ball loose
1 Wrestle, Break Tackle, Tackle, Stand Firm - Best at marking the ball carrier when getting the ball loose is a tough task and you have time

Why juggernaut? You already pry it loose on wrestle.

[nick_nameless]

If I were building 2 I would go:

1 Wrestle, Tackle, Strip Ball, Juggernaught - Best at getting the ball loose
1 Wrestle, Break Tackle, Tackle, Stand Firm - Best at marking the ball carrier when getting the ball loose is a tough task and you have time

Why juggernaut? You already pry it loose on wrestle.

Why lay a 180k piece down in a crowd if you don't have to? Wrestle lets you beat the sure hands guy, Juggs wins on a both down result if the opponent does not have it.

[Der_Doodle]

Why lay a 180k piece down in a crowd if you don't have to? Wrestle lets you beat the sure hands guy, Juggs wins on a both down result if the opponent does not have it.

Even if the opponent has Wrestle he cant use it against a Blitzing Player with Juggernaut

[nick_nameless]

True enough, although not my main concern when I am ball-hunting.

[the.tok]

I feel like strip ball+frenzy is kind of a waste.

Both trigger on a push, so they fail together too.. and many ball carriers have surehands anyway by the time you get wrestle + tackle + break tackle...

[Smurf]

I would go:

Tackle, Strip Ball, Juggernaught, break tackle, Stand firm on the pair of them and be done.

Having 2 means there's less place to hide and the opponent has to get rid of them both instead of 1.