Dwarven offense help needed

[waaght]

Hey all, i'm pretty new to the dwarves and am trying to improve as much as I can.

This is the offense I run:


The theory is that my front line will smash the opposition, and then the cage I already have set up (to avoid the hassle of making a cage out of already marked players) can just grind down whatever side of the pitch is showing the least resistance and score on turn 8.

What usually happens is I don't have enough manpower up front to deal with the whole opposing team, and my front line is steamrollered. Then, my cage gets bogged down before I cross the midline, and I can't advance it without exposing my ball-carrier.

Do you have any advice on different set-ups/strategies to avoid this problem and run a successful dwarven offense?

Thanks,
-Waaght

[Smeborg]

Yes, I have a different strategy. The art, I think, is to commit just enough players to the LoS to get one good block on each of the 3 opposing players, plus a Blitz somewhere. If you do not knock opposing players over, you do not need to follow up (and often should not do so). In this way, you can create 2 lines of players between your opponent and the ball-carrier, without the need to cage on your turn 1. You can then cage well upfield on your turn 2.

Dwarfs are slow (only Halflings are slower!), and as a rule of thumb, a cage will only move 1 or 2 squares forward each turn, on average. So if you want to score reliably, moving the ball a goodly distance on your first and second turns is really important. A slow team also cannot afford to over-commit players to the LoS, otherwise the ball becomes vulnerable.

I would also spread the backfield players more, to create a net in case of a Blitz result on the kick-off table, and to assist the ball carrier with a screen rather than with a cage. You are thinking of the cage, which is good, but your thinking is a bit too far ahead of its formation (in time or turns).

Hope that helps.

[waaght]

Yeah, that makes sense. My only confusion is that if you spread out the dwarves in the backfield, they are so slow that they wouldn't be able to cluster up together later. Could you maybe upload a picture of your setup so I can see how spread out it should be?

[Smeborg]

Sorry, I don't do pictures. But as a general rule, the MA5 players are for the wings, so that the MA4 Longbeards do not get stranded. And, within reason, Dwarfs need to GFI more often than not.

[Tritex]

Yeah, that makes sense. My only confusion is that if you spread out the dwarves in the backfield, they are so slow that they wouldn't be able to cluster up together later. Could you maybe upload a picture of your setup so I can see how spread out it should be?

on thier first move they can form cage you just move them out so they are within the distance ti get back to form a cage but the way you are set up if the kick off goes against you and the worst thing s blitz happens an Elf or Skaven team would just run right by you and many other teams would bash through your front line and bog you down in your end which puts all the pressure on you.

Lastly it all depends on your oponents set up as to how aggressive your front line might be. Its not sensible to always set up aggressively the same way as if you do your opponent will expect it and set up accordingly expecting it.

[voyagers_uk]

tbh, and obviously I am going to have to guess... it would seem to me that you have had problems moving your cage or forming your cage which is why you have decided to form it further back to give you a chance.

as has been stated Dwarves need a stronger front to protect their backfield from opponents just opening a hole and ghosting past.

I would suggest you use the search function for some of Matt Slaters Assymetric set-ups and look at stacking the side you want to go, directing traffic as it were and use runners / blitzers with skills such as Kickoff return to get the ball into a safer midfield cloud rather than a hard X

the Dwarven tenacity and base skills can help you protect the backfield, but your cage will need to form nearer the LOS that it shows in your diagram.

[mattgslater]

Speak of the King of Comedy, and he shall appear.

Disclaimer: my mojo don't work with rookie Dwarfs. Once they've got a KOR Runner and a couple Guard blockers, and maybe a little Stand Firm, I get a lot better. Also, I'm a "defense first" coach. Still, I think I can help.

First, look at the Line of Scrimmage. Don't worry about pigeonholing your offensive line into one default formation, or if you do, just make it a wall of 6-7 players, leaving 4-5 guys for your backfield. You want assists on every block, you want to be able to push the D-line away from the ball (wherever it goes), and you want to chain your blocks together (especially as rookies) to maximize injury risk.

How they're used varies by the opposition and setup. If getting 2d blocks all across the line isn't a problem, you can turn pushes into extra blocks by pushing laterally. If it is, you need to get maximum mileage from Guard and maybe Dauntless. Against Orcs, you may find yourself throwing a lot of "square" blocks (from head-on, as opposed to an "edge" block on the diagonal), just so you don't find yourself blocking into ST4 without any net assists, but against elves, zombies, or human-types you can drive them all away from the ball and prepare to cage at the line.

I'm not huge on tight backfield caging. I understand the need, but getting bogged down in your own backfield is how you lose blowouts, and the more emphasis you put upfield, the more likely you are to get bogged down upfield. So you have to get both the ball and your men downfield. That means committing only one Runner to deep pickups. You're better off holding the line, preventing the opponent from breaking in at midfield or on the sideline the ball is on, marking the ball with a guy, and then forming a more traditional "X" cage on your next turn. You can't really use space to protect the ball, like Humans (or even Orcs) can, but you can use big, sweeping formations. Do you play Go? That's the same basic idea: build two different checkpoints and you've got it made.

Kickoff Return is the most critical skill on the team. Runner #1, roll #1. The other guy should go Block-Leader. After that, it's all about getting Guard on Blockers and Stand Firm on Blitzers and Slayers, and on Blockers 5 and 6. A few good drives and a few lucky MVPs, and you'll have a solid team. You can start with everything you ultimately need, save a Blocker and an Apothecary. Keeping a really low TV in league formats is a great way to avoid death by Wizard. So is mobbing up on Stand Firm.

[voyagers_uk]

Thanks Matt... have you considered doing an appendix to the various playbooks on plasmoids site just to get the basic information in there...

[TheDoc]

Thanks Matt... have you considered doing an appendix to the various playbooks on plasmoids site just to get the basic information in there...

I'd 2nd that Matt. Another playbook on Plasmoids site would be great for the dwarves. You seem to have some good ideas and I'd be interested in reading them.

[the.tok]

Kickoff Return is the most critical skill on the team. Runner #1, roll #1. The other guy should go Block-Leader. After that, it's all about getting Guard on Blockers and Stand Firm on Blitzers and Slayers, and on Blockers 5 and 6. .

+1

KOR will help you a lot more than you think

And as other have said, don't cage too far away from the LOS, or you'll never make it to the end zone in time. You will find yourself quite far on turn 6, and will have to play risky to advance faster. That's exactly what your opponent hopes.

Spread your runners and blitzers in the backfield. The exact position depends on if you have KOR, and if your opponent has kick, but try to calculate it so anywhere the ball lands, you can get it close to the LOS. Your other players should not be far from there anyway, so you'll be able to cage usually

[sunnyside]

From the other side of the table if my Norse are going to have a hard time with dwarves it's because I lose a guy or two on the field, and then they can advance.

One particular thing I notice about your defensive lineup is how spread out it is. Since dwarves have guard as opposed to raw strength, and aren't dodgy, they sort of need to stand together or fall seperately. Especially if your opponent is picking the match ups with their higher movement (I.e. s3 sidestepping blodgers on the slayers without tackle, high strength players soloing guard dwarves, Yhette chilling in a corner with a couple blockers).

When dwarves get into situations with a lot of isolated one on one matchups of my choosing, they're in trouble.

And are almost always in trouble if they get caught near their endzone with the ball.