Orc Thrower turns Star

[klauser]

Gnarak, the Thrower on my favorite Orc team (MM league) reached level 6 and I'm stumped with the multitude of great skill options. Right now he has:
6 4 3 8 (Sure Hands, Pass), Block, Dodge

Possible skills for him are:
- KOR (my preferred choice)
- Kick (he also plays on defense)
- Fend
- Tackle (though I will have Tackle on all 4 Blitzers)
- Accurate
- Leader (though I'm happy with 3 RR)

Gnarak always runs the ball on offense and I only ever pass in desperate situations. On defense, he hangs back as a safety, ready to scoop up a spilled ball.

Here is the rest of the team (intended next skill in brackets):

BL - Guard, MB, Tackle, Stand Firm (Frenzy)
BL - Guard, MB, Tackle, +MV (Stand Firm)
BL - Guard, MB, Tackle, +AG (Stand Firm)
BL - MB, PO (Tackle)

BO - Block, Guard (Stand Firm)
BO - Block, Guard (Stand Firm)
BO - Block, Guard (Stand Firm)
BO - Block, +ST (Guard)

Troll - Block (Guard)
Lino - Wrestle
Lino - rookie

3 RR
Apo
TV: ~1950

Not sure about who should get Frenzy. Maybe Frenzy on one or two of the Black Orcs?

Btw the team's current record is 23-4-3, with all three losses coming against Killer Chaos or Killer Nurgle.

[Hitonagashi]

Kick or Tackle for me.

Even if he does get caught in the backfield, he's st 4 blodge! He won't exactly go down from a lone elf rush. You can just hold a couple of blitzers back, and with a guard either side of him, dare them to try that -2d on a long kick.

While your blitzers have tackle, he's your defensive sweeper! Won't get a huge amount of use out of it, but when he does, it's probably vital.

Kick is really nice though, as it means your opponents have to be careful when positioning on defense, and quick TD's are that much harder.

I'm surprised you lost to killer chaos with that orc team. They are usually very light on guard, and their beastmen vulnerable to blitzing. Nice team and record though!

[mattgslater]

Fend.

Vs Claw teams, it's all in the wrist. If the 1d blocks are pow'ing and Claw is working, you can't win. If Guard is working, and your opponent can't get you on the ground, you can't lose.

[neverworking]

The key here to me is that its a mm environment. I am not normally a fan of taking leader over other skill choices, but since you indicate its a matchmaking league I would consider it and cutting a RR, saving you 40k in team value (and on average 2 less opponent skills). MM pairs players based on TV so being efficient can often trump being purely better. For similar reasons I would dismiss tackle as each new tackler is providing diminishing returns, and your problem teams are clearly teams that don't ordinarily have access to dodge. I'd consider why you lose to those teams in mm and go accordingly: if he is getting hit too much than fend, if he is getting caught too far back when he picks up the ball, then KOR, if he is getting forced to throw, then accurate etc.

To me, for this team in this environment I'd go Leader or Fend.

Additionally based on what you've said I'd probably think you have enough tackle (plus the wrestler) to handle your typical situation already. You could probably open up your choices on blitzer number 4 to going straight to frenzy, or some other skill you feel you want or need.

[the.tok]

Fend

very useful for a ballcarrier
it will really matter when someone blitzes you inside your cage