Talk Fantasy Football

In a related thread ( http://www.talkbloodbowl.com/phpBB2/vie ... sc&start=0 ), I complain loudly about the lack of terminology for Blood Bowl, and propose some terms. However that turns out, clarity of game reports may benefit dramatically from a set of terms for offensive and defensive formations. Since offense keys off of defense, it seems natural to me that we start with defense.

This is the basic version of the most frequently used defense around here. My proposal in the above thread was to call this the "Ziggurat" after its appearance, and refer to the line formation as "101" because the Ends are one square off the middle and the Nose is on the zero-ground. But there are lots of ways to do a defense, no? Let's name some others.

Dibs on the Slater Elf Defense, or the Inverted Ziggurat, which only works if the Corners have Side Step and the line has a number of positioning skills, but lets four players be protected. And the (Half-Zig? Zig-Zag?) for bash teams with a single side stepper on one corner and one Stand Firm End.
I see this defense a lot, and I use it with some success against teams that don't handle the ball well. EDIT: Thechosengobbo suggests the name "Arrowhead" for this defense. What about unusual characteristics? Here are some proposals. An "offset line" is one that isn't centered on 0, a "stacked line" has more than three players. An "asymmetric defense" is asymmetric in any way. A Deep Safety is more than two squares behind the Midfielders, and a deep defense is where no more than five defenders are within 3 squares of the LOS. What's a defense that leaves one WZ open? What about a defense where the Midfielders and Flankers are one square back instead of two?

Thought I'd do these as a tester for setup graphics.

The 101 Ziggurat


Inverted Ziggurat


Half Zig


Unknown Defence

Except the 101 Zig (which is the Half Zig with the corners back an extra square) you're bang on.

Just copied the "Code" layouts on the 1st post!?

Bugger!!

Just realised I copied the wrong image link...I'll edit it!

I just wanted to chime in and say there are some interesting defense setups here. I'll have to try them in a game or two.

Another one I've seen, a variant on the Ziggurat for ST3 teams with Guard to use against bash (give Guard to the "safeties" cheated up to protect the midfielders from a blitz). Good on Humans or Dwarfs, who can't really protect the LOS from a bash line, but who can get S skills to play inside.
A variant that elf teams sometimes use against ST3.
I guess these would both be called 3-6-2 alignments in American football. The way I see it, neither setup has any true safeties, the top one has four flankers (the two "outside midfielders" are flankers in practice, but it's sort of a Rorschach thing), the while second has a pair of centerfielders (a lot clearer, as all four interior defenders must be ready to take the blitz, making them all midfielders).

My local league colloquially calls your last 'unknown' set up for elf teams 'the arrowhead' whenever I use it. That name do anything for you?

Awesome! Edited in.

Pug. Concerning the Double Banana (love the name BTW) you missed a little on the 3D. Suicidal as it might be I position my flankers one square from the sidelines. The point of this setup is to paint the pitch with TZs making it harder for fast agility teams (that lack frenzy) to rush up for the 2 turn hand off-pass TD. Works well against the infamous Slann Two Turner too.

Love the 3D BTW. Keep it up! (is it sketch-up you're using?)

And also, all of the above can be placed with the three LOS-players with spaces in between.
instead of
So maybe we need a name for those often used LOS placements?

Ikterus wrote:And also, all of the above can be placed with the three LOS-players with spaces in between.

Code: Select all

- x - x - x -

instead of

Code: Select all

- - x x x - -

So maybe we need a name for those often used LOS placements?

"Linefodder" and "spaced linefodder"

I use the Ziggurat all the time. First saw Lucifer use it some years ago.

Great name for it though, gloriously whacky!

It does resemble a Ziggurat (stepped pyramid).

Ikterus wrote:

Code: Select all

Deep ?
- - - -|- - x x x - -|- - - -
- - - -|- - - - - - -|- - - -
- - x -|- x - - - x -|- x - -
- - - -|- - - - - - -|- - - -
- - - -|- - x - x - -|- - - -
- x - -|- - - - - - -|- - x -

The spider?

The Volcano?