Knights of the Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune (Brets)

[Smeborg]

Another (specialised) development idea is early Frenzy on a Knight. I wonder if that has been tried. A tournament possibility, too.

[plasmoid]

I like the Space limiting skill choices you suggest, because they synergize well with eachother, and with the best first pick for the positionals..
The blitzers get a big boost from Dodge, and Sidestep synergizes very well with Blodge.
Guard is a great starting skill for yeomen - and Stand Firm synergizes very well with that.
And your Fend linemen also control Space - and Wrestle makes them even more annoying.

I do think the team needs a hitter. Possibly 2. Possibly a Frenzy hitter, once you have either ST or 4 guards.
I also like a block lineman, because I don't want all my Blitzers blocking on the LOS.

I look forward to seeing your team.
Cheers
Martin

[Smeborg]

Thanks, Martin -

I like the simplicity and synergy of the new plan, and especially the annoyance factor for the opponent. Also, it suits the very different ways the player types like to behave.

It occurred to me that a Frenzy player might be of more value than a player with M-Blow. Quite possibly 2 of them, sure. IIRC, one of the players at our tourney last weekend said he had witnessed a Bret team with Frenzy wreaking havoc. But Dodge, Sidestep first IMO.

I rather like the idea of peak stymie with Fend+Wrestle, Wrestle+Guard+Stand Firm or Block+Dodge+Sidestep on everybody. Opponents could face turns in which every block they take makes their position worse. Sort of Nurgle with a smile.

There are lots of appealing skills after the first couple. For the Knights: Frenzy, Jump Up, Shadowing. For the Yeomen: Grab (especially to combine with Frenzy). And for the Peasants: Shadowing (after Tackle). But first, ruthless simplicity is required to allow the peak stymie plan to work its magic.

All the best.

[Smeborg]

2 STAGES IN LEARNING TO PLAY BRETS
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Putting aside the whole shebang of how to develop the team, I have found there are 2 stages in learning how to play them:

1. Learning how the 3 player types behave, and how best to use them. Since they behave very differently, once you get the hang of this, your play will improve rapidly. A pleasing learning curve.

2. Learning how to live with "split personality" players. The Yeomen are Blockers (with Guard), but also Blitzers against Block and Blodge ball-carriers and Receivers. The personality of the Knights is split at least 3 ways, Blockers (against ST4+ players), Blitzers (with their MA7), and Catchers (not to mention Runners). I am still in this phase of learning (for example, I get greedy with blocking and sometimes "forget" to leave 2 Knights in scoring position as Receivers, allowing my opponent to take out the lone Receiver and close down my offense). Always hard not to be greedy in BB, that's why it's such a great game.

Hope that helps.

[Smeborg]

STARTING ROSTER
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I'm thinking of the following next time:

3 x Knights
4 x Yeomen
5 x Peasants
2 x RRs
1 x Apoth

I struggled at the beginning with only 11 players. But I like the protection afforded by an Apoth. Lastly, since I found the Yeomen really hard to skill up, starting with all of them gives them the best chance of early SPPs.

With this Roster, only 1 x Peasant and 1 x Knight would need to be bought (assuming no slaughter, of course).

[Smeborg]

PROPOSED NEW TEAM DEVELOPMENT (1ST PHASE)
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For the sake of clarity:

Knight: Leader, Dodge, Sidestep
Knight: Sure Hands, Dodge, Sidestep
Knight: Dodge, Sidestep
Knight: Dodge, Sidestep
Yeoman: Guard, Stand Firm
Yeoman: Guard, Stand Firm
Yeoman: Guard, Stand Firm
Yeoman: Guard, Stand Firm
Peasant: Wrestle
Peasant: Wrestle
Peasant: Wrestle
Peasant: Dirty Player
Peasant: -
Peasant: -

That's a lot of SPPs, of course, at least 182 of them...

[Smeborg]

GUARD + WRESTLE + STAND FIRM
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I have played 2 league teams which had players with Wrestle + Guard. These were Slann (Linefrogs) and Khorne (Pit Fighters). I played quite a few games with at least 2 such players on these teams. The combination worked a treat.

If one of these players was standing next to the opponent's cage, the opponent would block them, of course. But if the dice were Both Down + Push, he would never choose the Both Down, always the Push. And I mean never, there was not one incidence of Both Down being chosen in these circumstances.

This experience leads me to believe that Guard + Wrestle + Stand Firm would be a rather delicious combination. The opponent would now have to choose between Both Down (cage corner prone) and No Result (Guarder left standing next to the cage). Or perhaps to burn a Re-roll.

[Smeborg]

HOW TO SKILL UP THE PEASANTS AND YEOMEN?
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Dear patient and loyal readers. I have a request for help. It is a simple one: How can I skill up the Peasants and Yeomen on the Bret team?

With just 2 CAS on a single Yeoman (who is about to retire because he has a Niggling Injury), I would soon be left with 0 earned SPPs on the Yeomen on my first Bret team. The Peasants have fared worse: not a single earned SPP.

I add that this is not without trying. I have never been in the position of being able to award a "luxury" TD to a player of my choice. None of my games have seen me with a 2-0 lead and comfortable possession. However, I have had many attempts to score or garner SPPs for both Yeomen and Peasants, typically:

- Late (often, but not always desperate) scrambles for a TD (e.g. on turns 7/8 or 15/16),
- Numerous Turn 8 and turn 16 pass completion attempts,
- Lots of knockdowns by the Yeomen (they're good at it, after all)
- Lots of late-in-turn 1-die blocks by Peasants (with a healthy number of knockdowns).

Even when there has been a team RR handy, all these attempts have failed to garner SPPs (the sole exceptions being the 2 CAS mentioned above). It is possible that I have been "unlucky", but I suspect not, and that the syndrome has something to do with how the team naturally plays (or at least how I have been playing it).

Now, I expect that starting with 4 Yeomen (my proposed 3/4/5 roster with 2RR + Apoth) will help a little. But it is still hard to hand-off (even more to pass) to a player without Catch, if there is a Knight receiver open. And the Yeomen are MA6, unable to score in 2 turns without a GFI.

Another possibility would be to start the roster with 3 RRs (to allow the "luxury" of hand-offs to Yeomen). That would mean, for example, starting with a 3/3/6 roster, meaning 5 Peasants on the pitch from the get go. I feel reluctant to do that (early results matter in our relatively short leagues). And I worry about TV (not to mention lack of Block/Wrestle, and a starting team with average AG of 2.5, average AV of 7.5).

As for how to skill up the Peasants, I despair. With no Block or Wrestle, they are the last choice for blocking/blitzing, and with AG2, they are likewise the last choice for any type of ball handling. They seem to do worse than other AG2 Linos (Zombies for example). Perhaps this is because there are just so many good blockers on the Bret team.

Thus advice would be most welcome. [Note: we use the current standard for MVPs - randomise between 3 chosen players.]. I am open to any suggestions.

[Smeborg]

STAT INRCREASES
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I have had none, but it occurs to me that Brets could be blessed by certain stat increases. For example:

+AG on a Knight or Yeomen (a genuine Thrower, otherwise lacking, perhaps the best stat increase),

+MA on a Knight (instant one-turn-score threat, otherwise requiring Sprint),

+ST on a Knight (to combine with Dauntless against ST5 players).

There are some stat increases I am not sure about. For example, I would be tempted to take +AG or +AV on a Peasant (to remedy their great weaknesses), but only after Wrestle (and since I have not got even that far, I am obviously dreaming). But the TV cost is high, and my experience of such stat increases on other teams' Linos is not encouraging.

I would be interested to know other coaches' experience with stat increases on this team.

[Smeborg]

SPECIALIST KNIGHT DEVELOPMENT
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As a counterpoint to my simple and "generic" development plan set out not far above, there is always the opposite path: specialisation. For example:

1st Knight: Leader
2nd Knight: Sure Hands, KoR (see next)
3rd or 4th Knight: Sprint, Sure Feet (credible one-turn-score threat)
3rd or 4th Knight: Frenzy (followed by Juggernaut on doubles), both for surfing, and to help the one-turn-score.

While somewhat tempting, I see problems with this approach:

- (Mainly) it delays the lovely Dodge far too much, not to mention Sidestep,

- Injury will likely play havoc with it,

- Stat increases will throw spanners in the works.

So I will probably not go down this route. But it does open up some interesting avenues of thought, such as the one-turn-score threat, and the possibility of taking Juggernaut (rather than Guard) as an early double on a Knight. In my experience, the simpler the overall development plan, the easier it is to cope with things like stat increases and/or doubles when they occur.

Another thought is that starting with 3 RRs is a way to avoid specialisation (Leader), reducing specialists on the team to one (Sure Hands). Definitely something I will ponder (not least because I was "forced" down this route with my first roster).

[plasmoid]

Hi Smeborg,
always interesting to read your thoughts.

Regarding stats and doubles, I find that the team can be do quite well without them. Which in turn Means that if you do get them, you have to consider how good your new option is, and how far back it will push your next pick. If you're playing a short pick, it just might not be worth it. For example, I consider Dodge on the knights to be of such huge value, that only the very best special options (ST, AG) would get taken before Dodge. Not that these considerations are exclusive to the Bretonnian team.
I think ST or AG on a Knight or Yeoman would jump the queue. Anything else requires more thinking.

On how to skill up Yeomen and Peasants - Again, I think this depends on the length of your season.
I think that for a very long time you can just feed MVPs to the knights, and get good value (i.e. a new key skill) every single game. By the time all 4 have Dodge, you're probably starting to push them all towards skill number 2. And as a short term plan I think that Works fine.
But for a more long term team, I think you'll have to feed MVPs to your Yeomen. The value of guard is also huge, if you can get it, so it is probably worth prioritizing it.

Other than that, take comfort in the fact that your offense is weak enough that the player getting the TD isn't always the one you planned on
Cheers
Martin

[Smeborg]

Thanks, Martin -

I don't disagree with your thoughts, but I do wonder what dynamic +MA on a Knight might bring to the team.

[plasmoid]

I might take MA+. Just not before Dodge (unless planning for the looong term).
So if I rolled a 6+4 as first roll, I'd ignore it.
On second or third roll? Perhaps not.
My most developed Bret team has two MA+ knights, and I'm quite happy with those!

[Smeborg]

Maybe even doubles should be ignored on the Knights until they have Dodge.

I would love to get some Dodge on the Yeomen, it seems rather potent. Have you had that?

[Smeborg]

Hi again Martin -

With your MA8 Knights, have you managed any one-turn scores?

I find that Humans have a decent longshot at a one-turn-score, even when rookies (because of MA8). Necros, not so much (Frenzy for chain pushing, and MA8, but lacking ball skills). Brets lack Pass, but otherwise seem to have much of what it takes.