(Un-)Living NecroTacticum: Necros vs the world of Blood Bowl

[squirrelfanatic]

Thanks for the input, I'll let you know how it goes. My opponent falls into the "quite experienced" category, but I'll take my chances.

Edit: Update time! Had my opening match tonight, it actually went ok-ish, 1-1. This could have been a win if I didn't switch off my brain a couple of times during the first half and let one of my Wights get surfed after a regular assisted block by a Zombie followed by a neat little blitz action of one my opponent's Wolfies. In return, I knocked out one of his Golems very early into the match and since he only had a singe Wight, I was able to get the upper hand in a midfield brawl. Later I then left my ballcarrying Ghoul open to a dodge-blitz action by said Wight which led to a defensive TD for the opposition. Luckily, I was able to return the favour in the second half and scored a defensive TD on T16.

Result: 50k in winnings, a MNG on my Ghoul, Block on my Wolf, MVP on a Zombie, 2 further SPP on a Wight. His Wight had to retire in face of a career ending -St injury brought upon by a failed GFI (an oldy but a goldy). Especially painful given the Block-rich league environment. Also the same Wight that scored the 1 TD, ouch.

Next matchup: Necros. Again. The team hasn't played their first match yet, so I have no idea how the skill situation will look like. The roster currently looks like this: 1 FG, 2 Wolfies, 2 Wights, 6 Zombies, 3 RRs, also 1 Cheerleader and an Assistant Coach.

Looking forward!

[squirrelfanatic]

Small update on my situation in our league. Played two matches so far, both went 1-1 against other Necro sides, not exactly brilliant, especially since both MVPs went on Zombies (unsurprisingly). Could make use of some extra SPPs, so far I only got Block on my Wolf, zero SPPs on either Golem. I do try to push them upfield during drives but more often than not I end up needing them to contain the opposition in the midfield, so no hand-off TDs yet. The last match could have been a 2-1 win for me too, I just made the mistake to leave my Wolf carrier open for a GFI 1D block by my opponent's Wolf which came up with a Pow on the first block. Another lesson learned.

The next match-up is against Orcs, the line-up is 3x BOBs (with enough bank to re-buy the 4th that was recently killed, so I see that coming), 4x Blitzers, Troll, Lineman, Thrower, 2x RRs, no skill-ups. Some solid winning rolls have provided me with enough money to get my second Wolf as the 12th player, bringing my TV 1100 against his current 940 (1020 with the 4th BOB, 990 with a journeyman).

I've also got my Ghoul back for the match and am currently considering if I should cut one of the 0 SPP Zombies to deny babes. That's a big "if" though, the extra body could come in handy. So, what do?

[Pedda]

Small update on my situation in our league. Played two matches so far, both went 1-1 against other Necro sides, not exactly brilliant, especially since both MVPs went on Zombies (unsurprisingly). Could make use of some extra SPPs, so far I only got Block on my Wolf, zero SPPs on either Golem. I do try to push them upfield during drives but more often than not I end up needing them to contain the opposition in the midfield, so no hand-off TDs yet. The last match could have been a 2-1 win for me too, I just made the mistake to leave my Wolf carrier open for a GFI 1D block by my opponent's Wolf which came up with a Pow on the first block. Another lesson learned.

The next match-up is against Orcs, the line-up is 3x BOBs (with enough bank to re-buy the 4th that was recently killed, so I see that coming), 4x Blitzers, Troll, Lineman, Thrower, 2x RRs, no skill-ups. Some solid winning rolls have provided me with enough money to get my second Wolf as the 12th player, bringing my TV 1100 against his current 940 (1020 with the 4th BOB, 990 with a journeyman).

I've also got my Ghoul back for the match and am currently considering if I should cut one of the 0 SPP Zombies to deny babes. That's a big "if" though, the extra body could come in handy. So, what do?

I'd keep the extra zombie. By cutting it, you'll deny a babe, but his playes aren't that likley to be removed form the pitch anyway (AV9), except for the blocks done by your wolfs.
You might however lose at least one and if not, kick somebody

[squirrelfanatic]

It's definitely true that AV9 doesn't need the babes too much. At this early point in the team's career, I also don't have a huge pile of money in the bank and cutting the Zombie would mean 50k (and the 12th man) down the drain. I guess I'll keep him for now, thanks for the reply.

[Digger Goreman]

I have found the sweet spot of Necros to be 13 players, so keep the zed....

[squirrelfanatic]

Concerning setups and strategies against rookie Orcs - any smart ideas on how to make the most of the superior speed of the Necros? My worry is the combination of a tough LOS with ST4 BOBs plus the Troll and the superior Block count on the Blitzers. Initially I figured that trying to tie up the line with Zombies would be a good start, maybe run a Wight around the LOSers, blitz an opening closer to the sidelines and push through with a Wolf and possibly a Ghoul. But then I'd be eating a lot of 2D blocks on my AV8 guys. Possibly, a close screen would be better, but then I'd give my opponent choices with the movement, something I'd rather keep to a minimum.

Guess I'll comb through some high profile FUMBBL matches again for setup ideas. Any ideas or comments would be much appreciated.

Edit: Oh, and what about fouling? I've read through the fouling by the numbers thread here on the forums but am still a little hesistant to kick AV9 in fear of ending up with a man disadvantage. On the other hand it might be my only hope to cause enough damage to get the upper hand.

[Digger Goreman]

Do a search on "Necrotacticum" as I have a few thougts on setups....

[squirrelfanatic]

So, further development plans. My current roster looks like this:

Wolf 1: Block, close to 2nd skill
Wolf 2: nothing
Golem 1: nothing
Golem 2: nothing
Wight 1: Guard
Wight 2: skillup, rolled a 10, guess I'll forgo the +MV and get either Guard or MB (still got some bashy teams coming up)
Ghoul 1: nothing
Zombie 1: Block
Zombie 2: skillup, thinking DP
Zombie 3: nothing
Zombie 4: nothing
Zombie 5: nothing

The biggest question so far would be: +MV or not? My team is pretty mobile as is, they're also one of the teams with the most TV in the current season. Objections?

[Pedda]

The biggest question so far would be: +MV or not? My team is pretty mobile as is, they're also one of the teams with the most TV in the current season. Objections?

I'd go for guard

[Heff]

Take the move and you have another piece that can keep up with the wolfs. Speed is golden on Necros

[Digger Goreman]

I like the MV as you will have a better-than-a-ghoul, ghoul.... Speed kills....

[Jimmy Fantastic]

Guard/MB by a mile. No point in MA cos you have dogs for that.

[squirrelfanatic]

Thanks for the replies (as always). The thing is that as is, I'm already giving up ~200-250TV worth of inducements over some (not all) of the remaining teams in my league, which include such nice beasties as Chaos Dwarves and Lizardmen. As a consequence, I'd really like to make every skillup count as much as possible right away and I have trouble seeing my team improve by a big margin with +1MV on one player (if maybe a good positional).

Interestingly, there is almost no Guard around so far, which might give me the edge in close quarters/center pitch. On the other hand, all that AV9 man (I know I know, the Wolves).

Edit: Regarding the Zombie - This guy already picked up 10 SPPs via ill-placed MVPs, so I'm hesistant to give him DP, as I don't want him to become a SPP grave. I'd rather have it on another Zombie and a second skill on a Zombie that's actually sticking around on the pitch. So the choices here are Block (already have one Block Zombie though), Wrestle, DP after all.

[Fassbinder75]

Necro are a 'two-speed' team with Wights stuck in the middle. I'd go the MV, and failing that - MB. I found early Guard to be a massive development stunting move for them.

[Pedda]

Necro are a 'two-speed' team with Wights stuck in the middle. I'd go the MV, and failing that - MB. I found early Guard to be a massive development stunting move for them.

I agree, the wights won't gain any SPPs with guard, but it helps the rest of the team and that's why I'd go for guard.
With guard, you can use the frenzy on the wolves a bit better.