DE Dilemna

berserker · Post by **berserker** » Tue May 13, 2003 1:16 pm

Hi,

I'm back again with my dark elves...
They are doing fine as I have the lead of the league with 2 wins and a draw in 3 matches.
They evolves faster than I tought...
Here is the roster after 3 games
1 Blitzer 6spp -rolled 10-
2 Blitzer 0 spp

lineman 14 spp Block
Lineman 13 spp Block
Lineman 8 spp -SKILL-
Lineman 6 spp -SKILL-
Lineman 3 spp
Lineman 2 spp
Lineman 1 spp
Lineman 1 spp
Lineman 0 spp

2 RR
Apo
8 FF
130.000 Treas.
TR 129

First the skills, I think I'll give dodge to my 2 lineman as I already have 4 guys with block.
I tought seriousmy about gicing Kick to one but as my next 2 matches are vs Orc and Chaos I don't think I'll get to use it a lot altough I really like the skill.
The blitzer will take his MA increase, for a skill I hesitated between strip ball and dodge but the +1 MA is hard to bypass...

For the 130k
I think about a Witch of course.

But I also think about a RR for 3 reasons
-2 RR is not a lot!
-It will drop my TR to 124 and there fore I'll get +10.000 gold next match so it cost 90k...
-It'll drop my TR enough so I think I avoid a handicap roll vs the Orcs

But buying the witch gives me a solid position player and a reserve

What do you think?

Skummy · Post by **Skummy** » Tue May 13, 2003 1:25 pm

I actually appreciate Kick the most against strength teams. Put it deep in their territory and make it hard for them to form a cage, while using your agility to harass their backfield.

berserker · Post by **berserker** » Tue May 13, 2003 1:36 pm

I know, I played it that way with my woodies. I really like it.
I'm not really concerned about the Chaos team as I won 4-0 and none of their players has yet got a skill. But the orcs are tough to handle.
I know that 1 of the 4 BOB got block already on top of the 4 blitzer...

All I need is a victory in my last 3 matches and I'll play the final...
So I want to preserve my players and therefore is dodge nice.

Thor · Post by **Thor** » Tue May 13, 2003 1:45 pm

I'd pick the kick skill for one of your linemen. It was the first lineman skill I picked on my elf team. Kick is very helpful against slower teams like Orcs.

martynq · Post by **martynq** » Tue May 13, 2003 1:54 pm

I would definitely give Kick to one of the line-elves for exactly the reasons that Skummy gives.

As for purchases, I'd be tempted to go for a third blitzer. If you are up against bashy teams next, then the higher AV will be nice as will the presence of another guy with Block. I really like witch elves, but until they have Block they can be a problem, whereas the blitzer is more reliable.

Martyn

berserker · Post by **berserker** » Tue May 13, 2003 2:18 pm

So kick and dodge for the skills, I like having some diversity in my team and kick is nice as it also forces the receiving coach to have a more or less symetrical offense plan.
I guess nobody would bypass the +1MA

For the puchsase

martynq wrote:As for purchases, I'd be tempted to go for a third blitzer. If you are up against bashy teams next, then the higher AV will be nice as will the presence of another guy with Block. I really like witch elves, but until they have Block they can be a problem, whereas the blitzer is more reliable.
Martyn

Having only 1 AV7 player is not that bad, I'm even not forced to field her all the time as I have a replacement.
I already have 4 players with block and only 1 with dodge if I take kick and I tend to let diversity (and thus options) prevail.

The " until they have Block they can be a problem " argument I dislike because soon or later you'll have to build her spp stats anyway and it is easier to do that against rookie players than vs more experienced ones...

martynq · Post by **martynq** » Tue May 13, 2003 2:37 pm

It's just my voice of bitter experience - witch elves die very often, at least they do in my hands. If your next few matches were against agility teams then I would take the WE, but against orcs and chaos I would like the extra protection of AV8.

Martyn

Mortalman · Post by **Mortalman** » Tue May 13, 2003 2:55 pm

For your skills I would say definitely block for one of the linemen and kick for the other. Dodge is good but it's nice to be able to hit stuff at the beginning of the league when there are still a few easy casualties to be had - it'll speed up your linemen's development.

Not sure what to advise about the Blitzer's movment increase. M8 blitzer is pretty damn good and will make passing plays easier (I've often seen DE struggle to get a 2 turn passing play off without a dedicated catcher) which you should be thinking about. On the other hand I'm a big fan of tackle as a first skill for any blitzer, and dodge and leap are also very useful - depends on whether your offence or defence needs most work.

With your money I'd always say buy more players - you only have 8 and they're expensive to replace. A blitzer is probably better in the short term but again there's something to be said for picking up the witch elf early on. Dodge will protect you early on before teams have too many tacklers, so her armour value of 7 is less important. The sooner you get her the sooner you can turn her into a frenzied, blodging, leaping, intercepting nightmare.

roysorlie · Post by **roysorlie** » Tue May 13, 2003 2:56 pm

I'd choose a dirty, just in case. Useful for getting rid of those pesky big guys, (and 1 turn scorers), but mainly for the threat of using him, to stay your opponents hand.

SOrt of a mutual assured destruction thing.

And kick rocks, let's you exploit weaknesses in opponents tactics. making him rethink his setup, and allowing you to batter his rear, and maybe combine with passblock.

You know, ruin your opponents drive, before he even get's it starting properly

berserker · Post by **berserker** » Tue May 13, 2003 3:06 pm

Mortalman wrote:For your skills I would say definitely block for one of the linemen and kick for the other.

tackle as a first skill for any blitzer

I already have 2 block lineman and a dodger would go well with kick and dodge help leaving tackle zone while block only help when you stay in contact as I avoid sitting next to Black Orcs or Chaos Warriors...

For tackle as the other teams in the pod are Orcs, Chaos and Skaven and the skaven is only in three match tackle is pretty much a waste.

Mortalman · Post by **Mortalman** » Tue May 13, 2003 3:53 pm

True, but as you say you have 2 line-elves with block - so someone's going to get hit by those chaos warriors if you won't trust your 2+ dodge roll! Also you could equally say block would help you more against a dwarf team.

The point is ideally you want 3/4 block/dodging line-elves to put on your front line. I'd go with block first for the reasons I wrote and also because it saves having to check which one's got which skills for a bit.

a dodger would go well with kick

This I just don't understand.

Asperon Thorn · Post by **Asperon Thorn** » Tue May 13, 2003 4:56 pm

A dodger goes well with kick since he can move the guy back there to get the ball. Elven Curse aside, I tend to risk 3+ dodges more when I have dodge on players and move in a more direct path.

You didn't mention if the 10 on the blitzer was a double. I would go with Dauntless or MB if it was.

I would also take the witch, and use her as a reciever until you get Block on her. Better to get her before both those bashy teams start loading up on tackle and block. The Orcs look like they have plenty but the Witch will do great vs the Choas.

Kick for sure. DP, Block, or Dodge are all great choices for the other line elf. I like Block, just because you can't have enough, but dodge is perhaps more useful on the Block dice when your opponent doesn't have block, or tackle.

berserker · Post by **berserker** » Wed May 14, 2003 8:10 am

For the 10 rolled it wasn't a double, so it makes at least one choice easier...

It's funny that having to choose for many players at the time is so much more difficult that assigning 1 skill at a time...

I'll take kick for sure.
And probably the dodge.

[/quote]Mortalman: The point is ideally you want 3/4 block/dodging line-elves to put on your front line

I don't put my block lineman on the LOS until they almost all have block...
I put my blockers on the side line or on the second line where the opponent is gonna blitz.
Funny how diverse strategies can be...

Mortalman · Post by **Mortalman** » Wed May 14, 2003 8:19 am

Well it's all about your league and the players in it. In my current league (though I'm not playing an elf team) we started with lots of speed teams and few bashy ones, then after the end of the first cup everyone changed so we had 2 Undead, 3 Orcs, 1 Lizardmen, 1 Dwarves and 1 Human team! In such a league the importance of a tough front line couldn't be overstated, especially if your players had armour 8 and cost 70'000!

If your league is a bit less crunchy than this (and I'd hope for your sake it is) then obviously take my strategies with a pinch of salt.

Asperon Thorn · Post by **Asperon Thorn** » Wed May 14, 2003 4:57 pm

Early when teams are still trying to fill out thier roster with Block I ussually put my Dodge guys on the line until I start getting Blodge. My guys that got Block early are put in more vulnerable areas of my defense.

Also, normally I discourage getting a thrower early on a DE team, but I have one exception. When there are a lot of bashy teams in the league I get one a lot sooner, as a passing offense, or at least the threat of one, has a much better effect against them. You may want to consider getting a thrower sooner than planned. Once they start developing some really good hitters, the running DE offense starts to stumble.

Asperon Thorn