What do you think about stalling?

[Sushé Wakka]

I prefer to face a player who stalls than wood elves or Skaven woth oneturners. The main tactic to stop an oneturner from scoring is simply try to cover as many squares from your own half with tacklezones as possible, and hope that he fails a roll. But, when facing someone who stalls the timer, there are more tactical options (at least, you can do something in your turn). I've been down to six men against dwarves, yet I still managed to put him under pressure and force him to play quickly. And that makes a good game. Now tell me how could I stop an oneturner if I'm down to six men and I'm kicking... The fact that stalling can be stopped even if you're down in numbers shows that it is an interesting tactic, and a challenge to play against.

[Boss]

tell me how could I stop an oneturner if I'm down to six men and I'm kicking...

right - that's impossible to do anything about. But then again - if you're down to 6 against elves or Skaven you must be doing something wrong . Definitely one turners can be a pain - I agree.

[McDeth]

I Voted valid, partially to defend myself as i use the tactic a fair bit

However, its a tactic i only use if its a tight game, ie Looking ton make a 2-1 win etc. I would never use it if i'm already 1-0 up as that would be just plain anal.

Likewise i appreciate that other teams try and do the same, the skill comes in stopping them enforcing the tactic by pressurising the ball carrier, and then you showing them how it should be done

[Redfang]

Of course it's a valid tactic... (it has all been said already; mostly by Grumble and Deathwing)

R

[narkotic]

It's valid and it's boring. Don't expect me to drink a beer with that guy afterwards, though.
And if he should employ stalling when he does not needs it (eg already in lead) I only would play against that guy with a 4min limit and strict illegal procedure ruling

[DoubleSkulls]

It's valid and it's boring. Don't expect me to drink a beer with that guy afterwards, though.
And if he should employ stalling when he does not needs it (eg already in lead) I only would play against that guy with a 4min limit and strict illegal procedure ruling

That makes you the bad sportsman.

[narkotic]

Mmmh, maybe you right, but so far nobody who actually played against me was that opinion.
Maybe I'm biased when it comes to stalling: I played with my Chaos Dwarfs against Dwarves and I was leading 1:0 in the second half. I was able to set up only 6 players bc. I rolled 7x1 for swealterin heat. The guy stalled for 8 rounds and fouled me every round in order to reach a draw. It's up to you if you have a drink after a match you felt to be loathing...

BTW I didn't told the guy what I felt (so maybe I'm not that unsportsmanlike?)

[McDeth]

If you were only able to set up 6 players then more the fool him for not trying to capitalize on the situation

[narkotic]

Obviously I am a fool, because I would not have done that in the same situation (even less that it was a non-league fun match). And I'm doing more foolish things like scoring fast on a 3:0, so the poor opponent has four turns left and receives a real chance to score at least one Toudchdown. Very unsportsmanlike...

[Boss]

If I understood you correctly the Dwarf guy was down 1-0 and you had 7 players temporarily out ... I think he did the right think tactically. If he runs in for a quickie he'd just be handing you a quite excellent chance to make it 2-1. I'd run in for a late TD too hoping for luck in overtime.

Though - if you put all that spin on it (non-league match or already leading 3-0) then nobody in their right mind would or should stall. Leading 3-0 already doesn't exactly indicate a team stalling anyway ... does it ?

Everybody can play friendly - league match or not - whenever I've scored a winning goal and my opponent has one turn left I always try to set the ball up in such manner the ball goes out of bounce right away. But in a tight league game stalling can be essential to winning the game ... no matter what team you're playing.

[Democritus]

it seems we are all thinking the same here: it is vaild to stall.

I agree with that, it is a tactic like any other tactic.

[roysorlie]

ive said this many a time but a team can only stall against you if you let them

now of course there are expceptions like you only have 2 players left and such what not but otherwise it hold true and on the same vein its the opposite end to one turn scoring or even 2 turn scoring when your team will find it very difficult to do

Very true.
No cage is perfect, and stalling puts you at a risk to. As a seasoned Elf team player, I can take advantage of the slightest flaw in my opponents offense or defense. If that cage has a flaw, I will exploit it, and if I get my hands on that ball, It's practically a TD for me.

I think any stalling tactic that lasts for more than 1 turn, is just being boring. And any opponents that does that to me, I will have no qualms about fouling blatantly, taking advantage of flaws or anytrhing.

Someone forms a cage, and starts stalling, make him regret it. That way, he won't do it again. Even elves can get brutal if they concentrate upon doing it.

[Mortalman]

Stalling has tactical advantages and is sometimes the only real option! I was playing a WE team once and a BO caught the kick off and moved into the cage - so his whole team just legged it out of harms way! I swear there was never an elf within 6 squares of my players after turn 3, most of them ended up in my half! What was I gonna do? Score in 3 turns and let him equalise with ease? NO! I waited for 5 really boring turns by the endzone telling him if he wanted an interesting game he shouldn't act like his team bus had broken down and his team hadn't made it to the match yet!

Anyway - as a slow team when you stall you trade SPPs for touchdowns in for a more secure chance of victory. I often pass the ball with my Orcs, and not always because I have to score in 2 turns or I lose: sometimes I just want to see if I can get 3-0 instead of 1-0 and make my team a bit better. Helps that we use goal difference in our league so there's a real incentive to score, though I still say in the spirit of fairness there should also be a casualty difference for us bashy teams!

[Jerhod]

I definitely am in the "valid but can be annoying" camp. It's not always annoying, but it can be.

I find stalling most annoying when playing Elves vs. Elves. Part of the fun of playing Elves is scoring a lot of TD's, and I'd much rather play a game that's 5-4 and lose than play a game that's 3-2 and lose. More SPP's, more daring maneuvers, more fun.

[MickeX]

I was in the "valid but almost always boring"-camp before, but now I've abandonded that one. This is for several reasons, most of which have already been covered.

One thing that haven't been mentioned is that tactics can be very interesting when someone is trying to stall. For example, grab onto his star player straying outside the cage, and threathen to push him into the crowd. Or just start fouling him repeatedly. Either way, it put's the stalling team in a position where they'll have to choose: give me those two turns that I might be able to score on, or risk getting key players wasted for the second half.

It can also be used in the opposite way: you suddenly get this clear scoring opportunity, and your opponent gives up and goes for some extra blocks against your remaining players. Make him regret not chasing you down properly by caging up instead of scoring, and thus deny him a chance to equalize!

Besides, some turns of stalling makes the game go fast anyway. When playing online that pretty much takes away the "match gets boring"-argument. If you've travelled 1 hour for a face-to-face game though, that argument is far more valid...

Micke