"Blood Bowl Help- Wanted: Team w Good linebackers" Topic

Need help picking a team. League is as follows: Two Wood Elf Teams, 1 Amazon team, 2 Skaven, 2 Lizard Men, 2 Orcs, 1 Dwarf, 2 Undead, 1 Khorne, Dark Elf, High Elf, and myself the newbee in the league.

I don't see myself passing the ball as I'm pretty inexperienced. I also don't see any point in lining up and going toe to toe with a bunch of nasty Mummies, Lizardmen, Trolls, and Ogres. I'd like to pass on star players entirely, if possible. I'd like a team that can own the sidelines and backfield. A team with a lot of nasty linebackers that can avoid the big guys and can hunt down and kill the ball carrier.

Any suggestions for this style of play?

Looking at Orc (because they're good at everything), Chaos, and Necros. Dark elves are iffy as their tackling dummies are expensive fodder. I want any runners/catchers/blodgers to pee submissively at the thought of going through my backfield. I like the idea of zombies as cheap human sacrifices to opposing big guys, so leaning necro.

As you say, Orcs are good at everything. Way back when they were the team to beat.

Several years ago I got to make the trek to play in the GenCon Bowl. Came in 7th place (out of 50-something players) and took the trophy for inflicting the most casualties. Played Norse.

I don't need to knock everyone down every turn. I think this easily becomes a distraction. But when I get to the ball, I want him on the ground. Besides, you only get one blitz, so make it a really good one. So strategic hitting. The orcs only weakness is when you get behind them and then they're screwed. Norse are attractive, but I'm concerned the low armor over a long season will cause you to lose a war of attrition if you play a bunch of heavy hitters.

When I get to the thrower, I want his knee located somewhere above his head and his left eye looking out his earhole.

I'm seling myself on the Vikings so long as I don't have to take the big guy. On the other hand, it's easier to get block than it is to get +1 ST

Humans.

You won't get black orcs but your people will have that +1 movement over orcs that some times just make up the difference. Ag 3 is great as their versatility.

Those receivers can be huge with dodge and block, difficult to tackle and speedy. One or two of them should force your opponents into having people in the backfield which helps to build help bonus blocks in the scrimmage.

I find that a human team, played methodically, can progress quickly, and when you have a full squad of block linemen, blitzers and throwers, you're in position to win all comers.

Dodged,

I think Humans would struggle in our league. The best players play extremes. Blodger Wood Elves and basher Lizardmen.

A warewolf is a really good safety, but he needs tackle or the blodgers are just going to leap away. The claws are a trick to get him sucked into a scrum with the big guys which he will lose. Unlike a dwarf Slayer, he can't take ST skills. A Slayer with Block, Mighty Blow, Frenzy and Jugger is a bad MF but if you go too far towards the sidelines, you can't move or dodge your way to safety and you've painted a big old bullseye on his chest.

Another alternative to the wolf is, and don't laugh, cowzilla or goatzilla. A minotaur free safety is going to get a lot of respect, but he can only hit one receiver and the elves are going to send three down the field. The goats can run, have horns, and have decent armor, but they take their time getting the right skill sets and mutations. You need cowzilla to hold down the fort until you develop. Having two wolves means not having to take a minotaur. But only one of the wolves can blitz so the other has to hold on to the blodger.

I think that you're better off trading tackling dummy linemen for his high TV skill position guys. You can't make that trade if you can't get that witch or Wardancer on the ground or surfing into the stands. A nasty free safety teamed with a cheap fouler would seem like a good combination.

Maybe I'm going at it wrong, but all the discussion I see in forums is about developing specialists and not generalists. If that's the case, then the game comes down to developing my own specialists and getting his off the field or forcing him to make as many rolls as possible. That's why I'm not a fan of the big guys. You spend a lot of rolls trying to knock out another big, slow guy who's just going to get back up because he's armored to the teeth, or you're gleefully spending your rerolls on failed blocks on worthless players or bonehead because you're too busy admiring your carnage to understand cost vs benefit. His best fouling, scoring, and hitting players aren't the big guys, they're the little guys. Those are the players you want off the pitch not unskilled linemen that never level up.