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Starting Team7 Longbeards - 490,000 As a matter of preference I usually take one runner, 6 FF and 3 rerolls to take advantage of Dwarves low reroll cost. I find that the high reroll safety net is useful to a starting team. You don't save much money by only taking 2 anyway. One other option would be 5 Longbeards - 350,000 This maxes out your positional players early and allows you to buy rerolls (relatively cheaply) at 80k later in the season to keep your Team Rating down. An Apothecary is not exactly essential for a Dwarf team, but buying one in the first couple of games is advised; then 'max out' your positional players. Playing A Dwarf TeamCard SelectionDue to your lack of speed on defence it is usually best to concentrate on picking up "play stopper" cards and the majority of these are in the Dirty Tricks deck. Grab a Magic Item card unless you feel your opponent is going to give you real trouble and if you need money then look to the Random Event Deck. In general though you can go with a Magic Item and make up the balance with Dirty Tricks. OffenceThe Dwarf team are, arguably, the finest exponents of "da cage" in Bloodbowl - even more so than other power teams like Orcs and Chaos. The reason is that the team's skills are well suited to the mutual support the cage needs to get rolling. Run the Cage just inside one of the widezones; once there you can use Longbeards
(preferably with Guard) to assist Trollslayers Blitzing the opposition off the pitch. Keep
the Cage tight and advance a few squares at a time while you blitz players off the
sideline. Remember that it is helpful to The Cage to remove as many players as possible in
your drives and if you are pushingthem off the pitch then they are not only out for the
drive, they may also be removed for the game through injury. By the end of the drive you
may well have 6 or fewer opposition players to bother you. DefenceDwarves, being slow, are not well suited to defending against passing teams. When tossing for kickoff, you should always elect to kick to a passing team, this means if (when) they score in 2 turns you will have 6 turns to secure a reply then 8 turns to run da cage in the final half. Controlling the game clock is the key to the Dwarf win. Given that you are expecting the opposition to score in 2 turns you may as well go all out on a blitzkrieg to try to force the turnover. If it fails then the opposition will score giving you ample time to secure the reply, if you force the turnover, then take your time and score on the 8th turn. Try a 3-4-4 defence with Stand Firm on the Line of Scrimmage (LoS), close together with Guard. Blitzers are placed wide, and Diving Tackle (again, if you have it) one row back in the widezones; Troll slayers and Runners play as safeties. Keep your Troll slayers inside the widezones so they can Blitz ourtwards to push players off the line rather than inwards to nowhere. Against a 'power' team you can take a different tack: putting expendable players on the line and keep your 'big guns' back a bit (face it, a power team is going to be able to knock the stuffing out of anyone from the LoS). Try to keep the opposition bottled up near the sidelines and use stand firm players to slow the progress of their cage. Keep a second row behind the first in case of breakthroughs and keep players to the side of the cage to prevent them rolling out. This will usually grind them down to the point where they have used all their rerolls throwing 1 die blocks trying to break out. Just be patient be thorough, and wait for "the mistake". Damage LimitationYour players have heavy armour, Thick Skull and support each other well. Do not be afraid to take punishment because you can generally dish out far more than you take. Having said this though, don't expose your players to unnecessary risk. Do not allow your players to become isolated from one another, if you are sending players away from the main drive, then send them in pairs. This will ensure you do not surrender your advantage in a biffing war. Don't bother trying to dodge players away, 1 die blocks will give you better odds of success, especially if you have Block and Tackle. GeneralControlling the pace of the match is the key. You don't have the speed or skill to match it with the flashy Elf teams so play to your strengths, make the only dice you roll block dice and make them play the Dwarf game. Don't be afraid to score in two turns if you think they don't expect it - just don't take your eye off the clock. It's always worth having Accurate and Pass for one Runner as it gives you options. Remember though that you lack speed and skill so don't take unnecessary risks. Advancing DwarfsLongbeardsWith Block and Tackle and access to the Strength lists, your Longbeards are the most formidable linemen in the game and are perfectly suited to supporting the Cage. Guard will give your opposition fits and is ideal for a first skill. Mighty Blow and Stand Firm make good secondary skills; a matter of preference really, but you will need Stand Firm players. Once you have a couple of players with Stand Firm, you can concentrate more on getting Mighty Blow. Skills: Guard, Stand Firm, Mighty Blow Doubles: Diving Tackle! (though a guard/standfirm/dodge longbeard is a hell of a cool player) BlitzersA good proportion of your Touchdowns will come from these guys so you can focus on offensive skills. Skills: Stand Firm and Mighty Blow Doubles: Dodge or Diving Tackle RunnersYour fullback, thrower, and scorer all rolled into one. One is best given passing skills so he can be used to move the ball up quickly from the kickoff or roll out from the cage if necessary, the other one can be used as a high(er)-speed blitzer. Skills: Accurate and Pass, or Block and Pro Doubles: Dodge or Diving Tackle. Troll SlayersThey key to your offence, these guys are responsible for removing the opposition from the pitch and taking out opposition Big Guys. Pro is essential for helping with bad Frenzy dice and Dauntless rolls, it can also allow you to reroll armour rolls if you don't get the injury... Skills: Pro and Mighty Blow Doubles: Diving Tackle or Jump Up General CommentaryThe DeathrollerBoth over and under-rated as a Star Player. As long as you remind yourself that it's not an essential part of your offence and convince your opponent that it is, then you'll do well ;) Never send it out alone, use it to multiblock holes to roll da Cage through; always forming the cage back around it so the opposition never had a chance to throw better than a 2 dice you choose block against it. Bringing it on in the second half helps lessen the chance of any nasty cards, spells, etc. taking it out of play. Other StarsGrim is handy but I would never take him if it meant taking up a Troll Slayer position on my roster (depends on your league). Drumgrim isn't much better. AlliesIf you can, pick up a couple of Rookie Ogres as they make excellent line-fodder for an advanced Dwarf team and can help even the score against some of the larger freaks of nature available to other teams. |
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