OFCC Elf Union Team Building Advice

[Bosco]

So I'm planning on bringing my elves to Ordo Bowl, I enjoyed playing them in Blitzmania and feel I'm a bit more competitive with them than I am with my Dwarf team, despite my preference for the Dwarfs.

With 1,200,000 to work with an no proper star players other than Morg, I'm just going to take standard Elf Union players.  

I was thinking:

• Thrower
• 4x Catcher
• 2x Blitzer
• 5x Lineman
• 4 Rerolls
• 1 Fan Factor

I like skill pack A (6 regular skills), which is where I feel like I need advice. 

In my limited experience with them, I generally found offense isn't a problem, but I can have issues on defense, especially when trying to pop the ball loose.  4 rerolls seems a bit overkill, but so does a 6th lineman (13th player); I think I can reliably get use out of a 4th reroll and make enough dodge rolls or desperate blocks that I go through them reliably.

For skills I was considering:

• Lineman with Kick
• Blitzer with Strip Ball
• Blitzer with Leap/Mighty Blow/Strip Ball
• 2x Catcher with Dodge
• Catcher with ? or Safe Throw on the thrower

Kick on a Lineman seems like a near mandatory investment; always one of my priority skills for a team with respectable speed and especially useful on an elf team.

Ideally the Blitzers' skills would help in accessing the ball or more reliably popping it loose, though making them blodgers is also tempting for durability over the course of a game.  Strip Ball seems like an obvious choice for at least one of them, possibly both, though Leap has a certain appeal as well.

I'd considered Hail Mary on the Thrower and Diving Catch on a Catcher, but have concerns about it being reliably useful and it seems like a relatively poor investment. Safe throw is the only really appealing passing option I see since I've found I'm often throwing to covered Catchers (yay Nerves of Steel) leaving me vulnerable to interceptions, but even that has potential to never come into play.

Dodge on the Catchers seems like the logical choice letting them better take a hit, position themselves to score or assist, or escape overlapping tackle zones after catching the ball. I considered Shadowing, but without a means to get Block or Dodge as well I worry they'd just be taken out quickly and the few times I've given players Shadowing I've been disappointed by the results (MA7/8). At the same time, putting Shadowing on a Blitzer (MA7) that starts with Side Step is tempting, but also hasn't worked well for me previously.  Jump Up, Side Step, and Sure Feet are some other skills I find useful on the Catchers, both offensively and defensively.

Any advice, criticism, or input is appreciated.

[Weav]

Whaaa...? I love Moranion and Sidewinder! Hypnotic Gaze is such an underrated skill for opening pockets.

First, you have four catchers; that's mandatory. Good job. As far as the skills, your blitzes cannot take MB using skill pack one, right? No access to Strength skills? I know dodge on the catchers is tempting, but I always think the Blodge route on Blitzers is the way to go. 

2 BL w Dodge

1 Catcher w/ strip ball

1 catcher with Wrestle

1 LE with tackle

1 Thr with sure hands

Buy Sidewinder

[savion47]

ya definitely dodge on the blitzers. I would actually use them as your initial ball carriers with block, dodge, sidestep.  I personally like to have sidestep on a catcher or two. I generally always have one or two as a possible scoring threat and sidestep makes them that much more annoying to your opponent. Wrestle is also a good choice for the catchers. 

[Bosco]

OK, how about this:

• Blitzer with Dodge
• Blitzer with Strip Ball
• Catcher with Dodge
• Catcher with SideStep
• Lineman with Kick
• Thrower with Safe Throw

Some compromise on the Blitzer skills (I still want at least one with strip ball) and moves Side Step onto a catcher as well (it is an annoying skill to deal with).  I've never been a big fan of wrestle (Elves on the ground are begging to get stepped on) and tackle has always felt like a 'slow-team' skill.